How to make homemade ice cream in a bag without half and half

Updated: February 11, 2022  |  By Trisha  |  

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If you’ve never made ice cream in a bag, you’re in for a fun activity with a delicious result! It’s perfect for a fun summer activity to help cool off from the hot sun. This experiment takes a few ingredients and some kid or teen volunteers.

Shake the dust off your feet and get those arm muscles ready as we show you how to make a kid-friendly frozen treat!

We didn’t learn this particular craft FROM TikTok itself, but as TikTok is our primary source of awesomeness, we want to connect you with this fantastic creator @OfficialFunFoods. Watch his video below on his demonstration of this fun food science activity.

Ice Cream Ingredients

This recipe has super simple ingredients. You only need half and half, a bag of Tupperware, and salt.

• half and half
• white sugar
• vanilla extract
• ice cubes
• table salt
• rainbow sprinkles
• 2 resealable Ziploc gallon size bags

Homemade Ice Cream Science

How does ice cream in a bag work?

• When you combine salt and ice, the chemical reaction lowers the freezing point of the ice. Thus the brine-like mixture of salt and ice absorbs the heat from your ice cream mixture, making it freeze. This is called an exothermic chemical reaction, which is the release of light or heat!
• Did you know? Water (H20) freezes at 0 degrees Celsius under normal conditions. But when salt is added to ice, it drops the temperature to -10 degrees Celsius.
• This speeds the homemade ice cream freezing process up in only a few minutes.
• All ice cream is made up of are sugars, milk, fat, ice crystals, and air. When shaking your Ziploc ice cream bag, this breaks the ice crystals in your blend into smaller geometric crystals, which creates more air into your milk mixture.
• This is what makes your ice cream fluffy and creamy!
• Don’t stop shaking to achieve more a more frozen solution in this science activity.

How to make Ice Cream in a Bag (with Half and Half)

1. Add half and half to a resealable bag.
2. Pour in sugar and vanilla.
3. Seal shut and gently shake until most of the sugar is dissolved.
4. Place half of the ice into a separate bag and generously sprinkle with salt.

1. Place the bag of cream and sugar on the ice. This creates double bagging.
2. Sprinkle with remaining ice and generously sprinkle with salt.
3. Wrap the bag in a kitchen towel OR put it into a Tupperware container and shake for about 10 minutes or until the ice cream begins to form. It will take a good 10 minutes of shaking that bag for it to come together with 2 cups of half and half. It might be easier/quicker to halve the recipe and shake for only 5 minutes if you have younger kids.
4. Open the bag of ice and remove the delicious ice cream. Important Tip: You may want to use the kitchen towel as the outside of the bag will be covered in salt.
5. Snip the corner of the bag and pipe ice cream into bowls and top with sprinkles.

Make Chocolate Ice Cream In A Bag

The recipe above makes vanilla ice cream. But if you’re a chocolate-craving person, that won’t be a problem! All it takes is adding a few more ingredients and steps.

1. Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite chocolate flavored powder with the rest of all the other ingredients in the bag. The most common chocolate powders are cocoa powder, chocolate milk powder, and dark chocolate powder.
2. Mix the ingredients with a small whisk. Make sure to rid of the chocolate powder blobs that stick together.
3. Seal the bags then proceed with your shaking process.

HIDDEN HACK!

If you or the kids want to avoid cold hands, try this hack so your fingers don’t freeze off. After you finish packing all of your ingredients sealed and packed with ice, place your shaking bag of ice into a plastic Tupperware container.

Tupperware not only carries the package conveniently but it’s easier to grasp and you don’t have to deal with slippery, wet, cold hands! It saved Charlotte and I the cold hassle.

Tips & Tricks

• Since your Ziploc bag ice cream recipe melts quickly, eat it in an ice cream cone or bowl to prevent messes.
• The fat content of your mixture will affect your final product. If you’re looking to cut down on the calories but with a less rich flavor, use whole milk. If you’re looking for a thicker whip but with more calories, heavy cream will do the trick!
• Don’t forget your towel or winter gloves to not freeze your fingers off while shaking your bagged ice cream recipe! The ice cubes can make little fingers super cold.
• If you’re looking for a dairy-free recipe, using an alternative milk substitute like coconut milk or almond milk will work just fine.
• Top things up by adding your favorite flavors, candies, nuts, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup when the ice cream is finished. This recipe is also super fun at a birthday party.
• Side note: This recipe isn’t hard to make but you do need to make the ice cream and eat it right away or it melts quickly!

Can I Use Whole Milk To Make Ice Cream In A Bag?

You can also change the creaminess of your ice cream by changing one ingredient: Milk. Half-and-half does create the perfect thickness for a creamy course, or you can use whole milk to make ice cream in a bag.

Know that using whole milk to make your ice cream will yield a more creamy consistency. Why? Fat content is what holds the structure together in creams and foods.

Although I haven’t tried it personally, I believe heavy whipping cream would make a great substitute in this science lesson.

What Type Of Salt Do I use To Make Ice Cream In A Bag?

I like to use regular table salt for this recipe. While other recipes call to use rock salt or ice cream salt, different types of salts still have the same properties to freeze your ice cream. Sea salt, kosher salt, flake salt, fleur de sel, or pink salt will still do the trick.

How To Prevent Salty Ice Cream

There’s nothing more distasteful than ice cream that tastes like you just scooped it out of the ocean: salty!

Salty ice cream happens during the transfer of iced water and salt through the Ziploc bag. To prevent salty ice cream, investing in quality branded bags help solve the problem. Whereas cheaper brands leave your viral dessert recipe vulnerable to leakage and the transfer of salty ice.

Other tips on how to prevent salty ice cream in a bag:

• Ensure all your Ziploc bags are sealed tight.
• Don’t be afraid to double-bag or triple-bag your contents.
• Dry the bag with a towel as soon as pulling it out.
• Chunkier salt crystals have a harder time getting into your Ziploc bag ice cream.
• Be gentle while shaking. Time is your best friend here.

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Ice Cream in a Bag (TikTok)

Homemade Ice Cream is so easy to make in a bag and you do NOT need Rock Salt! Fun edible science activity for Ice Cream in a bag the EASY way. As seen on TikTok Crafts!

• 2 resealable Ziploc Baggies

• ▢ 2 cups half and half
• ▢ ½ cup white sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla
• ▢ table salt
• ▢ rainbow sprinkles

• Add half and half to a resealable bag.

• Pour in sugar and vanilla with half and half.

• Seal 1st bag shut and gently shake until most of the sugar is dissolved in the ice cream mixture.

• In a separate larger bag, fill ice halfway up the bag and sprinkle table salt generously on the ice.

• Place the sealed mixed bag of cream and sugar mixture inside the second bag directly on the ice.

• Top more ice into a sealed bag and generously sprinkle with salt again. Seal the ice bag shut with the ice cream bag inside of it.

• Wrap the ice bag in a kitchen towel and shake for about 10 minutes or until the ice cream begins to form. Alternatively, adding a bag to a small Tupperware container with a lid will keep the bag safe and your hands from freezing. If you open the ice cream bag and it's not done forming, continue to shake again for 5 minutes. Many kids like to toss the bag back and forth as a game.

• Once ice cream forms, open the bag of ice and remove the bag of ice cream. You may want to use the kitchen towel as the outside of the ice cream bag will be covered in salt.

• Snip the corner of the bag and pipe ice cream into bowls and top with sprinkles.

• Serve immediately as homemade ice cream in a bag melts quicker than regular store-bought versions.

• If you have smaller children, cut the recipe in half for a 5 minute shake time.

• As noted, place bags in a small Tupperware container and top with a lid. Then shake, shake, shake! This keeps little hands and big hands from being too cold during the process. 
• Nutritional values are estimated and should not be taken at face value. Please consult a nutritional app and serving size to properly calculate. 

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 307kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 14gFat: 56gSaturated Fat: 35gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 179mgSodium: 200mgPotassium: 637mgSugar: 101gVitamin A: 1713IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 510mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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