Take advantage of fresh peaches while they are in season. This Old Fashioned Peach Ice Cream captures the perfect peach flavor.
This is a creamy, rich-tasting ice cream with bits of peaches throughout.
Homemade Peach Ice Cream
I've tweaked and tested this recipe over the years to get just the right creamy texture and peachy flavor. Every scoop tastes like a bite of ripe summer peaches. It's a simple recipe that lets the peaches do all the talking, with just a bit of vanilla to bring it all together.
When I was a kid, we always made homemade ice cream. It wasn’t until I had kids of my own and a kitchen full of fresh peaches from our local orchards that I decided to try making peach ice cream. I wanted something that felt like summer in a bowl. This recipe brings together that old-fashioned homemade process with the sweet, bright flavor of ripe peaches.
This peach ice cream captures the warmth of summer with plenty of peach flavor.
Peach Ice Cream Ingredients
- Peaches - Use the very best peaches you can find. I prefer to use yellow freestone peaches. The pit in a freestone peach easily comes out and doesn’t stick to the fruit. When fresh peaches are not in season, you can use frozen peaches. Select chopped frozen peaches and don’t thaw before using.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar is used in this recipe.
- Heavy Cream - Sometimes called whipping cream. Look for a cream that has between 30-36% milk fat
- Egg Yolks - Just the yolks are used in this recipe. The yolks help form the custard that makes this recipe rich and creamy.
- Vanilla - Use real vanilla, not imitation vanilla.
Fresh peaches
I have played around with making perfect peach ice cream for a while, and I've finally nailed it. The secret is all in the fruit and extracting as much peach flavor from the peaches as possible.
My method is to peel and cut up all the peaches into small cubes. Then put them into a bowl with a bit of sugar and let them sit and macerate. The sugar helped release a lot of the juices from the peaches. This peach liquid is added to the custard mixture, which brings a beautiful peach flavor.
Once the peaches have released a lot of their juices, I pop them into a food processor and pulse just 3-4 times. This is just enough to break down the peaches a bit more, but still leaves a few pieces.
Just look at all that liquid! That's liquid gold! It's nothing but the juices from fresh peaches and a bit of sugar. So much yummy flavor and all that liquid, and the peaches go into the ice cream.
Frozen peaches
For years, I have only made this with fresh peaches, and they really do make the best peach ice cream. If you have fresh peaches available, use them. However, there are times of the year when fresh peaches aren't available, and you just have to have some peach ice cream. I have discovered that you can use frozen peaches. Make certain you buy unsweetened peaches. You just want the peaches and not any sweeteners or anything else added.
Allow the peaches to thaw and cut them up into small cubes. Add the sugar and let the peaches rest for a few hours. I find you don't extract as much juice from the peaches as you do when you use fresh ones, but it still works. Now we can have peach ice cream all year long!
Ice cream maker
I used an electric automatic ice cream maker to churn this ice cream. Any type of ice cream maker will work fine, just make certain your bowl will hold 1 ½ quarts of churned ice cream. Feel free to use a hand-churned maker too!
How to Make Peach Ice Cream
This delicious homemade ice cream starts by making a custard. This isn't difficult, but you do need to follow a few steps so your custard turns out. The entire recipe with ingredients is listed at the bottom of this post.
- Heat cream, milk, sugar, and salt over medium heat
- In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until they are smooth and lightened in color. This can be done with a wire whisk or an electric beater
3. Once the cream mixture is hot, but not boiling. Turn off heat and remove ½ cup of liquid.
4. Slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. This helps temper the egg yolks so they don't cook or curdle when adding to the hot cream mixture
5. Add egg mixture into pot with the remaining cream. Pour in slowly while whisking
6. Turn heat back on to medium heat until mixture begins to thicken and mixture reaches 185 degrees
7. Remove from heat and pour through a fine strainer to remove any bits from the egg
8. Add peaches and juices
9. Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 4 hours
Peach Ice Cream Recipe Tips
- Use the best fresh peaches you can find, or if not available, use frozen peaches
- Make certain your custard is fully chilled (at least 4 hours) before churning
- Your churning bowl should be completely frozen before churning (at least 12 hours)
- Harden ice cream in the freezer after churning for at least 2 hours
- If ice cream becomes too hard, just let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping
- Not sure how to separate eggs? Check out this post on how to separate eggs!
Storing Homemade Peach Ice Cream
To store homemade ice cream, place it in an airtight container to prevent ice crystals from forming and maintain its creamy texture. Store the container in the coldest part of your freezer, typically the back, to avoid temperature fluctuations. Homemade ice cream is best eaten within a month. The ice cream will last longer, but you may see some slight changes in quality.
Homemade ice cream tends to become harder in the freezer than store-bought varieties. To make it easier to serve, remove it from the freezer for 5-10 minutes before scooping.
Peaches and Cream Ice Cream FAQs
Ice cream is churned for two main reasons. The first is to help incorporate air into the mixture, which helps make a light texture. The second is to stop large ice crystals from forming. The churning keeps everything moving and helps create the smooth texture.
The ice cream maker will churn and freeze the ice cream for you. However, it will still be very soft.
Once the churning has stopped, remove your ice cream from the bowl and place it in a freezer-safe container. Immediately place in the freezer for at least 2 hours. If you have a deep freeze (0 degrees or lower) place your ice cream there. Otherwise, plan on additional time for your ice cream to harden.
More delicious frozen treats
More recipes using peaches
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Please check out all my delicious desserts!
Old Fashioned Peach Ice Cream
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Peaches
- 3 medium sized fresh peaches (peeled, pitted and chopped - approximately 2 cups)
- ¼ cup sugar
Custard
- 2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Peaches
- Place chopped peaches in a bowl. Add ¼ cup sugar and stir. Cover and let sit for at least 1 hour.3 medium sized fresh peaches, ¼ cup sugar
- Once peaches have released a lot of juice, place peaches and juice in a food processor. Pulse 3-4 times just until peaches are broken up into small pieces.
Custard
- In a saucepan, heat cream cream, milk and ¾ cup sugar and salt. Warm over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar has dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes.2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream, 1 cup milk, ¾ cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with a wire whisk or an electric mixer. Egg yolks should become smooth and slightly lighter in color (see pictures in post)4 egg yolks
- Take ½ cup of heated cream mixture and pour slowly into egg yolks. Whisk steadily while pouring in mixture.
- Pour egg mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Reheat over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes stirring often. You do not want this mixture to boil. Mixture will begin to thicken just slightly. You want it to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. An instant read thermometer should read 175-185 F.
- Place a fine sieve over the top of a bowl. Pour custard mixture into strainer to strain off any small bits of egg or lumps.
- Stir in vanilla and peaches with juices1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Cover and refrigerate until completely cooled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Place custard into an automatic ice cream maker and churn for 20-25 minutes
- Remove ice cream and place in freezer for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- Use the best fresh peaches you can find, or if not available, use frozen peaches
- Make certain your custard is fully chilled (at least 4 hours) before churning
- Your churning bowl should be completely frozen before churning (at least 12 hours)
- Harden ice cream in freezer after churning for at least 2 hours
- If ice cream becomes too hard, just let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in July 2016. Over the years, I have made some slight adjustments to the recipe. I have updated the recipe and instructions to show these changes.
Dawn says
This looks so good. I really wish I had an ice cream machine now haha! I have so many kitchen gadgets that I am not sure I have a room for more - wish I was exaggerating but I have many. There is no way you can make this in a kitchenaid mixer, is there? The last time I made ice cream was when I was kid and my mom had a machine of some sort (this was many years ago so my mind only remembers the ice cream.)
Kathy says
Hi Dawn,
I have not made this in a kitchenaid mixer. You do want to churn it while freezing so you need some sort of a frozen bowl for making ice cream. I believe you can purchase a Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment for your stand mixer that should work just fine!
Kathy
Katheine Shannon says
The chopped peaches turned into ice chunks in the mixture. Is there something I'm doing wrong?
Kathy says
Hi Katherine, I'm so sorry that this ice cream didn't turn out for you. The peaches shouldn't be ice chunks. Did you soak your peaches in sugar for at least an hour before adding to the custard? This draws out most of the liquid that would cause the peaches to turn icy.
Kathy says
Update: I find pulsing just lightly in a food processor after macerating the peaches helps too.
Adree | The Keele Deal says
Yum! Peach desserts are one of my favorite parts of summer! This ice cream looks delicious!
Fred G says
Tastes great
Kathy says
Thanks!
Abbie says
My husband doesn't like chunks of peaches in his ice cream, could I purée the chunks instead of leaving them in chunks?? Looks great!
Kathy says
Hi Abbie,
I haven't tried to puree the peaches, but I think it should work. Let me know how it turns out!
Kaylene @ The Links Site says
Oh this looks so good, I can't wait until peach season here so I can have a go at making some myself!
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
Kathy, I love churned ice cream, too. I remember my parents making ice cream when I was a child. My brother and I would watch that thing churn away and tell my father when it was time to add more salt. It was a very important, job, you know! Peach ice cream is my father's particular favorite. I'll need to surprise him with some. Thank you for the recipe!
Kathy says
When we were kids we had a hand crank ice cream maker. It was so tough to turn it towards the end.
Velva says
Peach season is in full swing here. WE are just shy of the Georgia Border and I have to tell you South Carolina produces amazing peaches. Fresh peach ice cream hits the spot here in hot and humid Florida.
Velva
Kathy says
I think I need to visit the south just for the fresh peaches! I'll bet they are amazing.
Laura ~ Raise Your Garden says
Awww, this recipe just takes me back to the good old days. Ok, I'm only like um near 40 so I don't know what I'm talking about. But anyhow, old fashioned peach ice cream sounds delightful!
Kathy says
The good old days don't have to be that far back 🙂 This recipe is just plain delicious!
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
I would not mind a huge double scoop of this peach ice cream.
Kathy says
I have to make another batch....we already ate it all!
Manali@CookWithManali says
yum, sounds delightful! I love peaches!
Balvinder says
Peach is my second favorite fruit, next to mango and this ice cream look so yummy!
Kathy says
Mango ice cream would be super yummy!
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
Wow! This peach ice cream looks so delicious. Thank goodness for the "Peach Man" 😉
Kathy says
The "Peach Man" keeps me loaded with fresh fruit in the summer!
David @ Spiced says
Oh, you are speaking my kinda language with this peach ice cream, Kathy! And at the end of the day, my favorite ice cream is always the old-fashioned custard style. It took a bit of practice to figure it out, but once you've got it down it's easy to just come up with different flavors on the fly. And adding that peach juice into the custard? Brilliant! Pass me a spoon please? 🙂
Kathy says
I need to experiment with more flavors. Right now, peach is our favorite!
Kate @ Framed Cooks says
Peaches are my all time favorite summer fruit - no contest! - and this ice cream looks like sweet peach perfection!
Kathy says
I haven't been able to pick just one favorite. I love to sample so many different fruits!
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
Girl, you have way more patience than I do. I love the custard approach and this ice cream looks fantasitc!
Kathy says
Making old fashioned ice cream just helps build willpower! I want it right away, but I am forced to wait 🙂
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
I LOVE peaches like anything. And this peach ice-cream is speaking to me! I have a whole batch of fresh peaches lying in my refrigerator and now I know what I am gonna do with them! 🙂
Kathy says
Yup! Peach Ice Cream is what you need to make! Enjoy 🙂
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says
Liquid gold, that's for sure! Wow, this ice-cream looks delicious! What a perfect way to make use of one of the Summer's best fruits 🙂 Can never go wrong with ice-cream 🙂 Pinned!
Kathy says
Peaches are so juicy and that juice has so much flavor.
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Wow Kathy! Peaches are a summer favorite! I'll definitely be giving this one a try! Happy 4th!
Kathy says
This ice cream disappeared quickly in my house. I need to make another batch.
Fran @ G'day Souffle' says
Thank goodness for the Peach Man! Grab those peaches while you can- I know that cherries are only in season for a short time, too! My favorite part of the ice cream making process is the 'soft serve' stage, before you freeze it. I could eat the entire container of ice cream in one sitting!
Kathy says
The Peach Man is the best for fresh fruit! I love sampling the soft serve stage....but if I can wait long enough, I love when it's at the hard stage! 🙂