Like a bowl full of summer, this fresh Homemade Peach Ice Cream is packed full of flavor. This easy peach ice cream recipe can also use frozen or canned peaches, giving you that summer flavor all year long.
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Soft, ripe peaches in the summer are a gift straight from heaven. And they make the absolute best homemade ice cream!
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN HOMEMADE Peach ICE CREAM?
- Peaches. No surprise there!
- Heavy cream
- Whole Milk
- Egg yolks <—-this is happening. You’re going to be ok!
- Vanilla extract (related: Homemade Vanilla Extract)
- Kosher salt
- Sugar
You can use canned peaches if you don’t have fresh peaches (related: Canning Peaches).
And yes, you can also use frozen peaches! Check out this post on Freezing Peaches if you want to learn how to freeze peaches in your own kitchen.
If you have leftover peaches to use up (lucky you!), try them in a Ginger Beer Mocktail, Peach Syrup, or add a few slices to a Homemade Blackberry Crisp. Peaches and blackberries are such an amazing pairing!
Supplies I used in this recipe:
Here’s how to make Homemade Peach Ice Cream
*I’m going to walk you through the process here with photos, and you’ll also find a detailed and printable recipe card at the bottom of the post. That is where you’ll find ingredient measurements.
First up, we need to peel the peaches! Cut your peaches in half (if your peaches aren’t freestone, check out this post how to cut a peach for an easy hack to cut cling peaches) and place them in a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the peaches and put them in a bowl of ice water. After a minute, snag a peach and peel the skin back. If your peaches are ripe, they should peel super easily. You can get more details in our post on How to Peel Peaches.
Roughly chop the peaches and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar, stir, and allow them to sit for 20-30 minutes. This brings out the natural juices and sweetness of the peaches.
Blend the peaches and their juices using an immersion blender or food processor to create a peach puree. Set aside and leave at room temperature.
Combine cream, milk, salt, sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat once the sugar has dissolved.
Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl, and whisk well with a fork. Add the hot milk/cream mixture 1/3 cup at a time (x3 – 1 cup total) to the eggs, whisking while you combine. This is called tempering and it allows the eggs to heat up without scrambling them.
Whisk the egg mixture into the rest of the milk, and return the pan to the stove. Cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Remove the ice cream base from the heat and add the peach puree to the pan. Transfer it to the fridge for 3-6 hours or until completely cooled. Pro tip: if you need to speed up this process, put the bowl in the freezer and stir every 30 minutes.
Add the cooled ice cream base to your ice cream maker of choice, churning until it has reached your preferred level of “doneness” (~20-30 minutes).
Transfer the ice cream to an air-tighter container, pressing a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the ice cream, ensuring it makes contact with the ice cream. Freeze for a few hours for a soft-serve consistency, or overnight for traditional ice cream.
Can I Make Peach Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker?
No ice cream machine? Freeze and stir the base every hour until frozen and creamy. For more details, check out this post from David Lebovitz on how to make ice cream without a machine.
PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES:
- Make sure you are using room-temperature eggs.
- Want to use frozen peaches? Defrost fully and set aside the liquid that is produced. Add sparkling water to it and have a refreshing summer spritzer.
- Using peaches that may not be as juicy as you’d like? Add 1/3 cup of peach freezer jam to punch up the flavor
- The ice cream will be a soft-serve texture when you’re initially done churning it. Eat it right then if you can’t wait (who can?), or freeze for a few hours until solid.
- Use plastic wrap or waxed paper to make contact with the surface of the ice cream. Then cover it with a lid to prevent homemade ice cream from getting icy.
Homemade Peach Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 peaches {peeled and chopped}
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 5 egg yolks {room temperature}
Instructions
- Roughly chop the peaches and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar, stir, and allow them to sit for 20-30 minutes.3 peaches, 1/2 cup sugar
- Blend the peaches and their juices using an immersion blender or food processor to create a peach puree. Set aside and keep at room temperature.
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the heavy cream, milk, kosher salt, vanilla extract, and sugar. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat.1.5 cups heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 cup sugar
- Take 1/3 cup of the sugar/milk mixture, and slowly dribble the hot mixture into the egg, whisking very quickly the whole time. Repeat 1/3 cup at a time, 2 more times until 1 cup total of the ice cream base has been combined with the eggs.
- Whisk the egg mixture into the rest of the milk, and return the pan to the stove. Cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove the ice cream base from the heat and add the peach puree to the pan. Transfer it to the fridge for 3-6 hours or until completely cooled.5 egg yolks
- Add the fully-cooled ice cream base to your ice cream maker of choice, churning until it has reached your preferred level of “doneness” (~20-30 minutes).
- Transfer the ice cream to an air-tighter container, pressing a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the ice cream, ensuring it makes contact with the ice cream.
- Freeze for a few hours for a soft-serve consistency, or overnight for traditional ice cream.
Notes
- Depending on the size of your peaches, you should yield ~2 cups of peach puree.
- Make sure you are using room-temperature eggs.
- Want to use frozen peaches? Defrost fully and drain the liquid that is produced.
- If you don’t have an ice cream maker, place the batter in a freezer-proof container. Put it in the freezer and give it a stir once every hour until the texture meets your liking.
- Recipe produces 4 cups of ice cream, which is 2 pints.
This recipe was updated on June 14th after extensive testing. I worked really hard to make it even better and I think it’s far superior to the old recipe. That being said, if you prefer the old recipe, the ingredient measurements are as follows:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/6 tsp kosher salt
- 6 peaches
- 1/2 cup sugar
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To add a bit of decadency to the recipe I made two addition to the peach puree.
1 tbsp of Cointreau Liquor, 1 tsp of Rose Sweeten Lime Juice. Followed the rest of the recipe as instructed. Turned out great. Had no issues freezing because wasn’t enough alcohol to keep from freezing.
Herschel, that sounds delicious! My inlaws love the flavor of Cointreau; I’ll have to try this for them sometime.
Hi! I’ve been dabbling in making homemade ice cream, but haven’t let any fruit purée soak in the base because I’ve been afraid the cream would curdle. Does that not happen? Also, do the peach chunks get icy in the finished product?
The peach chunks DO get hard in the finished product. As someone with sensitive teeth, I avoid those bits. 🙂
The cream doesn’t curdle unless you combine it when it’s very hot and the peaches are very cold. (Hot) cream tends to curdle when it reacts with cold items. That’s why I always prewarm it when adding to soups, mashed potatoes, etc.
That makes sense. Thanks! Do you think I could puree all the peaches (including the 1/3 cup you’d otherwise set aside for chunks), or would that be too much?
You absolutely could puree them all!
What size ice cream freezer do you use for this recipe? I am getting a 6 qt and want to make a freezer-full. Thank you!
I had to go look it up but it appears mine can produce 2 quarts at once (aka a half-gallon).
Making this after patiently waiting for several days until I had time to enjoy the process🙂. Two things:
I made my own plumped vanilla beans by placing the bottoms in bourbon. Hoping it won’t be a problem to use. Second, I was concerned that the blanched-ish peach chunks may brown prior to being added to the ice cream maker tomorrow. Have you ever added lemon juice or cut lemons to boiling water??? Would that work or should I add to actual chucks. Or just wait and prepare just prior to adding?
Love your ‘just good friends talking food in the kitchen’ tone! Fingers crossed….cause life without ice cream would be a sad existence indeed!
Hi Becki, I haven’t added citrus to the water because the blanching and sugar acts as the “preserving” agent.
Can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you! The vanilla beans sound tasty.
I had an abundance of ripe peaches and made several batches of this ice cream. It is absolutely delicious as soon as it comes out of the ice cream maker. However, after it’s spent a few hours in the freezer it becomes rock hard and darn near impossible to scoop—even after allowing it to thaw for half an hour.
Hi Dana, sadly, homemade ice cream doesn’t have the stabilizers to keep it soft like storebought.
But it should not be rock solid even after being out of the freezer for 30 minutes. A few things to check: did you use heavy cream and whole milk, or something with a lower fat content? The fat helps keep things a bit softer. Did you adjust the sugar? Heavy cream percentages can vary from country to country. Look for something with the highest milkfat possible.
The family loved this peach ice cream recipe!!
So happy to hear that Samantha! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂