This No-Churn Apple Pie Ice Cream is a creamy apple pie-inspired ice cream… and you don’t need an ice cream maker to make it! With just 10 minutes of prep and a handful of simple ingredients, you get all the flavors of apple pie in a scoopable, freezer-ready dessert. It’s the perfect seasonal flavor for fall parties, holiday dinners, or hot summer days when you want pie but you do NOT want to turn on the oven.

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Apple Pie No-Churn Ice Cream

Y’all. Apple pie and vanilla ice cream have been best friends since forever, and I finally decided to quit serving them side by side and just put them in the same bowl 🙂 And since Apple Pie is my hubby’s favorite dessert, he immediately loved this idea!

Here’s the thing about traditional homemade ice cream… it’s a whole production. You cook a custard base with egg yolks and whole milk over medium heat, you stir it with a wooden spoon until it coats the back of a spoon, you chill the egg mixture, and THEN you get to churn ice cream in a machine you probably had to dig out of the top of a closet.

No thank you. Not in a Mississippi August.

This is a no-churn recipe, which means the whipped heavy cream and the sweetened condensed milk do all the work for you. You mix, you pour, you freeze, and the final result is a rich, creamy ice cream that tastes exactly like a slice of apple pie à la mode.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

No ice cream maker required. Not everybody owns an ice cream machine, and there’s no reason you should have to buy one just to make homemade ice cream flavors at home. All you need is a mixer, a bowl, and a loaf pan.

It comes together in about 10 minutes. The rest is just freezer time. That’s my favorite kind of recipe… a little bit of effort up front, then the freezer does the hard part while you go about your day.

It’s perfect for apple season (or any time of year). Canned apple pie filling means you can make this in October when you’ve been apple picking, or in July when you’re melting on the porch. This is a seasonal flavor that doesn’t actually care what season it is.

Tools Needed

Stand mixer with whisk attachment (an electric hand mixer works great too)
Large bowl
Small bowl (for measuring out your spices)
Rubber spatula
Cutting board and knife (for chopping the apple filling)
8×4 inch metal loaf pan
Plastic wrap
Aluminum foil
Freezer-safe container (if you’d rather store it in something with a lid)

Ingredients

Here’s what goes into this creamy base. Nothing fancy, and most of it you might already have:

Heavy whipping cream … this has to be heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. Half-and-half or whole milk won’t whip up thick enough to hold air.
Vanilla extract … good vanilla makes a difference here since it’s the backbone of the creamy vanilla ice cream flavor underneath all that apple. If you happen to make homemade vanilla – use that!
Sweetened condensed milk … one 14 oz. can. Please don’t grab evaporated milk by mistake (ask me how I know that’s an easy mistake to make).
Cinnamon
Allspice
Nutmeg
Canned apple pie filling … roughly chopped so you get tender apples in every bite instead. Homemade apple pie filling works beautifully too, and I’ve got directions for that below.
Cinnamon graham cracker crumbs … regular graham crackers are just fine, and crushed pie crust pieces or graham cracker crumbles work too. Use what you’ve got!

Find the full recipe with ingredient measurements in the recipe card below.

How to Make Apple Pie No-Churn Ice Cream

This is the whole thing, start to finish. Read through it once and you’ll see just how simple it is.

Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on HIGH speed for about 1-2 minutes, or until stiff peaks begin to form when the beater is lifted.
Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice and beat for approximately 30 more seconds. Be careful not to beat the cream too long or it will begin to turn to butter!

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into the whipped cream mixture and fold it in gently with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated. Gentle is the key word… you worked hard for all that air, don’t stir it back out.

adding condensed milk to the whipped cream mixture

condensed milk stirred into ice cream mixture

Add the apple pie filling and graham cracker crumbs to the bowl and mix gently until well combined.

apple pie filling added to ice cream mixture

Pour the ice cream mixture into an 8×4 inch metal loaf pan and smooth out the top with your rubber spatula.
Freeze the ice cream for a minimum of 4 hours for a softer ice cream, or overnight for a harder ice cream.
Remove from the freezer and serve with whipped cream or extra apple pie filling on top!

Want to Use Your Ice Cream Maker Instead?

Maybe you already own an ice cream machine and you love it. That’s great! You can absolutely make this apple pie ice cream recipe that way instead.

Whisk the heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and spices together in a large bowl without whipping them, then chill the mixture until it’s good and cold (not room temperature). Pour it into your machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stir in the chopped apple filling and graham cracker crumbs at the very end of churning, then transfer your churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container to firm up.

Both ways are delicious. The no-churn version is just the one I reach for when I have very little time.

How to Make Homemade Apple Pie Filling

Canned filling is my shortcut and I’m not one bit ashamed of it. But when you’ve got fresh apples on the counter, homemade is so good.

Peel, core, and chop 3-4 Granny Smith apples into small pieces.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan (a medium pot works fine) over medium heat.
Add the apples, about ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, a teaspoon cinnamon, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, for about 10-12 minutes until the cooked apples are tender and the syrup has thickened.
Let the filling cool completely to room temperature before you fold it into your cream. Warm filling will melt your whipped cream and you’ll lose all that fluffiness.

Granny Smith apples are my pick because they hold their shape and their tartness balances all that sweetened condensed milk.

Pro Tips

Pop your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes before you start. Cold equipment whips cream faster.
Chop the apple filling smaller than you think you need to. Big chunks freeze rock hard and are no fun to bite into.
Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream before you cover the pan. This is the best way to keep ice crystals from forming on top.
A metal loaf pan freezes faster and more evenly than glass. It’s a small thing that makes a real difference.
Want a softer scoop straight out of the freezer? Stir in a tablespoon of corn syrup with the sweetened condensed milk. It keeps the texture smoother.
At the 4 hour mark this is almost like soft serve. Overnight gives you a firm, scoopable ice cream. Both are wonderful, so pick your favorite.
Let the pan sit on the counter for 5 minutes before scooping and your ice cream scoop will thank you.

Variations

Caramel apple. Drizzle caramel sauce over the mixture in the pan and swirl it through with a knife before freezing. So good.
Extra pie crust. Bake a few pie crust pieces until golden brown, break them into pie crumb sized bits, and fold them in for that flaky crust texture.
Graham cracker crust bottom. Press a graham cracker crust into the bottom of your loaf pan before you pour in the ice cream.
Pumpkin pie spice. Swap the three spices for 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Same idea, different fall flavor.
Cinnamon ice cream. Leave out the apple filling entirely and bump the cinnamon up to a full teaspoon for a simple cinnamon ice cream.
Salted caramel apple. Caramel swirl plus a tiny pinch of flaky salt over the top. Fancy without any of the work.

Serving Suggestions

Scoop it into a bowl, a waffle ice cream cone, or right next to a warm slice of apple pie for the ultimate à la mode situation.

It’s also so good alongside:

Warm apple crisp or apple pie
A drizzle of warm caramel sauce and chopped pecans
Cinnamon graham crackers for scooping (my personal favorite way to sneak a bite standing at the freezer)
Hot coffee or spiced cider on a chilly evening

Storage Instructions

Keep this ice cream covered tightly in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Plastic wrap pressed right on the surface, then aluminum foil (or tin foil, whatever you call it at your house) over the top of the pan.

After about 2 weeks it’s still perfectly safe, but you’ll start to notice more ice crystals and the texture won’t be as creamy. Honestly, it has never once lasted that long in my kitchen.

You can also transfer it to a freezer-safe container with a lid, which stacks a lot better than a loaf pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really not need an ice cream maker? Nope! The whipped heavy cream is what gives this ice cream its air and texture, and the sweetened condensed milk keeps it from freezing into a solid brick. That’s the whole trick behind no-churn ice cream recipes.

Can I use an immersion blender or a food processor to whip the cream? I don’t recommend it. Those won’t beat enough air into the cream, and air is what makes this work. A stand mixer or an electric hand mixer is the way to go.

Why is my ice cream icy instead of creamy? Usually one of two things… the cream wasn’t whipped to stiff peaks, or the mixture got overmixed after the condensed milk went in. Whip it firm, then fold it gently, and you’ll get a lovely creamy base every time.

Can I use fresh apples instead of pie filling? Yes, but cook them first! Raw apples turn hard and icy in the freezer. Use the homemade apple pie filling directions above and let it cool completely before mixing it in.

What size pan should I use ? An 8×4-inch metal loaf pan is perfect for this batch size. A 9×5 will work too, you’ll just have a shallower pan of ice cream that freezes a little faster.

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