No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream
Smooth, rich homemade chocolate ice cream, made without a machine and just a handful of ingredients. Dutch process cocoa is bloomed so that it dissolves fully into the ice cream for a deeper flavor.
Make chocolate ice cream at home, without a mixer! This one is super creamy, relying on a simple no churn method: whipping heavy cream with sweetened condensed milk. The chocolate taste is rich thanks to a blooming step which deepens the flavor. Blooming also helps dissolve the cocoa so no powdery bits remain.
Making chocolate ice cream without a machine
Ice cream machines function to stir the ice cream base while freezing it. This is called churning; as the ice cream is freezing the particles are moved around to stop them from forming ice crystals. This is why you cannot simply take a custard and set it in the freezer – you’d just have a solid block. If you tried to scoop it, well – you simply couldn’t. So that it remains soft and creamy, the machine slowly incorporates air as it’s freezing.
Without an ice cream maker, you need to find a way to aerate the base. To do this we use what’s called a ‘no churn’ method: incorporating air before freezing. Usually this is done by whipping heavy cream with a stand mixer or hand mixer to medium to stiff peaks then stirring in the flavorings.
Recipe Background & Origins
Your basic no churn vanilla ice cream is this: 2 cups heavy whipping cream and 1 can sweetened condensed milk. You’ll see it everywhere. The question we’re putting to task here is: how to make a chocolate no churn ice cream recipe? I’ve been exploring this for some time, starting with these ice cream pops two years ago.
Adding dark chocolate to the base can work, but it’s not going to give you as much chocolate flavor as you want, to get that you want to use pure cocoa powder. Another downside of using chocolate is that it comes with its own sugar and fat (milk and cream) which you have little control over.
Adding cocoa is the logical choice, but since you’re adding a powder into a no churn ice cream that’s supposed to dissolve into the base, it won’t taste as ‘chocolatey’ as it should because while it can look dissolved it hasn’t quite fully. It also, in my experience, gives you an almost powdery, sort of dry ice cream. We don’t want that.
So this year when I set out to test a chocolate version for my mason jar ice cream, I decided I’d do what we did for these dark chocolate marshmallows, bloom the cocoa.
Adding cocoa powder to a no churn ice cream recipe
Have you noticed how so many chocolate cake recipes have you adding boiling hot water to the batter? This is done to bloom the cocoa.
Blooming the cocoa does two important things to our homemade ice cream: dissolves the powder better and brings out the deep chocolate flavor.
You need to things to bloom: something hot, and something liquid. If you’ve made my brownies before you’ve already done this when you combined the cocoa with the hot melted butter.
For the mason jar ice cream recipe I use water to bloom the cocoa, it turns it into a paste and we proceed. For this no churn recipe, I found that when I made with water was on the icy side. I decided to add some more fat, but not enough that would change the chemistry of our basic no churn.
So for this recipe, you’ll bloom the cocoa powder (please make it dutch!) with milk, chill it and then proceed to make a super easy no churn chocolate ice cream.
Recipe Ingredients
Cocoa: Dutch or dutched process cocoa will give you a deep, rich chocolate taste. I don’t recommend natural, the chocolate taste is quite faint. Black cocoa will work, if you know you like it! Use a good quality brand.
Milk: I used whole milk but you can also use some dairy-free options.
Sweetened condensed milk: No substitutes here, this is the foundation of a no churn ice cream. You’ll find this sold in a can. There are non-dairy options which are coconut based.
Heavy Cream: Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream will both do. Half & Half doesn’t have enough fat in it to whip thick. Milk certainly will not work. If you are aiming for a dairy-free version, look for coconut cream an chill the can before whipping.
Salt & vanilla: Use fine sea salt and a good quality pure vanilla extract.
How to make No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream
Bloom the cocoa
Mix the cocoa with the milk and sweetened condensed milk and set over medium-low heat. Stir as it heats and begins to cook. Do this on a stove in a pot, cook until the mixture starts to steam.
Pour it into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of any lumps. Then we’ll let this chill.
Remember! Whipping cream needs to be cold in order for it to form peaks so you cannot add something hot and then try to whip. The chocolate and milk mix needs to be cool or cold.
Mix and Whip
Once it’s cool, we’ll combine the cocoa and sweetened condensed milk mixture with the heavy cream, salt and vanilla, and we’ll whip to medium peaks. You can do this with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Traditionally we’d whip the heavy cream first and then add the chocolate mixture but I find you can do it all at once (and then you won’t have to deal with the slow process of folding the whipped cream into the chocolate).
Getting to medium peaks can take time, with a hand mixer it might take between 5-7 minutes. In a stand mixer it will happen quicker.
Freeze
Pour the mix into an airtight container.
Stick it in the freezer. After about 8 hours the ice cream will be solid and difficult to scoop, as you’d expect with any ice cream. Give it 5 minutes at room temperature and you’ll be able to scoop some very creamy, wonderfully chocolaty ice cream.
FAQ
My heavy cream did not thicken, what went wrong?
It probably wasn’t cold. Warm cream won’t whip. Make sure it’s fully chilled. Some people like to chill the bowl and whisk before whipping cream, I’d only do this if my kitchen was particularly hot that day.
How can I make a dairy-free no churn chocolate ice cream?
Coconut products: coconut cream (chill the can in the fridge before whipping), coconut condensed milk and swap the milk with any dairy-free milk like oat milk or almond milk.
How best to store a no churn ice cream?
You can use a cake pan and cover it with plastic wrap (press it onto the ice cream so it doesn’t get freezer burn). Mine mostly fit in a loaf pan (the rest went into a mason jar) but a 9inch round pan would do, or even a 9×13 sheet pan. Alternatively, use something plastic and airtight.
Add-ins for No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe
Cookie Dough Chunks: Mix together 2 tablespoons melted butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, splash of vanilla, pinch of salt and ¼ cup flour. Before adding the flour, toast it in an oven preheated to 350 for 5 minutes to make it safe to eat. Stir in ¼ cup mini chocolate chips. Place teaspoon sized bits of dough on a parchment lined sheet pan and freeze before adding to to the ice cream.
Brownie Bits: Make these emergency brownies but with brown sugar and chop into dice sized bits. Add before freezing.
Marshmallows: for a no churn rocky road variation I’d use dehydrated marshmallows and toast the nuts, then chill them before adding to the whipped base.
No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe
No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 50g or ½ cup dutch process cocoa powder you can go up to 70g or 2/3 cup if you want a deeper flavor
- 120g or ½ cup whole milk see ingredients section for alternatives
- 1 can or 396g sweetened condensed milk
- 480g or 2 cups heavy whipping cream or heavy cream very cold, straight from the fridge
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt just a pinch if you’re using table salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Method
- In a small pot add the milk and sift the cocoa over it. Add the sweetened condensed milk and salt then cook on low, whisking until smooth.
- When it starts to steam, remove it from the heat, pour it into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve and set in the fridge for 2 hours to chill.
- You can speed this up by placing it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, but don’t let it freeze and stir it at the 10 minute mark.
- Once it’s cool, pour in the cold heavy cream and vanilla.
- Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to whip the mixture to medium peaks. The mix will be thickened and airy.
- Pour into an airtight container or into an open container and seal it with plastic wrap.
- Freeze for about six hours. If the ice cream is too difficult to scoop, let it warm up for about 5 minutes on the counter.
Did you make this recipe?
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Followed the recipe exactly. Great stuff! I’ve made several versions of No Churn when I’m too lazy to use the churn. I saved this one for future use.
BTW…I froze my stand mixer bowl and whisk overnight, and stored the Chocolate batter and heavy cream in stainless containers overnight.
Took 4 minutes to mix and 3 hours to set, firmly.
Like some others mentioned, I too was never able to get it soft peaks even after mixing for 20 mins. I would avoid adding so much whole milk when blooming the chocolate. Try 1/4 cup instead of a 1/2 cup. Actually, you may not even need it at all! Just mix the chocolate in the the condensed milk on stovetop until warm and combined.
Worked perfectly! Not too sweet like some other no churn recipes I tried. I chilled the chocolate mixture overnight and put my bowl & whip in the freezer for 15 minutes before whipping everything together.
HOLY COWZERS! this recipe is THE BEST.
I love chocolate Ice cream but find the commercial ones bland and the ones that are nice and chocolatey only come in tiny tubs for ridiculous prices. I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try and wow it is amazing! as long as you use a dark cocoa and follow the recipe. I could NOT get it to whip to soft peaks though and after trying for a crazy amount of time I gave up, added chopped up Oreos in layers and popped it in the freezer.
I just tried a bowl and it definitely blew my hair back! it’s chocolatey in a fabulous, dark way. It’s smooth and silky. I will be making it again and again with different mix-ins.
THANK YOU for posting ❤️
Ice cream came out great. I added some broken up pieces of Oreo. I have a question. Is it okay to make the bloomed chocolate mixture and let it refrigerate overnight and use it the next morning?
I think that would be totally fine!
Pretty disappointed. I followed the directions exactly but what came out of the freezer was super hard and crumbly even after sitting out for 15+ minutes. It tastes ok but didn’t scoop or eat like regular ice cream. Suggestions?
This is the best icecream I e ever eaten and beats hands down even the best boutique store purchased icecream. I made this one because of the reviews and it is just perfect. I added in roasted hazelnuts and coarse coconut. Perfect and thank you.
This ice cream is delicious and easy to do. I highly recommend giving it a try! It’s not hard to make, it just takes a little time for freezing, but it’s so worth it!
This has to be the best chocolate ice cream recipe bar none. This tastes exactly like Private Selection’s Chocolate Genache ice cream at my local Kroger’s. I wanted to have a darker color so I used 1/4c Black Cocoa and 1/4c of Ghirardelli Dutch Cocoa. A reviewer mentioned adding in sugar but didn’t mention measurements so I added about a teaspoon. I am floored how good this is. Well done!
Loved this!
Thank you!
Used cacao powder, condensed COCONUT milk, heavy whipping cream, added a drop of lavender oil, cardamom and honey! So yum! Had some leftover pumpkin coffee cake that needed to be used, added that in w tahini. Gourmet!!!! And such a fun way to upcycle what you have to create a delicious treat to enjoy
Thank you!!!
Amazing, everyone devoured it. I added Lindt chocolate flakes to the remainder and it made it even better. I’m currently awaiting my second batch to chill as I type, however I’ve done vanilla this time and will be crushing up Oreos to add before freezing. thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
I just made a batch but I wasn’t able to get soft peaks, even after whipping it for several minutes. It was still a bit liquidy when I put it in the freezer, so I’m hoping it’ll turn out good anyways. It does have really great flavor so I’m excited about trying this out. Thanks!!
Can I use homemade sweetened condensed milk and honey?
re: the sweetened condensed milk, maybe… I haven’t tried it. As for the honey, if you mean to make the scm with honey (instead of the usual sugar) I can’t comment on that either but I’d think about the composition of the ingredient and how it can affect the final product: honey is sweeter and has more water in it.
Makes great ice cream. Mine was only half frozen after six hours in the freezer, but I accidentally used too much vanilla. Not sure if that would have affected it or not. Tastes like regular soft serve ice cream! I’ll have to add chocolate chips in it next time.
It looks so delicious. I will try mine today
Very good, very rich chocolate flavour with the cocoa powder that I used
I didn’t know anything about no churn ice cream, but now i totally do and it’s amazing!!!! Such a genius brainwave to put the bubbles before so you don’t have to do it during freezing. It was so delicious and I would totally make it again!
So delicious and easy! Would make again!
Okay Miss Sam, I just finished whipping up your no churn chocolate ice cream and if the flavor of it just whipped and not yet frozen is any indication of what the finished product will be like…then, OH MY GOD, this is going to be **French kiss** delicious!! Can’t wait to try it. I added a few chopped Oreos and chopped Trader Joe’s dark chocolate mini peanut butter cups (which I always keep on hand for your 5 Layer Blondie Brownies) to half of the ice cream. Will send a Pic and tag you later when I taste it.
Fantastic recipe, the result has a true ice cream consistency, a rich chocolate taste and a really smooth mouthfeel. I brought my wife a scoop at her desk, and although she usually declines both ice cream and chocolate, came running for a second scoop 2 minutes later! going to try a coconut flavored one next. Thanks from sultry Osaka, Japan.
the ice cream turned out quite good! I made one half chocolate and the rest just vanilla flavor with the same ingredients. I also added a splash of rum to both batches, I have read somewhere that adding hard liquor prevents ice crystals from forming and results in slightly softer ice cream.
Excellent worked perfectly never buying icecream again
i would love to try this receipe.Question:
how do i make the heavy whipping cream?
Hi Lorna, I’m not sure what you mean. The heavy cream is poured into the chocolate mix after it cools, then altogether the whole mix is whipped until thickened.
I make a lot of no churn ice cream and hands down, this’s the best chocolate version I’ve found.
A couple of small tweaks – I added some sugar to the heated milk and cocoa mixture as this helps bring out the chocolate flavour and keeps it softer to scoop when serving. I also had some home made chocolate sauce in the fridge and rippled this through as I layered the ice cream in the freezing container. Delicious, creamy very chocolatey ice cream.
interesting note about adding the sugar to the blooming! I’ll have to try that. Thank you for the comment Jenny =)
Can you add this to the icecream maker though?
I guess you could? But just stir the ingredients together (don’t beat or whisk) and then chill it until cold. Then you can pour it into the bowl and churn.
Haven’t tried it yet but I will. Mainly just wanted to say thank you for not requiring me to sign up to be able to view the recipe
Hi! Can this be made in an ice cream maker if I have one?
Absolutely smashing recipe!!!!
usually don’t like chocolate desserts, so when someone asked me to make a chocolate ice-cream, I was pretty reluctant..
I found this recipe online and seemed quite good, I tried it and WOW….!!!!! JUST WOW…!
I am now a new convert to the world of chocolate ice-cream ( as long as its this recipe)..????
Thank you!
hehe Tee, thank you & welcome to the chocolate club!! I’m so glad you liked it 😀 😀
This is SO good! I recently made your mint chocolate chip no-churn and then another recipe for chocolate which was gritty and not very chocolatey. Imagine my happiness when you posted this! Great techniques and recipe!
Brilliant