Making your own mint chip ice cream with fresh mint from the garden is the simplest dessert recipe you can make this summer. It only takes a few ingredients to make the freshest, tastiest, creamiest ice cream you’ve ever eaten.
This recipe has truly been a labor of love. Our first year in Oakland was all about finding a place to live and setting up a home. The second year was all about building my studio and transforming our yard into the outdoor living space that we became so accustomed to in San Diego.
Now that we’re into year three, i’m all about the details.
Once the yard renovation was complete, I was anxious to get my garden growing. This spring I filled my new planter boxes with a variety of veggies and herbs that i’ve been tending to all summer long.
To say i’m proud of the results is an understatement. Many years of garden troubleshooting, optimal weather conditions, and a little bit of luck have produced my most epic backyard garden to date!
Not only have I been harvesting a ton of zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes, but the herb bounty is never ending. Mint, chives, basil, oregano, parsley and dill are available everyday.
While I realize that mint is a very easy herb to grow, my plant this year was beyond prosperous.
With a huge mint plant that would not back down, I started looking for ways to use mint every single day. Obviously my first thought was ICE CREAM!!!
Ice cream is my favorite sweet treat, and mint chip ice cream is one of my top flavors of all time. Why not try to make my own at home?
I’ve made my own ice cream before, so I knew that it was simple, but working with fresh mint from my garden was new to me.
Luckily, the mint flavor of my homegrown plant did not disappoint. The biggest challenge when perfecting this mint chip ice cream recipe was figuring out how to fine tune the texture.
When making ice cream at home I cannot stress to you enough the importance of keeping all your ingredients cold. Once the mint was steeped in the warm milk mixture I was sure to thoroughly chill the completed ice cream base overnight to ensure an even and creamy texture in my final product.
The colder the better!
Another tip when it comes to making the creamiest homemade ice cream ever, is to whisk your cream before combining it with your flavored milk mixture. The more air in your ice cream base, the lighter the texture of your finished iced cream.
Just be sure to whisk the final mixture one last time after chilling it and before pouring it into the ice cream machine to freeze, to make sure all that mint flavor is thoroughly distributed throughout.
Once your mint chip ice cream base is in the ice cream machine, keep an eye on it! If you over churn your ice cream, the milk fats will separate slightly and leave a residue on your spoon when you eat it.
It took me a few rounds of recipe testing to figure that one out!
So there you have it. From seed to spoon, my new family classic mint chip ice cream recipe. I know I’ll be making this homegrown summer treat for years to come.
If you have an overly zealous mint plant in your yard and decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Tag me on Facebook or Instagram @betsylife and show me how it turns out.
Mint Chip Ice Cream
Making your own mint chip ice cream with fresh mint from the garden is the simplest dessert recipe you can make this summer. It only takes a few ingredients to make the freshest, tastiest, creamiest ice cream you've ever eaten.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 bunch fresh mint leaves at least 1 cup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- pinch salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
In a heavy saucepan, combine milk and sugar. Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Do not boil.
Add mint and allow to steep for at least 30 minutes. (see recipe note 1)
Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream until frothy. About 3-4 minutes.
Stir vanilla and salt into milk mixture. Strain mixture into heavy cream and whisk until combined. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (see recipe note 2)
Remove mixture from fridge and give it a good whisking to ensure all elements are fully combined. Pour mixture into ice cream machine and whip according to manufacturers instruction (see recipe note 3). You want the ice cream to have a soft serve consistency before freezing. Add chocolate chips at the very end and mix until thoroughly combined.
Spoon mixture into a freezer container and freeze 4 hours or overnight.
Recipe Notes
1. The more mint you add and the longer you let it steep, the more intense mint flavor your ice cream will have.
2. Having a very cold base mix is essential to ensuring the texture of the final ice cream. Do not skip this step.
3. I used the ice cream bowl attachment for a KitchenAid mixture and my mixing time was 20 minutes. Even 5 minutes longer will change the texture of the final ice cream so keep an eye on your ice cream machine.
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