Make this chocolate chip mint ice cream using fresh mint, real heavy cream, and eggs. You don’t even need an ice cream freezer to make this delicious, creamy, cold dessert. Its gluten free.
Chocolate chip mint ice cream is my favorite.ย Unfortunately, the grocery store version isn’t gluten-free, so we haven’t enjoyed it since Mr. Joybilee developed a wheat allergy. That is until now.ย My version of mint chocolate chip ice cream is chemical free, gluten-free, made with real food ingredients and doesn’t require any fancy ice-cream makers.ย You also won’t need that chemical green food coloring.ย This recipe draws on the traditional Italian dessert, a semifreddo.ย Semifreddo means “almost frozen”.ย It has an indulgent, creamy texture, a fresh minty taste,ย and everything you want in chocolate chip mint ice cream, the refreshing cold, the creaminess, and the crunchy, dark chocolate bits.
This recipe is so easy once you learn how to make it, you’ll be able to whip it up in minutes, and vary the flavors according to what’s in season in your garden or what needs to be used up in your fridge.ย See some of the suggestions below, for more ideas.ย I make this a couple times a week in the summer when the mint, the berries, and the fresh fruit filling the fridge with summer abundance.
Oh, and the best part.ย You do NOT need an ice cream machine to make this delicious, creamy chocolate chip mint ice cream.ย Instead of the 30 to 40 minutes an ice cream machine takes to churn your dessert, this one is made with whisk or rotary beater in about 10 minutes or use an electric mixer and you’ll be done in 5 minutes.
You won’t need to make a custard, and the fresh, minty flavor comes from mint leaves, so you won’t need mint flavoring or mint extract to make this.ย Just fresh peppermint leaves.
To make this you’ll want the freshest eggs you can find.ย I use eggs laid the same day, from my own chickens and use them raw.ย But if you are using grocery store eggs, you may want to pasteurize them first.ย (See below for instructions) You’ll also need a pint / 500 ml of heavy cream, also called “whipping cream” or “double cream” in UK, fresh mint leaves, and your favorite chocolate chips or chocolate bar.
While you could use peppermint extract for the minty flavor in this chocolate chip mint ice cream, if you take the time to infuse fresh mint leaves in heavy cream, you will make the best mint chip ice cream you have ever tasted, and you’ll be adding the wonderful antioxidants and other health benefits of natural peppermint to your dessert.
Let’s talk about mint!
Mint is a perennial plant and there are many different varieties from spearmint, peppermint, pear mint, chocolate mint, strawberry mint, and more.ย My favorite for this recipe is chocolate mint.ย If you aren’t already growing it, find a neighbor who is growing “chocolate mint” and get a start from them.ย It will grow just fine in a container. But give it lots of root room.ย The more space you give it the bigger your harvest will be.ย But do not stick it in the middle of your prime garden space.ย Mint will make itself at home and take over the area.
If you aren’t growing chocolate mint, use whatever mint you have for this recipe.ย You’ll need about a cup of fresh leaves.ย Harvest the stalk of mint in the morning before the dew is dry, when the essential oils will be strongest.ย ย Cut it or pinch it off just above a place where there are two leaves coming from the stalk.ย Where you cut it, two more stalks will grow out, potentially doubling your mint harvest.
Wash the stalks by swishing them through cold water.ย Shake them off.ย Roll them in a kitchen towel to remove excess water.ย They don’t have to be dry, just not dripping. Now run your hand from the bottom of the stalk to the top, to remove the leaves.ย Roll the chiffonade-style on a cutting board, and cut through the roll making fine ribbons.ย This breaks the cells of the leaf and gives more surface area to extract the flavor.
Now your ready to infuse your whipping cream.
Infuse your whipping cream
For the very best texture and minty fresh flavor, we’ll infuse heavy cream (also called whipping cream or double cream) with fresh mint leaves over night.ย This step guarantees the very best creamy mint ice cream you’ve ever tasted.ย Your heavy cream may contain guar gum, xanthan gum, or carrageenan.ย These stabilizers ensure that the texture of the whipped cream has that thick, creamy mouth feel.ย But none of them are necessary.ย If you have heavy cream directly from the dairy, that’s the best heavy cream to use.ย If you can’t find it, use what you’ve got.
Place 1 cup of the mint leaves in a wide-mouth, pint-size (500 ml) Mason jar.ย Fill the jar with the heavy cream to completely cover the mint leaves.ย Put a cap on the jar.ย Shake the jar to evenly distribute the mint leaves.ย Place the jar in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Strain the whipping cream
After 24 hours remove the jar of heavy cream from the fridge.ย Line a strainer with a clean handkerchief.ย Place the strainer over a bowl.ย Strain the mint leaves from the heavy cream, by pouring the jar through a strainer, lined with a clean handkerchief, into the bowl.ย Gather up the corners of the handkerchief and twist them to squeeze as much of the infused cream out of the mint leaves, as you possibly can.ย You should have a pint of mint-infused whipping cream in the bowl.ย Compost the mint leaves.ย Add two tablespoon of sugar to the heavy cream.ย Stir to fully dissolve the sugar.ย Set the bowl of infused cream aside.
Prepare Your eggs
If you aren’t using farm-fresh eggs, you may want to pasteurize the eggs for this recipe.ย See this post from Frugal Farm wife for a step-by-step tutorial on how to do this.ย Separate the eggs for your ice-cream, placing the egg whites in one bowl and the yolks in a second bowl.ย ย Add 2 tablespoons of sugar (you can use mint sugar) to the egg whites.ย Beat the egg whites with a whisk or a rotary egg beater until they form stiff peaks.ย If you can lift the bowl up and tip it and the eggs stay put, they are whipped enough.
Using a clean fork, beat the egg yolks until they are frothy and have lightened in color.
Whip the Heavy Cream
Using the same whisk or rotary beater, beat the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks.
Prepare the Chocolate
Using your favorite chocolate, for this recipe.ย The quality of the chocolate makes a big difference in the flavor of the ice cream.ย Large chocolate chips are hard to chew when they are frozen so I like to cut them to a finer size.ย To cut up chocolate chips, place them on a cutting board and chop them with a sharp knife.ย If you are using a chocolate bar, you can shave the chocolate into fine slivers or place the chocolate between two pieces of parchment paper and roll a rolling pin over it to break up the large pieces.ย You’ll need 1/4 cup of chocolate pieces for this recipe.
Make the semifreddo
Fold the egg whites into the whipped cream gently, retaining as much loft and air as possible.ย Once half the egg whites are folded in start folding in the egg yolks with the egg whites.ย Finally fold in the chocolate pieces.ย Don’t over mix it or you’ll loose the lightness of the semifreddo.ย Its ok if there are streaks in your blend.
Spoon the mixture into a 2 quart freezer proof bowl, cover with a lid.ย Freeze in a freezer for 8 hours or overnight.ย 2 hours before serving place the semifreddo in the fridge to slowly thaw.ย It will be frozen but soft enough to scoop, after 2 hours.ย Return it to the freezer when you are finished serving.ย This recipe makes eight 1 cup portions or 2 quarts of chocolate chip mint ice cream.
It can be made ahead and will keep for a week or moreย in the freezer.
An easy to make ice cream treat that doesn’t require an ice cream maker and uses only 5, real-food ingredients.ย This only take 5 to 10 minutes of hands-on time to make it, once you learn the technique.
Ingredients
Scale
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup mint leaves, fresh
4 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup chocolate pieces
Instructions
Wash fresh mint leaves.ย Dry by rolling in a kitchen towel.ย Roll up the mint leaves chiffonade-style and cut across the leaves to make fine ribbons, and expose more surface area.ย Place the prepared mint leaves in a wide-mouth, pint-size Mason jar.
Cover the mint leaves, in the jar, with heavy cream.ย Cover with a tight lids.ย Shake the jar, briefly to evenly distribute the cream and the mint leaves.ย Set aside in the fridge for 24 hours.
Line a sieve with a clean handkerchief.ย Place the sieve over the mouth of bowl.ย Pour the infused cream through the sieve to separate the mint leaves from the cream.ย Gather the corners of the handkerchief and twist it, to remove as much of the cream as you can from the mint leaves.ย Compost the spent mint leaves.
Add 2 tablespoon of sugar to the infused cream.ย Stir to fully dissolve the sugar.ย Set the infused cream aside.
Separate the eggs into two bowls, a larger bowl for the egg whites and a smaller bowl for the yolks.ย Using a fork, lightly beat the egg yolks until they become frothy and lighten in color.ย Set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the egg whites.ย Beat the egg whites with a whisk or a rotary beater until the egg whites form stiff peaks.ย They are ready if you can tip the bowl and the egg whites remain in the bowl, without sliding out.
ย Prepare the chocolate, by chopping or breaking it into small pieces, no larger than 1/8th of inch.ย Once the ice cream is frozen, larger pieces of chocolate are hard to chew, so the smaller they are the better the mouth-feel of the ice cream.
Gently fold the egg whites into the whipped cream, retaining as much of the air as possible.ย Once half the egg whites are folded into the whipped cream, alternate folding the egg yolks, the chocolate pieces, and the remaining egg whites together, into the whipped cream.ย Don’t over mix.ย Its all right if it is a little streaky.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart/liter freezer-safe container, cover with a lid.ย Freeze for 8 hours or more.
Notes
This will can be made ahead and will keep for a month or more in the freezer.ย Before you want to serve it, place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours to allow it to soften.ย Return it to the freezer if there are any left overs.
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Variations:
Use this method to make your favorite ice cream flavors.ย Add 1/4 cup of nuts, candy pieces, or baking chips.ย Cut large pieces into smaller pieces, if necessary.ย Use jam or syrup to make a ripple ice creams.ย You’ll love how easy this is to customize for your family.
Strawberry Ripple
Make a plain vanilla whipped cream using 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, omit the peppermint infusion.ย Place half the semifreddo into the ice cream container.ย Layer strawberry jam over the semifreddo.ย Add the remainder of the semifreddo.ย Add a final layer of strawberry jam.ย Freeze as usual.ย When you scoop it the layers will form ripples of fruity flavor.
Chocolate Ripple or Butterscotch Ripple
Make a plain vanilla whipped cream using 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, omit the peppermint infusion.ย Place half the semifreddo into the ice cream container.ย Layer chocolate or butterscotch syrup over the semifreddo.ย Add the remainder of the semifreddo.ย Add a final layer of syrup.ย Freeze as usual.ย When you scoop it the layers will form ripples of your favorite flavors.
Chocolate Ice Cream
Omit the peppermint infusion.ย Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the whipped cream, when you add the sugar.ย Make the semifreddo as per the recipe, omitting the mint leaves and chocolate chips.
A Money Saving Recipe
This recipe makes 8 portions at 77cents (Canadian), a portion. (as of July 2025).
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