Get ready to enjoy some of the Best Butter Pecan Ice Cream you’ve ever had. This easy Butter Pecan No Churn Ice Cream recipe is so easy to make that the kids will be asking to make it themselves and it’s so simple, you’ll never run out of ice cream in the freezer anymore.
Enjoy endless scoops of rich, smooth and creamy texture ice cream in a bowl flavored with dazzling sweet sugar and tiny bits of crunchy pecans in every bite.
In case you missed it, we made some bomb Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream in the fall and y’all went crazy for it. We’ve had a Neapolitan ice cream recipe in the works for a while, but are still prepping things to share with you.
But we couldn’t keep this classic Ice Cream Shop flavor, Butter Pecan Ice Cream recipe, from you any longer! You’re going to love it.
If you’re a classic ice cream flavor lover, you have to try this homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream made with safe homemade cookie dough bites- YUM!
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Why You’ll Love Making Homemade Ice Cream
- Cheaper than buying store bought
- Fun way to connect with kids in the kitchen making no churn ice creams
- You know what ingredients (and lack of preservatives, like citric acid, corn syrup, chemical preservatives, etc and artificial ingredients like “natural flavors”) that are or aren’t going into your dessert
- Easy to customize to your liking
- No ice cream machine gadget necessary
- Cross ice cream off your grocery store list
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s all the things you’ll need on your ingredient list. Get more details on the ingredients in the recipe card below.
- salted butter
- pecans – chopped with a food processor
- granulated sugar – will need to divide to use at different times
- heavy cream
- salt – we like using kosher salt better than iodized salt or table salt
- vanilla extract
Tools To Help Make Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream Easier To Make
Food Processor
- Bowl scraper attachment: Special attachment scrapes the sides of the bowl to keep ingredients close to the blades for more even results and to save you time when chopping or pureeing — no need to stop and remove the lid to use a spatula
Saucepan
- GreenPan’s Thermolon healthy ceramic nonstick coating is free of PFAS, PFOA, lead, and cadmium, so it will never release toxic fumes, even if it’s accidentally overheated
Mixing Bowl or Large Bowl
- 3-PIECE: Set includes 1-qt, 1.5-qt, and 2.5-qt round glass bowls. This is the perfect set for all manners of prepping, baking and home entertainment.
Whisk
- 1. Package includes:12 Inch Whisk
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Mason Jars for Storing and Serving
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- 6 PACK MASON JARS 32 OZ WIDE MOUTH: Perfect for canning, pickling, preserving, and fermenting fruits and veggies that can be canned and sealed for up to 18 Months. Embossed measurement markings for precise filling. Label line for writing dates and identifying contents.
Stovetop and Freezer
How To Make The Best Butter Pecan Ice Cream No Churn Recipe
- Toss your pecans into your food processor and pulse a few times to start chopping them up. You may end up with varying sizes, pulse more if you desire.
- In a sauce pan, add four Tablespoons of butter, a quarter cup of sugar and your chopped nuts. Use medium heat and stir everything continuously until the butter and sugar form a crust around the nuts. This creates a brown butter and sugar mixture that brings almost a carmalized flavor to the nuts. Remove nuts from heat and allow to cool.
- Add heavy cream to mixing bowl and whisk until you see soft peaks starting to form. Make sure you don’t over whisk the cream.
- Once you have your soft peaks, add rest of sugar, vanilla, salt and buttered pecans to the bowl and fold together.
- Now, the final step, store ice cream in loaf pan in the freezer or in freezer safe Mason Jars for 6-8 hours, or ideally, overnight. It really brings out all the flavors the next day.
Homemade Ice Cream Variations
Add sauces, spices or chips– drizzle some delicious sauces or syrups on top, caramel, homemade chocolate, butterscotch, etc. Or add in some chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon, peanuts, any tree nuts, etc.
Want more of a custard base– add in egg yolks to this recipe. They’ll also bring out even more creaminess to this recipe. We enjoy the recipe as is though, so this is an optional variation.
Add brown sugar– in addition to or in replace of your granulated white sugar, try either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, which will bring out more of a caramel flavoring to your ice cream recipe. If trying to avoid sugars, try using maple syrup for a healthier sweetener alternative.
Add milk– want more creaminess?? Instead of just heavy cream, go half heavy cream, half whole milk. This will bring even more creamy flavoring to your dessert. You can also trade out your heavy cream for other dairy free substitutes if you’re looking to make a Dairy Free Butter Pecan Ice Cream recipe (you’ll need to swap your regular butter for an allergen-safe alternative as well)
Roast your pecans– before chopping your pecans, roast them to enhance the flavor. Maybe even use candied pecans. And of course, you can swap pecans out for other nut options, or omit them altogether.
Tips & Tricks
- Plan ahead. This butter pecan ice cream recipe does require some time to make and we recommned chilling overnight for the best texture and flavor, so this shouldn’t be your go-to in a hurry dessert idea.
- Use heavy cream– try not to swap this out for other low fat ingredients. Using a high fat heavy cream helps ensure you’ll end up with the best smooth butter pecan ice cream.
- Freeze time– we recommend freezing overnight for optimal ice cream, but if super short on time, you can freeze for 4 hours and then check the consistency of the ice cream and if it’s frozen enough to your desire, you can enjoy it.
- Serving time– Check on your ice cream before you plan to serve it. If it’s too hard to scoop out, let it sit on the counter at room temperature for 15 minutes and check consistency again. NEVER microwave your ice cream.
- Use cold heavy cream– this helps the peaks for easier and gives you a nice finished ice cream texture.
- First time? If this is your first time making homemade ice cream, give yourself grace and extra time to let all the rich flavors meld together. Ensure that you freeze it with plenty of time to get the best creamy flavor and proper ice cream mixture texture.
- Add a layer of extra crushed pecans at the bottom of your jar for even more crunchy texture and amazing taste.
How To Store Homemade Ice Cream?
Just like any other ice cream, store it in a freezer safe container, like your Mason Jars in the freezer.
How Long Is The Best Butter Pecan Ice Cream Good For?
If stored properly in the freezer, this homemade ice cream should stay good for 3-6 months.
Remember that this homemade no churn ice cream does NOT have any additives or preservatives in it, so we recommend trying to consume it within 3 months or so just to be sure. We have had readers who have safely stored it up to 6 months without becoming too freezer burned.
Add this recipe to your FREEZER INVENTORY free printable so you remember you have it on hand and know when you have to enjoy it by!
Other Sweet Treats
Low Carb No Bake Cheesecake | Enjoy a healthier take on this classic sweet treat recipe.
Sugar Cookie Dip | A fun treat to make for kids, parties or just a weeknight special dessert idea.
Love nuts in your desserts? Try these amazing Mini Bite Sized Pecan Pie Tarts.
Best Butter Pecan Ice Cream (Homemade No Churn Recipe)
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Toss your pecans into your food processor and pulse a few times to start chopping them up. You may end up with varying sizes, pulse more if you desire.
- In a sauce pan, add four Tablespoons of butter, a quarter cup of sugar and your chopped nuts. Use medium heat and stir everything continuously until the butter and sugar form a crust around the nuts. This creates a brown butter and sugar mixture that brings almost a carmalized flavor to the nuts. Remove nuts from heat and allow to cool.
- Add heavy cream to mixing bowl and whisk until you see soft peaks starting to form. Make sure you don’t over whisk the cream.
- Once you have your soft peaks, add rest of sugar, vanilla, salt and buttered pecans to the bowl and fold together.
- Now, the final step, store ice cream in loaf pan in the freezer or in freezer safe Mason Jars for 6-8 hours, or ideally, overnight. It really brings out all the flavors the next day.
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