Matcha Ice Cream

Matcha Ice Cream is a unique and sophisticated ice cream recipe with a balanced, earthy, sweet, and creamy flavor.

This green tea ice cream recipe is made in the ice cream maker in the Philadelphia style, which uses heavy cream and whole milk to create a delicious frozen treat, without any cooking required.

a small white bowl with a scoop of homemade matcha ice cream topped with rainbow sprinkles, viewed from above. Around the ice cream are waffle cones, a gold spoon, and a bowl of sprinkles

When you learn how to make your own ice cream from scratch, you can make any and all of the exciting ice cream flavors that you can think of! Green Tea Ice Cream is a unique ice cream flavor, but one that you are really going to enjoy.

This is definitely a grown-up ice cream recipe, but don’t count on your kids not wanting to eat it! It’s sweet and creamy, with an earthy background flavor. You might even be surprised at how good Matcha ice cream is!

If you like refined flavors in your homemade ice cream, you should also try our Avocado Ice Cream and Coffee Flavored Ice Cream recipes. Sage ice cream is also amazing. You might also like this Earl Grey Ice Cream Recipe.

What is Matcha?

Matcha is a high-grade green tea that is processed into a fine powder. The flavor you get from matcha tea is so much more robust than regular steeped green tea, and the powder is perfect for baking, cooking, or making ice cream!

Why You’re Going to Love this Easy Matcha Ice Cream Recipe

  • Minimal Ingredients: This Philadelphia style ice cream recipe is simple to make and only needs 6 ingredients. The most important ingredient is good quality matcha powder, and the rest are commonly found ice cream making staples.
  • Egg Free: No egg yolks are needed to make this delicious homemade ice cream recipe. We will still be enjoying a rich, creamy ice cream from our ice cream maker without the fuss of making a custard
  • Unique Flavor: You won’t find Matcha Ice Cream in many grocery store freezers. This is a gourmet ice cream recipe for people who really enjoy the earthy richness of matcha green tea.
  • Tested Recipe: All of our homemade ice cream recipes are tested again and again to make sure that they are simple, delicious, and the best that they can be!
The ingredients needed for making homemade matcha ice cream.

Ingredients in Homemade Matcha Ice Cream

  • Heavy Whipping Cream: This is the base of our ice cream, and what makes the ice cream rich and creamy!
  • Whole Milk: Using both heavy cream and regular milk gives the best texture to our homemade ice cream recipes.
  • Granulated Sugar: This is the perfect amount of sugar to sweeten the matcha and give your homemade ice cream amazing texture.
  • Unsweetened Matcha Powder: You can sometimes find pre-sweetened matcha, but avoid that for this recipe. The amount can be increased or decreased depending on how much green tea flavor you want in your ice cream.
  • Vanilla Extract: Use a good quality, pure vanilla extract when making ice cream. Avoid imitations.
  • Salt: Just a small amount of salt brightens up all of the other flavors in the recipe.
  • Sprinkles: These are totally optional, but we think they are really pretty, and brighten up the natural green color of matcha.

If you have any questions about making this Matcha Ice Cream recipe, please leave a comment and we will get back to you.

A photo of matcha ice cream churning in an ice cream maker, viewed from above

How to Make Matcha Ice Cream from Scratch

Start the day before by making sure that the bowl for your ice cream maker has at least 24 hours to freeze solid.

  1. In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, matcha tea powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved into the mixture. You should not feel any grit if you rub the mixture together between two fingers. If your base is not very cold at this point, place it in the freezer for 1 hour before continuing.
  2. Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 30 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
A spoon holding churned matcha ice cream up above the ice cream maker to show the soft texture.
  1. Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. If desired, sprinkle rainbow jimmies on top. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream and freeze overnight until the ice cream is solid.
  2. Matcha ice cream is soft, so you should be able to scoop it directly from the freezer, no need to let it soften before enjoying!

These numbered steps match the photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.

a narrow, long white, rectangular container filled with green matcha ice cream next to rows of waffle cones. Viewed from above

How to Store Matcha Ice Cream

Store this homemade Green Tea Ice Cream in the freezer in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper pressed on top for up to one month.

Sprinkles in Homemade Ice Cream

When adding sprinkles into homemade ice cream recipes, it’s important to choose wisely. Here we’re using rainbow “jimmies” style sprinkles, the long ones that are slightly soft.

Jimmies are the best type of sprinkles for ice cream, because they are made from baking a colored dough, the color is less likely to transfer from the sprinkles to the ice cream.

The smaller, round, nonpareil sprinkles are not a good choice for homemade ice cream recipes. Nonpareils are not solidly colored, and instead have their coloring added to the outside. That color will bleed when it get’s wet, and turn your ice cream into a muddy mess.

Is There Caffeine in Matcha Ice Cream?

Because we’re adding green tea into the ice cream base, that caffeine is in the ice cream. Matcha also has other beneficial compounds, like antioxidants, and chlorophyll, and the amount of caffeine that it contains is less than half of what you’d find in coffee.

Each serving of this matcha ice cream recipe has about one serving of Matcha, which could be around 40-55mg of caffeine. This will also depend on the specific Matcha powder you are using.

What Kind of Matcha Should I Use?

When shopping for Matcha, you will encounter two types: Ceremonial grade and culinary grade. For a really excellent cup of matcha tea, go for the more expensive ceremonial grade. For making ice cream, save the money and buy the culinary grade.

What Does Matcha Taste Like?

Matcha tastes like green tea, but more intense. The flavor of matcha can be described as earthy, sweet, grassy, creamy, umami, and complex.

You can adjust the amount of matcha powder in this recipe, depending on how much of this complex green tea flavor you want. Add less matcha for a milder version.

a small white bowl with a scoop of homemade matcha ice cream topped with rainbow sprinkles, viewed from above. Around the ice cream are waffle cones, a gold spoon, and a bowl of sprinkles. Text overlay says Easy Matcha Ice Cream

No Churn Matcha Ice Cream Directions

Chill 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.

Matcha Ice Cream Add-Ins

If you want to, you can add extra things to your matcha ice cream for flavor and texture! We enjoy it without anything added, as the smooth texture is perfect with the smooth flavor of Matcha.

Sprinkles are a fun add-in, and make the otherwise pale green of this flavor a bit brighter.

You can also add chopped nuts, shaved white or dark chocolate, or crushed vanilla cookies to this green tea ice cream recipe.

More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

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Did you make this Homemade Matcha Ice Cream Recipe? Leave a Comment Below letting us know what you thought and if you added any additional add-ins.

a small white bowl with a scoop of homemade matcha ice cream topped with rainbow sprinkles, viewed from above. Around the ice cream are waffle cones, a gold spoon, and a bowl of sprinkles

Matcha Ice Cream

Ice Cream From Scratch
Matcha Ice Cream is a unique and sophisticated ice cream recipe with a balanced, earthy, sweet, and creamy flavor.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chilling/Freezing Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 35 minutes
Course Ice Cream Recipes
Cuisine Dessert
Servings 6 servings
Calories 419 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened matcha powder more or less to taste
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

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 large bowl, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, matcha tea powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved into the mixture. You should not feel any grit if you rub the mixture together between two fingers.
  • If your base is not very cold at this point, place it in the freezer for 1 hour before continuing.
  • Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 30 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
  • Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan.
  • If desired, sprinkle a topping on top, like sprinkles. You don’t have to do this, but we like adding sprinkles to green tea ice cream.
  • Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze overnight. Matcha ice cream is on the soft side, so no need to leave it out to soften before serving.

Notes

  • This recipe makes 1.5 quarts of ice cream or six 1 cup servings.
  • The amount of matcha powder added to the recipe can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
  • The ice cream base must be very cool before adding it to the ice cream maker. If it's not cold after you mix it, place the base in the freezer for 1 hour before churning.
  • Matcha ice cream is soft due to the addition of matcha powder. It's important not to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe, or you may find that the ice cream doesn't set.
Keyword green tea ice cream, green tea ice cream recipe, matcha ice cream, matcha ice cream recipe

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