Pralines and Cream Ice Cream (sometimes confused with Butter Pecan Ice Cream) was a favorite of my grandmothers. The sweet, candy coated pecans make a delicious buttery crunch in rich vanilla ice cream.
I love homemade ice cream but I used to feel it was too much hassle by far. Besides, my kitchen cabinets are exploding with equipment and tools. There is no room for a giant ice cream maker which is going to get used less than once a month. Ok, less than three times a year?
The Beauty of No Churn Ice Cream
The No-Churn ice cream trend is a wonderful answer to this situation and the reason I whip up homemade ice cream from scratch all the time now. You really can’t beat the “wow” factor of presenting somebody with a perfectly churned scoop of your homemade best and explaining you don’t own a machine.
The best part of all is I know what went into the food. I chose the ingredients. I got to add whatever I wanted to flavoring and I know it is going to be creamy because I added actual cream – not milk and a seaweed thickener.
Making Pralines and Cream No Churn Ice Cream
Unlike other no-churn ice creams, this version of Pralines and Cream Ice Cream will take you almost 20 minutes to get into the freezer because you are going to make the pralines from scratch. It is easy – you just stir the candy for a few minutes on the stove before making the base. My only problem is not eating all the pralines before I add them to the ice cream!
The Best Easy Homemade Sauces for Ice Cream
More No Churn Ice Cream Recipes
No-Churn Pralines and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients
To Make Pralines
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup pecans chopped
To Make Ice Cream
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream (40% fat preferred)
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14oz
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Lay a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board and set aside.
- Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, 1/4 cup cream and butter in a heavy bottom pan or skillet with a wide bottom (10"-12" is best) over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring with a long handled wooden spoon. The sauce will be thick, bubbly, and smell like caramel.
- Stir pecans in with a wooden spoon and remove from heat. Stir an additional 20-40 seconds until candy starts to firm up into clumps.
- Quickly spared on parchment paper to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk combine 2 1/2 cups cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt. Whip on high for 2 minutes until the mixture is thick and the beater is leaving a ribbon pattern in the ice cream.
- Crumble the praline candy into the cream mixture and turn the mixer on low to stir it in.
- Pour ice cream into your favorite freezer container and freeze until solid. I fill two bread pans about half full and it takes 6 hours. The more shallow the container, the faster the ice cream will freeze.
- Serve with salted caramel sauce or hot fudge sauce as desired.
Helpful Recipe Notes
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. - Mirlandra
Nutrition Estimate
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
Gina says
Definitely a favorite – I can’t wait to try this!
Mirlandra says
Thanks. It always goes fast around here!
The Better Baker says
Sounds fabulous! This is my favorite ice cream ever and now I can make it myself? WOWZERS! Thanks for sharing with us at Weekend Potluck. Enjoy a wonderful weekend.
Mirlandra says
When I discovered how easy it is to make really great ice cream at home I pretty much had my mind blown. It is so wonderful to be able to make high quality versions of all my favorites!
Sharon Hunt says
Do u have a no churn ice cream recipe for strawberry? I tried the pralines and cream and it won the ice cream contest at our church! I would like to try strawberry for next year.thank you Sharon H.
Mirlandra says
Oh congratulations, Sharon! That is lovely! I don’t have one at this time but I wish I did. Hmmm – maybe something I should be working on. And seriously I need to tell our church that they are lacking in the ice cream contest department! Cause that just sounds like a good time!!!
Kitty says
This looks so awesome!!!
Mirlandra says
Thanks!
Yajaira says
Making this for my husband for Father’s Day- it’s freezing as we speak. Yum!
Mirlandra says
Sounds heavenly! I hope Dad enjoyed it! Thanks for saying hi 🙂
Leah says
WOW!!! This ice cream is incredible!! I can’t believe I can make ice cream this good AND it’s so easy to make! The hardest parts were not eating all the praline pieces, waiting for it to freeze (I kept sneaking bites even before it was freezing), and now I’m trying to pace myself and not eat it all in one sitting! Haha!
Mirlandra says
Hi Leah – Thank you so much for stopping by! Your comment made my day 🙂 It is really such a wonderful treat – hard to believe how easy it is to make great ice cream at home! I have the same issue with the praline pieces!!! Glad you got to enjoy!
cathy says
hi, the caramel crystalized , do you have any solutions for this? thanks!
Mirlandra says
Hi Cathy,
I think you might have exactly the right outcome! The candy you are making on the pecans is called praline and it will be a more soft crunchy candy instead of a smooth caramel. It will smell like caramel but be crystallized and crunchy. Taste it. It should melt in your mouth with a lovely soft crunch. Does that sound about right? I hope that helps – I know making a recipe for the first time can feel a little confusing. Last night I made somebody’s recipe for Chicken Gloria and almost destroyed the entire thing just because the recipe was new. All turned out well in the end and it was an amazing dinner but for about 20 minutes in the middle I thought everything might be a disaster 🙂 Keep me posted on your final results!