Peanut Butter Ice Cream
This Peanut Butter Ice Cream is cool, creamy, tasty–and super easy. Add a fudge ribbon for even more fun. Sugar free option included.
Summer hot enough for you? Even in Wisconsin, where we usually avoid the worst of the heat, there have been multiple days in the 90s.
It takes me back to my childhood where temps over 90 meant special treats. Things like running through the sprinkler or taking out the wading pool. And the best treat? Ice Cream!
Today’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream (with an optional fudge ribbon) has all the flavor of a peanut butter cup but is cool and refreshing for summer. And it’s a no cook recipe so it’s also easy. Just blend the ingredients in a blender and freeze per your freezer’s instructions.
So good, I’d even eat it in winter!
Why You’ll Love This!
Flavorful. Rich peanut butter flavor accented with a fudge ribbon (optional) makes this a cool tasty treat!
Easy. The prep for this ice cream is super easy. Just blend everything up in a blender, pour into your ice cream freezer and freeze.
Fun. Scoop into ice cream cones or make a Sundae with more fudge sauce. The possibilities are endless!
Step by Step Overview
Put the milk and cream in a blender, then start blending on low.
Heat the peanut butter very briefly, if needed, to become soft enough to blend. Do not let it get hot. Drizzle into the blender with the swirling milk/cream mixture (so it combines rather than clumps up). Turn off the blender when well combined.
In a small bowl, combine the nonfat dry milk, sugar or sweetener, salt and guar gum if using. Stir together and break up any lumps.
Turn the blender on low again, then slowly add the dry ingredient mixture until well blended. Taste and add additional salt and stevia if needed.
Pour mixture into ice cream freezer, then process according to manufacturer directions.
If adding a fudge ribbon, one option is to drizzle into the machine at the VERY end (to keep it separate). Otherwise drizzle over the ice cream as you transfer it to the freezer container. (I alternate scooping in ice cream and drizzling–don’t be a perfectionist).
Put your full ice cream container in the freezer. Keep overnight before serving for best results.
Variations
Want to turn this into Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream? Just chop up some Reese’s then swirl them in at the end instead of (or in addition to) the fudge ribbon.
I also offer a sugar free version of this ice cream. The most significant difference with sugar free is that most artificial sweeteners lower the freezing point of an ice cream so that it is significantly softer—sometimes too soft to scoop. Luckily this one works with almost no adjustment.
If you want to really get into ice cream, there is an online ice cream calculator that can help tune your recipes.
Tips & FAQs
You may notice that this has a lower ration of cream to milk than many ice creams. When I ran it through the calculator I mentioned above, it suggested a lower ratio, I assume due to the extra fat in the peanut butter.
Since I’m trying to use less plastic, I now store my homemade ice cream in a metal Bento box with a silicone seal. I’ve kept this in my freezer for as long as a couple weeks and it hasn’t had problems getting icy or getting too hard.
Have you heard the trick about putting a jelly bean in the bottom of a sugar cone to help catch the drips? We liked it so much we’re doing it with Swedish fish!
And for more tasty ice cream from my friends:
- Mint Oreo Ice Cream by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pink Pineapple Sherbet by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- No Churn Caramel Brownie Ice Cream by Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
- Creami Coffee Mocha Ice Cream by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Mom’s Famous Ice Cream Mississippi Mud Pie by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup skim milk
- 1 ½ cup cream
- ½ cup unsalted natural peanut butter stirred until smooth or salted, or peanut butter powder
- ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
- ¾ cup sugar or 1 cup allulose & additional stevia to taste for sugar free version
- ¼ teaspoon salt omit if using salted peanut butter
- ¼ teaspoon guar gum
- ¼ cup fudge sauce optional, sugar free for sugar free version
Instructions
- Put the milk and cream in a blender, then start blending on low.
- Heat the peanut butter very briefly, if needed, to become soft enough to blend. Do not let it get hot. Drizzle into the blender with the swirling milk/cream mixture (so it combines rather than clumps up). Turn off the blender when well combined.
- In a small bowl, combine the nonfat dry milk, sugar or sweetener, salt and guar gum if using. Stir together and break up any lumps.
- Turn the blender on low again, then slowly add the dry ingredient mixture until well blended. Taste and add additional salt and stevia if needed.
- Pour mixture into ice cream freezer, then process according to manufacturer directions.
- If adding a fudge ribbon, one option is to drizzle into the machine at the VERY end (to keep it separate). Otherwise drizzle over the ice cream as you transfer it to the freezer container. (I alternate scooping in ice cream and drizzling--don't be a perfectionist).
- Put your full ice cream container in the freezer. Keep overnight before serving for best results.
- Before serving, remove the ice cream container from the freezer and let rest 2-3 minutes for soften slightly. This may not be needed for the sugar free version.