Green Tea (Matcha) Ice Cream

Matcha ice cream or green tea ice cream is a Japanese dessert made with matcha powder that is made from green tea leaves. It is a refreshing and sweet dessert full of flavor and a pleasant treat to enjoy during the warm weather.

Most of the time store-bought green tea ice cream contains eggs but it can easily be made at home without eggs. This is an easy no-cook, no-egg, gluten-free homemade matcha ice cream using an ice cream maker.

Ingredients

Matcha is the main ingredient to make the matcha flavor ice cream. Matcha powder is a very fine powder made from green tea leaves and is available in grocery stores. It might be confusing, however, you should look for matcha powder and not green tea.

Other ingredients are whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Low-fat milk will work but the ice cream will be less creamy.

Instructions

It is very easy to make matcha ice cream without eggs at home in an ice cream maker. I have the Cuisinart compressor ice cream maker to churn my favorite ice creams at home.

If you are looking to purchase an ice cream maker for your family then you can check my post on which ice cream maker to buy. Also, check out this delicious no-cook, no-egg ice cream recipe collection.

To make the green tea ice cream mix milk, sugar, matcha powder, and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl with the help of a hand blender or stand mixer until all the sugar and matcha powder is well dissolved.

Now add the vanilla extract and the heavy cream and gently mix well. At this point there is no need to whisk or blend as we are going to churn the mixture in the ice cream maker.

Chill the mixture in the fridge for about 2 hours. This helps to churn the ice cream in lesser time and also helps the matcha flavor to be absorbed well in the ice cream.

If you are using an ice cream maker which requires freezing the bowl for 24 hours then you might want to prep that overnight. For the compressor ice cream maker, there is no need to freeze the bowl.

When you are ready to churn, stir the chilled mixture once before pouring it into the ice cream maker bowl and churn the mixture for about 25 minutes. Ice cream will be of soft-serve consistency and you can enjoy it at this point.

For a more scoopable ice cream consistency, transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze it for about 5-6 hours before serving.

Serving suggestions

Matcha ice cream is a pleasant, sweet, and refreshing dessert best served after a Japanese meal. But you can always enjoy a scoop any time of the day! To experience its true flavor, you can eat it as is without any toppings.

You can also top it with some nuts like walnuts, pecans, or sliced pistachios for some crunch. It goes well with some chocolate sauce or chocolate chips. You can also top it with some hot fudge.

If you want to go a step further, you can use it as one of the flavors in the banana split sundae. Some chopped berries or other fruits of your choice can be served along with the green tea ice cream.

Storing suggestions

Just like other homemade ice creams green tea ice cream can be stored in an airtight freezer safe container for about 2-3 weeks. If kept longer, you may see some ice crystals, but they can easily be scooped off however the ice cream will still taste great!