How to Make Soft Serve Ice Cream

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 14, 2021 References

For most people, soft serve is a treat that comes with dining out — it's the sort of thing that's served at fast food restaurants, but rarely in the house. Believe it or not, it's possible to make your very own soft serve at home. If you have an ice cream maker, you can make soft serve from just a few simple ingredients. If you don't, you can use an electric stand mixer and dry ice to get similar results. The latter choice gets slightly smoother, more "authentic" results, but it requires a little more work.

Ingredients

Easy Soft Serve^{[1]
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Home ice cream maker (plus ice, rock salt, etc. according to product directions)
1/2 gallon whole milk
2 cups sugar
1 8-ounce package Cool Whip (or similar whipped spread)
1 8-ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 tablespoons vanilla flavoring

Gourmet Soft Serve^{[2]
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Electric stand mixer with paddle attachment
2 pounds dry ice
1/4 gallon whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/8 cup sugar
3/4 cup dry milk powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Easy Soft Serve (Using Ice Cream Maker)

1
Prepare your ice cream machine ahead of time. Different models of home ice cream makers can work differently, but most have a removable two-layered bowl with cooling fluid in between the layers.^{[3]
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Research source} This bowl needs to be ice cold to make ice cream, so put it in the freezer at least an hour or two before you plan to start. Consult your machine's directions to learn the exact freezing time — some models may need to freeze overnight (or longer).
- Wrap the bowl in a plastic bag before putting it in the freezer to prevent frost from forming on it.
2
Make the pudding. Before you begin, use the instant pudding packet to make pudding. Follow the directions on the pudding's packaging for preparation. Depending on the type of pudding you are using, the process can take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. For longer recipes, much of the time will usually be waiting for the pudding to set in the fridge, so you can ready the rest of your ingredients while you wait.
- Instant pudding products will vary, but generally all you'll need to do is mix the powder with milk and put it in the fridge to set. See our article on making instant pudding for more information.
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3
Combine pudding, milk, and sugar. Add the ingredients to a large bowl, making sure the pudding is set before doing so. If you have an electric mixer, you can use this to combine the ingredients quickly. Otherwise, use a whisk.
- You only need to mix the ingredients so they're uniform here. You aren't trying to churn the ice cream into something solid yet.
4
Add Cool Whip and vanilla. Stir slowly as you add these ingredients to the bowl. Fold the mixture a few times to combine them well.
- If you don't have vanilla flavoring, try adding a tablespoon of vanilla extract instead (which can be a little easier to find at the grocery store).
5
Churn mixture in ice cream maker. Assemble your ice cream maker, taking the bowl out of the freezer and locking it in its place under the paddle. Pour your liquid mixture into the bowl, close the machine, and turn it on. Consult the directions for your machine to learn how long to run it for — most models will get the ice cream to a soft-serve consistency within 20-30 minutes.^{[4]
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- Soft serve is best-enjoyed immediately. It will keep in a freezer-safe container, but may loose its soft, light texture, becoming something closer to "normal" ice cream.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Gourmet Soft Serve (Using Stand Mixer)

1
Combine all ingredients (besides dry ice) in a mixing bowl. You can use the stand mixer for this. Alternatively, use a whisk to mix the ingredients by hand in a separate bowl. Your goal here isn't to churn the mixture into ice cream — just to combine it until it's uniform. Transfer it to the fridge when you're done to chill.
- Make sure any clumps formed by the milk powder are completely broken up before proceeding.
2
Optionally, warm the ingredients on the stove. You don't have to do this, but it can make for slightly smoother ice cream. The mild heat breaks down the proteins in the milk powder, ensuring you don't get any clumps or uneven textures in your final product.
- If you want to do this, transfer the mixture to a small pot and warm them over medium-low heat to about 176 F (80 C). The liquid should be quite warm to the touch but not boiling. Once it reaches this temperature, remove it from the stove, transfer to another container, and let it chill in the fridge thoroughly before proceeding.
3
Break up the dry ice. Transfer the dry ice to a clean burlap sack or another sturdy bag that you don't mind beating up. Alternatively, wrap it tightly in a clean bath towel. Use a mallet or a heavy pan to break the dry ice into tiny pieces. Transfer it into a Tupperware container or a plastic bowl. Don't use ceramic or glass containers — dry ice's extreme cold can make these break.
- Handle dry ice with care. Use gloves, an oven mitt, or a towel to carry it. If it touches the skin for more than a few seconds, it can cause "burns" similar to what you may get from high heat. Never put dry ice in your mouth.^{[5]
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4
Churn the liquid base with dry ice. Add the chilled liquid from earlier to the bowl of your stand mixer. Start mixing it on the lowest possible speed with a paddle attachment. As the mixture churns, use a spoon to add the dry ice once scoop at a time. It will immediately begin to foam and sputter. Go slowly — wait until one spoonful stops foaming to add the next one.
5
Continue until you reach soft serve texture. As you slowly add the dry ice, the mixture will begin to thicken. Increase the mixing speed slightly and continue to add dry ice as before. Keep a close eye on the ice cream at this point. When it starts to look like soft serve, try a small amount. If you like the texture, you're ready to eat. If it needs to be thicker, keep adding dry ice and mixing. That's all there is to it!
- If you're not enjoying it right away, this soft serve stores well in the freezer. Use an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Optional Recipe Variations

1
Use a piping bag for a classic soft serve look. When you enjoy soft serve at a restaurant, it's usually served in a cone or a bowl in a tidy-looking spiraling arrangement, rather than as a rough-looking "clump." To get this presentation, transfer the soft serve to a piping bag (which are often used to apply frosting to baked goods) and squeeze the ice cream through the hole or nozzle, piling it in a spiraling circle.
- Stop squeezing and use a "dipping" motion to break the stream of ice cream and get a "curled over" look when you're done.
2
Add new ingredients to get different flavors. The recipes above are for vanilla ice cream, but it's not hard to get other flavors. Simply keep the non-vanilla ingredients (milk, cream, sugar, etc.) the same and replace the vanilla ingredients with your preferred flavorings. There's practically no limit to what you can add, but things like syrups, blended fruits, and powdered ingredients all work well because they can blend uniformly through the mixture.
- For example, if you want to make chocolate ice cream, try adding 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to either recipe in place of the vanilla flavoring.
3
Make your own cone. Nothing goes with ice cream like a crunchy, flavorful cone. You can buy these from the store, but you can also make better-tasting cones at home from a few simple ingredients. See [Make Waffle Cones|our waffle cone recipe]] to get started — note that you will need a waffle cone or pizzelle press, both of which look like shallow waffle makers.^{[6]
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4
Add fillings to the ice cream. One easy way to customize your ice cream is to add "fillings" to it. These are chunks of your favorite ingredients that you simply fold into the soft serve ice cream once it's nearly finished churning. Below are just a few ideas:
- Chocolate chips
- Sliced strawberries
- Chunks of cookie or cookie dough
- Corn flakes or breakfast cereal
- Caramel
- Chocolate fudge

Community Q&A

Question

In Method Two, do I add the dry ice to the chilled ice cream mixture?

Sarah

Community Answer

Yes, you do. In step four it tells you how to do this.
Question

Can I use a hand blender?

Diamy Wang

Community Answer

You could, but it is more time-consuming and it would cost you more physical energy and time.