Homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream (Easy, Creamy & No Eggs)

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Creamy cinnamon ice cream made with real ingredients — no eggs, no stove, just 5 simple things and your ice cream maker. Ready in 30 minutes.

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If you’ve never made ice cream at home, this is a great one to start with. No eggs to temper, no stove, no waiting on a custard to set up in the fridge overnight. You whisk five things together, pour it into the machine, and let it do the work.

This one’s a little personal, too. We were skiing this winter when my daughter ordered cinnamon ice cream at a little shop near the slopes — yes, we eat ice cream in winter — and she’s been begging me to make it at home ever since. Turns out it’s just as good without the ski boots. It tastes like a snickerdoodle cookie decided to become ice cream: warm cinnamon, real cream, just sweet enough.

Quick heads up before you scroll: this is a churned ice cream, so you’ll need an ice cream maker (I use this Cuisinart one). If you’re looking for a no-machine, no-churn version, that’s a different recipe.

This is the kind of recipe I love sharing because it proves simple doesn’t mean boring. Made with real ingredients, no shortcuts, no 37-ingredient list — just cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No eggs, no custard — skip the stovetop and the risk of scrambling your base
• Just 5 ingredients — all pantry and fridge staples, nothing you have to hunt for
• Ready in 30 minutes of active time — plus optional freezing if you want it scoopable instead of soft-serve
• Tastes like a snickerdoodle — warm cinnamon flavor that feels like fall, even when you make it in July

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp homemade vanilla extract (store-bought works too, but homemade is worth it — here’s my easy recipe)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

That’s it. No eggs, no cooking a custard on the stove. Whisk, chill if needed, churn.

High Altitude Tips for Cinnamon Ice Cream

Good news for my fellow high altitude bakers — this one’s low-maintenance. Since there’s no custard cooked on the stovetop and no leavening involved, the usual high-altitude adjustments (extra flour, lower oven temp, longer bake) don’t apply here.

The one real tip: make sure your base is fully cold before it goes into the machine. Colorado air is dry and our freezers already work a little harder up here — a fully chilled base churns faster and freezes creamier, with smaller ice crystals. If your kitchen runs warm, pop the mixing bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes before you whisk everything together.

How to Make Cinnamon Ice Cream

Whisk the Base In a large bowl or pitcher, whisk together the heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until the sugar is fully dissolved. You shouldn’t feel any grit if you rub a little between your fingers.

Chill (if needed) If your mixture feels room-temperature or warm, chill it in the fridge for 30–60 minutes before churning. A cold base churns faster and gives you a smoother finished texture.

Churn Pour the base into your ice cream maker (I use and love this Cuisinart ice cream maker — linked in my Amazon storefront along with the rest of my kitchen must-haves). Churn according to your machine’s instructions, usually 25–30 minutes, until it reaches soft-serve consistency.

Serve or Freeze Enjoy it right away as soft serve, or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for about 4 hours for a firmer, scoopable texture.

Tips for the Best Cinnamon Ice Cream

• Chill your base fully before churning — this is the single biggest factor in a creamy (not icy) result.
• Pre-freeze your machine’s bowl for a full 24 hours if it’s the freezer-bowl style. A bowl that’s only “cold” instead of fully frozen will give you a soupier churn.
• Don’t over-churn. Pull it as soon as it hits soft-serve — it firms up plenty in the freezer, and over-churning can make it grainy.
• Press plastic wrap directly on the surface before freezing to stop ice crystals from forming on top.

Variations to Try

• Cinnamon roll ice cream: swirl in ribbons of cream cheese icing and torn pieces of a cinnamon roll (my homemade cinnamon rolls work great for this)
• Snickerdoodle chunk: fold in crushed snickerdoodle cookies in the last minute of churning
• Dairy-free: swap in full-fat coconut milk and canned coconut cream (see FAQ below)
• Extra warm spice: add a pinch of nutmeg or cardamom alongside the cinnamon

Final Thoughts

This is one of those recipes I make on repeat all summer (and winter too) — five ingredients, one bowl, and a flavor that tastes like fall even in July. If you make it, I’d love to know: leave a comment below and let me know what you paired it with (it’s incredible on warm peach cobbler or apple crisp). And if you want more simple, real-ingredient recipes like this one, follow along on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram — that’s where I share the process in real time.