Learning how to make homemade ice cream in a bag has become one of summer’s finest treats. It’s also a great way to keep the kids cool and busy on a hot summer afternoon. A few simple ingredients are churned by the kids in plastic freezer bags creating a delicious homemade ice cream in a bag ready to eat on the spot!
Welcome to another week of Summer Day Camp! This week it’s my turn to share a fun kid-friendly recipe – homemade ice cream in a bag. My kids love making their own ice cream and then eating it right out of the bag.
You only need a few basic ingredients to make the ice cream – heavy cream, vanilla extract, ice cubes and rock salt. You will also need 1 large plastic storage bag and 1 small plastic storage bag for each kid. You could also do 1 bag for every 2 kids because the bags get cold so taking turns helps little hands stay warm.
I let the kids mix up the ice cream mixture in a large bowl. The recipe below makes one serving so double, triple, quadruple to as much as you need. This also makes it easier to pour the mixture in to the bags.
Put ice in the large bags and pour the rock salt over the ice. The reason for the salt is to basically make the ice even colder so as this project progresses, and the ice melts, it gets colder and colder to freeze the ice cream. Little kids do not like cold bags! Just have a few towels handy to wrap it in so their hands stay warm. Also, make sure your bags don’t have holes. Water that drips out will leave a nice salty crust all over your floor. Better yet, go outside and do this.
Pour the ice cream mixture in to the smaller bags and seal them up TIGHT! Put the little bag in side the bags and seal those up tight, too.
Send the kids outside with their bags and they keep turning them over and over for a good 10 minutes.
The ice cream is not hard – it’s more like a soft serve ice cream, but it’s still good! My kids got impatient after 5 minutes and it was really hot outside so ours was a little soupy this time around. They don’t care.
Give them a spoon and their bag and enjoy!
How to Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag
Ingredients
- Ice cubes
- 6 Tablespoons rock salt
- 1/2 cup milk, half and half or whipping cream
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 quart sized food storage bag
- 1 gallon sized food storage bag
Instructions
- Fill the gallon sized bag half-full with ice. Add the rock salt. Seal.
- Put milk, vanilla and sugar in small bag and seal.
- Put the small bag inside the large bag and re-seal the large bag.
- Shake and toss and turn the bags for 5 minutes.
- Remove small bag and wipe the outside off to remove salt residue.
- Eat right out of the bag!