Peach Ice Cream

This peach ice cream recipe is made with fresh, juicy peaches and is easier than you think! Adding vanilla bean paste and using ripe peaches make this the best peach ice cream you’ll ever try!

The one thing I miss most about living in Atlanta is the easy access to perfect Georgia peaches! My Summer baking list always include at least one peach pie (with an easy Crisco pie crust), easy peach cake, this peach ice cream and as many peach preserves as I could make in my largest pot! It was a peach-a-palooza!

Homemade peach ice cream is so easy and is guaranteed to taste fresher and better than store-bought. I love using fresh fruit in ice cream like this strawberry caramel swirl ice cream, but it can be tricky to keep it from getting icy! The secret is in the amount of fat and sugar!

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Professional Tips for Making Peach Ice Cream

• Fresh, ripe peaches will make the best ice cream. You can use frozen peaches, and if you have a brand that you trust or you froze some yourself at peak ripeness, great! However, I have yet to try a frozen peach that tasted like biting into a ripe, in-season peach.
• Thoroughly chill the ice cream base. Refrigerating the base overnight ensures a thick ice cream that isn’t icy. This keeps the temperature of the ice cream maker from lowering when the base is added, which minimizes ice crystal formation.
• Preserve the peach flavor by cooking it just enough. Unlike with vanilla ice cream, I don’t put this custard base back on the heat to cook it to a particular temperature. This helps preserve the fresh peach flavor while cooking the eggs just enough.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Whole eggs: Many recipes, like my chocolate ice cream, call for egg yolks, which will also work in this recipe as well. Using whole eggs is a convenience, but if you don’t mind separating eggs and have a craving for pavlova cake, Italian meringue buttercream or angel food cake, start cracking!
• Granulated Sugar
• Peaches: Use fresh, ripe peaches that smell like peaches! It sounds obvious, but it is the best indication of their flavor. Peaches that ripened on the tree like in-season Georgia peaches or New Jersey peaches will make the best ice cream! And peach cobbler, so buy extra!
• Heavy Cream: Using mostly heavy whipping cream adds extra fat to balance the water content of ripe peaches.
• Whole Milk: The fat in whole milk is part of creating that perfect creamy texture that isn’t icy. Substituting low fat or alternative milks will change the texture.
• Salt
• Vanilla Bean Paste: Vanilla bean paste is optional but the combination of vanilla bean and fresh peach is sensational! You could also use vanilla extract or fresh vanilla bean seeds.
• Orange Food Coloring: The orange food coloring is optional but without it the peach color will be lighter and less vibrant. Totally up to you!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Possible Variations

• For incredibly bright, fresh peach flavor skip the tempering. You can make the original recipe where the cold cream and milk are simply added to egg mixture and then churned in an ice cream maker. The eggs are not cooked in that method but the ice cream does taste like biting into a fresh peach!
• Use nectarines or a mix of both. This may be controversial, but I prefer nectarines to peaches! You can substitute them in this recipe 1:1.
• Add an additional flavoring. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice, whiskey or even mezcal to the base before churning. You can also infuse the heavy cream with vanilla bean, cinnamon, fresh ginger, or orange peels.
• Go crazy with mix-in’s. Don’t be shy about combining your favorites as you would with vanilla ice cream! Try crushed gingersnaps, a swirl of salted caramel sauce like I did in this caramel chocolate ice cream, or even crushed chocolate cookies.

Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk eggs until smooth, then whisk in the sugar. Whisk vigorously until smooth and thoroughly mixed.

Step 3: Cut peaches in half and remove stone. Cut in to small chunks. Puree peaches in a food processor or blender and stir puree (roughly 2 ¼ – 2 ½ cups) into egg mixture.

Step 4: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring heavy cream, milk and salt to a boil. Remove from the heat.

Step 5: While whisking continuously, slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until all the cream has been incorporated.

Step 6: Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Stir in vanilla bean paste and optional food coloring, if using. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours to overnight.

Step 7: Churn ice cream base according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions until thickened. It should hold its shape on a spoon and take 20-30 minutes.

Step 8: Pour into a pre-frozen container(s), cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and then freeze at least 2 hours or until frozen solid.

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this fresh Summer recipe. Check out our other ice cream recipes or dive into more Summer dessert recipes or chose from one of these 20 Easy Summer Dessert Recipes!