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Learn to make your own Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. A fresh mint taste and all-natural ingredients mean this will be the best mint ice cream you’ll ever make.

two bowls of homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream with mint springs, chocolate chips, and a spoon
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Truth time: there is no logical reason why mint chocolate chip ice cream should be green. That’s all food coloring.

The homemade version of mint ice cream is a buttery yellow and has a subtle minty flavor. It’s magical, it’s delicious, and it’s natural. The way mint-infused cream should taste.

Fresh mint is great in so much more than homemade ice cream! Try it in this Mojito Mocktail, Cucumber Mint Water, learn How to Freeze Mint, dehydrate mint, and Homemade Peppermint Extract.

Mint Ice Cream Ingredients

This recipe has:

  • Fresh mint (but see notes on using extract)
  • Egg yolks
  • Whole milk
  • Heavy cream
  • Sugar
  • Semi-sweet chocolate – chopped

Equipment Needed for Mint Chip Ice Cream

You’ll need a cutting board and a knife for chopping the chocolate, a heavy-bottomed saucepan, a clean freezer-proof mixing bowl, a spatula, some sort of fine strainer, an ice cream maker (I have this one that attaches to my stand mixer, but this one is extremely popular), and a container for the finished ice cream.

How to Make Mint Chocolate Ice Cream 

*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can click “jump to recipe” to skip down.

Whisk your egg yolks in a small dish. Set aside. Chop your chocolate finely and set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine whole milk, sugar, and mint leaves over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. You really want to “bruise” the mint to release the oils. Make it sorry it ever messed with you. I use a sauce whisk for this.

Take some of the sugar/milk mixture and slowly, very slowly, dribble the hot mixture into the egg, whisking very quickly the whole time. This process is called tempering.

Process shots of homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Slowly return the egg/milk mixture to the pot, and whisk constantly to incorporate. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, making sure to not let the mixture boil.

Pour the contents of the pot through a mesh strainer set up over a freezer-proof bowl. Add the heavy cream to the mixture in the bowl, and stir well.  Put the bowl in the fridge for six hours, or until completely cold. The longer you chill it, the better it will be.

process shots for homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.

With your ice cream maker running, add the ice cream base to the machine, and churn until it starts to resemble ice cream. You’ve seen ice cream before…you’ll know what to look for. I trust your judgment. Add the chopped chocolate to the mixture when the ice cream is creamy and starting to thicken up.

Remove the ice cream from the machine and put it in a freezer-proof container with a lid. Press a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the ice cream before placing the lid on.

You can serve it immediately, but it will be crazy melty…ice cream soup if you will. I like to freeze it for at least three hours. It’s torturous to wait that long but results in ice cream with a consistency like store-bought. Believe.

Process shots for making homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Best Chocolate To Use For Mint Chip Ice Cream

You’ll want to choose a chocolate that is semi-sweet or bittersweet. I often use chocolate chips if that is all that I have on hand.

You’ll want to chop the chocolate into a fairly fine mince. The chocolate is there to flavor the ice cream, and large chunks will get very hard during the freezing process. If you’re like me and have sensitive teeth, cold chocolate chunks are painful.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • Before storing the finished ice cream, lay a piece of plastic wrap over it making sure it makes contact with the surface. Then place the lid on it and put it in the freezer. This helps prevent the texture from getting icy.
  • You’ll have better results if you allow the ice cream to sit covered in the freezer for 3-5 hours before serving. Ice cream fresh from the mixer will have a very soft consistency.
  • This ice cream uses 6 egg yolks. Freeze the egg whites in an air-tight container to use in future recipes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Make Mint Ice Cream Without Fresh Mint

No fresh mint? Don’t lose any sleep over it; I’ve got you covered.

Add 1-2 tsp of mint extract to the mixture after it has chilled, but before you put it in the ice cream machine. Taste the base and add more mint if needed.

How to Make Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker

Freeze and stir the base every hour until frozen and creamy.

For more details, check out this post from David Lebovitz on how to make ice cream without a machine.

scoops of homemade mint chip ice cream.
5 from 15 ratings

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Cooling/Freezing: 6 hours
Total: 20 minutes
mint chocolate chip ice cream in a bowl on a white surface
Learn to make your own mint chocolate chip ice cream. A fresh mint taste and all-natural ingredients mean this mint chip will be the best mint ice cream you'll ever make.

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Wash and lightly dry your mint leaves.
    2/3 cup fresh mint leaves, packed
  • Set up a fine mesh sieve over a heat-proof bowl.
  • Put the egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl, and whisk until well-combined.
    6 egg yolks, room temperature
  • In a medium-sized pot, combine whole milk, sugar, and mint leaves over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. You really want to "bruise" the mint up to release the oils.
    1 1/4 cups whole milk, 3/4 cup sugar
  • Take 1/3 cup of the sugar/milk mixture, and slowly dribble the hot mixture into the bowl with the mixed egg yolks, whisking very quickly the whole time.
  • Slowly add the egg/milk mixture to the pot, whisking rapidly to incorporate. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, making sure to not let the mixture boil.
  • Pour the contents of the pot through the sieve. Add the heavy cream to the mixture in the bowl, and stir well. Put the bowl in the fridge for 6 hours, or until completely cold.
    2 cups heavy cream
  • With your ice cream maker running, add the base to the machine, and churn until it starts to thicken.
  • Sprinkle in the chopped chocolate and churn until the mixture starts to resemble ice cream.
    1/2 cup chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips
  • Remove the ice cream from the machine and put it in a freezer-proof container.
  • Press a piece of plastic wrap on top of the ice cream, and then put a lid on and store in the freezer for 3-5 hours before serving.

Notes

  1. No fresh mint? Add 1-2 tsp of mint extract to the mixture after it has chilled, but before you put it in the ice cream machine. Taste the base and add more mint if needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 216kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 24mgPotassium: 107mgFiber: 0gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 650IUVitamin C: 0.7mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 0.7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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Helping you serve up budget-friendly sustainable recipes with a side of balanced living.
Come for the food. Stay for the snark.

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36 Comments

  1. Unnatural green mint-chocolate-chip is my daughter’s favourite.  
    This sounds soooooooo good!  But almost half the DV of saturated fat in half a cup.. (honestly, who only eats HALF a cup??)  
    Along with sodium, we have to watch saturated fat, cholesterol and *added* sugars.  (heart disease sucks) 
    I don’t the there is any substitute for the eggs, but I’m wondering if 1% milk (because that is what I normally buy) with added powdered milk would work?   Naturally, I just got home from getting groceries about half an hour ago, so I can’t try it this weekend (because I am not going out again, just for some mint)
    If you have any thoughts, please let me know.

    Your recipe says it serves 16, then the nutritional information is for a 1/2 cup serving.  There is no way this makes 8 cups of ice cream, right?  My ice cream maker only holds a litre!

    1. I had to google how much a serving of ice cream was (supposed to be) because I knew nobody eats an actual serving size. I can only provide the nutritional info…how much someone chooses to eat is up them. Hee hee.

      What kind of powdered milk would you be using? Whole? I would not recommend it simply because I can’t see what value it would add. I’ve made ice cream with 1% before and it was ok but not as creamy. We only have whole milk in the house for cooking and Bennett is the only one who drinks (rarely) drinks it.

      I have a two quart bowl and all of the ice cream fit into it with just a tiny bit of room to spare.

      1. I don’t think additional powdered milk (I was thinking instant, skim because I have that on hand) would add much, if anything nutritionally either.  But it would thicken up the 1% a bit and maybe make the final product creamier, I think.  Good to know that straight up 1% would work!

        I just googled the difference between quarts and litres.  They are pretty close (1 L = 1.05 quarts if you are wondering)  I’ll definitely need to half this recipe in my little Donvier!

        I think I will have to try this next week!

  2. I agree with “Mary”, mint flavor foods should not be toxic green! The big sports stores like Cabela’s & Bass Pro Shop have hand crank ice cream makers, & I really want one! Also, I grew up saying “You should see truck!” As in, ‘it looks worse than I do’!5 stars

  3. Have you had trouble with your ice cream maker? We’re on our second one, and it’s busted, too. I need to return it again, but am dreading the process. Ours keep splitting on the seam and all the blue goo leaks out. 🙁

    “Mary”‘s a weirdo, by the way.

    1. Nope, I haven’t had issues with it yet. It’s probably 7 or 8 years old…it was a wedding present that Elaina received and never used. She gave it to me. ;-D

  4. YUM! they don’t make it over here, but in my home country they did and I loved the stuff (just like orange chocolate chip 🙂 taking the tip? ) any way just wondering whats half and half? milch product? obviously i have not heard of the stuff( try googling it Hmmmmm Interesting 😉

    1. Did I just write milch? I did that’t my problem for living in a german speaking country I meant Milk 🙂

      1. Half-and-half is half cream, half milk. It’s thicker/creamier than normal milk, and thinner than straight heavy cream.

        I actually use the raw milk that I buy from the farm. I dip a measuring cup in the jar, and grab some of the heavy cream and the 3% milk.

  5. I use that sugar from Costco as well. Mint chocolate chip is definitely a fav in this house, and I agree with “Mary” that it shouldn’t be unnaturally green. I haven’t ever had it with fresh mint leaves before. I can’t wait to try it – thanks for the recipe!5 stars

    1. It’s hard to compare the taste of fresh mint ice cream to store-bought. It almost has a grassy flavor, but a very pleasant one. It tastes like spring, and summer, and childhood.

  6. That looks delish! I’d say poor Jack but he looks like he is doing ok! Question where did you buy your girls? I live in Oly and am planning on chickens for next spring but I can only get 3 so I don’t want to order online. I’m so excited!! Going back to read your posts on getting the chickens now. 🙂

    P.S. I found some Weck glass for canning at goodwill today!!5 stars

    1. We got our first set of 6 chickens from a supplier who used to raise them to be “coop ready”, but no longer does that. The last 2 we got (last week) were raised by a client of mine who was already raising chickens, so just added 2 for me. We can’t have chicks in the house because of Troy’s allergies, so we have to buy them “coop ready”.

      I’d wander down to the Oly farmer’s market this week, and start talking to vendors. One of them will know a local supplier who has chickens for you. We hippies all talk. ;-D

      Wecks at Goodwill? Find of a lifetime; nice work!!!

  7. Hilarious, “you should see the other guy”, must teach my kids this. Can’t wait to try your ice-cream. Thanks for another entertaining post.5 stars