Name: Vietnamese Coffee Ice-Cream
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups water; 1/2 cup dark roast ground coffee; 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk; 2/3 cup heavy cream

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This recipe takes all the great things about Vietnamese iced coffee and turns it into ice-cream. Sweetened condensed milk adds extra flavor and keeps it authentic.

Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
10 mins
Total Time:
20 mins *

* Plus freezing time

Vietnamese coffee ice-cream in a metal bowl with a spoon.

I have never considered myself a coffee drinker. I usually prefer tea.

However, I make a notable exception in the case of Vietnamese iced coffee. The combination of brewed dark roast coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk poured over ice is addictive. Vietnamese iced coffee is like dessert for me so when I discovered I could have it in ice-cream form, I was hooked. There is something about the thick and creamy consistency of sweetened condensed milk that cream and sugar on their own just can’t replicate. It sets Vietnamese coffee ice-cream apart from other coffee ice-creams.

Vietnamese coffee ice-cream in a metal container with an ice-cream scoop.

Ingredients for Vietnamese Coffee Ice-cream

There are only 3 ingredients required and there’s no cooking! How easy is that.

First, there’s coffee. Although using authentic Vietnamese coffee for this recipe is ideal, it is not a requirement. I was all out of the Vietnamese coffee I had been gifted and used a dark roast coffee from Starbuck’s instead for this batch. It was still wickedly delicious.

Next is sweetened condensed milk. Sweetened condensed milk is a thick (and semi-magical) concoction created by cooking down milk to remove most of the water and then adding sugar. Be sure to use a sweetened condensed milk that has just milk and sugar in it. Some brands add other ingredients that aren’t necessary. Also, do not confuse sweetened condensed milk with evaporated milk. They are very different and cannot be substituted for each other.

Finally, there’s some heavy cream to ensure your Vietnamese coffee ice-cream is a creamy dream.

Ingredients for Vietnamese coffee ice-cream in a metal tray.

Churn vs No-churn

I know there are several recipes for no-churn ice-cream using sweetened condensed milk. In fact, I have an affogato recipe that does just that. However, for this particular recipe, I really like the smooth texture that churning gives this ice-cream so the instructions below call for using an ice-cream maker.

2 bowls of Vietnamese coffee ice-cream on a metal tray.

As summer continues to heat up, I hope to bring you more ice-cream recipes. Hopefully, my ice-cream photography will improve with each batch. Dang, ice-cream sure melts fast when you’re trying to photograph it. Don’t worry about me though, I’ll find a way to eat all that melted ice-cream. Tough job.