How To Make Ice Cubes Without A Tray? 11 Ways

During a heat wave, ice cubes are a necessity that can be made at home in three to four hours. The problem is that occasionally you might have a freezer that is too small to accommodate an ice tray. Sometimes you have a big enough fridge, but you’ve packed it so full that there isn’t room for an ice tray.

How then can ice cubes be made without a tray? Fortunately, you don’t need to wait until Amazon Prime sends more trays before sipping iced coffee or a whiskey on the rocks. Without using an ice cube tray, there are 11 different ways to make ice cubes. Some of these techniques even produce ice that is superior to ice cube trays.

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Make Ice With Ziploc Bags

Ziploc Bags are excellent solutions for when you don’t have an ice tray because they are simple and quick to deal with. You probably have some lying around the house because they are fairly common.

Use a Ziploc bag by placing it in the freezer for several hours after filling it with cold water. The amount of water you put in the bag will determine how much ice you get. A sizable ice rock will result from completely filling the bag.

For practical use, you might have to break it up into smaller pieces. A good trick is to fill the Ziploc quarter-way and then zip it up and lay it flat on the floor of the freezer. This will produce a layer of medium thickness that is simple to break up into smaller pieces.

Your ice will typically be shapeless if you use Ziploc bags, which is a significant drawback. However, that shouldn’t be a concern if you don’t care about appearances.

Plastic Bag

Until it is halfway full, add water to a plastic ziplock bag. Never add more material to the bag because doing so will result in a large, hard-to-crush ice rock. Although larger bags will yield more ice, consider the size of your freezer when selecting a bag.

Leave some air in the bag as you zip it up to prevent spills. For four hours, place the bag on its side on a flat surface in the freezer. Larger bags could take up to 12 hours to freeze.

Once the ice has frozen, take it out of the bag and crush it with your hands. As an alternative, you can put the ice in a bag and smash it with a rolling pin into teeny, tiny chunks.

Baking Trays/molds

Using your baking trays is the simplest way to make ice cubes without a tray. There are two types of trays that could be used: silicone mold trays or stainless steel baking trays.

You can also use silicone molds that you use to make candles, soaps, candies, and chocolates. These adorable silicone candy molds make fantastic ice trays, and the ice blocks are much more interesting than the usual rectangles.

All you have to do is:

1. Ensure the mold is clean and free from oils or food remains
2. Add water to the desired level
3. Pop it into the freezer
4. Wait until the water has turned into ice

These frequently come out adorably cute. When they’re finished, you might even prefer the new ice cube shapes.

Nugget Maker Or Ice Machine

The Nugget Ice Maker requires advanced planning and is more expensive than most of our recommendations. For a home bar, however, this is fantastic.

You don’t have to deal with ice tray emptying and refilling, nor do you have to install a sizable fridge-freezer with an icemaker nearby. You will always have ice because the nugget ice maker produces tiny ice cubes all day long.

Egg Carton

If you’re in a bind, the egg carton method can be very effective. Additionally, it produces ice cubes that aren’t too large so that they can still fit into your drinks. Here’s how to use an egg carton to make ice cubes.

1. Take the egg carton and detach the lid, leaving you with only the bottom “bumpy” side
2. Line the bottom with aluminum foil to make it waterproof
3. Carefully add water to the egg holes
4. Carefully set it into the freezer
5. Wait for the ice to freeze

Measuring Spoons

This method won’t result in a lot of ice cubes unless you have a lot of measuring spoons. But the few you do make will be well-made and attractively shaped.

1. Fill measure spoons most of the way up with water
2. Set in the freezer, carefully
3. Wait

Solo Cups

The solo cup method focuses more on providing you with a chilled beverage than it does on making ice cubes. In essence, you are converting your solo cups into pre-made ice vessels to decant your drink into and enjoy.

1. Fill the bottom of the solo cups about a quarter of an inch with water
2. Add fruit or mint leaves if desired
3. Set in freezer
4. Wait
5. Once frozen, pour drinks directly into your chilled solo cups

Your drink will be chilled by the ice in the cups’ bottoms.

Countertop Ice Makers

No products were found. If you’re not a fan of dropping a lot of dollars on an expensive fridge but love the ice maker idea, you can consider getting a

Even on picnics and in RVs and boats are acceptable places to bring them. They do need a power source, however, so bear that in mind.

You can search for an icemaker that suits your needs because they come in a variety of capacities. The smallest ones can produce between 20 and 26 pounds per day, while larger ones for use by a large family or at gatherings can produce between 28 and 40 pounds per day.

Under-counter And Freestanding Ice Makers

You might also think about purchasing one of the two types of large dedicated ice makers: freestanding and under-counter.

The under-counter ice maker is compact and fits beneath a cabinet while a freestanding ice maker looks like a fridge. They have very high production capacities of up to 85 pounds of ice a day, so they are naturally more expensive than countertop ice makers.

The best time to use these ice makers is when you have a big family or are hosting a big event.

Paper Cups

You can make ice cubes using old coffee cups or inexpensive paper cups that you may have stored in your cupboard.

Another great way to add fruit or mint leaves for flavor is by using this method.

1. Obtain paper cups
2. Fill to the desired level
3. Drop in fruit or mint leaves if desired
4. Wait
5. If the ice doesn’t slide out, peel the ice-free by tearing the cup

Yogurt Pots

For oversized glasses and water bottles, those tiny, individual-sized yogurt or pudding pots can produce lovely ice cubes. A nice thing about this method is the pots are flexible, so it is easier to “push out” the ice.

1. Clean empty yogurt or pudding pots
2. Fill the pots most of the way up with water
3. Set the pots in the freezer
4. Wait

The Bottom Line

And with that, we come to the end of our little blog post on how to make ice cubes without an ice tray. As you can see, there are countless other ways to make ice cubes; your only restriction is your imagination. The majority of the things on this list are quick fixes to keep you going until you replace your tray, or at the very least until you locate it if it’s on the list.