No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

There is a deep divide in our family, and it’s over a particular flavor of ice cream. This ice cream is the absolute favorite of mine, Mini Me and my two nieces. As much as we absolutely adore this ice cream flavor is as much as it is equally hated by my dad and The Prince. I’m talking about mint chocolate chip ice cream. Literally every birthday for as far back as I can remember has included a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. And when we first started growing mint in our garden, mint chocolate chip ice cream was the very first thing I made out of it.

Every summer, Mini Me and I get the ice cream maker off the top shelf in the pantry (where it’s stored for the rest of the year when we aren’t using it), gather the mint from the garden in big handfuls, and start the 2 day process of making slow-churned mint chocolate chip ice cream. This year, I thought it was time to come up with a no-churn version of our beloved ice cream for all of you out there who don’t own an ice cream maker. Would it be as good?

What does No-Churn mean?

Honest opinion? It’s pretty darn close. I’m not going to BS you guys – there’s nothing that will ever be quite as good as slow-churned ice cream. It’s just a fact. But this No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is decidedly quicker, easier and more accessible. No-Churn simply means you don’t need an ice cream maker to make delicious homemade ice cream.

When you’re making slow-churn ice cream, you have to first freeze the container for at least 24 hours. Then, you make the custard on the stove, let it steep for several hours, then refrigerate it overnight. The next day, you can churn the actual ice cream. After you churn it, you still have to freeze it again. So, as I said, two days to make a carton of ice cream. Three if you didn’t already have the container frozen! That’s a lot of lead time.

With no-churn, if you’ve got ice cream on the brain in the morning, you can have ice cream in your mouth by that evening. And not just any ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. Which, as aforementioned, is the best flavor in the world.

Does Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream taste like mint?

If you’ve never had the opportunity to try real mint ice cream, you’ll have to set aside everything you know about it. It does not taste like what you get at 31 Flavors. It is not bright green. The mint flavor doesn’t hit you in the face. No, fresh mint ice cream is subtle in flavor and pale in color. And there’s nothing artificial about it whatsoever. I first tried fresh mint ice cream at a super trendy restaurant in Philly where everything was seasonal and the menu was always changing. My mind was blown by how delightfully different it tasted from what I was used to.

How to make the chocolate ribbons for Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

And what makes this No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream even more special is the chocolate. We’re not just throwing in some chocolate chips and calling it a day. We’re melting the chocolate and swirling it in. When the melted chocolate hits the cold ice cream, it will start to freeze right away, so you’ve got to work quickly and swirl it around with a wooden spoon, breaking it up into chocolate shards as you go. The result is thin ribbons of semisweet chocolate running throughout the ice cream. Ah-mazing.

So grab that mint that’s growing like a weed in your garden and whip up a batch of this No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I promise, you’ll never look at it the same way again. Enjoy!

No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

You can make this creamy, minty, chocolatey summer treat without an ice cream maker!

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

active 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

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• 2 cups fresh mint leaves firmly packed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 5 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

 

• Warm the cream and mint leaves in a saucepan over medium heat, until steamy. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 1 hour.
• Remove the mint leaves, squeezing as much liquid out of them as you can. Discard. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.
• Once the cream is cold, add the condensed milk to the mixing bowl and beat on high speed with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 8-10 minutes. Cover and place in the freezer for 30-45 minutes, until the consistency reaches that of soft serve ice cream.
• Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe container at 30 second intervals until desired consistency is reached. Pour the melted chocolate evenly over the ice cream. Using a wooden spoon, quickly swirl the chocolate to break it up into smaller pieces. It will start to freeze quickly. Pour the mixture into an ice cream container with a lid and freeze until ready to serve.

Keyword gluten free, ice cream, mint chocolate chip, no churn

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