Chocolate Ice Cream
Decadent, creamy, rich, and all-natural Chocolate Ice Cream is easy to make at home! A handful of ingredients, a small amount of cooking skill, and a bit of patience are all you’ll need to make this recipe.
This chocolate French-style ice cream uses egg yolks to create a cooked custard ice cream base. You will be able to tell the difference, it’s extra creamy and completely amazing.
Homemade chocolate ice cream using this recipe is nut-free and naturally gluten-free and it’s perfect in a chocolate strawberry vanilla ice cream combo.
The best recipe for chocolate ice cream is decadent, delicious, uncomplicated, and the perfect thing to satisfy any chocolate craving. And if you’re a fan of chocolate ice cream, you might like red velvet ice cream too.
Or for a spin on chocolate ice cream, try chocolate peanut butter ice cream next. For a handheld version, you might like these chocolate ice cream bars.
Chocolate ice cream from scratch is way better than the stuff you’ll get at the grocery store, and just as good as your local artisan ice cream shop serves too!
This recipe for chocolate ice cream doesn’t require any add-ins to be amazing, but if you like your chocolate ice cream with some texture, be sure to try our Rocky Road and Chunky Monkey ice cream recipes.
We also have an amazing and easy no-churn chocolate ice cream!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe
Simple, Perfect, Chocolate Ice Cream. What’s better than a big bowl of chocolate ice cream, a blanket, and a movie? Probably nothing! This classic favorite is a magical mood-boosting substance, and everyone loves it.
A Blank Canvas. As good as chocolate ice cream is, it can always be made better with the addition of add-ins or toppings. This recipe is ready for your own personal adjustments, and I’ll give you some ideas below.
Natural Ingredients. This recipe for homemade chocolate ice cream is made with fresh dairy ingredients and does not contain any preservatives, chemicals, or artificial dyes.
Easy Ice Cream Recipe. I’ll give you step-by-step instructions so that you can make a french-style churned chocolate ice cream recipe without any snags. Your family will be so impressed!
Ingredients in Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
Egg Yolks – These create the base for our ice cream custard. We’ll gently heat the egg yolks to pasteurize them, but you can also purchase pasteurized eggs if you prefer. Save the egg whites for an omelet or some other recipe.
Sugar – Plain, white, granulated sugar is the perfect choice for sweetening ice cream and creating the best texture.
Whole Milk – The first of our dairy products, whole milk is cooked with the egg yolks.
Cocoa Powder – To make a decadent chocolate ice cream base, cocoa powder is dissolved into the milk. Unsweetened cocoa is one of two types of chocolate in this recipe!
Salt – Salt makes chocolate taste better. Just a pinch is all you need.
Chocolate – Use a good quality semisweet or dark chocolate. It’s best to use a chocolate bar that you’ve chopped into small pieces so that it melts easily into the ice cream base.
Heavy Cream – A mix of both heavy cream and whole milk is what gives us the amazing creamy texture we want in a chocolate ice cream recipe.
Vanilla – Vanilla is a must for most ice cream recipes. It elevates the simple flavors of sugar and cream.
How to Make Chocolate Ice Cream From Scratch
Make sure that you chill your ice cream maker bowl in the freezer for at least 24 hours so that it’s frozen solid before you start.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk, cocoa powder, and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove it from the heat. Be sure not to let it boil.
- Add about ½ cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, cook until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula. This should take a few minutes.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked. Add the chopped chocolate. Stir until melted. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate the ice cream base for at least 3 hours.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 20 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon the ice cream into a loaf pan or freezer-safe container. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.
How to Store Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
Store this ice cream in the freezer in an airtight container (we love this set that comes with adorable labels). Place a piece of parchment paper or wax paper on the top of the ice cream to keep it fresh for up to one month.
Tips For Making this Recipe
Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high quality ingredients for the best outcome.
Chop your own Chocolate – a chocolate bar that you’ve chopped by hand will melt much better and more evenly into the ice cream base than chocolate chips or pieces will. It’s also generally less expensive to buy chocolate this way!
Chill out – If possible, always start with chilled ingredients. This is important for homemade no-churn ice cream recipes and ice cream maker recipes.
Don’t skimp on the fat – High-fat milks and creams are essential when making homemade ice cream. Opting for a low-fat option often leads to icy ice creams and inconsistency in the texture.
Work Quickly – Make sure to add the chopped chocolate to the hot custard as quickly as possible so that it melts thoroughly.
Don’t go crazy with the add-ins – If you’re adding in additional ingredients, pick one or two and make sure they are chopped into pieces no larger than a blueberry or pea.
Don’t skimp on the sugar – Sugar not only adds sweetness to homemade ice creams, it also helps with the texture. Sugar is essential for the creamy texture in ice cream.
We love using it in Spumoni.
No Churn Directions
Start by chilling a shallow container or a loaf pan in the freezer while you mix the ice cream ingredients.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared pan and freeze for 3-4 hours. Stir the ice cream every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours to help add air. This will help create a creamy, smooth texture.
Add-Ins
Almost anything tastes great added to ice cream. Try these ideas, or come up with some of your own.
More Chocolate: Stir in more chopped chocolate, mini chocolate chips, or chopped candy bars such as Snickers, peanut butter cups, or Kit Kats.
Even More Chocolate: Add a swirl of fudge sauce to the ice cream before the final freezing step.
Nuts: Chopped peanuts, walnuts, or almonds will be delicious in this chocolate ice cream base. Nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.) can also be added.
Something Else: Try adding sprinkles, marshmallows, caramel sauce, flaked coconut, or chopped cookies like Oreos.
Chocolate ice cream is the perfect base for an ice cream sundae, or a decadent chocolate milkshake. You can also use your homemade chocolate ice cream to make an Ice Cream Cake, or a Banana Split!
About Ice Cream Add-ins
Whatever you decide to add to this chocolate ice cream recipe, make sure that the pieces are small, about the size of a pea, and that you don’t add too many of them.
½ to 1 cup of add-ins is a good amount. More than that will upset the ideal ice cream to add in ratio.
Why is Homemade Ice Cream So Hard to Scoop?
Commercial ice creams contain additives that keep them soft at freezer temperature. Because we aren’t adding anything like that, the ice cream will be solid right from the freezer.
No worries though, 5 minutes on the counter is enough time for the temperature of the homemade ice cream to rise just enough for it to scoop easily.
More Easy Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
You’ll find so many delicious homemade ice cream recipes right here! Try your hand at one or all of these favorites:
- French Silk Ice Cream
- Chocolate Marshmallow Ice Cream
- Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Oreo Ice Cream
- Coffee Ice Cream
Our Favorite Ice Cream Making Tools!
These are the tools that we use to make all of our homemade ice cream recipes. Having the right tools for the job makes ice cream making fun and easy.
- Cuisinart 2QT Ice Cream Maker – Works with ice cream, sorbets, and frozen yogurt.
- Ice Cream Scoop – Make sure you have a good ice cream scoop. This is one of our favorites.
- Ice Cream Containers – We love keeping a couple of ice cream containers on hand for when we make homemade ice cream.
LET’S GET SOCIAL, you can follow us on Pinterest or leave a comment below if you have any questions.
Did you make this Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe? Leave a comment below letting us know what you thought and if you added any additional add-ins!
Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 oz semisweet or dark chocolate roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk, cocoa powder, and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil.
- Add about ½ cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined. Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
- Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula. This should take a few minutes.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked. Add the chopped chocolate. Stir until melted. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 20 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon the ice cream into a loaf pan or freezer safe container. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- I used semi-sweet chocolate for this recipe but you can also use dark chocolate instead.
- Chop a chocolate bar rather than using chocolate chips. It will melt much better.
- Be sure to add the chocolate to the hot custard quickly so that it will melt thoroughly.
- Add up to a cup of your favorite mix-ins to this base. Try mini chocolate chips or toasted almonds.
- Plan ahead by making sure that your ice cream maker bowl is in the freezer at least 24 hours before you're going to make ice cream.
- Homemade ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to one month. Keep it in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper pressed to the surface of the ice cream to keep ice crystals from developing.
- This ice cream should be easy to scoop if you let it soften at room temperature for 5 minutes after removing it from the freezer.
Delicious! Easy to follow recipe. I turned the chocolate recipe into Rocky and it was perfect!
We’re so glad you loved it. Thank you for taking the time to stop back by and let us know.
The Ice Cream From Scratch Team