Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
This mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe stands out for its refreshing, natural flavor derived from fresh mint leaves, creating an authentic taste. It’s creamy and smooth, and the chocolate chips add the perfect touch. Plus, it’s simple to make, ensuring a delightful and homemade treat every time.
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
When I was a kid, mint chocolate chip ice cream was always my first choice. Odd as it may seem, while other kids went for flavors like chocolate or bubblegum, I couldn’t resist the cool, refreshing taste of mint mixed with the sweet crunch of dark chocolate. Grown-ups would smile and say, “That’s such a mature choice for a kid!”—but for me, it wasn’t about being mature—it just tasted amazing. It was both refreshing and a little fancy, different from the super-sweet flavors most kids loved. Even now, one scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream takes me right back to those childhood days.
This homemade recipe captures that same magic. It’s all about the vibrant taste of fresh mint leaves, which give the ice cream its natural flavor, and the perfect pairing of rich dark chocolate chunks. There are no artificial colorings, and it’s made with a an ice cream maker. The result is creamy, refreshing, and completely irresistible.
What you need for this Mint Ice Cream
Here is what you need to make this fantastic Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream! We are doing it French style, which means we have to create a custard. But don’t worry – it’s easy and I am here to help you!
- Milk and cream – A normal 3,6% whole milk and for the heavy cream I use 38% In terms of cream, anything between 36-40% will work just fine.
- Sugar – Just some normal white granulated sugar.
- Fresh mint leaves – May I present the star of this recipe, mint leaves. Make sure you use fresh leaves. We want that fresh and strong mint taste to infuse into the milk. I always buy a bunch and remove the leaves before I start making the actual ice cream. Having them ready in a small bowl makes it so much easier when I need them.
- Eggs – As this is a French-style ice cream, we need egg yolks to cook our custard. Find some nice large eggs.
- Chocolate chips – I buy a small bag of dark chocolate chips, which is easy to add when the ice cream maker tells me to (the machine plays a ding-ding sound). But if you have a favorite chocolate, go ahead – chop up some bars and add as much as you like.
How to make Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Start by removing all the mint leaves. Put them aside in a small bowl, so they are ready to use later.
- In a saucepan, heat up the milk, the cream, and half the sugar, using medium heat. Give it a good stir so all ingredients are combined and the sugar dissolves. Keep stirring while bringing the mixture to a simmer. Don’t let it boil, and don’t let the milk burn.
- When the mixture starts to simmer, remove it from the heat and add the mint leaves. Keep stirring for another 5 minutes until your mixture has cooled off. Now let it sit for an hour while the mint leaves infuse into the milk. Pass by a couple of times and give it a stir!
- Press the mixture through a fine sieve into another saucepan. Discard the leaves!
- On medium heat, bring back your mixture to a simmer, and while doing so, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl. Once the mixture starts to simmer again, gradually pour half into the egg yolks while whisking. This will temper the eggs, so we don’t get scrambled eggs!
Add everything back into your saucepan and cook for 8-10 minutes at low to medium heat. Make sure you stir constantly until it thickens. You want to be able to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Then you know it’s ready. Let it cool off before you churn it in your ice cream maker. I normally let it sit in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours – this will make life so much easier for your ice cream maker.
Mint Infusion
Step 2 is where the real magic happens, the infusion. By leaving the mint leaves in the heated milk and cream, you allow the flavor from the fresh leaves to infuse in the milk. I always pass by a couple of times during this step and stir it around. Don’t cut this step short! Give the leaves the time they need! It might not taste much of mint right after you have taken out the mint leaves. But trust me – once it has been churned in your ice cream maker and got another 4-8 hours in the freezer, that mint flavor will come to life!
Mint Ice Cream FAQ
Mint Chocolate Chips Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 250 ml whole milk
- 400 ml heavy cream
- 150 g white granulated sugar
- 70 g mint leaves, fresh (note #1)
- 5 egg yolks
- 30 g chocolate chips, note #2
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat up the milk, the cream, and half the sugar, using medium heat.
- When the mixture starts to simmer, remove it from the heat and add the mint leaves. Let it sit for an hour while the mint leaves infuse in the milk.
- Press the mixture through a fine sieve into another saucepan. Discard the leaves!
- Bring back your mixture to a simmer, and while doing so, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl. Once the mixture starts to simmer again, gradually pour half into the egg yolks while whisking.
- Add everything back into your saucepan and cook for 8-10 minutes at low to medium heat. Make sure you stir constantly until it thickens. You want to be able to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Then you know it’s ready.
- Remove from heat and let it cool off.
- Churn the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer´s instructions. When finished, transfer your ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight…….or if you can’t wait, dig in right away.
Equipment
Notes
- Fresh mint leaves are a key ingredient in this ice cream. So make sure you get a nice bunch from your local store.
- I use dark chocolate chips for this recipe, but you can easily chop up your favorite chocolate and use that instead. That way you also decide how big the pieces should be. 🙂
- The color – yes, the ice cream is not green like when you buy it store-bought. If you want it green, you can add a bit of food coloring.
