Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream Recipe (3 Ingredients)

Matcha ice cream is a lusciously creamy, pastel green dessert with a fantastic blend of sweet and earthy flavours. 

Our matcha ice cream is made of heavy whipping cream, condensed milk, and matcha powder. We've perfected our recipe to maintain the taste of green tea without overpowering it. Due to the ratio of ingredients we used, our recipe is naturally more decadent but not sickeningly sweet.

You won't need an ice cream maker to follow our no-churn green tea ice cream recipe. However, if you still want to learn how to make matcha ice cream with a machine, we've included some simple instructions for that, too.

Jump to:

• Matcha Ice Cream Ingredients (3 Ingredients) 
• How To Make Matcha Ice Cream (No Machine)
• Easy Matcha Ice Cream Recipe
• Cooking Tips
• How To Store Green Tea Ice Cream
• Make Green Tea Ice Cream (With Ice Cream Maker)
• Add Toppings

Matcha Ice Cream Ingredients (3 Ingredients) 

You will need matcha powder, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy whipping cream to make matcha ice cream.

Matcha

Because this dessert only uses 3 ingredients, it is critical to use high-quality ingredients to ensure it tastes nice. Therefore, we recommend using high-quality culinary-grade green tea powder.

While ceremonial-grade matcha powder is considered higher quality, it is more expensive and used for drinking. The culinary-grade powder is cheaper than its ceremonial-grade alternative and is primarily used in cooking and baking.

Although the culinary-grade powder is less aromatic and can be bitter, the condensed milk's sweetness helps mask this. The final result is a luscious and thick matcha ice cream with a robust and powerful matcha flavour. 

Heavy Whipping Cream

One of the critical components in this green tea ice cream is air bubbles, followed by fat and sugar. So, you must use whipping cream with a high-fat content. The fat content contributes to the dessert's thick, glossy, and rich texture.

Alternatively, you can substitute it with light whipping cream, but the texture will differ. The lighter version would produce a less indulgent texture because there isn't enough fat to produce a velvety, fluffy dessert. Ultimately, it would be best to use a high-fat content whipping cream.

How To Make Matcha Ice Cream (No Machine)

With the fluffiness of the whipped cream and the sweetness of condensed milk, you can make this no-churn dessert in no time. The thick base of the dessert is made from sweetened condensed milk, while the heavy cream is whipped to produce a light, airy texture to even out the viscosity.

Here's how to make matcha ice cream recipe without a machine: 

1. Firstly, sift the matcha powder through a tea strainer. The tea leaves are ground so finely that they easily form clumps that can be difficult to dissolve. Therefore, you must sift them before using them. 
2. Then, using a spatula or whisk, combine the sweetened condensed milk and stir until there are no visible lumps. 
3. Next, add heavy cream to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Begin whipping at a moderate speed and progressively raise the pace until stiff peaks develop. The trails in the cream will stiffen further, and it will begin to take on volume and create stiff peaks with slightly softened tips. Once this consistency is achieved, turn off the stand mixer so you don't overwhip the whipping cream. This is to ensure that the green tea ice cream is nice and fluffy. 
4. Then, fold the condensed milk paste and whisk on medium speed until thoroughly blended. With a spatula, scrape along the sides and bottom of the bowl. 
5. Place your mixture in a freezer-safe airtight container with a lid or in a loaf pan tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and keep it in the freezer overnight. Let it freeze for at least 6 hours before serving. 
6. Remove the container from the freezer about five minutes before serving so that it will be soft enough to scoop. This will make scooping easier. And with just three ingredients, this delicious dessert is ready.

Cooking Tips

Now that you know how to make green tea ice cream, here are some cooking tips to help you attempt it at home.

Not Sweet

We think the sweetness from the condensed milk is sufficient. However, if you want it to taste sweeter and more like a store-bought version, add up to ¼ cup of powdered sugar to the mixture.

Non-flavoured sweeteners like sugar and agave syrup will preserve the strong natural flavour of the fine tea powder, whereas sweeteners like honey and chocolate can effectively disguise it. 

Can't Taste The Matcha

Because matcha is significantly more concentrated than most tea powders, you only need a little to enjoy its complete flavour profile. We suggest making small additions of 1 teaspoon at a time if you can't taste the fine powder. 

On the other hand, the more intense the flavour, the more critical the powder's quality becomes. If you prefer a more robust green tea ice cream flavour, try our recipe with ceremonial-grade matcha powder instead.

Not Thick

Homemade green tea ice cream will be lighter than store-bought. Place your cool treat in the freezer for at least 6 hours or until it has firmed up entirely for a firmer texture. 

If you want your cool treat to be thicker, you can add cornflour. Cornflour binds water molecules and thickens the liquid, resulting in a softer, more velvety feel—especially in no-churn recipes. However, remember to cook it with some of the recipe's cream to work its magic.

Glucose syrup is another thickening ingredient that leads to a richer texture. Like sweetened condensed milk, it prevents the frozen treat from becoming icy. However, remember that you should only use glucose syrup if you want a thicker consistency—otherwise, condensed milk will be enough.

How To Store Green Tea Ice Cream

Once you have made the dessert, store it in any freezer-safe container. Alternatively, store it in a loaf pan with food-safe plastic wrap.

If properly stored, this dessert can be kept in the freezer for 6 to 7 weeks, but we guarantee it will be finished in a day or two. For easier scooping, we suggest thawing the frozen dessert at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving.

As no preservatives are used, the green tea powder will lose flavour and colour over time.

Make Green Tea Ice Cream (With Ice Cream Maker)

If you want to attempt this recipe with an ice cream maker, we've got you covered. Although our no-churn method can produce an excellent cool dessert, we must admit that a churning machine will result in a better end product due to the gradual addition of air into the mixture.

This variation's method is slightly different because you don't need to beat the cream. All you have to do is add all the ingredients and let the machine do the rest.

Both no-churn and churned desserts have the expected silky smooth texture. However, the churned variety is closer to the classic version, although the difference is minimal. The only significant difference is that churning incorporates more air into the dessert than the no-churn method. Because of the extra air, the churned variety usually tastes lighter. 

With A Machine 

Now let's look at how to make green tea ice cream with an ice cream maker: 

1. Firstly, you need to refrigerate the machine overnight. This is a crucial step that you should take. If the equipment is not cool enough, even after 30 minutes of churning, you might end up with a liquid base.
2. Mix all the ingredients in the recipe in a separate bowl and chill in the refrigerator until cool. 
3. Then, pour the matcha ice cream ingredients into the cold machine and churn till soft serve consistency. You should begin at a low speed and gradually increase to medium speed as the mixture thickens and can handle more splashing.
4. Once the cold mix has reached a soft-serve consistency, transfer the matcha ice cream to a cooled, freezable container. Before serving, let the cold treat freeze for at least 1 to 2 hours.

Add Toppings

You can serve your matcha ice cream plain or with any preferred toppings. For example, our favourite addition to it is chopped pistachios. Or even better, why not have it with Thai tea ice cream for flavour-bursting fun?

Check out our vegan green tea ice cream recipe if you're looking for a plant-based version. There are many other ways to make this delicious dessert, but we're sure our 3-ingredient recipe will become your go-to.

If you loved this recipe, why not try our taro ice cream recipe? Follow us on Instagram @honestfoodtalks for more yummy treats.