Vanilla Rainbow Ice Cream Recipe and how to make it with ONLY five ingredients

Elliana’s 4th birthday was this past weekend, and we celebrated in style with cupcakes and ice cream. And this momma has to be careful about which ice creams I can eat because of allergies, so Elliana and I made our own! This post is all about how to make Vanilla Rainbow Ice Cream from scratch with only five ingredients.

Rainbow vanilla ice cream served in a bowl

Disclosure
Published February 14, 2023
This page might contain affiliate links. In the event of a sale, I will be awarded a small commission (at no extra cost for you).

Cost

Elliana received a gift from a grandma for Christmas this past year. Unicorn Food by Cayla Gallagher. This cookbook is adorable, colorful and is filled with easy recipes. Check it out by clicking the link below to Amazon.

At only five ingredients, including food coloring, this recipe for homemade ice cream is so easy to make and results in such a creamy and smooth texture. This recipe is found on page 133 of Unicorn Food.

The next time we decide to make this recipe, we will try to make mint chocolate chip, strawberry, peach, sherbet, cookie dough, or any other type we desire. Really, the recipe is easy to alter to then add a different flavor or color.

As for the cost, it was actually quite reasonable. As we already had the food coloring, that was not added into the cost. Below is a breakdown of each of the four ingredients and what they cost for this recipe, as of February 2023.

1 3/4 cup whipping cream $2.00
4 large eggs $1.64
2/3 cup sugar $0.30
1 tsp vanilla extract $0.10

The total cost to make this recipe was $4.04.
This made ten cups of ice cream.
Compared to buying vanilla ice cream at the store, you buy 6-cups for around $2.75 at ALDI.

Sundae Shoppe Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
$2.75
$0.06/fl oz

At Walmart, the same size Bryers Natural Vanilla cost $4.97.

How to make Homemade Vanilla Extract

As simple as this recipe is, you can make it so much more flavorful by using Homemade Vanilla Extract.

A few months ago, I blogged and also made Homemade Vanilla Extract and also Bourbon Vanilla Extract.
Click the link below to read how you too can make your own extract.

Homemade Vanilla Extract takes all of ten minutes to prepare, however, the longest is the wait, as extract needs to sit for at least eight weeks till up to six months before you can use it. The hardest part is to be patient and to wait for them to be done.

Recipe

Ingredients for Rainbow Ice Cream

1 3/4 cup whipping cream
4 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp Homemade Vanilla Extract
Pink, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple food coloring

ingredients to make rainbow vanilla ice cream

Directions for Rainbow Ice Cream

1. In a KitchenAid mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until it forms a thick ribbon when the whisk is lifted.
This can take a few minutes and be sure to beat the heavy cream on slow to begin and then slowly work up to medium.

This KitchenAid mixer with the whisk attachment made very short work of this recipe. However, using a hand-held mixer would work just as well. A few years ago, a good friend gifted me this white beauty when she had not used it in over a decade.

It gets used daily and is well loved. Click the link below to see KitchenAid mixers on Amazon and take advantage of their free shipping!

2. Before adding the whipped cream, first place six small bowls on the countertop.

six white bowls

Then divide the whipped cream to each of the bowls being careful to not flatten the fluffiness of the heavy cream.

whipped cream in six white bowls

Add the Colors

3. Measure and then add the food colorings to their own bowls, into the cream, one at a time.
Elliana was so happy to squirt the food colors into the whipped cream!
This Rainbow Ice Cream was just the right dessert for her to help with.

Elliana adding food coloring to heavy cream in white bowl

Depending on the color, you may need to add more or less of a color to make it bolder. The yellow, for instance, needed more after the initial mixing.

food colorings in bowls for vanilla ice cream

4. With a spatula, gently fold the cream and food colorings in each individual bowl until it is blended, making sure to clean and then dry the spatula between each color.
By cleaning and drying the spatula between each color, you help to not mix the colors.
Additionally, drying the spatula keeps any water out of the ice cream, which causes ice crystals that form and take away from the creamy texture you are trying to create.

5. Place each of the bowls into the fridge to chill while you make the egg mixture.

6. Clean the KitchenAid bowl, dry it, then add the eggs, sugar and Homemade Vanilla Extract.
Here is where you can alter the flavor you desire for your Rainbow Ice Cream. If you want each color to taste different, add the flavor to each individual bowl instead of the mixer.
For example, you can also choose mint, raspberry, butter pecan, lavender, pumpkin and many more.

Recently, while in a deep research dive on homemade extracts, this site for buying customizable extracts was shown as an add from Amazon. Naturally, the intrigue got to me, and it needed to be looked into.
Bakto Flavors boasts their extensive flavors and how you can pick a specially selected box of extracts, out of 60 flavors. Click the link below to see the selections. A box of 5 is only $24.99 on Amazon!

7. Beat the mixture with the whisk attachment until the mixture again forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted.
Again, begin by beating on low and then work the mixer up to medium speed.
This step takes a bit of time to get the texture and consistency just right.
You may need to stop the mixer, lift the whisk, and check for the ribbon consistency a few times before it is just right.
The mixture will actually ribbon down onto the surface!

egg mixture whipped and creating ribbon on surface

8. Remove the six bowls from the fridge and then equally divide the whipped egg mixture between the colors in the bowls.

9. Gently fold the egg mixture into the cream with a spatula, making sure to clean and then dry the spatula between each color.

10. Place a 12-cup freezer-safe bowl on the countertop, resting on a bowl so it is tilted slightly, then add each color of ice cream into the bowl to create a rainbow pattern.
Begin with purple, then blue, green, yellow, orange and finally pink.

Freeze the Rainbow Ice Cream

11. Cover the bowl and then place it into the freezer for 7-8 hours to chill and set.

chill rainbow vanilla ice cream in freezer 7-8 hours
rainbow vanilla ice cream with dirty bowls

Finally, serve the Rainbow Ice Cream and enjoy!
~Monica

Rainbow Vanilla Ice Cream and cupcakes on table

For Elliana’s birthday, our family went up by my parents for the weekend. The kids played in the snow, we ate delicious food, had a campfire and the best dinner on Saturday.

kids playing in the snow up north

Stay tuned for the recipe we had for dinner, Modern Beef Burgundy.

kids and Tyler built a snowman

Rainbow Ice Cream Recipe

Rainbow Ice Cream

Vanilla Rainbow Ice Cream Recipe

Make your own Vanilla Ice Cream with a handful of on-hand ingredients.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Chill in Freezer 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings

Equipment

  • Hand Mixer
  • 6 Small Bowls
  • Large Bowl with lid

Ingredients
  

  • 1 3/4 cup Whipping Cream
  • 4 Eggs large
  • 2/3 cup Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 6 Food Coloring red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple

Instructions
 

  • In a KitchenAid mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until it forms a thick ribbon when the whisk is lifted.
  • Place six bowls on the countertop and then equally divide the cream into the six bowls.
  • Measure and then add the food colorings to their own bowls, into the cream, one at a time.
  • With a spatula, gently fold the cream and food colorings in each individual bowl until it is blended, making sure to clean and dry the spatula between each color.
  • Place the bowls into the fridge to allow them to chill while the egg mixture is whipped.
  • Clean the KitchenAid bowl and dry it, then add the eggs, sugar and Homemade Vanilla Extract.
  • Beat the mixture with the whisk attachment until the mixture again forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted.
  • Remove the six bowls from the fridge and then divide the egg mixture between the colors.
  • Gently fold the egg mixture into the cream with a spatula, making sure to clean and then dry the spatula between each color.
  • Place a 12-cup freezer-safe bowl on the countertop, resting on a bowl so it is tilted slightly, then add each color of ice cream into the bowl to create a rainbow pattern.
  • Begin with purple, then blue, green, yellow, orange and finally pink.
  • Cover the bowl and then place it into the freezer for 7-8 hours to chill and set.
  • Finally, serve the Rainbow Ice Cream and enjoy!

Notes

This Rainbow Ice Cream can be a very versatile recipe.
For example, instead of vanilla with 6 colors, use just green and add mint extract with mini chocolate chips for Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!
Happy Making!
Keyword from scratch, Homemade, Ice Cream, Rainbow, Rainbow Ice Cream

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