The Best (and Easiest) Chocolate Ice Cream

Two kinds of chocolate and real cream make this the best and easiest homemade chocolate ice cream you can make. The deliciously rich chocolate flavor of this recipe comes from the combination of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate chips.

Homemade ice cream is one of my family’s guilty pleasures. My boys are forever coming up with combinations and ideas to try.

But nothing beats a classic like chocolate. We use this as a base to add cookies, berries, and all sorts of goodies to when we’re craving something a little different. The options are endless.

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

When making chocolate ice cream it is important to get a creamy chocolate base with the sugar and cocoa powder fully incorporated into the heavy cream. You will want to stay by the stovetop and continuously whisk your chocolate base so nothing burns.

To get a rich creamy ice cream not only do I use heavy cream, but whole milk is a must. Making ice cream just isn’t the place to cut calories. While you’re welcome to make this using 2% or even skim milk, whole milk delivers the creaminess we love.

If you are chocolate ice cream lovers like we are, you’ll want to try this Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunks too. And for anyone with a dairy allergy, this Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream is a great alternative.

What about Dark Chocolate Almond Ice Cream with plenty of almonds and just the tiniest hint of cinnamon? Or a Chocolate Orange Ice Cream combination? Don’t knock that one until you try it!

Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• heavy cream
• dutch process cocoa powder or special dark cocoa
• sugar
• bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• milk
• vanilla extract
• kosher salt

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

Chocolate Soft Serve Ice Cream

And while I love a scoop of chocolate ice cream as much as anyone, I also love chocolate soft serve ice cream. Lucky for me, this recipe delivers both options perfectly.

For perfectly scoopable ice cream, you’ll want to transfer the freshly churned ice cream into a freezer container and place it in the freezer for a few hours before serving. For smooth and creamy soft serve chocolate ice cream, just grab a spoon and dig in as soon as it finishes churning.

How To Make Chocolate Ice Cream

In a large saucepan, combine the cream, cocoa, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine and then heat over medium heat, stirring continually, until it comes together and begins to steam and simmer. If you wish, you may increase the heat, but continue stirring non-stop. Do not step away at this point.

Remove from the heat and immediately add the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate has completely melted. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Cool and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until completely cold.

Process according to your machine’s instructions. Serve immediately for soft-serve ice cream or transfer to a freezer-safe storage container and freeze until ready to serve.

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

These are my favorite inexpensive containers for storing ice cream. They’re perfect for gifting (who doesn’t love homemade ice cream?) storage, re-using, etc. I write the flavors on the lids with a sharpie and it washes off with dish soap.

I have more ice cream scoops than I can keep track of at this point and I definitely play favorites. This ice cream scoop does the best job ever of cutting through firm ice cream and still delivers a pretty scoop. It gets bonus points for being one of the least expensive scoops I own as well.

Don’t miss our Ice Cream Maker Review for all the information you need to find the BEST Ice Cream Maker for your needs! Spoiler alert – our top-rated machine under $50 just might surprise you. It sure surprised me!

{originally published 6/28/22 – recipe notes and photos updated 3/8/24}