Creamy Popcorn Ice Cream

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Popcorn Ice Cream is one of the most unique homemade ice cream flavors you’ll probably ever try. It’s incredibly creamy, but with a lightly salty and sweet flavor and that buttered popcorn taste you love to snack on.

» Also try our other ice cream flavors: Chocolate chocolate chip, peaches & cream, and Oreo.

Popcorn ice cream in a bowl with popcorn on top

We make a popcorn soup that is to die for. Every time we make it, whoever is eating it goes crazy over it because it’s so creamy, yet so full of popcorn flavor. It blows any corn soup you’ve ever had out of the water. So we were thinking, what if we modified that recipe to make popcorn ice cream. Surely that would be good!

Well, we were right. It’s not just good. It’s really addictively good. If you like salty sweet desserts, like kettle corn, you have to give this ice cream a try!

Don’t Forget the Ice Cream Scoop!

I love this ice cream scoop. It’s a heavy-duty stainless steel scoop that’s easy to grip and it makes scooping so easy!

Ingredients You’ll Need

This ice cream uses a custard base, so it has egg yolks in it. If you don’t want to add any eggs, you can follow this vanilla ice cream base.

  • Popcorn – I use regular butter microwave popcorn. Don’t use extra butter or extra salt versions.
  • Sweet corn – You can cut the corn off an ear of fresh sweet corn or use a can of corn with the juice removed.
  • Butter – Sauteeing the corn in butter give it an extra boost of buttery flavor. I use salted butter.
  • Vegetable stock – Cooking the corn in vegetable stock gives all the delicious savory flavors.
  • Heavy cream – Be sure to use heavy whipping cream for the creamiest ice cream.
  • Whole milk – I always use whole milk – we’re not pretending this is a low-fat dessert.
  • Egg yolks – Set the eggs and milk out about 15 minutes before you start to get them to room temp.
  • Sugar – Granulated sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Salt
Popcorn ice cream in a bowl with popcorn on top

What Ice Cream Maker to Use?

If you’re really wanting to make great ice cream at home, you have to invest in an ice cream maker. I’ve had the same one for many years and it’s never made a bad ice cream.

The one I recommend is the Cuisinart 1.5 quart ice cream maker. It comes in a few different colors and it looks neat and tidy. You just have to keep to recipes that are small enough to fit, which shouldn’t be a problem.

The Cuisinart ICE-70 Electronic Ice Cream Maker is a slightly more professional model that’s 2 quarts and has an LCD screen and 3 settings plus an improved paddle with faster processing time.

How to Make Popcorn Ice Cream

Step One: Cook the corn mixture

Cooking down the corn mixture

In one saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and corn. Saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable stock and reduce down by half for about 10-15 minutes, until there’s only 1 cup remaining. Remove from heat. Pour into a sealable container. Cover and chill completely.

Step Two: Add the popcorn, blend, and strain

Pop the popcorn according to the microwave instructions.

Blending the popcorn into the ice cream base

Add the chilled corn mixture to the blender. Add 1/2 of the bag of popcorn to the corn mixture and stir it together.

Blend the corn mixture until smooth. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the solids. Reserve until ready to churn the ice cream.

Straining the ice cream mix through a sieve

Step Three: Make the ice cream base

In another saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, salt, and half the sugar. Stir the mixture constantly as you bring it just to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar just until combined. 

To temper the eggs, slowly add 1/2 cup of the cream mixture in a drizzle into the egg mixture. Do this slowly so as not to cook the eggs.

Pour the entire egg mixture back into the saucepan with the cream mixture. Simmer over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Do not boil.

Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool.

Pour the cooled ice cream mixture into the bowl with the corn mixture and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.

Step Four: Churn the Ice Cream

churning popcorn ice cream

Remember that for most ice cream makers, you have to put the bowl in the freezer at least a day in advance to make sure it is cold enough.

When you’re ready to churn the ice cream, take the bowl out of the freezer and assemble the ice cream maker. Pour the corn mixture into your ice cream maker. Churn until the ice cream is thick, about 10-15 minutes.

churned popcorn ice cream

Once thickened, turn off the machine and scoop the ice cream into a freezer safe container. Let the ice cream firm up in the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.

We always serve the ice cream with a little bit of the remaining popped corn on top. You could also serve it with caramel corn or kettle corn for extra sweetness. Maybe even a drizzle of caramel syrup.

Tips & Notes

  • Be sure to use heavy whipping cream for the creamiest ice cream.
  • Remember that for most ice cream makers, you have to put the bowl in the freezer at least a day in advance to make sure it is cold enough.
  • You can cut the corn off an ear of fresh sweet corn or use a can of corn with the juice removed.
Popcorn ice cream in a bowl with popcorn on top

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this ice cream have to be made in an ice cream maker?

This ice cream recipe is made in the ice cream maker. It’s an easy way to churn the ice cream mixture to make it freeze faster and make it super creamy, so we prefer it.

However you can still make it without an ice cream maker. At the end, mix in only half of the heavy cream and reserve the rest. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. When ready to eat, add the ice cream cubes to the blender with the remaining heavy cream and blend until smooth.

Do I have to add eggs to the ice cream?

Eggs add flavor, prevent ice crystallization, and create a smooth and creamy texture, so they are an important ingredient for delicious ice cream. You can make ice cream without eggs. Here is a chocolate ice cream recipe that doesn’t include eggs.

Can I use a different type of popcorn?

You can use any type of popcorn you want in this recipe. I would suggest you stick with at least lightly buttered and salted. Extra butter or salt is not a good idea because the recipe already has some in it. If you want it to be extra sweet, you can even use kettle corn.

If you want to pop the corn yourself that’s fine too. You might need to add a little bit more salt to get the right savory notes, since your popcorn won’t have butter or salt.

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Popcorn ice cream in a bowl with popcorn on top

Creamy Popcorn Ice Cream

Popcorn Ice Cream is one of the most unique homemade ice cream flavors you'll probably ever try. It's incredibly creamy, but with a lightly salty and sweet flavor and that buttered popcorn taste you love to snack on.
4.84 from 53 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: corn, ice cream
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 386kcal
Author: Laura

Ingredients

For the corn base:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 ear fresh corn shaved from the cob or 1/2 cup canned corn
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups popped popcorn divided

For the ice cream custard

  • 1/2 cup sugar divided
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup single cream or half & half

Instructions

  • In one saucepan, over medium heat, add the butter and corn. Saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable stock and reduce down by half, over medium heat, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Pop the popcorn. Add 1/2 of the bag to the corn mixture and stir it together. Cover and chill completely.
  • Once chilled, blend the corn mixture in a blender until smooth. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the solids. Reserve until ready to churn the ice cream.
  • In another saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, salt, and half the sugar. Stir the mixture constantly as you bring it just to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar just until combined.
  • To temper the eggs, slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk mixture in a drizzle into the egg mixture. Do this slowly so as not to cook the eggs.
  • Pour the entire egg mixture back into the saucepan with the milk mixture. Simmer over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Do not boil the mixture.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and let cool.
  • Pour the cooled custard mixture into the bowl with the corn mixture and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
  • When you’re ready to churn the ice cream add the cream to the custard mixture. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker. Churn until the ice cream is thick, about 10-15 minutes.

Equipment Needed

Notes

  • Be sure to use heavy whipping cream for the creamiest ice cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 482mg | Potassium: 246mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 652IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2mg

🥧 If you’re interested in more great recipes, I share all my favorite Instant Pot recipes over at A Pressure Cooker Kitchen, air fryer recipes at Air Fry Anytime, and cocktails and drinks at Savored Sips. Check it out today!

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Popcorn ice cream in a bowl with popcorn on top

3 thoughts on “Creamy Popcorn Ice Cream

  1. Angela says:

    4 stars
    The recipe is awesome. Never thought of popcorn ice cream. I feel like it turned out great. The only question is that there were small clumps of butter and it seemed like it (the butter) tried to “set-up” when frozen. Should that have happened or did I do something wrong?

    • Angela Morris says:

      Hi Angela, so excited to hear that you loved the popcorn ice cream! It was a fun recipe to work on. The churning process mixed the butter in mostly when we made it. There was a little butter that froze and didn’t totally mix in.

  2. William Weaver says:

    5 stars
    Love the site! Wanted to let you know that I have a podcast and we referenced your site. Check us out at Youtube.com/@thingsyoudontknow4279 Special shout out to Jillian-I have Ph.D. Psychology and an MA in Music so we have things in common.

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