Made without an ice cream maker, all you need are mangoes, condensed milk and cream to make this homemade Mango Ice Cream recipe that is creamy and scoopable, just like the ice cream you buy in tubs at the shops. Except this is ice cream money can’t buy. Because shop bought will never be able to capture the flavour of real mango like when you make it from scratch at home!
Homemade Mango Ice Cream
You won’t believe it until you try it. This really is a creamy ice cream made without an ice cream machine.
Regular readers know one of my big gripes is pretty photos of food for so so recipes. And my other gripe is watching cooking shows where the host is serenely scooping a perfect ball of ice cream and popping it in a cone when in actual fact, it’s a frozen solid mass, and if you leave it out to soften, it just turns into a puddle of liquid. I’ve been caught out so many times!
Such is the case with any recipe made with just milk, cream or yoghurt + sugar/honey. If you take it out of the freezer after 5 hours 17 minutes and 43 seconds, there is the chance that it will have frozen to that perfect stage where it is firm enough yet still scoopable. If you miss that window of opportunity by a mere second (or heaven forbid, you don’t eat it all in one sitting), it will be a frozen solid block of ice. Leave it out to soften, and, just like ice, it goes from frozen to melted.
So this homemade Mango Ice Cream recipe is dedicated to all of you who, like me, have been disappointed by efforts to make a homemade ice cream in the past. That is, without an ice cream maker! ?
A traditional ice cream starts with a sweetened mixture of cream and eggs which is then poured into an ice cream machine which churns as the ice cream gradually freezes. The churning serves two purposes: it aerates the mixture to make it light and fluffy and it stops icicles from forming so the ice cream is creamy rather than icy.
And all of this is replaced with two simple ingredients: condensed milk and cream. The whipped cream aerates the mixture and the condensed milk is the ingredient that keeps the mixture creamy, like ice cream. I must profess I don’t know the science behind why this works, I just know it does!
Whip the cream, fold through the condensed milk, add a touch of vanilla, freeze it and voila! 12 hours later, you will have an ice cream that looks like it’s store bought. Go wild with the add ins! Chocolate chips, coffee, spices, rum and raisin!
For this version, I added MANGOES!
FOR THE FOOD NERDS ?
The recipe base of condensed milk and whipped cream lends itself to flavour variations that can be stirred through (like choc chips) or infused into the cream (like spices). However, if you start adding liquid content into the mixture – like fruit purees – the addition of water based ingredients affects the creaminess of the ice cream.
Originally, I just plonked pureed mangoes into the mixture. It didn’t make the whole ice cream icy, it was still scoopable and creamy, but when I ate it, there was definitely teeny tiny bits of fine icy bits in the ice cream.
So to solve that problem, I reduced the mango puree by simmering it on the stove. The added bonus of this was that I could use more mango puree and thus get a more intense mango flavour in the puree, while avoiding those teeny tiny icicles in the ice cream.
Finally. After quite a number of batches, I was finally happy with my homemade Mango Ice Cream. Not that I was short of taste testers, even for the initial experimental versions!
And how does it compare to store bought tubs of ice cream?
Well, here’s the clincher: this mango ice cream is something you simply can’t buy at the shops. This has the real flavour of mango, not a single bit of artificial flavouring in sight. It’s really incredible. For mango lovers everything, this is your mango dream come true!
In terms of texture, this ice cream is creamier than ice cream made in an ice cream churner / store bought. You can see this in the photo above – you see how thick the drips are? If this was traditional ice cream, the drips would be thinner.
The ice cream really is scoopable, like real ice cream. Between about 12 – 18 hours of freezing, it only needs a couple of minutes out of the freezer to be easily scoopable, like what you see in the video. After about 24 hours, it freezes firmer but the key thing is that after 5 minutes or so on the counter, it softens to become scoopable without melting into liquid which is the problem with no churn ice cream recipes made without condensed milk.
I’d love to know what you think if you try it! – Nagi x
More Mango recipes
We can never have enough during mango season!!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Homemade Mango Ice Cream recipe video! Two areas to note: The stiffness of the cream (it’s not softly whipped, it’s stiff peaks) and how thick the mango puree is when cooked down (see how when I drag the wooden spoon across the skillet, it leaves a clear path through the mango puree). Oh! And of course, notice how the ice cream is truly scoopable like real store bought tubs of ice cream!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Homemade Mango Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large mangoes , ripe and juicy – to make 2 cups puree (Note 1)
- 395 g / 14 oz sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
- 2 cups thickened cream / heavy cream / whipping cream , cold
- 1/8 tsp yellow liquid food colouring (optional) (Note 5)
Instructions
- Dice the flesh of the mango (see video for how I do it). Puree using a blender, food processor or stick blender then measure out 2 cups of mango puree (about 2 1/4 cups of diced mango).
- Pour puree into a non stick skillet over medium low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 8 – 10 minutes or until it reduces by half. The test is when you can drag a wooden spoon across the skillet and the path remains there for a second (see video). Or measure out the puree to ensure it’s reduced to at least 1 cup – less is even better!
- Cool puree.
Ice Cream
- Combine cooled mango and condensed milk in a bowl. Add food colouring if using. Whisk until combined.
- Beat cream with a hand held beater or stand mixer until stiff peaks form (see video).
- Take a scoop of cream and put it in the mango mixture. Fold through until mostly combined – lumps is fine (this is just to lighten it up a bit).
- Then pour the mango mixture into the cream. Fold through (see video) rather than mixing vigorously like you would cake batter, until lump free. This will take a few minutes.
- Pour into a container (preferably with a lid). I recommend glass, if you can, or other non reactive container.
- Place a piece of baking / parchment paper on the surface. Then place lid on or using cling wrap.
- Freeze for 12+ hours.
- Remove parchment paper. Stand for 5 minutes to soften slightly, then scoop and serve!
- If frozen for 24 hours or longer, it will need a couple of extra minutes to soften to a scoop able consistency.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Me – currently skiing in Japan. Him – seems to be doing just fine without me….
So easy to make, and so delicious. Thank you so much!!
Hi Nagi, can I use all these ingredients in my ice cream maker? Thanks, PCS
Sure can! N x
Wow..the flavor is amazing.My family loves it.This one is a winner.I am gonna try the strswberry weekend.
Did you cook the strawberries like the mangoes?
Hi Empress – the recipe is here: https://promotown.info/strawberry-ice-cream-no-churn/%3C/a%3E N x
My daughter made this yesterday for tonight’s dinner but we couldn’t wait to try it. It’s the real deal! No artificial flavors or food dyes and sooooo creamy; yum! Surprisingly, the yellowness we got is a beautiful yellow; not pale and not fake-looking either. Thanks for sharing! I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Will it work if I use less condense milk in the recipe? It tasted a bit too sweet if I followed the same recipe
Hi Ka, yes you can reduce the amount slightly with the same results. N x
Hi there,
I live in Scotland and would like to know what the equivalent cup size is in millilitres.
Thank you
Hi Joyce, I use a 250ml cup 🙂 N x
Thank you for replying. I made both the strawberry and mango ice creams and am looking forward to trying them tonight.
Can you use frozen mangoes for this recipe?
Sure can D W! N x
I made mango icecream using this recipe on the weekend and it was fabulous. I skipped the simmering as my mangoes were extremely ripe, almost a puree consistency, and I barely scraped 1 cup. 12 hours later, the end product has very potent mango flavour, creamy and tastes nice. I will make the base and separate it to try other flavourings: maybe rum; chocolate; peppermint
I made this ice cream using pureed frozen strawberries; they are ripe and very sweet! It was great! Next I’m going to try it with ripe peaches from my tree. I plan to puree and reduce the peaches just like the recipe says to do with the mangos.
Det är jätte got
Thank you
Perfect taste and texture
Brilliant tip to cook the mango pulp. First time I didn’t and got tiny ice crystals. This time I cooked the pulp, result is creamy creamy intense mango flavoured icecream! Thank you! <3 🙂
love your mang ice cream and hot cross buns recipes
WOW!! Absolute creamy deliciousness. I made it exactly how the recipe called for. It is amazing. It made more than I expected, so I devided it in two containers and added little pieces of frozen mango to one. Next time I will try 2 flavors.
Hi Barbara, thanks so much!! ❤️
Can I use Hershey’s syrup instead, If so much do I need?
I have tried your cinnamon roll and cross buns recipe and both came out perfect. Thank you!
Hi Sherry, Hershey’s syrup in place of which ingredient?? N x
😁
I made it the other night for my kids and put blue food colouring in it. It was a real hit even though I said it was going to be bubblegum flavoured
Hi nagi I found this recipe quite late. I did not summer the purée. Now my ice cream is watery. I freezed it overnight as well.
Do you think it will fix if I beat up 1/2 cup of whipped cream and add to the mixture again and beat it.. thanks a lot
Hi Nagi,
The whipping cream is sweet.
Is that ok since the condensed milk is also sweet or else will it be over sweet?
Thanks
Hi Mayanka, the cream used here shouldn’t be sweetened – just plain cream. N x
What can I substitute for condensed milk?
Hi Dominika, this recipe needs the condensed milk unfortunately – N x
It turned out better than expected Very delicious 😋