Here we combine the two approaches and show a simple processing strategy to obtain highly porous, unidirectional ceramic/polymer composites. We infiltrated ice-templated porous zirconia scaffolds with a dilute solution of polymer (polycaprolactone or epoxy). After the evaporation of the solvent, porous ceramic composites with a porosity greater than 60% were obtained. We performed a complete mechanical characterization to assess the relative importance of the properties of the ceramic and polymer phases. Our results demonstrate that the addition of a ductile polymer (PCL) can increase both the strength and the tough-