Matcha Ice Cream is the perfect refreshing sweet treat on a hot day. This recipe has a deep intensity and creamy texture that instantly takes me back to Japan. If you want to know what authentic Japanese green tea ice cream tastes like, this is for you.
Green tea is one of the most popular flavors for sweets in Japan, especially in the form of ice cream. I’ve been living in the U.S. for over 15 years now, and I admit that it’s been hard to find green tea ice cream that tastes authentic to what I enjoyed growing up. The majority of what I’ve tried is either way too sweet or overly creamy, masking the delicate flavor of the tea itself. Also, with matcha ice cream, there should never be a need for any artificial coloring or flavors.
If you want to know what true Matcha Ice Cream (抹茶アイスクリーム) tastes like, I have just the recipe for you. The flavors instantly bring me back to Japan whenever I have this ice cream.
What Does Matcha Ice Cream Taste Like?
The ideal flavor of this refreshing treat should be a perfect balance of earthy, sweet, and slightly bitter. Because matcha is much more concentrated than regular green tea, you often don’t need much to experience its robust profile.
This homemade ice cream recipe accentuates the deep intensity of matcha flavor and is rich in texture. That’s how matcha ice cream tastes in Japan! It should not be overly creamy or milky like what you’d expect from some commercial ice cream brands which downplay the distinct matcha character. In short, expect intense matcha in authentic Japanese ice cream. No weak matcha flavor here.
Since matcha ice cream contains caffeine, consider it the perfect hot weather pick-me-up!
Matcha vs. Green Tea
Yes, both types of traditional Japanese teas come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis). But what sets them apart?
You will find that matcha (抹茶) is more expensive and sold in small canisters as a finely ground powder. This is because matcha is made using only shade-grown tea leaves, meaning the leaves never encounter direct sunlight (resulting in a darker shade of green due to increased chlorophyll production). Only the finest buds are hand-picked, de-stemmed, and stone-ground to become the vibrant green powder that we find in stores.
Green tea (緑茶), on the other hand, is cultivated from leaves that have been left in the sun. This type of tea is often found in tea bags or sold as loose leaf. The flavor is lighter than matcha. It’s still earthy, but it is much less intense because it’s not as concentrated.
To learn more about matcha and how best to store it, please read this post.
Ingredients for Matcha Ice Cream
My Matcha Ice Cream recipe is super simple. It only takes 4 simple ingredients to make— and eggs are not necessary!
- Matcha (Green tea powder)
- Half-and-Half or Milk & Cream (more on this below)
- Sugar
- Salt
5 Tips for Making Matcha Ice Cream
Tip #1: Buy the right matcha
When purchasing matcha, you’ll notice there are often three types: ceremonial, premium, and culinary grade.
High-grade matcha (ceremonial and premium) is used for drinking and tends to have a bright, vibrant green hue. The “lower grades” are used mostly for culinary purposes, such as this recipe.
Premium quality matcha rarely goes on sale. Even if it does, do not buy in big volume because you need to use it in 2-3 weeks once you open the package. Matcha oxidizes and turns to yellow-green color as time passes. Unless you’re running a commercial bakery, I wouldn’t buy a big bag of matcha for home use.
Even in Japan, matcha is considered an expensive ingredient because of the care required for cultivation.
Tip #2: Half-and-Half vs. Milk & Cream
When I shared this original recipe in 2011, I used Half-and-Half (an American dairy product that is an equal blend of whole milk and light cream) to make the recipe.
Since then, I learned that many of you, who live outside of the U.S., don’t have access to this product, so I’ve included other options for you in this updated recipe. There are 4 options:
- Option 1: 2 ¼ cups (540 ml) whole milk + ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream – I used this for my video/recipe below
- Option 2: 3 cups (720 ml) Half-and-Half
- Option 3: 2 cups (480 ml) low-fat milk + 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- Option 4: 1 ½ cups (360 ml) whole milk + 1 ½ cups (360 ml) light cream
Reference: The Kitchn
Tip #3: Freeze your ice cream bowl
Before diving into making the ice cream, be sure to freeze your ice cream bowl for 24 hours beforehand. If it’s not cold enough, you may end up with liquid even after 30 minutes of churning. If you are not using an ice cream maker, please read this post for helpful tips.
After having this ice cream maker for several years, we invested on this ice cream maker and really love it. We don’t have to worry about reserving a space in the freezer to store the ice cream bowl before making ice cream any more. It’s much more convenient now to make homemade ice cream.
Tip #4: Make Matcha Paste
Matcha is a fine powder and you can’t add it to the large volume of liquid because the powder becomes lumps as soon as it absorbs moisture. Therefore, when you mix matcha with liquid (milk mixture in this recipe), you have to make matcha into the paste form before adding to the large volume of liquid.
Tip #5: Refrigerate the Matcha Milk Mixture
To facilitate the churring properly, you have to chill the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. I consider this the hardest part of ice cream making!
Other Ice Cream Recipes:
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Matcha Ice Cream
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 5 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 g)
- 3 cups milk mixture (pick one option below)
For the Milk Mixture
Option 1 (I use this in the recipe and video):
- 2¼ cups whole milk
- ¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream
Option 2:
- 3 cups half-and-half (an American dairy product of equal parts whole milk and cream that contains 10.5–18% milkfat)
Option 3:
- 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
- 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
Option 4:
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1½ cups light cream or coffee cream
Instructions
To Freeze the Ice Cream Bowl (at least 24 hours prior)
- If you‘re using an ice cream maker that requires you to pre-freeze the bowl (like this one), make sure to freeze it for at least 24 hours. If it’s not cold enough, you may end up with liquid even after 30 minutes of churning. I use this ice cream maker that does not require pre-freezing the bowl. If you don‘t have an ice cream maker, I hope this post helps.
To Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the ingredients for 3 cups milk mixture and turn on the heat to medium low. Here, I use option 1 with 2¼ cups whole milk and ¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream. Alternatively, you could use option 2 with 3 cups half-and-half; option 3 with 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk and 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream; or option 4 with 1½ cups whole milk and 1½ cups light cream or coffee cream.
- Add ¾ cup sugar and ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt to the milk mixture and whisk together. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, then turn off the heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat if you see small bubbles around the edges of the pan. NEVER let it boil.
- Next, make a paste with the matcha powder. Place 5 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) in a medium bowl. Then, add 3–4 Tbsp of the heated milk mixture to the matcha bowl. Stir it with a silicone spatula until the matcha completely absorbs the liquid and no lumps remain. Tip: Matcha is a fine powder that will float and never dissolve if you add it to a large volume of liquid at once. To prevent lumps, we must first make a paste with the powder, starting with only a small amount of liquid. Let the powder completely absorb the liquid while you stir to work out any lumps. Make sure your matcha paste has no lumps before you add more small additions of liquid. When you eventually achieve a smooth and thick liquid, you can add it to the rest of the milk mixture.
- Next, add another 3–4 Tbsp of the milk mixture to the bowl and stir until the matcha absorbs the liquid.
- For the third time, add another 3–4 Tbsp of the milk mixture to the bowl and stir. The mixture will start to become pasty. Stir and mash the paste to incorporate any dry lumps of powder.
- For the fourth time, add another 3–4 Tbsp of the milk mixture and stir to further loosen up the paste. Continue to work out any lumps as you go.
- Add a final 3–4 Tbsp of the milk mixture to the bowl and stir. Now, the matcha mixture should be a thick liquid with no lumps. Tip: If your matcha is not yet a smooth and thick liquid, continue to add and incorporate more small additions of the milk mixture until it reaches the right consistency.
- Transfer the matcha mixture into the milk mixture and stir together.
- Change to a whisk and combine this matcha ice cream mixture well. Then, prepare an ice bath and a bowl (I use this 8 cup measuring cup with a spout) that can sit in the ice bath. Set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl or measuring cup. Next, pour the ice cream mixture through the sieve.
- Press and strain any matcha lumps left in the sieve. Let the ice cream mixture cool on the countertop. When the mixture has cooled, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. IMPORTANT: If you don‘t chill the mixture thoroughly, the ice cream maker will not produce an ice cream consistency.
To Churn the Ice Cream
- My ice cream maker doesn‘t require pre-freezing, but the machine needs to run for 15 minutes until the interior bowl is -33ºF (-36ºC). When your ice cream maker bowl is ready to use, whisk the matcha ice cream mixture one last time.
- Transfer the mixture to the ice cream maker bowl and churn according to the manufacturer‘s instructions.
- After 25 minutes, when the mixture is thickened and not moving, turn off the ice cream maker.
- Transfer the “soft“ ice cream into an airtight container. Freeze until the ice cream is firm and the flavor develops, at least 4 hours.
To Serve
- Scoop the ice cream and serve in a small bowl.
To Store
- You can keep it in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, but enjoy it sooner for the best flavor and color and to avoid the formation of ice crystals on the surface.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on August 15, 2011. The blog content and images have been updated and a new video has been added to the post in August 2021.
I created a recipe that was similar to this one. Most ice cream recipes have a 2 parts cream to one part whole milk as the ratio. Yours pretty much has the opposite ratio as a proper matcha green tea should be more of an ice milk vs an ice cream. The only thing I would suggest is to increase the liquid to about 3 1/4 cups total as the lowered cream in the mixture also reduces the amount of air that the ice cream can hold. That way you get about the same volume as you would in a more traditional ice cream recipe.
Hello, David! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and sharing your thoughts! 🙂
Hello! I love this recipe, but it is a bit labor intensive so I like to make big batches ahead. I wonder why it is only good for 2 weeks in the freezer? Is that a food safety issue or more of a taste/texture/color issue? Thank you!
Hi Lindsay! We are so happy to hear you love Nami’s Green tea Ice cream recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback.
2~3 weeks is a standard for homemade ice cream, and it’s for both reasons. They are made without preservatives, and good quality green tea powder starts to lose its flavor and sometimes color. You will also notice the ice crystals on the surface of the ice cream if you keep the ice cream too long in the freezer. Enjoying within two weeks is recommended. 🙂
Hi Nami, I wonder if I should go with option 2 or 4 to try this recipe. The whipping cream I have at home has fat content somewhere between 30-35%. It’s neither heavy nor light. If possible I’d like to make use of this instead of buying another one.
Which option would you suggest? Thanks.
Hi Karin! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
You can follow option 4 with your whipping cream. Yours are similar to light cream.
We hope this helps!
liked the previous recipe more. i think it was 2 TBSP of matcha powder to 2 cups milk mixture and 1/2 cup of sugar. what was the reason for change? i skipped all the steps of separately combining matcha with a little of milk to get the paste and straining. never got the issue with clumps – just have to get the mixture hot enough and keep whisking. anyway, will go back to the original recipe.
Hi Nenad! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipes!
This recipe uses the same ratio as the previous recipe you mentioned.
Because the recipe yield was increased to 1.5 QT, the sugar amount was also adjusted using the previous ratio and add the easier method to mix the Matcha and other ingredients.🙂
How would you make it dairy-free….say with coconut milk?
Hi Roslyn, Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
We are sorry that we have not tried a non-dairy version of this ice cream. Some people use coconut milk as a substitute, but not sure how the taste and texture will be. We thought using a non-dairy vanilla ice cream recipe and modifying it with Matcha powder might give a better result.
We hope this helps!
May I ask why there isn’t egg yolk in the recipe? Thanks.
Hi Vin! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
There are many ways to make ice cream and some recipe use egg yolk, but this recipe was the best flavor to make this ice cream.😊
We hope you will give it a try.
[…] creamy and smooth. Although it was prepared without a machine or any special ingredients. I made the original recipe into a 5-element one and got a flavour which is truly intriguing. It is not very sweet but balanced […]
Followed the recipe step by step and it turned out delicious! I got an ice cream maker because of this recipe! My next recipe is to make the azuki ice cream! Yay! Thank you!
Hi Ana! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hello! I was wondering if you have suggestions for a low fat option or maybe even using Greek yogurt? I have dietary restrictions that require me to limit the fat I have but matcha ice cream has my heart, so I’m trying to compromise. Thanks !
Hi Jo, Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
We have not tried this recipe with yogurt, and not sure how the outcome will be. Maybe tweak this with the soymilk ice cream recipe?
I don’t have es cream makers what should I do? To make my the es cream?
Hi Masitoh! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
The texture of ice cream might be icier compared to the one made with the ice cream maker, but you can make ice cream by pouring the mixture into the container and freezing it, then mixing it every 30 minutes for the first few hours.
We hope this helps!
Hi Nami san, I’d like to try to make your ice creams recipes and wondering, what is the fat content for the heavy cream, the light cream and the heavy whipping cream (for the black sesame ice cream recipe one)? Since we have very limited options of (whipping) creams here in Jakarta, would be nice to know for sure. Thank you so much. =)
Hi Mareen! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipes!
The fat content for heavy cream is no less than 36% milkfat.
The heavy whipping cream is also no less than 36% milkfat.
The light cream is about 18~30 %.
So to make Black sesame ice cream, you need at least 36% milkfat.😉
We hope this helps!
Thanks for this recipe Nami. I have made this twice now (Option 2 with heavy cream) and it was a big hit both times. For those that have found it a bit “icy”, try using about a tablespoon of vodka while the ice cream is churning in the machine. One tablespoon of vodka should not affect the matcha, as vodka is pretty neutral tasting.
Hi Kurtis, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your tip with us!
We are glad to hear Matcha ice was a big hit! 😊
Hi Nami,
I don’t have any ice cream maker at home.What should I do?
Hi Uyen! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
The texture of ice cream might be icy compared to the one made with the ice cream maker. But you can make ice cream by pouring the mixture into the container and freezing it, then mixing it every 30 minutes for the first few hours.
We hope this helps!
Love the flavor but I can’t figure out why my batch came out more icy than creamy. Any suggestions?
Hi, Canny! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are glad to hear you love the flavor!😊
Icy ice cream could be due to the freezing processing time during the churning.
Please make sure the freezer bowl is frozen. It usually asks for 24 hours in the freezer for best results but freezing it longer (about two days), so your ice cream maker is really frozen. And chill the ice cream mix in the refrigerator longer before churning. These extra steps will help freeze faster during the churning, and it will help maintain the ice crystal’s smaller size, and your ice cream will be creamy.
We hope this helps!
I just made a batch of this. The warm base is absolutely delicious and I look forward to churning up the ice cream. One small note: after blending the matcha paste in with the cream/milk combo one can remove any little lumps of the matcha paste with a fine sieve or chinois just as you might do with other ice cream recipes which use powdered ingredients. Not a game changer for sure but I thought it would be worth mentioning.
Hi Fran! We hope you enjoyed the Matcha Green Tea Icecream!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your tip with us! 🙂