Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This creamy and delicious homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream is made with just a handful of ingredients and is better than anything you could buy at the store. Made with a custard base and flavored with vanilla and mint extract, and dark chocolate, it’s wonderfully refreshing and tastes like an Andes mint!

When out grocery shopping with the boys a year or two ago, I stopped in the ice cream aisle to pick up another container of vanilla and chocolate when one of them pointed to the mint chocolate chip and asked what it was. When I told them, they asked if we could get it. I said sure and put it in the cart. Lo and behold, mint chocolate chip has become their very favorite ice cream flavor, and who’s to blame them?

I certainly can’t turn down anything that tastes like an Andes mint, especially if it’s homemade!

Ingredients in Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This ice cream is made with a traditional custard base using heavy cream, whole milk, and egg yolks.

It’s sweetened with sugar and flavored with mint extract and vanilla extract, then studded with chocolate chips – I prefer dark or semisweet, but you could use milk, too – whatever type you prefer. You can also omit them if you prefer to make mint ice cream without the chocolate chips.

A few drops of green food coloring gives the ice cream its traditional light green hue!

What Kind of Mint To Use

Plain mint extract uses spearmint, which is much milder than peppermint. Peppermint extract contains significantly more menthol, which gives it a more intense flavor.

For this reason, mint chocolate chip ice cream is traditionally made with plain mint extract. If you do opt for peppermint extract, you will get a stronger punch of mint flavor. Think peppermint candy canes versus Thin Mints. As a result, you may want to use a little less.

How to Make Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream From Scratch

No need to be intimidated by making homemade custard from scratch, just a few easy steps, and you’ll be well on your way to the best ice cream of your life!

1. Warm the heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolves.
2. Place 1 cup of heavy cream in a clean bowl. Set a fine-mesh sieve over top of the bowl.
3. Whisk together the egg yolks.
4. Pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking together, then scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.
5. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
6. Strain the custard through the fine-mesh sieve and stir into the cold cream.
7. Add the vanilla and mint extracts and green food coloring, stir to combine, then cool over an ice bath.
8. Chill overnight in the refrigerator.
9. Churn the ice cream, adding the chocolate chips towards the end.

Choosing an ice cream maker

If you don’t have an ice cream maker yet, I have a few recommendations for you!

• Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Maker Attachment – This is the one I have used for well over 10 years and if you have a KitchenAid stand mixer, then it’s an easy choice.
• Cuisinart Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt & Sorbet Maker – A great budget-friendly stand-alone ice cream maker that has a long history of great performance.
• Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Compressor – Much more expensive than the previous two options, but it doesn’t require a separate bowl that needs to be frozen between batches, so you can make quart after quart without missing a beat.

What if you don’t have (and don’t want to buy) an ice cream maker? 

I’ve got you covered! See this post >> How to Make Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker

Serving Tips

Just like most ice cream, the sky is the limit when it comes to deciding how to garnish! While this is absolutely wonderful served as-is, if you’re looking to jazz things up or want to offer some options to guests, here are some ideas to get the wheels turning:

• Sprinkles (chocolate is my favorite!)
• Homemade whipped cream
• Homemade magic shell (a childhood favorite!)
• Hot fudge sauce

Storage Tips

Keeping your ice cream fresh and tasting fantastic is our goal here, so some tips for you:

• How long to store it: The ice cream will taste the best within the first two weeks of making; after that, it will begin to get hard and pick up ice crystals.
• Prevent freezer burn: Press a piece of plastic wrap against the ice cream surface to keep it from being exposed to air.
• Store it in a shallow, flat container: Many people prefer using a loaf pan, or you can use a dedicated ice cream container such as this.
• Store in the back of the freezer: This keeps the ice cream from warming and cooling when the freezer door is opening and closing, which will help prevent hardening and ice crystals.

More Favorite Ice Cream Recipes

• Classic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• Toasted Coconut Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
• Malted Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle & Milk Chocolate Chunks
• Salted Caramel Ice Cream
• Jeni’s Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream

If you make this recipe and love it, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️

[Photography by Ari of Well Seasoned]