Prep time: 1 day 3 hrs Cook time: 0 min Rest time: 1-2 hrs Total time: 1 day 5 hrs
Macronutrients per batch: 50g fat | 36g protein | 225g carbohydrates
Makes: 6 cups
Make it Carnivore, Sugar-Free, Keto, Zero Carb: Do not include the dates or vanilla (the result will taste identical to milk)
With just four simple whole ingredients, this raw milk ice cream is nutrient-dense, decadent, and is naturally sweetened with dates.
What you need to make Raw Milk Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- Raw milk (ASHLEY20 for 20% off)
- Pitted dates (or honey, maple syrup, or date syrup); Note: to date, I have tried honey, blended dates, maple syrup, and date syrup to sweeten this ice cream. Date syrup wins by a landslide!
- Vanilla bean
- Vanilla extract (optional, but highly recommended for flavor)
- Sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off)
Equipment:
- Ice cream maker
- Storage container for ice cream (this is the one I used; here is another idea)
- Blender
Substitutions
Pasteurized milk/cream will work in place of raw milk/cream.
You can substitute the dates for honey, although I do highly recommend dates with this recipe due to its maple syrup-y flavor. Any type of date will work. I used Medjool. If you don’t have a vanilla bean, you can double the vanilla extract.
How to make Raw Milk Ice Cream
Prep work: 24 hours prior.
To prep the raw milk (ASHLEY20 for 20% off), leave it sitting (preferably a fresh, unopened container of raw milk) in your fridge for 24 hours prior to making the ice cream. The goal is to get the cream to accumulate at the top of the container, so when you pour out your 4 cups, it’s mostly cream. There is a photo of this in the “Tips to make the best…” section above. And don’t fret – some cream stays behind, so this method won’t ruin the taste or texture of the remaining milk.
Don’t forget to freeze your ice cream maker bowl 24 hours in advance as well.
Prep work: 2 hours prior.
Soak the pitted dates for 1-2 hours in a bowl with water.
Note: skip this step if you are using honey, date syrup, or maple syrup instead of the dates.
Note: to date, I have tried honey, blended dates, maple syrup, and date syrup to sweeten this ice cream. Date syrup wins by a landslide!
Make the ice cream batter.
Drain the soaked pitted dates and place them in your blender along with the sea salt.
Pour the raw milk (remember, don’t shake it!) into the blender.
Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the blender, and add the vanilla extract.
Note: if you do not have a vanilla bean, use 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
Blend the batter until it’s mostly smooth. Some chunks are okay if you prefer them. They end up as chunks in the ice cream!
Make the ice cream.
Remove your ice cream maker bowl from your freezer, set up your ice cream maker, and turn it on so it begins to churn.
Pour the ice cream batter into the machine. It should fill up to the brim. I placed about 95% of my batter in (it filled almost to the top), and I let it churn and thicken a bit before adding the rest. You may get a little overflow. This is fine.
Let the ice cream maker run for 20 minutes (or longer if you prefer your ice cream thicker).
Eat your ice cream!
Note: If you eat the ice cream right after it’s finished churning, it will have a texture of soft serve. My husband loved it like this! If you store it in the freezer for 1-2 hours, it has a wonderful creamy texture (similar to standard ice cream). If you store it for longer, you may have to thaw it out a bit before scooping it.
Store it in the freezer as you would regular ice cream.
Serving hack: after you scoop some ice cream into a bowl to eat, salt the top with a generous amount of sea salt. My husband pioneered this and it was a game-changer. It brings out a warm caramel flavor and is so delicious. Enjoy!
Tips to make the best Raw Milk Ice Cream
- To date, I have tried honey, blended dates, maple syrup, and date syrup to sweeten this ice cream. Date syrup wins by a landslide!
- To prep the raw milk, leave it sitting (preferably a fresh, unopened container of raw milk) in your fridge for 24 hours prior to making the ice cream. The goal is to get the cream to accumulate at the top of the container, so when you pour out your 4 cups, it’s mostly cream. There is a photo to demonstrate this below. And don’t fret – some cream stays behind, so this method won’t ruin the taste or texture of the remaining milk.
- Don’t forget to freeze your ice cream maker bowl 24 hours in advance.
- When you add the ice cream batter to the ice cream machine, it should fill up to the brim. I placed about 95% of my batter in (it filled almost to the top), and I let it churn and thicken a bit before adding the rest. You may get a little overflow. This is fine.
- If you eat the ice cream right after it’s finished churning, it will have a texture of soft serve. My husband loved it like this! If you store it in the freezer for 1-2 hours, it has a wonderful creamy texture (similar to standard ice cream). If you store it for longer, you may have to thaw it out a bit before scooping it.
- Serving hack: after you scoop some ice cream into a bowl to eat, salt the top with a generous amount of sea salt. My husband pioneered this and it was a game-changer. It brings out a warm caramel flavor and is so delicious.
A few of my other favorite sweet eats:
Jumbo Chocolate Cups with Salted Chunky Date Filling
Flourless Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Raw Milk Ice Cream
Raw Milk Ice Cream
Equipment
- Storage container for ice cream
Ingredients
- 4 cups raw milk*
- 1 cup pitted dates (or 1/2 cup raw honey, maple syrup, or date syrup)...I recommend date syrup!***
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract (optional, but recommended for flavor)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off)
Instructions
- If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).
- Note: If you liked this ice cream recipe, click here for more animal-based ice cream recipes.
Prep work: 24 hours prior.
- *To prep the raw milk (ASHLEY20 for 20% off), leave it sitting (preferably a fresh, unopened container of raw milk) in your fridge for 24 hours prior to making the ice cream. The goal is to get the cream to accumulate at the top of the container, so when you pour out your 4 cups, it's mostly cream. There is a photo of this in the "Tips to make the best..." section above. And don't fret - some cream stays behind, so this method won't ruin the taste or texture of the remaining milk.
- Note: I created this recipe when I did not have access to raw cream. I do now though and prefer to use it for convenience. If you have access to raw cream and want to use that instead of following this method, I recommend a 3:1 milk to cream ratio (you can always adjust this up or down to your liking). Cream is very thick/dense. I've tried this recipe with 100% cream and could only eat very small portions at a time due to how heavy the result turned out to be.
- Don't forget to freeze your ice cream maker bowl 24 hours in advance as well.
Prep work: 2 hours prior.
- Soak the pitted dates for 1-2 hours in a bowl with water.
- Note: skip this step if you are using honey, date syrup, or maple syrup instead of the dates.
- ***Note: to date, I have tried honey, blended dates, maple syrup, and date syrup to sweeten this ice cream. Date syrup wins by a landslide!
Make the ice cream batter.
- Drain the soaked pitted dates and place them in your blender along with the sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off).
- Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!
- Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the blender, and add the vanilla extract.
- **Note: if you do not have a vanilla bean, use 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
- Blend the batter until it's mostly smooth. Some chunks are okay if you prefer them. They end up as chunks in the ice cream!
Make the ice cream.
- Remove your ice cream maker bowl from your freezer, set up your ice cream maker, and turn it on so it begins to churn.
- Pour the ice cream batter into the machine. It should fill up to the brim. I placed about 95% of my batter in (it filled almost to the top), and I let it churn and thicken a bit before adding the rest. You may get a little overflow. This is fine.
- Let the ice cream maker run for 20 minutes (or longer if you prefer your ice cream thicker).
Eat your ice cream!
- Note: If you eat the ice cream right after it's finished churning, it will have a texture of soft serve. My husband loved it like this! If you store it in the freezer for 1-2 hours, it has a wonderful creamy texture (similar to standard ice cream). If you store it for longer, you may have to thaw it out a bit before scooping it.
- Serving hack: after you scoop some ice cream into a bowl to eat, salt the top with a generous amount of sea salt. My husband pioneered this and it was a game-changer. It brings out a warm caramel flavor and is so delicious. Enjoy!
Notes
What I used for this recipe:
A few of my other favorite sweet eats:
Jumbo Chocolate Cups with Salted Chunky Date Filling
Flourless Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting me!
Ashley Rothstein develops tasty, whole food, animal-based recipes that include a moderate amount of “minimally toxic” plant foods. To fix her own health issues, she bounced around between the carnivore, keto, and paleo diets for a few years. After experiencing and studying each diet philosophy, she learned she feels her best by merging the three and following an animal-based diet. As a glut at heart, she likes to channel her creativity and create meals that are healthy but also satisfy her inner gluttonous spirits.
I have young kids and been afraid to start raw milk so we drink a2 milk. Would that work in this recipe?
Author
It should, assuming the cream separates. I’ve just never completed the process with pasteurized milk, so I don’t know for sure.
My new go-to ice cream recipe!!
Thank you!! I’ve been looking for a recipe that uses raw milk instead of 3:1 cream to milk because I only have access to the cream in my milk <3