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This butter pecan ice cream is rich, creamy, and packed with toasted pecan flavor – made with simple ingredients and no eggs. It churns in about 20 minutes and comes out soft, smooth, and ready to enjoy.
If you’ve ever wanted homemade ice cream that actually tastes better than store-bought, this is it.
You may also like this Strawberry Sorbet, Homemade Custard or Lemon Posset.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to customize (sweetness, salt level, mix-ins)
- Toasted pecans in butter → deep, nutty flavor
- No eggs → faster, simpler, lighter texture
- Churns in under 20 minutes
- Soft-serve texture straight from the machine
Ingredient Notes
Salt → Important — but reduce slightly if sensitive
Pecans → Toasting in butter is key (don’t skip)
Butter → Adds flavor, not just fat
Heavy cream + milk → Balanced for creamy but not overly dense texture
Sugar → Can be adjusted slightly depending on preference
How to Make Butter Pecan Ice Cream
- Toast pecans in butter until golden and fragrant
- Chill pecans completely
- Mix milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla
- Chill base (optional but better texture)
- Churn in ice cream maker
- Add pecans in last few minutes
Texture Tips
Best texture → next day
Soft right after churning → like soft serve
For firmer texture → freeze 30–60 minutes
Salt Level Adjustment
Your readers already told you this:
Some found pecans too salty
So fix it here:
Taste pecans before adding to ice cream
Use 1/2 tsp salt instead of 1 tsp for balanced flavor
Variations
- Swap pecans for walnuts
- Add caramel swirl
- Use brown sugar instead of white
- Add vanilla bean for deeper flavor
Storage
- Let sit 5-10 minutes before scooping
- Freeze in airtight container
- Best within 3-5 days
Butter Pecan Ice Cream FAQs
Yes, chilling helps create a smoother and creamier texture, but you can skip it if your ingredients are already cold.
Freshly churned ice cream has a soft-serve texture. Freeze it for 30–60 minutes for a firmer consistency.
Yes, but texture will be less smooth. Stir every 30–45 minutes while freezing to reduce ice crystals.
Reduce salt to 1/2 teaspoon or adjust to taste before adding them to the ice cream.
Up to 5 days in the freezer, stored in an airtight container.
Yes, brown sugar adds a deeper, caramel-like flavor and works well in this recipe.
Butter Pecan Ice Cream (Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker)
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt, adjust to taste
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the pecans
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add pecans and salt.
- Cook, stirring frequently, for 6–8 minutes until golden and fragrant.
- Remove from heat, strain, and let pecans cool completely.
Make the ice cream base
- In a bowl, whisk milk and sugar until dissolved.
- Add heavy cream and vanilla.
- Cover and chill for 1–2 hours (recommended for best texture).
Churn
- Pour mixture into frozen ice cream maker bowl.
- Churn according to manufacturer instructions (about 20 minutes).
- Add pecans during the last 5 minutes.
Finish
- Serve immediately for soft-serve texture
- Or freeze 30–60 minutes for firmer consistency
Notes
Ice cream maker bowl must be frozen 16–24 hours
Reduce salt to 1/2 tsp if you prefer less salty pecans
Ice cream will be soft right after churning
Best texture after chilling a few hours or overnight
Storage
Freeze in airtight container up to 5 days
Let sit 5–10 minutes before scooping
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Ice Cream Recipes:
Just started making this recipe…are the pecans supposed to be so salty? Just want to double check! Thanks!
they do not need to be salty
Love this recipe! It is simple – not too sweet. The cool part is that I picked the pecans in our neighborhood pecan grove. I had been holding on to them for a while to do something special. I am a recent transplant to the south, so picking pecans is new to me. Will serve this at a party today! Yum.
Great recipe!! I thought the pecans were going to be too salty before I mixed them into the ice cream but they were perfect. I may in the future use 3/4 cup pecans and 3/4 t salt as I did not use all the pecans in the ice cream. This will be my go to recipe for my Cuisinart ice cream maker.
Great! Glad you liked the recipe Julie!
This recipe was easy and so delicious. Was wondering if a sugar substitute such as swerve or bocha sweet could be used for it ? thanks for sharing
Hi Lisa, yes, sugar substitute like Swerve can be used.
I am making this Butter Pecan Ice Cream for the second time, which is only the second time I’m making ice cream. First, it is the tastiest Butter Pecan Ice Cream ever. It’s rich in flavor and richness. You really don’t even have to consume a whole scoop or bowl. A couple teaspoons does it!!! Which makes having this so much better than store bought. Store bought doesn’t satisfy like this does, so you tend to keep eating trying to reach that sensation of completeness. And it’s so darn easy to make with my Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine!!!
Is it possible to substitute swerve for the sugar?
Yes, Swerve will work.
I made this recipe for my husbands’s birthday. He told me to make any kind of ice cream I wanted. I really like butter pecan ice cream and thought I would give this recipe a whirl. Wow! Great flavors.. the nuts were delicious and really made the dish. For whatever reason (could be as simple as my old ice cream maker) but we needed to wait a day to get the firmness/ texture of the ice cream we really wanted. We ate the ice cream the first time in 30 minutes, according to the recipe, and it was delicious. The next day it was perfect! Thanks for this recipe!! Yum!
HOW MUCH DOES THIS RECIPE MAKE??
2 pints
This ice cream is so creamy & delicous! We loved it, and I’ll definitely be making it again!
Thank you!!!
Best butter pecan ice cream we’ve ever eaten! I used brown sugar vs granulated and substituted the vanilla extract with Superior Flavors Vanilla Butter & Nut extract & add a few drops of Loranns pecan oil. I had to reduce salt when cooking the pecans as the first batch of pecans was way too salty so if you want less salty pecans, use about 1/4-1/2 tsp. This was Amazing ice cream.