Salted Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream (No Churn)

No ice cream maker needed for this delicious salted caramel pretzel ice cream. A perfect balance of sweet and salty! A summer favorite!

I’ve been meaning to make salted caramel pretzel ice cream for a while! I absolutely love salty sweet desserts!

Salted caramel, pretzels, and ice cream make a perfect flavor combination!

Love frozen desserts and treats? Check out my Easy Tiramisu Semifreddo, Strawberry Mint Sorbet, or my Healthy Watermelon Slushie (2 Ingredients).

For this ice cream, though, I didn’t want to just add swirls of caramel sauce in vanilla ice cream, I was aiming for a much richer, caramelly ice cream! So, I added salted caramel sauce into the base and then swirled some more ALL throughout the ice cream! Together with pieces of salted pretzels, this ice cream has the ideal proportion of salty and sweet!

The sweet and salty combo is divine! If you like that combination, too, you will fall in love with this no churn salted caramel pretzel ice cream recipe!

Even though this is not a quick recipe, it is so totally worth it in the end!
Honestly, for me, the hardest thing about making this ice cream was waiting for it to freeze! I can get really impatient!

But, what really stands out with this ice cream is the homemade salted caramel sauce! OMG! It’s so much more flavorful than store-bought caramel sauce!

Don’t be scared to make your own caramel sauce at home! I went through a few fails before perfecting this recipe and I’ll go into detail for each and every step! And, this recipe makes about 1 ½ cups of salted caramel sauce, so there will be some left over to drizzle over the ice cream! 🙌😃

Why this recipe works

• It’s simple. My step-by-step instructions and picture tutorials will guide you through every single step! To ensure success, I suggest reading through the entire post carefully first.
• It’s not icy. This ice cream has a very smooth and creamy texture. It isn’t icy at all!
• It doesn't have a lot of ingredients. You only need a few ingredients to make this ice cream!
• It has homemade salted caramel sauce. Although you can definitely buy store-bought caramel sauce for this recipe, there’s nothing like homemade! The caramel is a lot more intense in flavor!
• There’s no corn syrup. Although many recipes will add corn syrup to the base to prevent the ice cream from freezing hard, there’s no need for it in this recipe because of the homemade caramel sauce!

What does this salted caramel pretzel ice cream taste like?

This ice cream is soft, velvety smooth, and creamy with a wonderful rich salted caramel flavor! There are pockets and pockets of swirled salted caramel together with chunks of salted pretzels which give it a nice texture!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

I’m also including the ingredients and step-by-step instructions for the salted caramel sauce, too! However, if you want to use ready-made caramel sauce, just skip this step. Keep in mind that you’ll need 1 cup caramel sauce for this recipe.

Ingredients for salted caramel pretzel ice cream

For the salted caramel sauce

For the salted caramel pretzel ice cream

• Butter: I use unsalted butter so I can add my own salt and control how salty I want the ice cream to be.
• Sugar: I use granulated sugar for the caramel.
• Heavy Whipping Cream: You need 2 cups heavy whipping cream for the base and ¾ cup for the caramel. Make sure the cream has at least 33% fat.
• Salt: I use regular table salt for the caramel sauce. You can use flaky salt or kosher salt according to your taste.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk: You’ll need sweetened condensed milk for this recipe, not plain condensed milk.
• Pretzels: I use mini pretzels because I think they're the perfect size. You'll need about 1 ¼ cups chopped pretzel pieces.
• Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract.
• Salted Caramel Sauce: You’ll need 1 cup for this recipe. I highly suggest you make your own. I’ll include all the steps here and in the recipe card!

Equipment you’ll need

TOP TIP
For more detailed information on making homemade caramel sauce, check out my post here!

• A deep, heavy saucepan that’s at least 3 quart capacity (about 3 liters) for the caramel sauce.
• A balloon whisk or a heat-proof silicone spatula.
• A standard loaf pan that’s about 9x5 inches (23x13 cm) or another freezer-safe container of the same size.
• A hand mixer.

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

Step-by-step instructions for homemade salted caramel sauce

Make sure you have all the ingredients and equipment close to the stove when you start.
Also, before making the caramel, heat the heavy cream in the microwave for about a minute. It needs to be hot when we add it later. Put it close to the stove with the other ingredients.

Now let’s make the salted caramel sauce!

STEP 1
Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. The saucepan needs to have a capacity of at least 3 quarts (about 3 liters) with high sides because the caramel will bubble up and you don't want it to spill over.

STEP 2
There’s no need to stir the sugar at this time. It’ll seem like nothing is happening, but be patient! After about 3 minutes or so, the sugar will begin to melt around the sides. At this point, you can lift the pan and swirl it around so that the remaining sugar melts evenly. Then use a whisk or a heat-proof spatula to stir the sugar so it all melts.

STEPS 3 - 4
When all the sugar melts, keep an eagle eye on it because it can burn very quickly! As soon as it foams in the middle and small bubbles appear, it’s time to add the cream, but NOT ALL AT ONCE! You’ll get burnt! Add the cream in 3 batches.

STEPS 5-7
Add ⅓ of the cream and whisk the mixture continuously. It will bubble up and steam, but just keep whisking it. Then add a little more cream and continue whisking. It should start to look like caramel sauce at this point (photo 7).

STEP 8
Now take the saucepan off the heat so that it doesn’t burn and add the remaining cream. Whisk until it’s well combined.

STEP 9
Add the butter and whisk again.

STEP 10
Finally add the salt and whisk again. When it cools a bit, you can taste it to see if you want to add more salt.

STEPS 11-12
Pour the caramel into a bowl to cool completely.

TOP TIP FOR A DARKER CARAMEL
I actually made 2 different salted caramel sauces for this recipe! After I made the one shown above, I made another batch that was darker and had a slightly burnt flavor to it, which I love! All I did was let it simmer a few seconds more before adding the cream.

Now, it’s time to make the ice cream base!

SALTED CARAMEL PRETZEL ICE CREAM RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1
Whip the cream and the vanilla together to stiff peaks.

STEP 2
To the whipped cream, add the sweetened condensed milk and ¾ cup of the caramel sauce. Mix until combined.

STEP 3
Pour ⅓ of the ice cream base into the pan.

STEP 4
Add about ⅓ of the pretzels on top.

STEP 5
Then drizzle some caramel sauce over the pretzels.

STEP 6
Repeat the process 2 more times, adding 2 more layers. After you add the final layer, you can use a knife to swirl the caramel throughout.

Then cover with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the surface so that ice crystals don’t form. Then cover with aluminum foil and freeze for at least 12 hours or overnight. I always leave it overnight.

Recipe Notes

Storage Tips / Freezer Instructions

This ice cream can be kept in the freezer for up to about 2-3 weeks as long as it’s well covered.

VARIATIONS

• Since the pretzels soften in the ice cream, you could add them on top of the ice cream when you serve it instead of adding them to the ice cream base.
• Crush about 2 Skor candy bars and fold them into the ice cream base before pouring it into the pan! I love Skor bars in ice cream!
• You could also add some mini chocolate chips to the base!

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• If you want to buy caramel sauce for this recipe, make sure it's thick and not too runny. I would avoid using the caramel found in squeeze bottles because it's a bit runny.
• This is a soft-serve ice cream. It needs at least 12 hours to set (overnight is even better). Because it has a lot of caramel it won’t freeze rock-hard like regular ice cream and it won’t get icy at all.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

MORE NO CHURN ICE CREAM & FROZEN DESSERT RECIPES TO TRY!

Enjoy!
~ Voula

Let me know how this Salted Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream turns out for you in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you!