No churn Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream is made with rich, spicy-sweet Mexican vanilla beans for a deep, creamy, dreamy vanilla flavor. Perfect scooped on top of our Triple Berry Slab pie, with no cranking required!
What Is Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream?
Mexican vanilla ice cream is a type of ice cream that's made with Mexican vanilla beans or extract. Mexican Vanilla ice cream is more like a gelato in texture than regular ice cream, due to the richness of the ingredients.
Mexico is also the birthplace of Vanilla planifolia, but the climate, soil, and growing conditions lend sweet, slightly spicy notes of cinnamon and clove to the cured beans. Vanilla grown in Madagascar were originally transplanted from Mexico, and both are referred to as 'Bourbon' vanilla.
Mexican vanilla beans are also cured for a longer period of time than beans grown elsewhere, which gives Mexican vanilla extract a richer and more complex flavor. True Mexican vanilla extract tends to be more concentrated than the typical US grocery store vanilla extract also.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
This easy, no churn ice cream recipe is also made with heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk, which gives it a delicious, smooth and creamy texture. Made with fresh scraped Mexican vanilla beans, this ice cream is rich and decadent.
- No Churning required - perfect if you don't have a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker, or an old fashioned type of crank ice cream maker.
- Stays scoopable! The tiny bit of alcohol changes the freeze point, preventing it from freezing into a rock hard block.
- Versatile. Perfect with our Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam as a strawberry sauce, or our Bailey's Irish Cream Ganache as a delectable chocolate sauce on tip.
- Delicious. The unique flavor of high quality Mexican vanilla beans echos the basic flavor of vanilla, but is elevated by the slightly spicy sweet notes as well.
Jump to:
- What Is Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream?
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream Ingredients
- How to Make Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream
- Things To Do With Leftover Vanilla Bean Pods
- Serving Suggestions
- Related Recipes
- Substitutions and Variations
- Equipment
- Storage and Reheating
- Tips for Success
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Food Safety
- Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
- 📖 Recipe
- Connect with Smells Like Delish!
Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream Ingredients
This recipe for Mexican Vanilla ice cream uses two teaspoons of tequila. It's not enough to affect taste, but if does help create a smooth textured, pliable ice cream. If you are adverse to use the tequila, you can substitute with two teaspoons of alcohol based vanilla extract to give the same effect.
- Heavy Cream - Whip until light and fluffy.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - Sweetens and give the ice cream it's 'gelato' texture.
- Mexican vanilla bean - You'll typically only need ½ to 1 full bean per average recipe. You can use any vanilla bean if you don't have Mexican vanilla beans available.
- Tequila Blanco- Optional, but if you add two teaspoons, it will keep your no churn ice cream easy to scoop! Use the clear blanco so you don't flavor the ice cream. If you don't have tequila, vodka will also work.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream
Prepare your freezer to freeze and store your homemade, no churn ice cream. You'll probably need to adjust the temperature to the coldest setting, especially if it's the summer when you are making this Mexican Vanilla ice cream recipe.
How to Prepare Mexican Vanilla Beans
- To prepare Mexican vanilla beans, slice the pods lengthwise, and carefully scrape out the caviar (soft, mealy black paste inside the vanilla bean) for your ice cream, creme brulee`, or baked goods recipe.
- Whip the cream in a bowl with an electric mixer. Be careful to not over mix, as you don't want to make butter!
PRO TIP: Don't discard the scraped vanilla bean pod. Every bit of a vanilla bean can be put to use. See below some of the ways you can use a leftover, scraped vanilla bean pod!
Gently Fold Ingredients Together
- Gently pour the sweetened condensed milk into the mixing bowl of whipped cream.
- Add vanilla extract, scraped vanilla caviar, and tequila blanco to the bowl of whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk.
- Use a light hand and gently fold in the ingredients until blended. Go slow so you don't deflate the whipped cream.
Freeze Until Frozen
- Once the whipped cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and tequila is incorporated, pour into a aluminum foil lined, standard loaf pan.
- Cover with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze for 8 hours.
PRO TIP: Be sure to set your freezer temperature to the coldest setting earlier, so that your freezer is already cold for freezing ice cream.
Scooping Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream
That tiny amount of tequila (or vanilla extract) will allow you to scoop big beautiful scoops of ice cream from the frozen loaf contents. The rich, gelato type of texture will simply make you swoon.
- Remove the loaf pan of ice cream from the freezer when it is frozen and firm.
- Run hot water over your ice cream scoop just long enough to warm it. Run your scoop over the surface of the ice cream to scrape up a perfectly round scoop. The tequila helps prevent rock hard ice cream that's hard to scoop! Serve and enjoy!
Things To Do With Leftover Vanilla Bean Pods
- Pop the scraped vanilla bean into your bulk sugar bin. It will permeate the sugar and infuse a delicious vanilla flavor to the entire canister or bin.
- Dry the bean on your windowsill or a shelf. When it's dry, add it to a spice grinder or mini food processor and pulverize it. This powdered vanilla can be used in any baked good, sauce, or in ice cream and custard for more visual 'vanilla' bits.
- Add a bit of the dried vanilla casing to your coffee grinder when you grind some coffee beans. You'll have delicious coffee!
- Tuck the scraped pod in a corner of your lingerie drawer, for lightly scented undergarments.
- Last tip, never ever freeze vanilla beans. Vanilla behaves like bananas in the refrigerator, but the cold also damages the flavor. Store cured vanilla beans in a jar in your cupboard or pantry. If they dry out, moisten a cotton ball with water and drop into the jar so the beans can re-hydrate.
Serving Suggestions
Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream is delicious and creamy treat that is perfect for any occasion. It is made with fresh Mexican vanilla beans, which give it a rich and flavorful aroma.
Add a scoop of this creamy Mexican vanilla ice cream to a serving of our Hershey's Cocoa Brownies or top a slice of pie. This aromatic vanilla ice cream goes well with Pumpkin pie as it complements the cinnamon, allspice, and cloves as well!
Love ice cream? We do too! Here are our other ice cream recipes:
- Homemade Peach Ice Cream
- Bailey's Irish Cream Ganache
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Cookie Monster Ice Cream
- Chocolate Marshmallow Ice Cream
- Pecan Praline Ice Cream
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few substitutions and variations when making this recipe for Mexican vanilla bean ice cream.
- Cinnamon Churro Ice Cream - Cinnamon complements this ice cream recipe beautifully. Break up some Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and mix it into the blended ice cream just before pouring into the loaf pan. Scoop and drizzle on chocolate sauce.
- Chocolate Ripple Ice Cream - After almost finished blending the ingredients together, add some thick hot fudge sauce and swirl in to the mixture. Pour into the loaf and freeze.
- Blackberry Swirl - Swirl in some of our Blackberry Preserves right before pouring into the loaf pan, and freeze.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this this recipe vanilla bean ice cream.
- Loaf Pan
- Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker ICE-70
- Mexican Vanilla Beans, Gourmet Quality - long
- SloFoodGroup Vanilla Webstore
Storage and Reheating
Store your no churn Mexican Vanilla ice cream in a storage tub, covered with plastic wrap and then the lid. The plastic wrap will reduce crystals on top from the freezer. Be sure to run hot water on your ice cream scoop before scooping, it makes scooping much easier.
Tips for Success
- Make sure the heavy cream is cold before you start whipping it. This will help it whip up to its full volume.
- Don't over whip the cream. Over whipped cream turn to butter.
- Check your freezer temperature. Set it to Zero degrees F.
- Freeze the ice cream for at least 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
No churn ice cream is made without an ice cream maker. It is churned in a stand mixer until it is light and fluffy, then it is frozen for several hours until it is firm. Regular ice cream is made with an ice cream maker. The ice cream is churned in the ice cream maker for several hours until it is smooth and creamy.
Yes, make sure your Cuisinart freezer bowl is frozen first. Then, simply fill the Cuisinart freezer bowl with the Mexican Vanilla ice cream mixture and set it to churning. When churning cycle completes, transfer to freezer safe storage tubs.
Check your freezer temperature, it needs to be set to zero F.
Some popular toppings include chocolate chips, nuts, fruit, and candy. You can also get creative and make your own toppings, such as caramel sauce, or chocolate sauce.
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
📖 Recipe
No Churn Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream
Equipment
- Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker ICE-70
- Gourmet Mexican Vanilla Beans long, 7-8" about 4 to 5
Ingredients
- 2 Mexican vanilla beans scraped of caviar
- 2 cup heavy cream
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon tequila blanco or alcohol based vanilla extract
Instructions
- To prepare Mexican vanilla beans for this ice cream, slice the pods lengthwise, and carefully scrape out the caviar (soft, mealy black paste inside the vanilla bean) for your ice cream, creme brulee`, or baked goods recipe. PRO TIP: Be sure to set your freezer temperature to the coldest setting earlier, so that your freezer is already cold for freezing ice cream.
- Whip the cream in a bowl with an electric mixer. Be careful to not over mix, as you don't want to make butter!2 cup heavy cream
- Gently pour the sweetened condensed milk into the mixing bowl of whipped cream.14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- Add the scraped vanilla caviar and tequila blanco to the bowl of whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk.2 Mexican vanilla beans, 1 tablespoon tequila blanco
- Use a light hand and gently fold in the ingredients until blended. Go slow so you don't deflate the whipped cream.
- Use a light hand and gently fold in the ingredients until blended. Go slow so you don't deflate the whipped cream.
- Once the whipped cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and tequila is incorporated, pour into a aluminum foil lined, standard loaf pan.
- Remove the loaf pan of ice cream from the freezer when it is frozen and firm.
- Run hot water over your ice cream scoop just long enough to warm it. Run your scoop over the surface of the ice cream to scrape up a perfectly round scoop. The tequila helps prevent rock hard ice cream that's hard to scoop! Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure the heavy cream is cold before you start whipping it. This will help it whip up to its full volume.
- Don't over whip the cream. Over whipped cream turn to butter.
- Check your freezer temperature. Set it to Zero degrees F.
- Freeze the ice cream for at least 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.
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