A deliciously creamy and minty ice cream base mixed with extra minty, buttery, bittersweet peppermint chocolate pieces dispersed throughout the ice cream Stracciatella-style. This really is the BEST Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream ever!
This mint chocolate chip ice cream is a classic summer treat, with a minty freshness.
Now that I’ve shared with you guys my classic homemade vanilla ice cream, it’s time to layer that vanilla canvas with some exciting ice cream flavors!
So today, I’m going to share with you my recipe for my favorite Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!
Refreshingly minty, creamy, and chock-full of buttery, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chips that are ALSO extra minty. I guarantee this is the best mint chocolate chip ice cream you’ve ever had! 🙂
Why you should make this mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe?
You like mint, you like chocolate, and you like ice cream. So mint chocolate chip ice cream is a no-brainer, correct?
Well, here’s why this mint choc chip ice cream recipe is different and better than other recipes.
Instead of large chocolate chips being added to the ice cream, this ice cream is full of small pieces of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. I add the chocolate to the ice cream, Stracciatella-style. This means, here you get small, irregular pieces of buttery chocolate dispersed throughout the ice cream!
And if that wasn’t enough, not only is the chocolate melted with a little butter before being drizzled over the ice cream, the chocolate is also mixed with extra peppermint extract! So you get delicious melt-in-your-mouth peppermint dark chocolate pieces throughout the mint ice cream.
Adding that extra bit of peppermint extract to the chocolate really elevates this mint chocolate chip ice cream from all the standard fare out there!
How to make mint chocolate chip ice cream
Just like with my homemade vanilla ice cream recipe, I mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat everything together to make the custard base. I don’t “scald” or heat the milk first, or dissolve the sugar first. It’s just easier to heat it all together. The great thing about this technique is that you no longer need to temper the eggs.
But to make the process even easier, here’s a step by step on how to prepare the mint chocolate chip ice cream base.
The first step is to prepare the egg yolks, so that they mix with the milk easily. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla and salt until thick and creamy.
Next, add the milk and cream and whisk until well mixed. When these ingredients are well mixed, heat the mixture to make the custard. It’s important to heat the mixture until it reaches 165 – 170°F, as this is the temperature that pasteurizes the eggs (to ensure you have no raw eggs in your ice cream). If you don’t have a thermometer, then heat the mixture until it’s steaming. But do NOT let the mixture come to a boil.
When the custard base is done, you can add the peppermint extract after letting it cool down or chill completely.
Coloring the mint ice cream
Can’t have a mint chocolate chip ice cream without the green coloring right?
Having said that, if you do prefer not to use coloring, you’re welcome to skip it. It won’t be green, but will taste every bit as delicious and refreshingly minty.
Alternatively, here’s how you can naturally color your mint chocolate chip ice cream green.
For a natural green color, you can mix your mint chocolate chip ice cream with some spinach. Take a handful of spinach leaves and put ’em in a blender. Add about 1/2 cup of the chilled ice cream base and blend the spinach leaves. This should give you a deep green color. Pass the blended ice cream base through a fine sieve and then mix it with the rest of the base. You can repeat this process with more spinach if you’d like an even darker shade of green.
If you do add food coloring,
You can add either a water-based green food coloring or a gel-based food coloring.
Since the gel-based food coloring is more concentrated, I prefer to dissolve 1 or 2 drops in about 1/2 tbsp of water or milk and then add it to the ice cream base to get the desired color.
Preparing the mint chocolate mix
Couldn’t be easier. Prepare the mint chocolate mix while the ice cream is churning. You’ll be drizzling this chocolate sauce during the last few minutes of churning.
Melt a delicious dark chocolate (that you like to eat) with some butter. Then stir in the peppermint extract. Pour this chocolate mix into a piping bag or small ziploc bag.
How to create stracciatella-style mint chocolate chip ice cream
When the ice cream is at a soft-serve stage, snip the edge of the chocolate bag and start drizzling the chocolate sauce onto the churning ice cream. The chocolate will set as it makes contact with the cold ice cream, and the churning will break up the set chocolate at the same time, resulting in small, irregular pieces of buttery, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate getting dispersed throughout the ice cream, Stracciatella-style. You can adjust the amount of chocolate you add to your liking.
Once churned, freeze the ice cream for a few hours. The minty freshness of this ice cream is PERFECT for hot summer days. Paired with the creamy ice cream base and extra minty, buttery, bittersweet chocolate – you better believe that this is the BEST mint choc chip ice cream recipe ever! 🙂
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If you like this recipe, you may also like,
No Churn Galaxy Ice Cream (Mixed berry and lemon ice cream)
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE
ICE CREAM MAKER – An inexpensive freezer bowl ice cream machine will be perfect for the average cook/baker. I have used & recommend this Cuisinart model. If you do constantly make ice cream in summer, then I would recommend investing in an ice cream maker with a built in compressor. These machines do not require to be pre-chilled and you can make many batches of ice cream over and over again. I currently own, and recommend this Cuisinart model.
THERMOMETER – An inexpensive Cooking thermometer or a more expensive instant read thermapen.
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Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
What You Need:
- Ice Cream maker
- Cooking thermometer
Ingredients:
Mint Ice Cream base
- 5 - 6 egg yolks I use 6
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1.5 cups of full cream milk
- 1.5 cups of whipping cream
- 1 ½ tsp good quality peppermint extract or more to taste
- A few drops of green food coloring optional
Mint Chocolate
- 4 oz good quality dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips are OK too
- 2 ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ tsp good quality peppermint extract
Instructions:
Mint Ice Cream base
- Add the 6 egg yolks into the saucepan, along with the 1 tbsp vanilla extract, ¾ cup (150 g) sugar and salt. Whisk until you have a creamy, smooth and thick paste.
- Add about ½ cup of milk first and whisk to mix well. Add the rest of the milk (1 cup) and 1 ½ cups cream and whisk to combine.
- Heat over medium heat while whisking frequently. Heat the custard until the temperature registers between 165 - 170°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, then heat the custard until it steams. This takes about 10 - 12 minutes. Do NOT let it come to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature. Whisk occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on top.
- Chill the custard base in the fridge for at least a few hours (or overnight) until completely chilled.
- Before churning the ice cream, add 1 ½ tsp of peppermint extract. Taste, and add another ½ tsp of peppermint extract if you'd like a stronger mint flavor. The amount will vary depending on the brand of peppermint extract you are using as well. Stir well to mix, and taste.
- Add green coloring (a drop at a time) and whisk well to get the desired shade of green.
- Add the chilled mint ice cream base into your ice cream maker and churn until the ice cream reaches the “soft serve” consistency.
- While the ice cream is churning, prepare the chocolate sauce.
Peppermint Chocolate
- Place the 3 oz chocolate chips and 2 ½ tbsp butter in a microwaveable dish. Microwave in 20 - 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.
- Stir in the ½ tsp peppermint extract. Let it cool down for 1 - 2 minutes. Transfer the chocolate into a piping bag, or a small ziploc bag.
- Set aside until you’re ready to drizzle it over the ice cream.
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
- When the mint ice cream has reached the soft serve stage, you can add the mint chocolate to the ice cream.
- Cut a small hole in the ziploc bag (or piping bag), and drizzle the chocolate in a thin, slow stream while the ice cream is churning. Allow the chocolate stream to freeze, break up and mix into the ice cream as it churns. (Make sure not to pipe large chunks of chocolate on one area, as you will end up with large chocolate pieces that may not break up in the machine).
- Once you've added the chocolate, allow the ice cream to complete churning.
- Place the freshly churned mint chocolate chip ice cream in a freezable container and freeze for a further 2 - 4 hours (or overnight) until completely frozen.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Av says
Does adding spinach impact the flavour strongly? I usually make this ice cream with fresh mint, so the mint flavour is a bit more subtle, and was wondering if I can use your spinach trick to colour it up.
Thanks!
Dini says
Hi Av
Sorry for the late reply! The spinach doesn’t impact the flavor too much as you’re not using too much of it. The darker you want the color, the more chances of the spinach having an impact on the flavor. If you do use fresh mint, the mint leaves will also give the milk a green tinge too!
Cheers!