This basic recipe for green tea coconut milk ice cream only requires a few basic ingredients: coconut milk, matcha, and pure maple syrup! This healthier version of the classic dessert is easy to throw together in a few minutes!
The first time I had green tea ice cream was with my elementary school bff. Her mom took us to Chinese food. We were wearing matching plaid shorts. Our side ponytails were secured by fluffy scrunchies. When I tasted the ice cream, I thought I had found the lost city of Atlantis. Green tea ice cream is one my favorites and I am rarely able to find it at the grocery store. That’s how this whole homemade green tea ice cream thing happened.
Being the minimalist that I am, I only used three ingredients for this recipe and it turned out marvelously. I try to avoid processed sugars, lots of dairy, and am just confused by how the whole egg yolk thing works, so I made it with coconut milk and agave for a dairy-free, naturally sweetened treat.
Now for the health stuff . . .
This is a powerhouse dessert from a nutritional standpoint. Green tea powder (matcha) consists of stone-ground green tea leaves, which are high in antioxidants, boost the metabolism, lift your mood, are full of amino acids, and increase your energy. Matcha Green Tea Powder
retains all of the health benefits of green tea leaves and is also far more potent than steeping the leaves into tea.
Let’s break it down…
1 gram of matcha green tea powder contains 20 times the antioxidants of 1 gram of blueberries and is also the equivalent of drinking 10 mugs of green tea. Matcha has Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fiber, and L-theanine (which is said to help retain memory) (Matcha Source).
And then we take the coconut milk into consideration, which also boosts the metabolism, is full of Vitamins C, B, and E, and also contains antioxidants. Plus, coconut milk has a full, rich flavor, making it a perfect substitute for dairy.
Your dessert is good for you. Haaaaalleluja!
Green Tea Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 14.5-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk*
- 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder to taste see note*
- ½ cup pure maple syrup see note**
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until all the matcha chunks have dissolved (Note: If you have trouble getting the matcha to dissolve, you can heat the mixture on the stove top and whisk until combined. Be sure you refrigerate the mixture until completely cold before proceeding).
- Pour the green tea ice cream base into your ice cream maker, following your ice cream maker's instructions (my ice cream maker requires me to freeze the bowl overnight before use). Allow the ice cream to churn until very thick, about 30 to 40 minutes. Either enjoy the ice cream like soft serve straight out of the ice cream maker, or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze 2 to 3 hours, until completely frozen.
- When ready to eat, thaw the ice cream for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened. Serve heaping scoops and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Thank you for sending me the information about It. I learned a lot from it. I appreciate you the detail you went into it. I am grateful for the amount of time and effort you put into this helping us. Your insights and summary are beneficial.
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this blog. Very Informative post with Images. very interesting topic regarding Matcha Green.
Done and done! What ice cream maker do you recommend? Also, do you use only organic matcha? I read this blog post https://blog.piquetea.com/matcha-green-tea/ about the harmful toxins in culinary grade matcha and was shocked!
Hi. I have a question. Does the recipe call for the whole can of coconut full fat milk or do I separate the watery part and use only the the thick cream part of the coconut milk. Other sites mention separating the watery part from the thickened part, but yours doesn’t. I really really want to try this recipe. The best I can do for now until I hear from you is just throw Matcha into my Chapman’s sugar free ice cream which tastes great but that I know is not as healthy as the coconut milk version that you make. And the idea of using maple syrup as well sounds awesome tasting to me.
Hi Christiane! Use the whole can of coconut milk 🙂
I love this recipes!! I also love matcha. I double the matcha and use fresh local honey. I had trouble the first time with dissolving the match so the second time I tried it I didn’t boil the coconut milk but heated it and blended it in my magic bullet. Turned out perfect! Cut the prep time down to about 4 minutes- Wow!!
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Keep up the great writing.
I made this ice cream once and am now on my second batch. It’s very delicious, although for me it comes out more like a sorbet, not super creamy like real ice cream. Also, I have raw honey from my hives and with this batch am using all raw honey. I will post again to let you know how the taste comes out, although I suspect delicious also. I only had about 1/4 c of agave left and for the first batch utilized it along with a 1/4 c of raw honey and it was fine. Since it uses coconut milk it of course tastes like coconut also. Anyway, thanks Julia for a wonderful recipe. I had wondered what a using a vanilla bean in the heated mixture might taste like. Might give that a whirl next time.
Hi, I love green tea icecream, and I love this healthier dairy-free version. I am also a nutritionist, and I wanted to point out a few things regarding the health aspects you mention above. Namely, when you heat something to the boiling point you denature (effectively kill) the heat-sensitive vitamins in it, particularly vitamin C and a couple of the Bs (pantothenic acid, thiamine, and folate). Green tea contains a few of the B vitamins: thiamine(b1), pantothenic acid (B5), niacin(b3), and riboflavin(b2). The antioxidants are the vitamins you mentioned: A, C, and E – A and E are both fat-soluble so are not effected by heat. It may also be worth noting that the tannins in green tea block the absorption of iron. So those concerned with iron intake (if you have anemia), should avoid green tea.
whoa, thank you so much for posting this! It is going to help me when I research green tea at the store! Very Mind Blowing!
You got it!