No-Churn Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream
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If you love strong coffee and creamy desserts, this no-churn coffee ice cream from Andrea Nguyen is a dream come true.
Photography credit: Aubrie Pick © 2019
Vietnamese iced coffee is a traditional Vietnamese drink of brewed dark roast coffee poured over ice and sweetened condensed milk. In her much-acclaimed cookbook, Vietnamese Food Any Day: Simple Recipes for True, Fresh Flavors, Andrea Nguyen translates this classic drink into delicious ice cream. Happily, you don’t need an ice cream machine, just a handheld electric mixer. Simply whip the ingredients together, pop the mixture in the freezer, and a few hours later you’ll have an intensely coffee-flavored, ultra-creamy frozen treat.
Serve the ice cream on its own, or dress it up with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce for a coffeehouse-style hot fudge sundae. It’s great with biscotti or almond cookies on the side, or scooped into profiteroles for an easy, elegant dessert. You can even go affogato-style and pour a shot of hot espresso over top—it melts into a dreamy, bittersweet sauce.
“This is incredible. I made it for a Vietnam-themed dinner. Everyone raved and wanted the recipe. Now that everyone’s gone, I’m sitting here eating it, unable to stop!”
What You’ll Need To Make Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream
- Vanilla Extract: Adds warmth and rounds out the flavor of the ice cream.
- Instant Espresso Powder: Brings rich coffee flavor without the need to brew a pot. You’ll usually find it in the coffee aisle near the instant coffee.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Makes the ice cream extra creamy and rich.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Sweetens the base and keeps the texture smooth and scoopable. Be sure to use the full-fat kind—any leftovers are great stirred into coffee or tea.
- Molasses: Adds a touch of caramel-like depth that pairs nicely with the coffee flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the base. In a large bowl, combine the vanilla, espresso powder, and salt; stir until the espresso powder is mostly dissolved.
Mix in the cream, condensed milk, and molasses.
Step 2: Whip. Using an electric handheld mixer fitted with the beaters or whisk attachment, whip the mixture at high speed until just thickened to a fluffy whipped cream-like consistency.
Step 3: Freeze. Transfer the ice cream base to a storage container, cover tightly, and freeze until firm—it should take about 5 hours. The ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften to a scoopable texture before serving. Enjoy!
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No-Churn Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream
All the rich, sweet flavor of Vietnamese iced coffee, transformed into an ultra-creamy no-churn ice cream.
Ingredients
- 1½ to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Brimming 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
- Fine sea salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- Brimming ⅓ cup full-fat sweetened condensed milk
- Scant 1 tablespoon molasses
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine 1½ teaspoons of the vanilla, the espresso, a pinch of salt and stir to mix well; it will seem slightly sludgy. Add the cream, condensed milk, and molasses. Taste and, if you want to boost the flavor a touch, add more vanilla, ¼ teaspoon at a time; the amount required depends on the vanilla and your palate. An extra pinch of salt sometimes helps too.
- With an electric handheld mixer fitted with two beaters or a whisk attachment, whip the mixture at high speed for about 3 minutes (see note), until you get a firm, spreadable texture like fluffy whipped cream or frosting. Transfer to a 3-to 4-cup storage container, cover, and freeze until firm, 5 to 6 hours, or up to 2 weeks.
- Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften to a scoopable texture before serving.
- Jenn's note: It's important not to over-whip the ice cream mixture, otherwise it will have a heavy, buttery quality. My mixture had the perfect fluffy whipped cream-like consistency between 2½ and 3 minutes.
- Note: For coffee and chocolate ice cream, hand chop 1½ ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate into very small bits so they will disperse well. After whipping up the ice-cream mixture, use a spatula to gently fold in the chocolate. Freeze as directed. Your yield will be a little more than the original recipe.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 309
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Sugar: 20 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 95 mg
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn. I’d like to try this recipe however I don’t have molasses. What would be a good substitute for it?
Thanks!
Hi Gayle, you can use dark brown sugar or honey. Hope you enjoy!
Jenn, should I use same amount of honey or brown sugar as the molasses in the recipe?
Yep – enjoy!
Jenn, what can I use as substitute for Instant Espresso Powder? I’ve looked in the grocery stores and baking supplies stores in my area and can’t find any.
Thanks! 🙂
Hi Gayle, One reader who couldn’t find it commented that she was going to try it with fine ground coffee or instant coffee. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say how it will impact the recipe, but if you want to give it a whirl, you may want to test it out first by dissolving some of the granules in cold water to make sure they fully dissolve. If so, I think you’re good to go. I’d suggest using a little extra about 2.5 tablespoons to get a more robust flavor. Taste it after you’ve added the cream, sweetened condensed milk, and molasses, and add a bit more if you want a stronger coffee flavor. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
This ice cream is incredible. The molasses gives it such warmth against the cold smooth espresso flavor. I added some chopped pecans. My husbands eyes rolled back in his head!
This could not be easier or more delicious. Everyone at my house LOVED it! 🙂
This was AMAZING and so easy. Vietnamese iced coffee is my favorite. I’m now looking for other no churn ice cream recipes on your site…
How can you dissolve the espresso powder in the vanilla extract when the amount of extract is substantially less than the espresso powder? Mine stays grainy.
Hi Jean, Are you sure you’re using instant espresso?
Jenn – I have made this several times and everyone loves it. I use decaf instant coffee – Juan Valdez freeze dried because it’s was all I could find. I found that when I attempted to stir the coffee granules into the vanilla It became very sticky and formed globs of coffee. So I sprinkled it into the vanilla and let it sit dissolve for a few minutes before stirring. I used the full 2 teaspoons of vanilla and slightly more than two tablespoons of the coffee. Thanks for another great recipe that is very easy to make! Kathy
Going to try and make this tonight, your recipes never disappoint! Was just curious though, in your final product, it looks like you have some dark pieces of something in the ice cream but i can’t find anywhere what it could be. Would love to add a little texture in to give it some crunch!
Hi Lara, That’s chocolate. I didn’t use it but the photo is from the cookbook — I included her instructions for adding chocolate at the end of the recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Made this today. Very easy, was perfect consistency after mixing on high for 4 minutes with a hand mixer. I folded in some frozen mini brownie bites leftover from another ice cream recipe and it made for a tasty combination. I need an idea of what to do with the remaining can of condensed milk 🙂
Hi Danita, It is delicious in coffee or tea. 🙂
Would this recipe work in an ice cream maker or is the process really only based on using a mixer? Thank you.
Sure, you can use an ice cream maker here. Enjoy!
OK, WOW. Was bored last night and decided to give this a try because it seemed easy. Tried the finished product and it’s *so* good and creamy.
There are some reviews that say the mixture never whips up, and it did take me longer than 3 minutes to whip. Just gotta trust the process–it’ll firm up eventually.
So, so good.
Worst recipe ever, it would not whip at all!! Very disappointed and a lot of wasted ingredients
It took me about 5 minutes to get mine to whip, but it was likely because of the temp of the cream. Whipping heavy cream is a commitment and you gotta trust the process!
Yum ! I am thrilled to finally have an icecream recipe that doesnt require a icecream machine and actually works! Thank you 🇳🇿