I didn't want to buy chai concentrate just to make ice cream, so I tested this with the chai tea bags I already had, plus several other brands. Every one of them worked. Steep the bags strong, let the tea cool, and that's your flavor.
This Ninja Creami Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream blends that tea with half and half, cottage cheese, and sweetened condensed milk. There's no pudding mix, no gums, and no protein powder. The cottage cheese disappears once blended and keeps the pint creamy instead of icy. If you like spiced latte flavors, my pumpkin spice latte ice cream is made the same way.
Jump to:
- Why This Recipe Works So Well
- What Does Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream Taste Like
- Chai Tea Bags vs Chai Concentrate
- Ingredients You'll Need
- How to Make Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream
- Why Chai Ice Cream Can Be Tricky (And How to Fix It)
- 🍒 Mix-In and Topping Ideas
- Serving Size
- 🧰Tools You’ll Need
- Tips for Success
- Recipe FAQs
- More Artisan Flavors
- Did you try this recipe?
- Ninja Creami Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream
Why This Recipe Works So Well
- Uses regular chai tea bags. No concentrate to hunt down, so you can make it with whatever chai you keep in the pantry.
- Strong steep, then cool. Steeping the bags 5 to 7 minutes pulls out enough spice to come through after freezing, and cooling the tea first keeps the cottage cheese from curdling.
- No pudding mix or gums. Cottage cheese and sweetened condensed milk handle the creaminess that stabilizers would usually cover.
- Cottage cheese you can't taste. Blended smooth, it adds body and a little protein while the chai spices take the lead.
- Extra cinnamon. Tea bags lose some of their spice in the freezer, and a pinch of ground cinnamon brings the warmth back.
What Does Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream Taste Like
It tastes like a chai latte, frozen and creamier. The black tea gives it an earthy base that keeps it from tasting too sweet, and the spices (cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves) come through warm without being sharp. It works year-round, but it fits fall and winter best.
Chai Tea Bags vs Chai Concentrate
Most Ninja Creami chai recipes call for chai concentrate, which isn't always easy to find and costs more than a box of tea. This version uses regular chai tea bags, so you can make it with what's already in your pantry. Steeped strong, the tea gives you the same spice without an extra shopping trip.
If you already have chai concentrate: use ½ cup in place of the tea bags and hot water. Skip the steeping step and blend everything together.
Ingredients You'll Need
This is just an overview. Jump down to the full recipe card for exact amounts and instructions.
- Chai tea bags: The whole flavor of the pint comes from these, so use enough to steep the tea dark. Any brand works; Tazo is easy to find.
- Hot water: For steeping. Hot but not boiling water pulls out the spices without making the black tea bitter.
- Half and half: The creamy base. It has enough fat for a smooth scoop without turning waxy on a respin.
- Cottage cheese: Adds body and a little protein. Blended until smooth, it disappears completely, and the chai covers any tang.
- Sweetened condensed milk: Sweetens the base and, because it's so high in sugar, keeps it from freezing rock hard and icy.
- Vanilla extract: Softens the black tea and makes it taste more like a latte.
- Salt: A small pinch makes the spices taste brighter and keeps the sweetness in check.
- Ground cinnamon: Boosts the chai spice, which fades a bit once the base is frozen.
Substitutions
- Chai tea: Any brand works. Use fewer bags if you want a milder chai, since the bags set how strong the spice comes through.
- Half and half: Mix equal parts heavy cream and whole milk if you don't have it. Together they come close to half and half's fat level, so the texture stays the same.
- Cottage cheese: Greek yogurt gives a thicker, tangier pint. Cream cheese is richer but harder to blend smooth, so soften it first.
- Dairy-free: Use full-fat coconut milk in place of the half and half, swap the cottage cheese for coconut cream, and use sweetened condensed coconut milk. Regular condensed milk is dairy, so all three swaps are needed. Coconut will show in the flavor.
- Lower sugar: Sugar-free sweetened condensed milk works in place of regular, but sugar is part of what keeps the base soft. Expect a firmer, icier pint that may need an extra respin.
- Dirty chai: Add 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder to the base before freezing. If you like coffee ice cream, try this.
How to Make Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream
- Steep the tea. Add the chai tea bags to a measuring cup with hot, not boiling, water and steep for 5 to 7 minutes, until the tea looks dark. Remove the bags and let the tea cool to room temperature. Hot tea will curdle the cottage cheese.
- Blend the base. Add the cooled tea, half and half, cottage cheese, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon to a blender. Blend on high for about 30 seconds, until completely smooth with no cottage cheese curds left. Any lumps freeze into icy bits.
- Freeze for 24 hours. Pour the base into a Ninja Creami pint without going over the max fill line. Cover and freeze on a flat surface for 24 hours, so the pint freezes level and solid all the way through.
- Spin. Remove the storage lid, set the pint in the outer bowl, attach the paddle lid, and lock it into the machine. Press Ice Cream. If it comes out crumbly or powdery, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or half and half to a small well in the center and press Respin. Tea bases almost always need one respin.
- Serve. Scoop right away for a soft-serve texture, or return the pint to the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes if you like it firmer.
Why Chai Ice Cream Can Be Tricky (And How to Fix It)
Tea adds liquid without adding fat, so tea-based ice creams tend to freeze drier and icier than vanilla or chocolate. Most recipes fix that with pudding mix or xanthan gum. This one uses cottage cheese and sweetened condensed milk instead. The cottage cheese adds body once it's blended smooth, and the high sugar in the condensed milk keeps the base from freezing rock hard, which cuts down on ice crystals.
After the first spin, expect the pint to look crumbly or powdery. That's normal for a tea base.
The fix: add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or half and half to a small well in the center and press Respin. It turns smooth in one cycle, and I've never needed more than two respins.
How to tell it's done: it looks smooth like soft serve, and your spoon leaves tracks that hold their shape.
🍒 Mix-In and Topping Ideas
Mix-ins (add after spinning, using the Mix-In program)
- Crushed ginger snaps: The ginger repeats the spice in the chai, and the cookies stay crunchy in the cold.
- Mini white chocolate chips: Their sweet, milky flavor softens the spice, and small chips spread evenly through the pint.
- Candied pecans: Add crunch and a caramel note that pairs with the cinnamon.
- Cinnamon graham cracker pieces: Like dunking a cookie in your chai, and the cinnamon doubles up on the spice.
- Chocolate chunks: Chai and chocolate share warm spices, so the pairing tastes intentional, not random.
Toppings (add when serving)
- Whipped cream: The classic chai latte topping, and it lightens each scoop.
- Cinnamon stick: Mostly for looks, but it adds a little cinnamon aroma as you eat.
- Caramel drizzle: Adds sweetness against the black tea's slight bitterness.
- Extra cinnamon dusting: Puts the spice right up front on the first bite.
- Chopped pistachios: Add green color and a mild nuttiness that doesn't fight the chai.
Check out the ultimate guide to mix-ins for more ideas.
Serving Size
This recipe makes one 24-ounce pint for the Ninja Creami Deluxe, about 4 servings at roughly 230 calories each.
Using the original 16-ounce pint? Make two-thirds of the recipe so the base stays under the max fill line.
🧰Tools You’ll Need
- Blender: Blends the cottage cheese completely smooth so no curds freeze into icy bits. A whisk can't get it there.
- Ninja CREAMi Deluxe 11-in-1 Ice Cream & Frozen Treat Maker: The machine I tested this in. The Deluxe uses a 24-ounce pint and has the Ice Cream and Respin programs used in the steps.
- Extra Ninja Creami pints: Each base needs 24 hours in the freezer, so a spare pint lets you start the next batch while you finish this one.
Tips for Success
- Steep 5 to 7 minutes, and set a timer. Too short and the chai fades once frozen; too long and the black tea turns bitter. The tea should look as dark as strong coffee.
- Cool the tea completely. Hot tea curdles the cottage cheese, and those curds won't blend back out.
- Use full-fat cottage cheese. Low-fat versions are drier and don't blend as smooth, so the pint spins icier.
- Taste before freezing. The base should taste slightly sweeter and spicier than you want, since freezing dulls both.
- Expect one respin. Tea bases freeze drier than milk bases, so a crumbly first spin is normal, not a mistake.
- Freeze on a flat surface. A level pint freezes evenly, so the blade cuts through it evenly too.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Use ½ cup chai concentrate in place of the tea bags and hot water, skip the steeping step, and add it straight to the blender with everything else.
No. Blended completely smooth, it disappears, and the chai spices are much stronger than any tang. It's there for body and a little protein.
Tea adds liquid without adding fat, so the base freezes drier than a milk-based pint. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or half and half to a well in the center and press Respin. One respin almost always fixes it.
Yes. Add ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom or ginger to the base, or steep the tea the full 7 minutes. A small pinch of black pepper adds heat without changing the chai flavor.
Tazo Chai is my go-to because it's easy to find and has a good spice balance. Other brands I tested worked too, so use whatever you have.
Yes. The recipe is sized for the Deluxe's 24-ounce pint, so make two-thirds of it for the 16-ounce pint and stay under the max fill line.
More Artisan Flavors
Did you try this recipe?
Share how it turned out in the comments below, and if you loved it, share it on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram.
Thank you! - Rose
Ninja Creami Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 Ninja CREAMi Deluxe 11-in-1
- 1 Ninja Creami Pint Container
- 1 Measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Small bowl or measuring cup
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 4 chai tea bags any brand
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup cottage cheese full-fat
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Steep the tea: Add chai tea bags to ½ cup hot water. Steep 5-7 minutes until dark and concentrated. Remove tea bags and let cool to room temperature.4 chai tea bags, ½ cup hot water
- Blend the base: Add cooled tea, half and half, cottage cheese, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, salt, and cinnamon to a blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds until completely smooth.1 cup half and half, ½ cup cottage cheese, ½ cup sweetened condensed milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Freeze: Pour into Ninja Creami pint container (don't exceed max fill line). Freeze on a flat surface for 24 hours.
- Spin: Remove pint from freezer. Take off lid and place in outer bowl. Attach paddle lid and select **Ice Cream**.
- Check texture: If crumbly or powdery (normal for tea-based ice cream), make a small well in the center and add 1-2 tablespoons half and half or milk. Select **Respin**.
- Serve: Scoop immediately for soft-serve texture, or freeze 20-30 minutes for firmer scoops.
Notes
- Steep the tea properly - 5-7 minutes. Set a timer. This makes or breaks the flavor.
- Let the tea cool completely - Hot tea will curdle the cottage cheese. Room temperature is what you want.
- Use full-fat cottage cheese - Low-fat won't blend as smoothly or taste as creamy.
- Taste before freezing - The base should taste slightly sweeter and more intensely flavored than you want. Freezing dulls both.
- Expect to respin once - Tea-based ice cream almost always needs it. Don't worry when it looks crumbly first.
- Freeze on a flat surface - Uneven freezing = uneven texture.
- Don't skip the cinnamon - It really does boost the chai flavor and round everything out.
- Use what you have - I've tested this with three different chai tea brands. They all worked. Don't overthink it.
Rose Sioson says
Made this with Trader Joe's chai bags and it was SO good. Love that you don't need fancy ingredients or hard-to-find concentrate. Definitely tastes better than the chai ice cream I used to buy at Whole Foods!