Nutella Ice Cream with and without a Machine

This Nutella Ice Cream is one fantastic summertime treat! No Ice Cream Machine? No Problem! I'll show you three ways to make this ice cream recipe with and without a machine!

Nutella is delicious all on its own, but turn it into ice cream and the results are sublime! Kick the whole experience up another notch with my Homemade Waffle Cone Recipe.

What's The Difference Between Recipes?

Each recipe has its pros and cons. The differences essentially boil down to; density, richness, sweetness and lightness. It's funny how even when using the exact same ingredients, a different texture and flavor can be achieved by using a different method.

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Option#1: No-Churn. No Egg Nutella Ice Cream

This version of Nutella Ice Cream is certainly the easiest! It only takes 5 ingredients and requires just a bowl, a whisk, and a freezer-safe container. Place everything in a bowl and mix! Seriously, that's all there is to it! 

The mixture will look like this. Chocolatey and runny. Like a big batch of chocolate milk. Place it in a freezer-safe container overnight. Use up your leftover Nutella in my Homemade Crepe Recipe or my wonderful Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookie Recipe. And the next day...presto! Nutella Ice Cream. It's super-rich, dense, and full of chocolate hazelnut flavor.

The Bowl and The Whisk Method:

The Pros:

• It couldn't be quicker or easier
• It requires no mixers, machines or gadgets
• It's definitely decadent and delicious

The Cons:

• It's very dense. It doesn't have any of the lightness of traditional ice cream
• Hard to scoop and get your spoon through it
• It's a tad on the sweet side for my taste. Without any aeration, the sweetness cannot be masked
• Probably couldn't eat a whole bowl of it

GRADE: B-

BOTTOM LINE: If you want one step up from a spoonful of Nutella out of the jar and have a craving for ice cream. This is not a bad fix! 

Option#2: The Kitchen Aid Mixer Method

This method uses the same exact ingredients as the first method, but there's one key difference. The heavy cream is whipped first into stiff peaks. This helps the finished ice cream become so much lighter, creamier, and strangely less rich? 

Whipping the Cream

• It's important to whip the cream into stiff peaks before adding the rest of the ingredients.
• Because the sweetened condensed milk and Nutella are very heavy and sticky.
• Without the stiff peaks, if you add the sticky ingredients and try to combine, your mixture will fall and won't achieve the lightness you are after! 

After adding the condensed milk and Nutella just whip until combined. Don't over-mix or your peaks will fall. It's better once they are combined, to remove the bowl and gently fold the mixture to assure all the ingredients are incorporated. 

The mixture will be so much lighter and look like the batter of a Chocolate Souffle or Flourless Chocolate Cake. Then transfer it into a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight. 

The Results?

This Nutella Ice Cream is lighter and fluffier and full of chocolate-hazelnut flavor. You could serve this ice cream at a dinner party. It's totally ready for prime time. This photo below shows how it dresses up for company!

The Kitchen Aid Mixer Method:

The Pros:

• No Ice Cream Machine needed. Just an electric mixer
• Works fine with a hand-mixer too!
• Uses less than 5 ingredients
• Easy to scoop into pretty servings
• You could serve this ice cream to company and they would be WOWed!

The Cons:

• The sweetness cannot be controlled due to the sweetened condensed milk
• As the ice cream melts the sweetness becomes more apparent

GRADE: A-

BOTTOM LINE: If you want a fantastic homemade ice cream recipe without an ice cream machine, this is the ticket! 

Option#3: The Ice Cream Machine

OK, folks, this recipe is by far my favorite! It has it all. The volume, the richness, and the lightness. Yes, it does take a lot more effort and ingredients, but for me, it's well worth the effort! 

This version is an egg-based custard that needs to be cooked first. Instead of using the sweetened condensed milk, it gets its richness from the egg yolks. The benefit is also the fact that you can add your own sugar, which makes it less sweet and allows the Nutella flavor to really steal the show. 

Cooking the Custard

• Because it's an egg-based custard, you must cook the custard in order to bring it up to 165F.
• This is the temperature needed to cook off the bacteria in the eggs.
• Personally, I bring it up to 180F because it will create a thicker custard will then creates a creamier ice cream! 

Be Sure to Strain the Custard

• The other thing that adds to its smooth and creamy texture is straining the base.
• This allows any bits of overcooked egg or chocolate that didn't incorporate to be strained out, leaving behind only the smoothest, by silky base!
• Then once your base is chilled, process it according to your ice cream maker's manufacturer's instructions.

The Machine Method:

The Pros:

• It creates a more sophisticated Nutella ice cream where the flavors, sweetness, and richness is balanced
• What you taste at first, is what you get. It doesn't suddenly turn sweeter on you as it melts

The Cons:

• It's time-consuming
• It takes more ingredients
• You need a machine
• You need to cook it first

GRADE: A+

BOTTOM LINE: If you want a "real-deal Nutella Ice Cream" this is it! But just be prepared to work for it! 

If You Enjoyed These Recipes. Please Leave a Review Below!

I'd love to know Which Method You Like Best?