If you love spicy chai tea, you will love this Chai Ice Cream Recipe that is perfect for any time of the year. It’s a delicious combination of cream, milk, and tempered eggs, along with warm spices like cinnamon, ground ginger, star anise, and cloves. With just 20 minutes of active time, the hardest part is waiting for it to chill.

Homemade Chai Ice Cream
Chai is a spicy and fragrant tea often enjoyed with cream or steamed milk. It is more appropriately called masala chai, which implies a tea with spices.
The trademark flavor of chai is a combination of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, star anise, and clove. Even though the intensity and flavors vary, they all have that spicy signature astringency.
Now think of this chai ice cream as a cross between your favorite chai drink and rich vanilla ice cream.
It boasts that same signature spicy flavor, but you serve scoops in a bowl. What could be better?
This chai spice ice cream has warming spices that are appropriate in the fall and winter but being that it’s ice cream, it also makes a great summer dessert. If you really want to stick with the warmth of a traditional chai flavor, try this Chocolate Chai Latte, or this crowd pleasing Pumpkin Chai Latte.
Indeed, this homemade chai ice cream is great any time of the year. You can make it in the comfort of your home whenever a sweet tooth craving strikes.

How to Make Chai Ice Cream
Gather 4 main ingredients, plus spices, and you’re halfway to making a chai flavored ice cream in just 20 minutes of hands-on time!
You’ll start with gently simmering the milk and cream along with the chai spices, followed by tempering the eggs and finally chilling this delicious dessert, thereby giving all the flavors a chance to meld together.
If you’re loving these chai spices, try our Dirty Chai Earthquake Cookie recipe for another winter favorite.

Ingredients
- Heavy cream – this is the base of the ice cream
- Milk – thins the texture, so it isn’t too rich
- Ground cinnamon – this, with the following 3 ingredients, are classic chai spices.
- Ginger powder
- Star anise powder
- Clove powder
- Vanilla extract – just a splash for vanilla flavor
- Salt – this is important to enhance all the flavors, so don’t be tempted to skip the salt.
- Egg yolks – whisked egg yolks with the sugar will then be tempered with the hot creamy mixture to create a custard-like consistency.
- White granulated sugar

Step-By-Step Directions
Follow these simple directions, and you’ll have a batch of rich and delicious chai ice cream in no time.
There are only 20 minutes of active, hands-on time, but the chilling time takes several hours.
Step one: Simmer milk
Combine the cream and milk in a small pot and add the chai spices (ground cinnamon, ginger powder, star anise powder, and clove powder), vanilla extract, and salt. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.
Step two: Temper egg yolks
Mix egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir until it turns pale yellow. Slowly add one-third of the hot cream mixture into the eggs and sugar while whisking continuously. It’s important that you add the cream slowly, so the eggs don’t scramble as you add heat. By tempering the eggs, we are forming that thick creamy texture.
Then, return the pot to medium-low heat and whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
Step three: Cook custard
Continue stirring frequently and cook gently, about 5-7 minutes, until a custard forms. An instant-read thermometer will read 170 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll know it’s thick enough when the mixture coats the back of your spoon, and a clean line remains in the custard after swiping a finger across the top.
Step four: Strain custard
Strain the hot custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Let it cool to room temperature before covering it with plastic wrap and setting it in the freezer to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
While waiting for the custard to cool, this would be a great time to clean up. Then, return to the custard and proceed with the next step.
Step five: Freeze ice cream
Finally, transfer it to an ice cream maker and freeze it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Chia Ice Cream Nutrition
This homemade Chai Ice Cream recipe makes about 1 quart. There are 8 (½ cup) servings.
Each serving contains
- 333 calories
- 5 g protein
- 25 g fat
- 23 g total carbs
Please note that the nutritional value will change if you substitute ingredients. Use a nutrition app like My Fitness Pal to recalculate and reflect your changes.

More Easy Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Chai Tea Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp star anise powder
- ¼ tsp clove powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Combine the cream and milk in a small pot and add the chai spices, vanilla extract, and salt. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.
- Mix egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl, and continue stirring until it turns pale yellow. Slowly add one-third of the hot cream mixture into the eggs and sugar while whisking continuously. Then, return the pot to medium-low heat and whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
- Continue stirring frequently and cook gently, for about 5-7 minutes, until a custard forms. An instant-read thermometer will read 170 degrees F. Otherwise, you’ll know it's thick enough when the mixture coats the back of your spoon and a clean line remains in the custard after swiping a finger across the top.
- Strain hot custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Let it cool to room temperature before covering it with plastic wrap and setting it in the freezer to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Finally, transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Notes
I share more important notes and tips in the post above for creating the perfect texture. Please read the whole post before making the recipe!
Recommended Products
EasyHomemadeLife.com may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. This comes at no additional cost to you, and all the prices and availability are accurate at the time of publishing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 333Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 208mgSodium: 182mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 0gSugar: 22gProtein: 5g
Tristin
Sunday 29th of January 2023
I LOVE chai, this ice cream was made for me! Such warm flavors with all of the spices. No one should be waiting for summer to eat ice cream!
Jessica Haggard
Monday 30th of January 2023
Totally. Agree. :)
amy liu dong
Sunday 29th of January 2023
Never tried to taste this kind of ice cream flavor, but it looks delicious and looks so easy to make.
Elaine
Friday 27th of January 2023
This is exactly the ice cream I love to make in summer. Definitely a keeper for me ;-)
Jessica Haggard
Monday 30th of January 2023
Thanks Elaine! Remember to bookmark the page to come back when the weather is warm again!
Pam
Tuesday 24th of January 2023
My daughter loves chai tea, so I made this for her and I am now Mother of the Year with her! She loved it!
Jessica Haggard
Monday 30th of January 2023
High five!!
Sean
Tuesday 24th of January 2023
I love this ice cream so much I will eat it midwinter this was that good!
Jessica Haggard
Monday 30th of January 2023
Thanks Sean, something about the warm spices makes it a good "winter" ice cream :)