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This Cookies and Cream Ice Cream is rich, creamy, and loaded with Oreo chunks. This Oreo Ice Cream is made with a custard base for the smoothest, creamiest homemade ice cream you’ll ever make.
Homemade Cookies and Cream may be the best ice cream flavor of all-time. Who is with me? I am not even an Oreo cookie fan, but I LOVE cookies and cream ice cream. There’s something about cookies and cream that never gets old — that classic combination of smooth vanilla ice cream and crunchy Oreo cookies. This homemade version takes it up a notch with a rich egg custard base, giving you an ice cream shop texture you just can’t get from the carton in the freezer aisle.
This is the cookies and cream ice cream you’ve been missing — rich, custardy, and loaded with real Oreo chunks in every bite. Unlike many homemade versions that skip the eggs for convenience, this one uses a proper custard base, resulting in a smoother, creamier scoop that holds up better in the freezer. I recipe tested this oreo ice cream recipe using both a custard base with egg yolks and a Philadelphia-style vanilla ice cream base without egg yolks, and I preferred the custard base.
If you’ve made homemade ice cream before and ended up with something icy or hard as a rock, the custard base in this recipe is the fix. Egg yolks do double duty here — adding richness and helping keep the texture smooth and scoopable.
Why This Recipe Works:
- A real custard base, not a shortcut. Many cookies and cream recipes skip the eggs entirely to save time, but egg yolks are what give ice cream that dense, creamy, less-icy texture — especially important for a mix-in-heavy flavor like this one, where you want the base itself to be as smooth as possible.
- A vanilla bean adds real depth. Using vanilla bean paste or scraped vanilla bean (rather than only extract) gives the base a more complex, vanilla flavor.
- Oreos added at exactly the right time. Folding the cookies in during the last few minutes of churning (rather than mixing them in from the start) keeps them from turning soggy or over-blending into the base, so you get distinct, crunchy cookie chunks in every scoop.
Ingredients:
- Whole milk
- Heavy cream
- Sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla bean (or vanilla extract/paste)
- Egg yolks
- Oreo cookies, chopped or crushed
How to Make Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
1. Freeze your ice cream maker bowl in advance. If your machine uses a freezer bowl (rather than a built-in compressor), make sure it’s been in the freezer for at least 12–24 hours before you start. This is one of the most common reasons homemade ice cream doesn’t set up properly, so don’t skip it.
2. Heat the milk mixture. In a saucepan, combine the whole milk, half of the sugar, and a pinch of salt. Add the scraped vanilla bean (seeds and pod) if using. Heat over medium heat until warm and the sugar has dissolved, but don’t let it boil.
3. Whisk the egg yolks. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and slightly thickened.
4. Temper the eggs. Slowly pour a small amount of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly, to gradually raise their temperature without scrambling them. Continue adding the warm milk a little at a time until fully combined.
5. Cook the custard. Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon (this usually happens right around 170–175°F, just before simmering).
6. Strain and add cream. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove the vanilla bean pod and any bits of cooked egg. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla extract or paste, if using instead of (or in addition to) the vanilla bean.
7. Chill completely. Cover and refrigerate the custard for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight, until completely cold.
8. Churn. Pour the chilled custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions, usually 25-60 minutes, until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
9. Add the Oreos. During the last 5 minutes of churning, add your chopped or crushed Oreos so they fold evenly throughout the ice cream without over-mixing or turning soggy.
10. Freeze until firm. Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Sprinkle a few reserved Oreo cookie chunks over the top before freezing. Cover tightly and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Ice Cream Maker Types — What’s the Difference?
Not all ice cream makers work the same way, and the type you use affects both process and texture:
Freezer-Bowl (Canister) Ice Cream Makers The most common and affordable option for home cooks (Cuisinart is a popular brand). These have a double-walled bowl filled with a freezing gel that needs to be fully frozen — usually 12–24 hours in the freezer — before each use. Once frozen, the bowl churns the ice cream as it sits in an insulated base. These make excellent scoop-shop-quality ice cream, but you can only make one batch before the bowl needs to be refrozen.
Compressor Ice Cream Makers These have a built-in refrigeration compressor, so there’s no need to pre-freeze anything — you can churn multiple batches back-to-back. They’re more expensive and bulkier than freezer-bowl models, but offer real convenience if you make ice cream often. I use the Whynter ice cream machine.
Old-Fashioned Ice and Rock Salt Churns The traditional method — a bucket filled with ice and rock salt surrounding a canister, churned either by hand crank or a small electric motor. These tend to produce a slightly softer, more old-fashioned texture, and require more hands-on effort and ongoing ice/salt refills throughout the process. May be less convenient than a modern machine.
Which should you use? For this recipe, a standard freezer-bowl machine is more than enough to get great results. A compressor model is worth the investment only if you find yourself making ice cream regularly enough that the convenience of skipping the pre-freeze step matters to you.
Tips for the Best Texture:
- Freeze your ice cream maker bowl well in advance — an underfrozen bowl is one of the most common reasons homemade ice cream doesn’t set up properly.
- Don’t skip tempering the eggs. Adding hot milk too quickly to the yolks can scramble them, leaving you with bits of cooked egg in your ice cream. Go slow.
- Chill the custard completely before churning — a warm base won’t churn or freeze properly, and can result in a soft, icy texture.
- Save a few cookie pieces for topping the ice cream once it’s in the freezer container.
Storage:
Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container. For the best texture and flavor, enjoy within 2–3 weeks — homemade ice cream lacks the stabilizers found in store-bought versions, so it’s best eaten sooner rather than later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to use egg yolks? You can omit them, but the texture won’t be quite as rich or creamy — egg yolks act as a natural emulsifier that helps prevent ice crystals from forming, giving you a smoother, less icy finished ice cream.
Why did my Oreos turn the ice cream grey instead of staying as distinct chunks? This usually happens when the cookies are added too early in the churning process. Add them during just the last few minutes of churning to keep the pieces distinct.
How long does homemade ice cream last? For the best texture and flavor, plan to eat it within 2–3 weeks. It will remain safe to eat longer, but the texture will become icier the longer it sits.
Homemade Ice Cream Recipes:
If you love Jeni’s ice cream shops, you may love her Sweet Cream Ice Cream and Jeni’s Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream.
This Cookies and Cream Ice Cream takes a little more time than an eggless version, but the payoff is real — a rich, custardy base that stays smooth and scoopable, loaded with chunks of your favorite chocolate sandwich cookie in every bite. Once you taste the difference a proper custard base makes, it’s hard to go back to the simpler versions.
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Cookies and Cream Ice Cream (Oreo Ice Cream)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 1 cup Sugar
- pinch Salt
- 1 Vanilla Bean (halved and scraped or 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste)
- 4 large Egg Yolks
- 2 cups Crushed Oreo Cookies (about 20 cookies)
Instructions
- Freeze your ice cream maker bowl in advance. If your machine uses a freezer bowl (rather than a built-in compressor), make sure it's been in the freezer for at least 12–24 hours before you start. This is one of the most common reasons homemade ice cream doesn't set up properly, so don't skip it.
- Heat the milk mixture. In a saucepan, combine the whole milk, half of the sugar, and a pinch of salt. Add the scraped vanilla bean (seeds and pod) if using. Heat over medium heat until warm and the sugar has dissolved, but don't let it boil.
- Whisk the egg yolks. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and slightly thickened.
- Temper the eggs. Slowly pour a small amount of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly, to gradually raise their temperature without scrambling them. Continue adding the warm milk a little at a time until fully combined.
- Cook the custard. Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon (this usually happens right around 170–175°F, just before simmering).
- Strain and add cream. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove the vanilla bean pod and any bits of cooked egg. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla extract or paste, if using instead of (or in addition to) the vanilla bean.
- Chill completely. Cover and refrigerate the custard for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight, until completely cold.
- Churn. Pour the chilled custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions, usually 25-60 minutes, until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
- Add the Oreos. During the last 5 minutes of churning, add your chopped or crushed Oreos so they fold evenly throughout the ice cream without over-mixing or turning soggy.
- Freeze until firm. Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Sprinkle a few reserved Oreo cookie chunks over the top before freezing. Cover tightly and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
