Scoop&Slush

Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

Sweet cream vanilla, spun silky smooth, then scattered with mini chocolate chips in every bite. The classic parlor scoop, made in your own freezer.

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Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips
Ninja CreamiPrep
5 minFreeze
24 hrMakes
1 pint · 4 servings

Why you’ll love this

Sweet, simple, and endlessly scoopable; the vanilla base is smooth and classic, and the mini chips scatter through so no bite feels bare; it suits cones, sundaes, warm cookies on the side, and every other plan you can make for a pint. A freezer staple in the truest sense.

What you’ll need

A few simple ingredients for a big, delicious idea.

Cream cheese
Cream cheese
Granulated sugar
Granulated sugar
Vanilla extract
Vanilla extract
Heavy cream
Heavy cream
Whole milk
Whole milk
Mini chocolate chips
Mini chocolate chips

Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

Ninja CreamiPrep 5 min24 hr

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Soften the cream cheese

    Put the cream cheese in a large bowl that is safe for the microwave and warm it for 10 seconds, just until soft.

  2. Whisk to a frosting

    Add the sugar and vanilla extract and whisk for about 60 seconds, until the mixture turns smooth and thick, like frosting.

  3. Add the cream and milk

    Pour in the heavy cream and whole milk slowly, whisking as you go, until everything is fully combined and the sugar has dissolved.

  4. Freeze the pint

    Pour the base into an empty CREAMi pint, put the storage lid on, and freeze for 24 hours on a level surface.

  5. Process on Ice Cream

    Take the pint out of the freezer, remove the storage lid, and set the pint up in the machine. Run the ICE CREAM program.

  6. Add the chips

    With a spoon, carve a hole about 1½ inches wide down the center of the pint, reaching the bottom. Drop the mini chocolate chips into the hole and run the MIX IN program.

  7. Serve

    Scoop and serve right away, while the chips sit in every bite and the texture is at its creamiest.

Nutrition guide

The nutrition scoop

Per serving · 1 of 4 servings from one pint

  • Fat 61%
  • Carbs 34%
  • Protein 5%

Proper dessert energy: rich and satisfying, the way a scoop should be.

Total fat 22 g
Carbohydrates 28 g
Protein 4 g
of which sugars 27 g
Saturated fat 14 g 70% daily value
Cholesterol 70 mg 24% daily value
Sodium 55 mg 2% daily value
Dietary fiber 0 g 2% daily value
Calcium 105 mg 8% daily value
Vitamin C 0 mg 0% daily value

Where the calories live

The heavy cream brings the biggest share of the calories here, about 47 percent of the batch, with the granulated sugar next in line.

The bright spot

Most of the flavor rides on the heavy cream, and the numbers stay in treat territory rather than meal territory.

Want a lighter scoop

Swap half the heavy cream for whole milk. The spin stays creamy and every serving lands noticeably lighter.

Estimated from the ingredients exactly as written, using standard reference values for each ingredient. Your brands and swaps will shift the numbers a little. Daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Make it your own

  • Start with the base recipe, then swap one ingredient at a time.
  • Try a different topping after processing.
  • Keep notes so you can revisit your favorite combination.

Texture tips

  • A level, fully solid freeze gives the smoothest spin.
  • Freeze CREAMi bases level and completely solid.
  • For SLUSHi, check compatible liquids and minimum sugar requirements.

Frequently asked questions

What changes for the Deluxe pint?

Scale every ingredient up: 1½ tablespoons cream cheese, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1½ cups whole milk, and ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips. Freeze the Deluxe pint for 24 hours, then choose TOP, FULL, or BOTTOM before you select ICE CREAM. Add the chips to the processed portion and finish with MIX IN, the same as the regular pint.

Can I make it dairy free?

Yes. Swap in vegan cream cheese for the cream cheese, unsweetened coconut cream for the heavy cream, and unsweetened oat milk for the whole milk. Whisk the coconut cream until smooth before you add the remaining ingredients.

Can I make it lite?

Yes. Swap the sugar for ½ teaspoon stevia plus 2½ tablespoons raw agave nectar, and process the frozen pint on LITE ICE CREAM instead of ICE CREAM.

Why do the chips go in at the end?

Chips stirred into the base before freezing would come out rock hard and uneven. Adding them after the first process and running MIX IN scatters them through the soft ice cream in even, bite size pieces.

Can I use regular chocolate chips instead of mini?

You can, but the MIX IN program will not break them down, so expect bigger and harder chunks. Mini chips give you the even scatter this recipe is built around.

How do I store leftovers?

Smooth the top flat with a spoon, put the storage lid back on, and return the pint to the freezer on a level surface. Before serving again, set the pint up in the machine and run ICE CREAM once more.