Our Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, or Oreo Ice cream, is creamy, dreamy and delicious – a rich vanilla custard base loaded with chunks of Oreo cookies. It uses only 6 ingredients and is hands down, our favorite and the BEST cookies and cream ice cream to date.
This homemade cookies and cream ice cream is made using ice cream maker for best results. It requires a few hours of refrigerating and freezing time so be sure to plan ahead. Ice cream maker bowl also needs to be pre-freeze before used.
Homemade Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
To say we are obsessed with this cookie and cream ice cream is an understatement.
When The Hubs tasted his first spoonful, he sat there, savored it slowly, then turned to me and said, “can I have a bowl of this everyday?”
We love the rich and smoother vanilla custard, chewy Oreo cookie crumbs swirled into the cream, and the tiny hints of Oreo frosting blended into the vanilla crust. The combination of chocolate and vanilla in every bite is just out of this world.
Let’s just say this homemade cookies and cream ice cream set a new bar. All other ice creams, especially those store-bought cookies and cream ice cream, are up against some serious competition from here on out.
Something else to note about this cookies and cream ice cream recipe – no eggs needed.
I spent many months believing that eggs are absolute necessary in this Oreo ice cream recipe. I tried using different number of eggs, separating yolks from whites, not using whites – all the egg variations you can think of. And it all led me to an acceptable, but not amazing, ice cream.
I quickly realized that not only is eggs not necessary to the taste, cooking without it makes it so much easier. I don’t think I will ever put an egg into an ice cream mixture ever again. I never did to Lemon Ice Cream and S’mores Ice Cream that I’ve created since – and they are just as amazing.
I don’t say this lightly, but this is the BEST cookies and cream ice cream in my books. It is rich, creamy, delicious, with the perfect amount of Oreo chunks, sweetness and creaminess.
Ingredients:
It’s the best cookies and cream ice cream, but it only requires six ingredients! YESS.
- Oreo cookies
- heavy cream – also known as heavy whipping cream, its a rich dairy product with ~40% fat. This contributes to the creamy and rich texture and flavor of ice creams.
- milk – for a healthier option, 1% or 2% milk can be used, however, whole milk does produce a richer ice cream.
- half and half – this is basically a mixture of 50% milk and 50% cream.
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract – use pure vanilla extract for best flavor.
How to make Oreo Ice Cream
Before attempting to make cookies and cream ice cream (or any ice cream), note that ice cream maker bowl needs to be pre-freeze for at least 24 hours before used.
Step 1: Make and Cool Custard
Begin your ice cream making journey by cooking the vanilla custard.
Combine all the ingredients except for the Oreo cookies in a pot under medium heat.
I tried different ways to make the custard, and settled on this. 3 cups heavy cream + 1/3 cup half and half + 3/4 cup 2% milk (+ sugar of course). It’s the real deal guys. And guess what. No eggs. NO EGGS – which makes this custard making process so much easier.
Stir continuously until custard comes to a boil.
Lower the heat and let custard simmer for a few minutes (continue stirring!), and then remove from heat.
Let it cool for an hour, bring it to a bowl and let it cool for another 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. You can let it cool for a longer time, not shorter.
Step 2: Churn Custard
Once the custard is a little cold to the touch, pour it into the pre-freeze bowl of the ice cream maker. It does not have to be super cold or anywhere close to freezing to pour it into the ice cream maker, but it should be cool, not warm.
If the mixture is not cool enough, it will warm the ice cream maker, and the ice cream will not thicken/become creamy and will remain in liquid form.
Churn the vanilla custard until it thickens into an ice cream consistency. Follow the ice cream maker’s instructions, but it is typically up to 30 minutes of churning. You don’t have to babysit it while it churns.
Step 3: Add Oreo Cookies
1-2 minutes before the end of churning time, add crushed Oreos into the ice cream maker. If you like a chunkier texture, break it into bigger pieces.
Step 4: Freeze and Wait
When Oreo chunks are incorporated, scope the ice cream out, and add it to a container or tub. Sometimes (or most of the times) eating it straightaway in the process.
To give it the hard ice cream consistency as we all know and love, keep in freezer for at least 5-6 hours before digging into it.
I proudly present to you, THE BEST Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.
Scope them into bowls, add them to cones…eat it straight from the tub! There are no rules!
Friends, I kid you not. It is so good. I don’t think I will ever buy store-bought Cookies and Cream Ice Cream again.
Unless there is a worldwide confiscation of ice cream makers. Then I wouldn’t have a choice. Because I will still want to consume Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.
Tips and Tricks
- Pre-freeze Bowl: Pre-freeze Ice cream maker bowl 24 hours before used.
- Crushed Oreos: When incorporating the crushed Oreos into your ice cream mixture, be sure to leave some larger pieces for added texture. This will give your ice cream that classic cookie crunch.
- Churn Cold Custard: Refrigerate and cool custard before adding to the ice cream maker to churn so that it will properly turn into a thick, creamy texture.
- Do Not Overchurn After Adding Oreos: Don’t churn for too long after adding the Oreos (~1-2 minutes) to avoid turning your vanilla base brown. You want to incorporate the Oreos into the ice cream while still retaining some Oreo chunks.
- Avoid Ice Crystals: Once your ice cream is churned, transfer it into an airtight container, and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent ice crystals from forming.
- Patience: I hate sharing rules that I break myself, but wait on the ice cream to freeze fully for best texture. Don’t rush the process! 😉
- Experiment: Don’t hesitate to try out different types of cookies. For a twist, use cookies other than Oreos, such as Chocolate chip cookies or Graham crackers.
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
Frequently Asked Questions
Place Oreo cookies in a resealable plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or use a food processor for a finer consistency. Blending them fine will make your vanilla base more brown, so avoid doing that. Keep some cookies larger than the others to maintain chunks of cookies in the ice cream.
No, there is no need to remove the cream filling. Including the filling provides extra flavor and richness to the ice cream.
Yes! You can use whatever type (cow’s) milk you have at home. Just know that the lower fat milk you use, the less creamy the ice cream will be.
It could be due to a couple of reasons:
1. ice cream maker bowl was pre-freeze properly or long enough – it needs to be fully frozen in order to thicken the ice cream
2. custard was too warm – custard needs to be cool/cold before churning
You can avoid over-mixing/over-churning – fold in Oreos and do not over churn after they are incorporated.
Gently fold your mix-ins into your churned ice cream, or add them to your ice cream maker a minute or two before it stops, along with crushed Oreos.
More sweetness overload
We spread sweetness as much as we can on the blog. We take this responsibility really seriously here. Check out some of our other favorite desserts on the blog:
- Lemon Ice Cream
- S’mores Ice Cream
- Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
- Strawberry Banana Nutella Crepes
- Mini Chocolate Chess Pie
- Oreo Truffles
- Strawberry Shortcake with Angel Food Cake
- Brownie Sundae (by my blogger friend Tania at Cooking for my Soul!)
The Best Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup 2% milk
- 1/3 cup half and half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 20 oreo cookies
Instructions
- Add the first 5 ingredients into a large pot. Turn heat to medium and stir continuously. Once custard reaches a boil, turn heat to low and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Keep stirring the whole time.
- Remove from heat and let it cool for an hour. Transfer to another bowl if needed to speed up the cooling process as some pots can retain heat for a while.
- While waiting for the items to cool, crush up Oreo cookies.
- Bring mixture into the refrigerator and cool for another 1-2 hours, or until mixture is slightly cold. Do not pour warm mixture into ice cream maker.
- Pour mixture into pre-freeze ice cream maker bowl and churn. Churn time will be according to your ice cream maker's instruction. Or churn until ice cream is thickened and creamy.
- Five minutes prior to completing the churning process, add crushed Oreo cookies into ice cream maker to churn.
- Transfer ice cream to a container and freeze for at least 5 hours.
- Scope and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
My favorite ice cream is mint with oreos or chocolate chunks. Do you think I could add a few teaspoons of mint extract to this recipe to get that flavor? Thanks!
Absolutely! I would decrease the amount of vanilla extract to maybe 1/2 tsp and do 2 tsp of mint extract. Or 3 tsp if you like it super minty? 🙂 Let me know how it turns out! Good luck!
Finally got around to trying this! I just followed the recipe exactly, but will try mint next time. We loved that the Oreo flavor was a lot stronger than in regular store-bought cookies and cream. Delicious! If you come up with any more ice cream flavors, you’ll have to post them! Someone gave us an ice cream maker for Christmas and this is only the second recipe we’ve tried. It’s almost 100 degrees outside already – definitely ice cream weather!
Woohoo! And yes – I really wanted to incorporate more Oreos because if I’m making my own cookies and cream ice cream, I want to LOAD IT UP with Oreos! haha! This is our favorite ice cream recipe so far to make in our household and I am happy you like it as well! Let me know how the mint goes when you try it – I’m curious! 🙂
Hello! I am short one cup of heavy cream do you think you could use an extra cup of half and half and two cups of heavy cream? Making for 1 and 1/3 cup of half and half and 2 cups of heavy cream!
Yes! That should work just fine! 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Delicious recipe! I’m going to try subbing the Oreos for peaches the next go around!
Yum! That sounds amazing! Glad you like it!
I looked up “the best cookies and cream ice cream recipe” and this was the top result. Now I’ve never made ice cream so I didn’t know if I should actually expect it to be “the best.” Well… IT IS! The consistency was perfect, and the flavor and sweetness was just right. I also mixed some golden Oreos in and I highly recommend that too!
So glad you found this! It is one of our all-time favorite too! Love the golden oreoes add -yum!
Hi!
Super excited to try this recipe, can I make the custard ahead of time and leave overnight in the fridge before churning, will it stay liquid?
Yes! You can definitely do that! Let me know how what you think and how you like the ice cream!
I used my Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment and it turned out amazing! My friends could not get enough!
Yay! I love hearing that! Thank you for sharing, Kimberly. So happy to hear you all enjoyed it!
Can I double this for a 4 qt ice cream machine?
Yes!
If there’s a portion of a review from me I apologize, my screen went blank, and my partially written review was gone.
Anyway, made this ice cream a week ago, and I’ve been stuffing my face all week with it.
This ice cream is the bomb.com!!! I don’t think I will ever buy store bought cookies and cream ever again, this is that good!
The recipe is simple, easy to follow, and it truly does make “The Best Cookies and Cream Ice Cream!” I made a double batch, poured half in and made a batch, removed it and put in the freezer, and since the bowl was still frozen, poured the second batch in and when it was done mixed it in with the first batch. My whole family loved it, and agrees this homemade version is better than store bought.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’m so happy I found it!!
I had looked at other recipes with eggs, and egg yolks ( one literally called for 9 egg yolks 😳) with the price of eggs these days that would be some pretty expensive ice cream. So, when I came across this recipe, I wasn’t really sure if the simple recipe would cut the mustard. Let me tell you, I will never try another recipe, because this one is spot on. I did maybe go a little heavier on the vanilla but a little extra vanilla never hurt anyone lol…other than that I followed the recipe as is, and truly wouldn’t change a thing!
Thank you for your trial and error, and sharing this amazing recipe with us!
Thank you for the detailed and kind review! So glad you thought this was the best as well! 😀 We LOVE this recipe!