No-churn hazelnut ice cream

This no-churn hazelnut ice cream recipe allows you to enjoy some beautiful hazelnut ice cream at home even if you don’t have an ice cream maker. Hazelnut paste is added to whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk to make the most delicious homemade hazelnut gelato.

Delicious homemade hazelnut ice cream made with only 3 ingredients. No-churn hazelnut ice cream is easy to make and requires no ice cream machine! Try one of the finest gelato flavours you can find in Italy at home!

Hazelnut gelato

Have you ever had hazelnut gelato in Italy? It’s a pretty popular flavour, and my number one favourite. I know nobody believes food bloggers when they say that this or that is their favourite recipe, but I swear that hazelnut is my favourite gelato flavour!

I have had many occasions to state in this blog my love for hazelnuts. I grew up in one of the regions that produce some of the finest hazelnuts in Italy, so I take these little nuts very seriously. It goes without saying that over the 25 years of my life I have spent in Italy I have had a fair share of excellent hazelnut gelato. Getting it abroad is a little more challenging.

No-churn hazelnut ice cream served in a brown bowl.

No-churn ice cream

If I had a churner, I could make my own hazelnut gelato at home. Unfortunately, that is not something I own. I’ve been wanting to buy one for over a year, but I never did. Last year, the excuse was that my kitchen was too small to welcome another kitchen appliance. This year the excuse is that instead of buying an ice cream machine I bought a house. Now I have a much bigger kitchen, but way less money!

I was late in the no-churn ice cream game, but when I finally joined in last summer, making no-churn ice cream has become an obsession. I have this little problem that I buy too much whipping cream than I can use because I always think I will bake more. Then the expiry date comes always too soon and the next thing I know is I’m turning another carton of cream into no-churn ice cream.

Related: no-churn London fog ice cream.

Hazelnut ice cream recipe

So the recipe to make no-churn ice cream is one, and that consists of folding a can of sweetened condensed milk into a batch of whipped cream. This is the true and tested recipe that everybody uses. What’s cool is that you can personalize it to your liking, and that is my favourite part!

Making no-churn hazelnut ice cream implies adding some toasted hazelnuts to the magical cream and condensed milk concoction. The hazelnuts need to be processed until they turn into a paste. Trying to recreate the Italian hazelnut gelato, we aim for total smoothness. I sometimes stumble upon hazelnut ice cream abroad, and it often features chopped hazelnuts. It’s nice, but not the hazelnut ice cream I look for. I want smoothness, and a food processor gives us just that.

Serve this hazelnut ice cream with baked amaretti stuffed peaches.

So – three ingredients. Whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and toasted hazelnuts. If you can’t find toasted hazelnuts, you can toast them yourself in a pan on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Then rub them in a kitchen towel to discard the skin. If you can buy toasted like I did, it will be just a little easier and quicker. Let’s go.

Toasted hazelnuts in a bowl, can of condensed milk and cream in a vase.

Step by step instructions

  • Add your toasted hazelnuts to a food processor and process them until they get very finely ground and start releasing their oil. Stop the processor from time to time to scrape the sides of the bowl. You really want to take your hazelnuts to an almost liquid state, so expect to get your blades rotating for about 10 minutes.
  • Add the hazelnut paste and 100 ml of whipping cream to a bowl and mix at medium speed for about a half minute to combine. Add the rest of the cream and keep whipping until you get to soft peaks. Set the mixer aside.
  • Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and fold it in gently with a spatula.
  • Transfer the mixture to a freezer safe container and let set for a minimum of 5 hours or overnight.

No-churn hazelnut ice cream in an aluminium container.

Serving suggestions

If your no-churn hazelnut ice cream is a little hard to scoop up, let it rest 5 minutes at room temperature before serving. This ice cream flavour pairs really well with other flavours such as chocolate or coffee ice cream. If you want to add a little decoration, some unsweetened whipped cream and crushed hazelnuts are a nice touch. Or you can lightly microwave some nutella just to make it a little more runny and drizzle some chocolate hazelnut cream over it!

While all these serving suggestions are just magical ways to add flavour and texture to this homemade ice cream, I still believe that hazelnut ice cream tastes best on its own. This is just how I prefer it, so that I can just indulge on the flavours of the hazelnuts, the cream and the sugar.

No-churn hazelnut ice cream served in a brown bowl.

See also: three-ingredient hazelnut meringue cookies.

No-churn hazelnut ice cream served in a brown bowl.

Hazelnut dessert!

Hazelnuts are fantastic nuts, I love their flavour both in sweet and savoury dishes. I must admit that it is when paired with a sweet element that they really shine, in my opinion. Here are some more dessert recipes with hazelnuts:

Hope you enjoy my hazelnut sweets and do give this no-churn hazelnut ice cream a try, it’s really worth it! Here are two pins you can add to your favourite board:

 

No-churn hazelnut ice cream in an aluminium container.
Print Pin
5 from 11 votes

No-churn hazelnut ice cream

Smooth hazelnut ice cream made at home without an ice cream machine. Enjoy a delicious homemade hazelnut gelato with only three ingredients.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword gelato, hazelnut, hazelnut ice cream, no-churn ice cream
Prep Time 20 minutes
Chilling time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 608kcal
Author Eva | Electric Blue Food

Ingredients

  • 480 ml whipping cream
  • 395 g sweetened condensed milk
  • 115 g hazelnuts toasted

Instructions

  • Add the hazelnuts to a food processor and process them until they get very finely ground and start releasing their oil, about 10 minutes. Stop the food processor from time to time to scrape the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the hazelnut paste and 100 ml of whipping cream to a bowl and mix at medium speed for about a half minute to combine. Add the rest of the cream and keep whipping until you get to soft peaks.
  • Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and fold it in with a spatula.
  • Transfer the mixture to a freezer safe container and let set for a minimum of 5 hours, or overnight.

Notes

If you can't find toasted hazelnuts, you can toast them yourself in a pan on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. Then rub them in a kitchen towel to discard the skin.
Nutrition Facts
No-churn hazelnut ice cream
Amount Per Serving
Calories 608 Calories from Fat 423
% Daily Value*
Fat 47g72%
Saturated Fat 23g144%
Cholesterol 132mg44%
Sodium 114mg5%
Potassium 435mg12%
Carbohydrates 41g14%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 37g41%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 1352IU27%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 261mg26%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
(Visited 7,774 times, 1 visits today)

29 Comments

  1. Bernice Hill September 15, 2020 at 08:18

    5 stars
    Great idea! You have to adapt and ‘pivot’ (hahaha there’s that word) these days. Don’t have an ice cream machine….make no churn! This hazelnut ice cream looks like it has a very nice creamy texture…like it should!

    Reply
    1. Eva September 18, 2020 at 21:06

      Thank you, Bernice! You know what, that’s right. I thought I wouldn’t be able to make my favourite ice cream flavour at home without an ice cream machine, and instead I proved myself this was totally possible. Turns out a food processor is more important than a churner!

      Reply
  2. Leslie September 18, 2020 at 20:21

    5 stars
    What’s not to love about this recipe? It looks so easy and I love how versatile it ends up being! I love this!

    Reply
    1. Eva September 18, 2020 at 21:07

      Thank you, Leslie. Isn’t it great when remaking your favourite foods at home turns out so easy?

      Reply
  3. Marisa September 18, 2020 at 23:11

    5 stars
    I LOVE no-churn. It has to be the best and the worst idea. The best to get my ice cream fix and the worst is that it wreaks havoc with my diet. We do love hazelnuts – this recipe is on tomorrow’s menu.

    Reply
    1. Eva September 20, 2020 at 22:05

      Hi Marisa! I hope you loved as much as I do!

      Reply
  4. Kushigalu September 19, 2020 at 03:58

    5 stars
    No churn is my favorite. This hazelnut ice-cream looks so creamy and delicious. Homemade is always the best. I would love to try this out for my little one.

    Reply
    1. Eva September 20, 2020 at 22:06

      Hi Kushigalu! I’m sure your little one will enjoy this homemade ice cream!

      Reply
  5. Veronika September 19, 2020 at 14:54

    5 stars
    I bet this ice cream taste AMAZING! I love hazelnuts and ice cream, and when you put it together, that’s a win-win for me!

    Reply
    1. Eva September 20, 2020 at 22:06

      Hi Veronika! If you have never tried hazelnut ice cream, trust me you are going to fall in love!!

      Reply
  6. Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer September 20, 2020 at 16:35

    5 stars
    No churn ice cream is the best! I’m loving your flavors in this so much! Your ice cream looks amazing and perfect with a slice of warm apple pie! I can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
    1. Eva September 20, 2020 at 22:07

      Hi Lori! Ohh what a fantastic idea to have hazelnut gelato with warm apple pie! Definitely gonna try!

      Reply
  7. Tammy September 20, 2020 at 19:22

    5 stars
    This is such a wonderfully simple recipe for homemade ice cream! It looks so good and sounds delicious with the homemade hazelnut paste!

    Reply
    1. Eva September 20, 2020 at 22:07

      Thank you Tammy! The addition of the hazelnut paste really adds so much flavour to this simple ice cream recipe!

      Reply
  8. Moop Brown September 20, 2020 at 23:52

    5 stars
    I love how simple and easy this recipe is. This ice cream looks so rich and creamy as well!

    Reply
    1. Eva September 21, 2020 at 17:44

      Thank you Moop! It really was deliciously creamy!

      Reply
  9. Elaine September 21, 2020 at 00:38

    5 stars
    If there is anything better in this world than ice cream, it would definitely be hazelnut ice cream, in my opinion. Fantastic recipe to keep handy!

    Reply
    1. Eva September 21, 2020 at 17:44

      Thank you, Elaine!

      Reply
  10. Veronika September 22, 2020 at 06:24

    YUm I love hazelnuts, I’m definitely making this and drowning a few scoops in chocolate sauce

    Reply
    1. Eva September 22, 2020 at 09:05

      Hi Veronika! I totally approve of that! 😀

      Reply
  11. Lina December 12, 2020 at 00:22

    5 stars
    This recipe is amazing – we’re onto our second batch of this stuff already (a test batch, and now the real thing). We added rum extract to ours. Over the moon about how this turned out! Thank you, Eva, for the keys to the kingdom. Grazie di tutto cuore !!

    Reply
    1. Eva December 12, 2020 at 11:28

      Thank you Lina for your kind words! Grazie mille! And WOW thanks for the tip on rum extract, definitely going for this variation next time I’ll make myself a batch!

      Reply
  12. Melissa August 8, 2021 at 18:41

    I’d love to use my blender instead of my food processor, which has a broken part and is difficult to work. It is not a heavy duty blender. If I blended the condensed milk together with the hazelnuts, could that achieve the same smooth result? It is not a heavy duty blender.

    Thanks! All your recipes look delightful. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Eva August 8, 2021 at 22:05

      Hi Melissa and thank you! I am unsure if this would actually achieve the same smooth result. I did use my blender in the past (before I bought a food processor) to make pesto and used to blend in nuts such as cashews. My old blender was not heavy duty either and it did achieve decent results but for pesto. Pesto is coarser in texture and you’re not supposed to really get the oils out from nuts like in this recipe. So I think it may work, but you will get a chunkier result. Probably more similar to chunky peanut butter than smooth. I just hope your blender will handle this without breaking, please stop if you feel like it’s beyond its power. Not worth ending up without both a blender and a food processor XD

      Reply
      1. Missy August 9, 2021 at 00:03

        Oops, sorry, I keep forgetting I go by Missy in Texas. 🙂 I’m the Melissa that commented earlier! Thank you again!

        Reply
        1. Eva August 9, 2021 at 11:07

          Awesome! Glad to hear your food processor delivered, it was definitely the right call in order to get the best texture out of your ice cream. Hope you will be happy with it! All the best!

          Reply
  13. Missy August 9, 2021 at 00:00

    Thank you, Eva, for the quick reply! I think you are correct about the blender. I ended up using the food processor this afternoon and got great, smooth results. Haven’t sampled the final product as it’s still freezing, but I think it was the right call. As you specified, it takes quite a lot of processing to get to a smooth result! Thanks again for a fabulous recipe and I love your blog and can’t wait to try more things! All best from Austin, Texas. 🙂

    Reply
  14. Sofia August 7, 2022 at 19:12

    5 stars
    Can you substitute the hazelnuts with hazelnut flour?

    Reply
    1. Eva October 20, 2023 at 09:03

      Hi Sofia, Yes absolutely, you can use the same quantity of hazelnut flour or hazelnut meal.

      Reply

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating