This is the best creamy matcha green tea ice cream with easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions. This green tea delight will easily become your new favorite way to be caffeinated! The matcha flavor is light and subtle, perfectly matching this smooth-as-silk ice cream.
How to make this recipe
Want it extra scoopable and creamy?
Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of sugar to the recipe to make it freeze less solid and be more scoopable.
Ice Cream Maker Recommendations
The Ice cream attachment for Kitchen Aid mixer is what I use because it doesn’t require an additional appliance. If you do not have a Kitchen Aid mixer and prefer not to buy one, this is my favorite inexpensive option ice cream maker, and this is my favorite high-end ice cream maker. All three options work with gelato, ice cream, and sorbet.
Tips for Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
- Want more matcha flavor? Add an extra teaspoon of matcha. Want to taste more vanilla flavor? Leave one teaspoon out.
- Cover the ice cream with parchment paper for a longer-lasting smooth, soft texture.
- Use culinary-grade matcha. There’s no need to waste that extra money on the ceremonial grade matcha for this recipe.
- Keep your matcha powder fresh: Make sure you store your matcha in a well-sealed container. It needs to be airtight to keep out moisture.
Make this matcha treat doubly delicious by turning it into a matcha affogato. It is also delicious topped with chocolate syrup or fresh fruit like strawberries.
More Delectable Matcha Recipes
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Not Too Sweet Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
Print Recipe SaveIngredients
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp culinary grade matcha powder
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Put the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer.
- Whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale yellow.
- Warm the milk and vanilla until it just lightly simmers.
- Temper the egg/sugar mixture with the milk/vanilla mixture.
- Return to the sauce pan and cook until thickened, stirring slowly and constantly. It should get to 170F.
- Remove from heat. Sift and whisk or blend the matcha into the mixture. Add the cream. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, add your chilled ice cream to the ice cream maker. Churn (stir setting) until it is the thickness of soft serve ice cream, 18-22 minutes.
- Transfer to a container you can freeze, cover with parchment paper (optional), and freeze at least 4 hours.
Hi there, question concerning step 6 Remove from heat. Sift and whisk or blend the matcha into the mixture. Add the cream. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Do I just drop cream on top or do I have to mix it together ? Sounds like a silly question but I never done ice cream and I just received my kitchenaid… Thank you !
Hi Mark! Great question… yes, you can stir it so it’s mixed in. Can’t wait to hear what you think!
It was my first try, but I wanted to do a small batch only. I used 3 egg yolks and I halved all the rest but added a tadbit more matcha powder because I love the flavour and it turned out so well ! I churned the ice cream for 19 minutes exactly. I used a thermometer to reach 170 and even when I had turned off my induction cooktop it went up to 180-185 so I was a bit worried but it turned out amazing ! I am bookmarking this page for future reference and can’t wait to surprise guests with my very own homemade matcha ice cream. Worry not, I’ll happily share your link ! Thank you !
Thanks for sharing, Mark… you are so welcome! It’s also nice to hear that the recipe works as a small batch… I’ve never tried it that way. Thanks again… I’m so glad to hear you liked it 🙂
I had to use a stick blender to mix the matcha powder in. After sifting it into the mixture, it was floating around as green dots. The mixer fixed it. I guess that might differ with brands of matcha.
Hi Katherine, thank you for sharing this mixer trick! Matcha can clump, and I get them out with a whisk. If using an immersion blender or similar, do be careful… you don’t want to whip the mixture, so use it until just incorporated. A trick you can use to help remove the clumping is by taking a small amount of the liquid (2-4 tablespoons) and mixing it into the matcha before adding into in. I hope this helps and enjoy!
Can i use magmix processor insteas of ice cream maker
Unfortunately, you need something similar to an ice cream maker for this recipe or it will form ice crystals during the cooling process.
I’m making my first batch now and can’t wait to try it. Thank you for publishing this recipe! One question: I note the entire recipe makes 8 servings but am not sure how much that is or how much each individual serving consists of, for example, is each serving 1/3 cup?
Would be grateful for advice since we have a few family members on strict diets and they’d like to not overdo it on the portion size.
Thanks!!
Great question, Dana! One serving is 1/2 cup. Enjoy!
Hi Candice
Can I substitute whole Milk with half and half ?! I just have a half and half I wanted to use 😂
Thank you!
Hi Jessica. Although I have never tried it myself, it should work! You can use half-and-half instead of both the milk and the heavy cream. Let me know how it goes!
How long can you keep it in the freezer for?
Hi Lucy,
When it comes to homemade ice cream, the fresher, the better. Two weeks is the general rule of thumb. It tends to get harder if it stays in there longer.
Hope this helps!
Can you add a bit of cream cheese to the recipe?
And does it come out super rock hard once frozen? I love matcha and I’m so anxious to make this.
If you love matcha, Tina, then you will love this recipe! I haven’t personally tested the recipe with cream cheese, so, unfortunately, I am not sure what would happen if you add it in. It doesn’t come out rock hard at all… just make sure you use an ice cream maker or attachment to churn it.
This matcha ice cream was sooo delicious! Very easy to follow recipe and the flavor was just fantastic, will definitely be doing it more!
Yay! I’m so glad you will be making it more and that it was easy to follow, Tatiana 🙂
I have just picked up a vintage ice cream maker and I am really looking forward to trying it out again in my new machine. I haven’t been brave enough so far, but now I will definitely try it with this recipe since I already know I love it!
I’m so glad to hear it, Jacqui… how did it go??
Love the flavor and how creamy it is. A must try !
Aw yay! So glad you loved the flavor and creaminess, Kushigalu 🙂
The green is so naturally vibrant in this recipe and this is the perfect dessert for any Japanese meal!
Glad to hear you think so, Chandice 🙂
My husband bought me an ice cream maker a few years back and I will have to give this recipe a try. Thanks for the step by step photos!
Matcha ice cream is one of my favourites and I LOVE a homemade version since you get to control how strong of a matcha flavour you get!
Totally! Such a treat. Thanks for sharing, Carmy!
This looks amazing but I was wondering how the mixture would turn out if you did not have an ice cream maker and just froze it in the freezer.
Great question, Nazihah. Good news: you don’t need a machine to churn the ice cream. You can use this method by David Lebovitz: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/making-ice-crea-1/
Churning the ice cream helps pull air into the ice cream mixture. If you don’t churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker, then large ice crystals will form and ruin the unpleasant texture of the ice cream. So churning is necessary for this recipe, but you don’t need a machine to churn. Hope this helps!
I love this matcha recipe! This is the perfect summertime treat. Making in on repeat.
I know the feeling, Jen… this one is wonderful to have on hand in the freezer. Glad you enjoyed!
Lovely recipe and I definitely should be making more ice cream. I had some matcha powder left and I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it – love the colours and the pictures! It was great!
So happy to hear you loved it, Ramona!