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Bold, Earthy, Strong Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
A Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream That Actually Tastes Like Matcha
Let’s be honest: there is nothing more disappointing than ordering green tea ice cream, closing your eyes, and realizing it just tastes like green food coloring and vanilla extract. We demand better! If you love the deep, almost bitter, and wonderfully earthy flavor of a proper matcha latte, this recipe is your new best friend. We aren’t being shy here—we’re using 5 whole tablespoons of matcha powder to give this ice cream a robust, unapologetic green tea soul.
The Secret to the Ultimate Creamy Texture
While the matcha brings the flavor, the custard base brings the luxury. We are using four egg yolks, heavy cream, and whole milk to create a rich, custardy foundation that keeps this ice cream incredibly smooth. We temper the egg yolks (don’t worry, it sounds fancier and scarier than it actually is) to ensure a silky texture. Combined with just 2/3 cup of sugar, it hits that magical “sweet but not too sweet” spot that Japanese desserts are famous for.
Quality Matters: My Go-To Matcha
For a flavor this front-and-center, your matcha powder matters. I absolutely love using Jade Leaf Organic Japanese Matcha Culinary Grade. I use it for my daily matcha lattes, and it has the perfect deep, slightly bitter profile that translates beautifully into this rich cream base.
Patience is a Virtue (and a Necessity for Ice Cream)
A quick word to the wise: homemade ice cream requires a little bit of planning. You’ll need to chill your cream mixture for at least 4 hours so the flavors can mingle and the base is perfectly cold. More importantly, if your ice cream maker requires a frozen bowl, do not forget to put it in the freezer a full 24 hours ahead of time. You don’t want to have a beautiful matcha custard ready to go and a room-temperature bowl laughing at you from the cabinet!
Try my other matcha recipes:
Matcha Chia Seed Pudding
Meet your new morning ritual: Matcha Chia Seed Pudding. It’s the lovechild of your beloved matcha latte and a protein-packed chia bowl — creamy, subtly sweet, gorgeously green, and ready to keep you full for hours. Vegan-friendly, endlessly customizable, and honestly? Prettier than most of us before coffee.
Visual Step-by-Step Guide for Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream:
What’s in the matcha green tea ice cream
- matcha green tea powder
- heavy cream
- whole milk
- granulated sugar
- egg yolks
- salt
Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
This is not your average, timid green tea dessert! This matcha green tea ice cream features a bold, earthy flavor profile thanks to a generous 5 tablespoons of matcha powder. Balanced with a rich, egg-yolk custard and just enough sugar to sweeten the deal, it’s a sophisticated, incredibly creamy treat for true matcha devotees.
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 5 tablespoons (40 grams) of matcha green tea powder
Instructions
- If your ice cream maker requires the bowl to be frozen for at least 24 hours before churning, freeze your bowl before starting the custard.
- In a small saucepan, simmer heavy cream, whole milk, sugar and salt, whisking frequently until the sugar dissolves, on medium heat for about 7 minutes. Gently tap the outside of the pan to feel for a very warm temperature. Remove from heat.
- Measure out the green tea in bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of the warm cream mixture. Whisk to form a very thick paste. It will be hard to whisk as it will be very thick. Add 5 more tablespoons of the cream mixture. Whisk to form a thick paste. Add 5 more tablespoons of the cream mixture. Whisk to form a paste and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula. It should look smooth now. Add to matcha mixture the pot with the remaining cream and whisk well. You may see tiny lumps of green tea powder. This is ok. Set the pot to medium heat and warm again for 2 minutes.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly drizzle in the warm cream mixture about 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking. Keep drizzling in the warm cream mixture while whisking, until you have drizzled in about 1 cup. Then pour the tempered egg mixture into the pot of cream mixture. Set the heat to medium low and whisk frequently until the mixture reaches 170°F.
- Strain the matcha custard mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a blender. Scrape and press any liquid that sits on top through the sieve and discard any remaining lumps that won’t go through the sieve. Blend on high for about 1 minute. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Churn the mixture in the ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve directly from the machine for a soft serve texture or freeze until ready to enjoy.
❓ FAQ’s for Deep, Earthy Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
When made right (like this recipe), it tastes deeply earthy, slightly bitter, and unmistakably like matcha — not like green vanilla ice cream.
You can, but culinary grade matcha is typically more robust and slightly more affordable, making it ideal for baking and ice cream where flavor needs to stand out.
Ceremonial grade matcha is made from the youngest, most tender tea leaves, ground to a fine powder with a naturally sweeter, more delicate flavor — it’s designed to be whisked with just water and sipped on its own, traditional tea-ceremony style. Culinary grade matcha, on the other hand, comes from slightly more mature leaves, giving it a bolder, more robust, and slightly more bitter flavor that can stand up to other ingredients like milk, sugar, and cream. That’s exactly why culinary grade is the better choice for this matcha green tea ice cream — it holds its own against the richness of the custard base instead of getting lost in it. Bonus: culinary grade is typically more budget-friendly too, so your wallet and your taste buds both win.
You can, but I recommend at least 3 tablespoons for a subtle, mild matcha flavor, 4 tablespoons to achieve a proper earthly tone and 5 tablespoons if you want authentic, robust matcha green tea ice cream!
Yes! Tempering prevents scrambled eggs in your custard and is essential for that rich, creamy texture.
An ice cream maker is recommended for the best creamy texture, but you can try the no-churn freeze-and-stir method every 30 minutes if you’re in a pinch.
Most compressor-free ice cream makers require a fully frozen bowl to properly churn and freeze the mixture — skipping this step usually results in soft, soupy ice cream.
You can, but the ice cream will be icier and less rich. The fat is doing important structural work here.
Yes. Without chilling properly, the ice cream will be grainy and icy. The fridge is not optional.
Yes! Five tablespoons of matcha carries a real caffeine load. Maybe don’t have three bowls at 10pm — unless reorganizing your pantry at 2am is a goal.
Meringues, an egg white omelet, or a batch of financiers. Or freeze them. They keep beautifully.
Stored in an airtight container in the freezer, it stays fresh for about 2 to 3 weeks (though it rarely lasts that long around here).
SHOP FOR THIS RECIPE
Jade Leaf Matcha is pure green tea leaf matcha powder with no sweetener, just one ingredient! And our matcha is certified organic, meaning it is grown without pesticides or harmful fertilizers, and sourced directly from the pristine tea fields of Uji and Kagoshima, Japan.
In the warmer months, the freezer bowl of my ice cream maker has a permanent spot inside my freezer. So easy to whip of homemade ice cream in minutes.
When I went to Amazon to look up the link for this item, it shows my purchase history and I have this exact set of mixing bowls since 2016. I own other sets but this truly is a better quality set. The bowls are thick and the plastic lids are still perfect and snug. I use these daily.
Stainless steel sieve set with 3 diameters: 3.15"+5.5"+7.87"
Remember having to let your ice cream sit on the countertop for 5+ minutes to give it time to soften? Every minute felt like a hour when all you wanted was some ice cream, right now. If you have a heated ice cream scooper, you will never have to wait again.
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