Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe

Cinnamon ice cream recipe

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck 

Prep: 2 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 2 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cup

It's tough to find cinnamon ice cream in stores, but thanks to this super-simple trick, you don't need an ice cream maker to serve this fantastic flavor. Simply add ground cinnamon to your favorite vanilla ice cream. The warm notes of this heady spice married with the cold, smooth ice cream might bring back pleasant memories from your youth.

The proportions are given for a single serving, but you easily can adjust the spice for larger quantities of ice cream. If you want to stir up a whole container of ice cream with cinnamon, you should let it soften for a bit in the refrigerator. Don't let it melt for too long or you'll be having cinnamon soup instead of ice cream. You'll need 1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon for every cup of ice cream.

Cinnamon ice cream is a great accompaniment for apple pie and other fruit desserts. It can dress up a fruitcake for the holidays or go perfectly with pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Try a dollop of cinnamon ice cream in your coffee or on top of a hot coffee cocktail or with hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick for mixing or swirling.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup vanilla ice cream

  • 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for cinnamon ice cream
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck
  2. Place the ice cream in a bowl. Let stand for 3 minutes to slightly soften it.

    Ice cream
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck
  3. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon of the cinnamon over the ice cream, then stir until it is well distributed.

    Add cinnamon
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck
  4. Taste for seasoning, and add more cinnamon if desired. Serve immediately or cover and place in the freezer for a bit if you prefer firmer ice cream. Use it soon because refrozen ice cream often gets an unpleasant grainy texture and isn't as smooth and creamy.

    Cinnamon ice cream
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Recipe Variations

  • If you liked this cinnamon ice cream hack, try it with other spices or spice combinations like a pumpkin pie spice mixture in vanilla ice cream.
  • If you love eggnog, try nutmeg in vanilla ice cream as an easy hack.
  • Ground ginger mixed into ice cream will make a spicy accompaniment for many desserts.
  • Give allspice a try as well. You can look through your spice cabinet for many ways to turn plain old vanilla ice cream into something downright artisanal.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
274 Calories
15g Fat
31g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 274
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Cholesterol 58mg 19%
Sodium 106mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 31g 11%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 28g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 1mg 4%
Calcium 172mg 13%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 264mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)