The Best Vanilla Ice Cream

Ice cream lovers arguably fall in one of two flavor camps: chocolate or vanilla. While chocolate can be undeniably rich and delicious, if you're a vanilla fan, we get you. There's just something refreshing and simple about vanilla. Here are three of our favorite reasons to love it:

It pairs well with everything. Admit it, when you hear “à la mode,” you think, “Why on earth would anyone serve pie without a scoop of vanilla ice cream?” When you're working on the best pie recipes you'll ever make, they are that much better with that creamy dollop of vanilla ice cream. But the beauty of vanilla is that it's delicious with anything—granola, Godiva, or even gummy bears—mixed in. 

It’s gluten free.
Are whole milk, sugar, egg yolks, and half-and-half diet foods? Nope. But if you’re gluten intolerant and need a frozen treat, break out the spoons and dig in to some vanilla ice cream. (Of course, if you’ve chosen to garnish your vanilla ice cream with Oreos, all gluten bets are off.)

It's not a staining nightmare.
Although its color may vary a bit depending on recipe and ingredients (eggier French vanilla, for instance, is more yellow), vanilla ice cream remains fairly neutral. That means that unlike some other flavors (looking at you, chocolate), a spill comes out fairly easily with a little detergent and water. Also, if you’re a person who wears a lot of crisp whites and dreamy beiges, you can just play it cool when a drip or two falls. It'll probably blend right in. 

Here's our favorite, all-time-easy way to make vanilla ice cream, plus three easy ways to switch it up (in case the rest of the family isn't on board). Want even more variation? Here are dozens of homemade ice-cream recipes. Break out your ice cream maker (or, if you don't have one, think about buying one of these best ice cream makers) and go to town!