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Easy, Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag Recipe

August 8, 2013 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 11 Comments

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Simple and Delicious Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag Recipe

This Is The Easiest Way To Make Ice Cream at Home and it’s a Fun Time for the Whole Family

It’s just takes a few ingredients, and a whole lotta shaking to make this easy, homemade ice cream in a bag.

And hey – if your homemade ice cream in a bag making party turns into a dance party – well, FUNNNNN! 

How To Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

My kids have been seeing television commercials for an ice cream maker that shows kids making their own ice cream in 15 minutes and it does look fun (and tasty!). 

Problem being – these ice cream makers are not cheap, and I knew there had to be a better way to make this with my kids.

SO…

We figured out how to make our own ice cream using zipper-style plastic baggies that we already have in the house. Only thing I needed to buy was ice cream salt/rock salt!

How To Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

How to Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

All you need are a few simple ingredients to make yummy vanilla homemade ice cream in a bag, but you could add other ingredients like strawberries, bananas or cocoa.

My kids enjoyed adding sprinkles and chocolate syrup to the top of their creations.

This was such a great way to keep the kids entertained (and cool!) on a hot day, plus they got some exercise without even realizing it. Shake, shake, shake! 

And you can turn it into a fun science lesson too.

We hope you’ll enjoy this fun family dessert making experience as much as we did!

Easy Ziploc Bag Ice Cream
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Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag Recipe

This is a fun dessert making experience for the entire family - just a few ingredients and some shaking and you have yourself a few bowls of homemade ice cream in a bag.
Prep Time5 minutes minutes
Cook Time15 minutes minutes
Servings - 2 servings

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup whole milk or half and half
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp white sugar
  • 6 Tbsp rock salt
  • 1 pint or quart size zip style freezer bag
  • 1 gallon size zip style freezer bag
  • ice
  • Toppings of your choice!

Instructions

  • Mix vanilla, milk and sugar in a quart or pint size freezer bag and seal well.
  • Fill a gallon size freezer bag with ice and add the rock salt.
  • Place the small bag inside the large bag and seal well.
  • Shake the bag for about 15 minutes or until the ice cream thickens. Hold the bag with oven mitts or a towel while shaking. And don't be afraid to have a little dance party while you're shaking.
  • Remove the inner bag from the ice/rock salt, and scoop the ice cream into serving bowls and add the toppings of your choice!

How To Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

How To Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

How To Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

308 shares
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Filed Under: Budget Friendly Recipes, Dessert Recipes

Comments

  1. Gail says

    August 8, 2013 at 9:00 pm

    Probably a dumb question but where do you get rock salt? Also, do you think it would work with skim milk? Thanks. This is a great idea!

    Reply
    • Sheneka says

      January 19, 2019 at 6:33 pm

      I just used regular salt. It came out great.

      Reply
    • Tiffany says

      March 2, 2019 at 8:53 pm

      i didn’t work for me :(((((

      Reply
  2. Denise says

    August 8, 2013 at 10:20 pm

    That’s a great question Gail! I got the rock salt, called ice cream salt on the box, in the baking aisle near the regular salt. We made ours with skim milk and you can’t taste any difference, it was fabulous!

    Reply
  3. giselle says

    June 27, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    how do you make ice cream without ice

    Reply
  4. Christi says

    July 22, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    We make it the same way except in metal coffee cans instead of bags. One small can for the ice cream ingredients, placed into a larger can with the ice and salt. The benefit is being able to roll the cans back and forth (we did this outside with a big circle of kids).

    Reply
  5. Carla Franklin says

    May 18, 2019 at 12:11 pm

    How much ice?

    Reply
    • Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says

      May 27, 2019 at 2:24 pm

      A few handfuls, enough to fill the outer bag!

      Reply
  6. CHRISTINA BENDER says

    November 13, 2019 at 9:05 pm

    LOOKING FOR A GOOD FUN NON MESSY IDEA FOR KIDS A BUNCH TO BE MADE TOO.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Stand Back! I'm Going To Try Science - says:
    June 22, 2015 at 11:41 pm

    […] Make ice cream. Tutorial here. […]

    Reply
  2. 40 Creative Indoor Activities for Kids of All Ages » Chicken Scratch Diaries says:
    December 15, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    […] snow ice cream or ice cream in a bag if you don’t have snow […]

    Reply

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