Ice cream made with Hatch green chiles? Don't knock it till you try it!
This creamy, dreamy homemade Hatch Green Chile Ice Cream is a New Mexico-inspired frozen dessert unlike anything you've ever tasted — cool vanilla ice cream swirled with smoky, lightly spicy roasted Hatch chiles for a flavor combo that is absolutely addictive.
Easy to make from scratch with just 7 ingredients and a standard ice cream maker.
Make it before Hatch chile season ends!
The ice cream world is full of weird and wonderful flavorings! Some of my tried and true favorites are Icelandic Rye Bread Ice Cream and Indian Saffron Ice Cream.
A new favorite of mine is this Hatch Green Chile Ice Cream! It's super delicious with a unique flavor, and really easy to make from scratch!
I heard about this ice cream on a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico. While in New Mexico, the Chile Capital of the World, I looked hard but unfortunately couldn't find it. Therefore, I had to make it myself and I'm so happy that I did!
Don't knock ice cream made with Hatch peppers till you try it! If you are intrigued, please read on to find out what you will need to make this unique ice cream, which is a great way to enjoy these green peppers!
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🥘 Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this one of a kind ice cream:
- Roasted Hatch chiles (peeled, deseeded, and diced) - For instructions on how to roast fresh Hatch chiles, visit my Homemade New Mexico Green Chile Sauce Recipe, and follow steps 1-4. You can sub Anaheim chiles if Hatch chiles aren't available
- Heavy cream
- Whole milk
- Sugar
- Egg yolks - for extra richness
- Salt - I love adding a generous pinch of salt to dessert recipes
- Vanilla extract
You should be able to get these ingredients at your local grocery store. Also consider the Hatch Chile Store for all your Hatch chile needs.
Now, you'll typically find Hatch chiles in "mild" and "hot" varieties. I used a half and half mixture of fresh chiles in my ice cream, which was just the right amount of heat for me. You can use whatever ratio of mild and hot you would like!
So let's get ready to have some fun making this easy recipe for a delicious Hatch green chile frozen dessert!
🔪 Instructions
I have adapted and based this recipe on Hatch Chile Store's "Hatch Green Chile Ice Cream" recipe and "How To Make Classic Vanilla Ice Cream" from thekitchn.com.
Freeze Your Ice Cream Bowl
If your ice cream make uses a bowl that needs to be frozen, be sure to freeze it according to manufacturer instructions prior to starting. My Kitchen-Aid ice cream maker bowl requires 24 hr in the freezer.
Set Up An Ice Bath
Set up an ice bath with 2 nesting bowls. Place ice and cold water in the larger bottom bowl and set the smaller bowl on top to cool.
Mix Egg Yolks and Sugar
Add the egg yolks and sugar to a small bowl, and whisk together until well combined.
Warm Milk, Chiles, Salt, and Vanilla Extract
On a medium heat, warm the milk, vanilla extract, salt, and ½ of the diced Hatch green chiles. Stir constantly and bring to a simmer, about 3 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Tempering
Pour about ½ cup of the hot milk (try to avoid the chiles) into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly (about 30 seconds). This step is called tempering, and helps the eggs from curdling too much.
Cook On Low To Thicken
Now add the egg mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk, and cook on a low heat until the mixture has thickened (enough to coat the back of your spoon or spatula). Be sure to stir constantly. This may take around 10 minutes or so.
Strain
Once the mixture has thickened, use your mesh strainer to strain it into the top bowl set up for your ice batch. You'll be straining out the green chiles in this step.
As you can see below, some of the egg curdled, but the strainer helped remove most of that. The finer the strainer that you use, the better it will work to strain out any curdled egg.
Add Cream And Cool In Ice Bath
Now stir the heavy cream into the mixture, and leave it to cool completely in the ice bath. This may take around 20 minutes or so.
Churn
Once cooled, add the remaining ½ of your diced Hatch green chiles to the cooled mixture. Add this mixture to your ice cream bowl/machine, and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. My Kitchen-Aid ice cream attachment recommends around 25 minutes or so.
Enjoy Or Freeze!
Ok! You can enjoy the ice cream now, or freeze it for a few hours for later enjoyment!
Suggestions For Serving
It's time to sit down and relish this ice cream with a superbly delicious flavor!
You can eat this as is, or consider pouring some chocolate syrup over it, which is how I will enjoy it next time I make this ice cream.
By the way, you see those gold spoons? My husband is the one who informed me that professional ice cream taste testers use gold spoons (or gold plated I should think!) to taste ice cream. It seems you can taste ice cream in its purest form when using a gold spoon per GoldSpoonCreamery.com.
The ones we use are not pure gold, just gold plated, but they look super cool and it works for us! 😄
I hope this will become one of your favorite Hatch chile recipes!
You'll find a printable recipe card with nutrient information below!
FAQ
Hatch chiles are preferred, however they are not always in season and available. I recommend using Anaheim peppers if Hatch chile peppers are not available. They should be roasted, skin peeled, deseeded, and diced the same as you would with Hatch chiles for this recipe.
You may find both "mild" and "hot" Hatch chiles available when you shop for them. Opt for "mild" if you are not a big fan of spicy chiles. The "hot" Hatch chiles do have a kick to them, so yes, I would call those spicy!
Hatch chiles, from the Hatch Valley region of New Mexico, are typically available for a limited time from mid to late July through late summer and sometimes into October. Of course, the availability will vary depending on the weather. Let's hope for a good long season of availability!
Roasting Hatch chiles helps to intensify their flavor, and it will give the chilies a rich and smoky flavor. I usually roast mine under a preheated broiler and then peel and discard skins prior to deseeding and dicing. For instructions on how to roast them please visit my Homemade New Mexico Green Chile Sauce Recipe, and follow steps 1-4.
Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other recipes you may enjoy:
- Easy and Delicious New Mexican Panocha Recipe
- Homemade New Mexico Green Chile Sauce - you'll love this Hatch chile sauce recipe which is one of my favorite pepper recipes!
- Green Chile Stacked Chicken Enchilada
- Unique and Scrumptious Icelandic Rye Bread Ice Cream
1,000 Foods To Eat Project
In conclusion, Chile Peppers are listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. I am working my way through the foods listed in this book. This is called my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project. Chile peppers are foods #81 in my project! Please visit the 1,000 Foods To Eat Project page to see some other MUST TRY foods of the world that you may love to try!
Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!
I invite you to come along on this food journey with me! Please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here.
Cheers!
Grace
Delicious Hatch Green Chile Ice Cream Recipe
Equipment
- ice cream maker I used a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer ice cream attachment
- mesh strainer
- 2 mixing bowls of different sizes, to create an ice bath
- Small bowl to mix egg yolks and sugar
- Saucepan
- whisk
Ingredients
- 6 each Hatch green chiles roasted, peeled, deseeded, and diced
- 1.5 cups whole milk
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 4 each egg yolks
- 1 ts vanilla extract
- ⅛ ts salt
Instructions
- If your ice cream make uses a bowl that needs to be frozen, be sure to freeze it according to manufacturer instructions prior to starting. My Kitchen-Aid ice cream maker bowl requires 24 hr in the freezer.
- Set up an ice bath with 2 nesting bowls. Place ice and water in the larger bottom bowl and set the smaller bowl on top to cool.
- Add the egg yolks and sugar to a small bowl, and whisk together until well combined.
- On a medium heat, warm the milk, vanilla extract, salt, and ½ of the diced Hatch green chiles. Stir constantly and bring to a simmer, about 3 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Pour about ½ cup of the hot milk (try to avoid the chiles) into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly (about 30 seconds). This step is called tempering, and helps the eggs from curdling too much.
- Now add the egg mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk, and cook on a low heat until the mixture has thickened (enough to coat the back of your spoon or spatula). Be sure to stir constantly. This may take around 10 minutes or so.
- Once the mixture has thickened, use your mesh strainer to strain it into the bowl set up for your ice batch. You'll be straining out the green chiles in this step.
- Now stir the heavy cream into the mixture, and leave it to cool completely in the ice bath. This may take around 20 minutes or so.
- Once cooled, add the remaining ½ of your diced Hatch green chiles to the cooled mixture. Add this mixture to your ice cream bowl/machine, and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. My Kitchen-Aid ice cream attachment recommends around 25 minutes or so.
- Ok! You can enjoy the ice cream now, or freeze it for later enjoyment!
Grace
I had so much fun making this green chile ice cream! It was pretty easy to make and the combination of cool ice cream and spicy chile is unbeatable!