The Pioneer Woman's Favorite Homemade Ice Cream Is Made With This Juicy Summer Fruit

Ree Drummond's favorite flavor of ice cream is made with a fruit that could not be more on-brand: peaches! Drummond has a particular fondness for peach ice cream because of childhood nostalgia. "My mom made it when I was little, which means it's forever etched in my heart. And taste buds," she shared in a post on Facebook, along with a simple recipe that includes plenty of fresh peaches, cream, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, and salt.

Unfortunately, many people have not had the delicious experience of enjoying homemade peach ice cream as a childhood treat like Drummond did, let alone the opportunity to simply try it. Instacart published data from 2024 that revealed peach ice cream didn't even make the list of most popular ice cream flavors in the United States, but this might just be because it is less commonly found in ice cream shops or the grocery store. Peach is well overdue its moment as an ice cream flavor, especially when the fruits taste their best during the summertime. What better way to make the most of them than to make your own peach ice cream?

Peach ice cream is surprisingly easy to make. If you have an ice cream machine, you can stick to Ree Drummond's frozen custard method that includes eggs or go simpler with a Philadelphia-style ice cream base that includes nothing more than milk, cream, and sugar. The real star, of course, is the fruit: ripe yellow peaches cooked down with a little sugar until they're soft and jammy. A rough purée works best — chunky enough for some fruity texture but smooth enough to swirl evenly through the base. Chill everything thoroughly before churning, and you'll end up with a creamy dessert that tastes like peak summer.

If you don't have an ice cream machine, try the no-churn method. A combination of sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream creates richness and structure without eggs or churning. A splash of vanilla adds depth (even though Drummond leaves it out of her recipe), and a bit of vodka helps keep the ice cream from becoming too hard.

Regardless of how you get your homemade peach ice cream into the freezer, make sure it spends at least four hours there to completely set up. Once you dig your spoon in, you'll understand why it's Drummond's tried and true — it may even become your new favorite summer treat too.