Stracciatella ice cream is easy to make with the Ninja Creami! Rich, creamy, and full of decadent chocolate shavings in every bite, this is like a scoop of Italy in the comfort of your own home.
Stracciatella is the best Italian gelato in the whole world. Bold statement, but true!
If you've never had stracciatella before, it's a lot like chocolate chip ice cream. Straciatella is an Italian word that can be interpreted as meaning "torn apart," "little shreds," or "little rags." And it actually refers to three different kinds of food: a soup, a cheese, and a gelato. In the latter, the "little shreds" are the chocolate flakes.
I had my first scoops of stracciatella gelato the first time I traveled through northern Italy, in the beautiful city of Florence. The creamy gelato base was so rich, with a luxurious texture, and I loved how there were delicate flakes of dark chocolate shards in every single bite. Pure foodie heaven!
And now it's super easy to make Italian stracciatella gelato or ice cream at home. The best part is the recipe only requires a few simple ingredients.
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🌟 Why this recipe works
This stracciatella recipe will transport you to Italy!
- Easy: It really is so super easy to make this yummy ice cream! I've got step-by-step photo instructions below to help you make this easy ice cream recipe.
- Simple ingredients: You only need six basic ingredients to make this decadent dessert.
- Make it your way: I make this in my Ninja Creami, which truly makes homemade ice cream and homemade gelato extra fast and easy. But you can also make this in any standard ice cream machine (see FAQ section for those instructions).
- Delicious: This is seriously the best stracciatella ice cream. The vanilla base is rich and creamy with a lovely smooth texture, and there's wonderful chocolate crunch in every bite.
🛒 Ingredient notes
- Heavy cream - Use cold heavy cream straight from the fridge for this recipe.
- Milk - You can use any milk you have, but whole milk is what really makes this a super creamy ice cream.
- Sugar - I find that even ½ cup of granulated sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness to the ice cream. You can add up to ¾ cup if you want it even sweeter.
- Salt - Just a little bit of kosher salt balances the sweetness in this ice cream so it's not too sweet.
- Vanilla - Vanilla extract adds a lovely warm flavor and aroma to the ice cream base.
- Chocolate - True stracciatella has finely chopped chocolate shavings from unsweetened chocolate bar or a semi-sweet chocolate bar, which I personally think is what makes this ice cream amazing. But you can also substitute chocolate chips if that's what you have on hand.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here's a visual step-by-step to help guide you as you make this ice cream in the Ninja Creami.
- Make an ice bath: Fill a large bowl with ice and place the Ninja Creami pint, uncovered, in the center of the ice bath, with the ice only going up to about the fill line on the container.
- Make the ice cream mixture: In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat, add the ice cream ingredients except for the chocolate. Whisk sugar mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
- Place the mixture in the ice bath: Remove from heat and carefully pour the liquid into Ninja Creami pint container in the ice water bath until it cools down.
- Freeze: Cover the airtight container and freeze for 24 hours.
- Make ice cream: Remove the frozen container from the freezer, place inside the bowl of the Ninja Creami, and select Ice Cream mode. This just takes 1-2 minutes. It's amazing!
- Add the chocolate mix-ins: Once the Ninja Creami has stopped, remove the bowl from the unit, remove the top, and use a spoon to create a hole in the center of the frozen ice cream.
- Pour the chocolate shavings or chopped chocolate into the hole. Return the pint container to the inside of the bowl, place the bowl cover back on, secure in the Ninja Creami, then press Mix In mode.
- Enjoy! Once the Mix-In program stops, remove the bowl from the Ninja Creami and serve. Or, place the lid securely on the top of the pint container and freeze until you are ready to enjoy.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
While they are very similar, gelato uses a higher portion of milk than cream, compared to ice cream. Otherwise, their base ingredients are pretty much the same. Gelato is also churned at a slower late, incorporating less air and creating a more dense texture.
Yes! Follow steps 1-4, placing the mixture into a shallow container, such as a loaf pan. Once this base mixture is completely chilled, pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions (usually about 15-25 minutes). Once the mixture has thickened to the consistency of custard, but before it's fully done, add in the chopped chocolate and churn for another minute, just until the chocolate is well-combined. Use a rubber spatula to transfer the ice cream into a loaf pan or other freezer-safe container, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 3 hours, until the ice cream is fully frozen. When you're ready to serve, take the ice cream out of the freezer and allow it to sit on the counter at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes to soften just enough to scoop.
It's so much faster than churning ice cream in a traditional ice cream maker! Ice cream only takes a couple of minutes in the Ninja Creami compared to 15 to 25 minutes of churning in a standard ice cream machine. You can also make several different items in the Ninja Creami: ice cream, gelato, smoothie bowls, milkshakes.
Storen in a freezer-proof container for up to two months.
🍽 Serving ideas
This Ninja Creami stracciatella ice cream is truly delicious on its own. It's my favorite ice cream flavor!
But it's also great enjoyed in other ways:
- With chocolate syrup poured over it and topped with whipped cream.
- Top it with chocolate sprinkles or colorful funfetti sprinkles.
- Use it in between two chocolate chip cookies to make ice cream sandwiches (so yummy!!).
- Use it as the ice cream base for an ice cream cake in between layers of chocolate coffee cake.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you'll need:
- Ninja Creami - For super delicious, fast stracciatella ice cream, make this recipe in the Ninja Creami. I've included instructions in the recipe card on how to make stracciatella in a standard ice cream machine as well.
- Ninja Creami Pint - The Ninja Creami machine usually comes with two pint containers, but you can also buy separate Ninja Creami pint containers online.
More ice cream recipes
If you have the Ninja Creami, definitely try our Ube Ice Cream recipe next. It's specifically made for the Ninja Creami! Or, try one of these tasty treats:
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Stracciatella Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup finely chopped chocolate or chocolate shavings
Instructions
- In a large bowl, prepare an ice bath. Place the Ninja Creami pint, uncovered, in the center of the ice bath, with the ice only going up to about the fill line on the container.
- In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat, add the sugar, heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and continue whisking for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and carefully pour the liquid into Ninja Creami pint container in the ice bath. Allow to sit in the ice bath until the liquid has cooled down and the container is no longer warm to the touch.
- Cover the container and place in the freezer overnight or 24 hours.
- Remove the frozen container from the freezer and place inside the bowl of the Ninja Creami. Secure and press Ice Cream mode. Allow the Ninja Creami to process the ice cream until it's done, which usually takes about 2 minutes.
- Once the Ninja Creami has stopped, remove the bowl from the unit, remove the top, and use a spoon to create a hole in the center of the frozen ice cream.
- Pour the chocolate shavings or chopped chocolate into the hole. Return the pint container to the inside of the bowl, place the bowl cover back on, secure in the Ninja Creami, then press Mix In mode.
- Once the Mix In mode stops, remove the bowl from the Ninja Creami and serve. Or, place the lid securely on the top of the pint container and freeze until you are ready to enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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