Buttermilk Ice Cream

Last Updated on June 16, 2025 by becky

A buttermilk ice cream recipe made with whipping cream, buttermilk, and plenty of egg yolks, plus a hint of vanilla bean paste. The richest, creamiest homemade ice cream, and one of my favorite buttermilk recipe ideas for using up leftovers.

Why Make This Buttermilk Ice Cream?

Buttermilk is a cultured dairy product made by fermenting milk with lactic acid bacteria. Originally, buttermilk came from the byproducts of the butter-churning process, but these days most of it is intentionally fermented. Smooth and slightly acidic, you’ll find buttermilk in baking recipes like pancakes, biscuits, and shortcake, where the acid helps to activate the baking soda (bicarb of soda) for a light and tender crumb.

I love baking and cooking with buttermilk, but I never know quite what to do with the leftovers. (Like tomato paste, it’s one of those ingredients that often comes in a large package, even though most recipes only call for a small amount!) With this in mind, I’m always on the hunt for buttermilk recipe ideas. And I’m definitely not the only one—not kidding, this Reddit post is one of the first things I saw in my home feed this morning!

Designed for an ice cream maker, my buttermilk ice cream recipe starts with a custard base comprised of egg yolks, whipping cream, buttermilk, and sugar, plus vanilla bean paste and a splash of vodka. Thick, creamy, and just slightly sour, it offers both an interesting twist on traditional vanilla, and a good way to use up the buttermilk left over after making buttermilk ranch dressing, red velvet whoopie pies or Irish soda bread. I especially love pairing this homemade buttermilk ice cream with fresh berries, but it’s also great with a slice of warm apple galette, or a big bowl of strawberry rhubarb crisp.

Buttermilk Ice Cream Ingredients

To make this homemade buttermilk ice cream, start by gathering the following ingredients:

• Egg Yolks – You’ll need 70 grams, or the yolks of about 4 large eggs. You won’t need the egg whites for this recipe—save them to make French macarons, coconut macaroons, or a rainbow meringue wreath!
• Buttermilk – Any brand of buttermilk will work. If you’re in the US, you might need to buy a big bottle—see below for some of my favorite buttermilk recipe ideas to use up the leftovers.
• Whipping Cream – Look for a whipping cream (heavy cream) with a milk fat percentage around 35-36%.

• Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar sweetens the ice cream base and prevents it from freezing solid.
• Vodka – Homemade ice cream lacks the emulsifiers and stablizers that prevent commercially produced ice cream from freezing solid. In this recipe, a teaspoon of vodka (or rum( helps to inhibit freezing instead. If you don’t consume alcohol, you can omit it from the ice cream base—see my notes below.
• Fine Salt Salt – A small amount of fine sea salt cuts the sweetness of the sugar.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – I like the Nielsen-Massey brand of vanilla bean paste, but I’ve had success with Taylor & Colledge and Simply Organic, too.

Why Add Alcohol?

Adding a teaspoon of alcohol to homemade ice cream prevents it from freezing into a solid block, creating a creamier and easier-to-scoop consistency. I recommend plain, flavorless vodka; rum also works nicely.

You can omit the alcohol from this recipe. However, the ice cream will be slightly less smooth, with more crunchy ice crystals. In addition, you’ll want to allow extra time for the ice cream to soften on the countertop prior to serving.

Tempering the Eggs

While my website features many eggless ice cream recipes (s’mores ice cream and peanut butter cup ice cream are two of my favorites!) this buttermilk ice cream recipe includes egg yolks, helping to form the custard base for an ultra-rich, thick, and creamy texture.

To combine hot cream and egg yolks, you’ll use a technique called tempering. In simple terms, this means combining the two ingredients in small increments to prevent the mixture from curdling.

Start with just a splash of hot milk, then continue adding a few splashes at a time until you’ve combined the egg yolks with about half of the hot cream mixture. Then, pour everything back into the saucepan and continue cooking until custard-like. Don’t forget to stir continually as the custard cooks, or you’ll make sweet scrambled eggs!

Tools and Equipment for Making Homemade Buttermilk Ice Cream

To make homemade ice cream, you’ll need a couple of special tools. First and foremost, you’ll need an ice cream maker. I love my Cuisinart 1.5 quart ice cream maker, but any good-quality machine will work.

You’ll also need a hand whisk, a flexible rubber spatula, a spouted measuring cup (for the egg-tempering step), and a sturdy ice cream scoop for serving the finished product.

To store your homemade ice cream, I recommend cardboard pint containers or reusable silicone ice cream containers, but a lidded plastic food storage container will also work.

More Buttermilk Recipe Ideas

Although I love making recipes with buttermilk, I find it frustrating that it’s frequently packaged in large bottles when most recipes only call for a small amount. Once open, buttermilk only stays fresh for a couple of days, so I’m forever scrambling for ideas to use up the rest before it goes bad.

Buttermilk ice cream offers the perfect solution because it requires a decent amount of buttermilk—about 360 milliliters, or 1 1/2 US cups. But if you’ve opened your buttermilk to make this ice cream recipe, you might be wondering what to do with the leftovers.

Soda bread recipes almost always include buttermilk. (In fact, while in the dairy aisle looking for buttermilk to test this ice cream recipe, a fellow shopper stopped me to ask if I planned to make soda bread!) I suggest my soda bread recipe with raisins and citrus, or this soda bread with cheddar and herbs.

You might also enjoy my buttermilk ranch dressing recipe, or these red velvet whoopie pies. You can also make biscuits, black and white cookies, pancakes, fried chicken, or strawberry shortcake. Or, add a splash of buttermilk to a smoothie or smoothie bowl to enhance the flavor and texture.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Store buttermilk ice cream in the freezer for up to one month. Allow the container to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes prior to serving, or until the ice cream is just soft enough to scoop.

Pint or quart-size plastic food storage containers are perfect for homemade ice cream. You can also scoop it it into disposable cardboard pint containers, like these, or purchase reusable silicone ice cream containers.

Other ice cream recipes you might enjoy:

Mango Ice Cream Recipe
Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
Oreo Ice Cream Recipe
Coconut Ice Cream Recipe
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe with Reese’s
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

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