No-Cook, Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

1. Whisk sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl, taking care to avoid creating a bubbly foam; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; stir in salt until dissolved. Stir in pecans until evenly coated; spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes; flip pecans and continue baking until toasted and fragrant, about 6 minutes more. Set aside until cool enough to handle; coarsely chop. Set aside 1 1/2 cups butter pecans; reserve remaining pecans for another use.

5. Pour cream mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions until semi-solid, about 30 minutes. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container; fold in 1 1/2 cups butter pecans. Cover ice cream with plastic wrap; seal the container with a lid. Freeze ice cream until solid, at least 2 hours.

Cook's Notes:

Substitute 3 cups whole milk for 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream, if desired. I generally use the 3 cups whole milk version (for cost-cutting). However, the heavy cream version will create a smoother texture.

Unused buttered pecans can be frozen for future batches of ice cream; if you can resist eating them as snacks.

Chilling the mixture and covering it with plastic wrap helps prevent ice crystals from forming in your ice cream.

Editor's Note:

Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of butter pecans. The actual amount of butter pecans consumed will vary.