Easiest Stracciatella Gelato
Smooth vanilla gelato, accented with crisp chocolate crumbles, makes Stracciatella Gelato a taste delight. And this easy version needs no cooking!
Usually when I think seasonal, it’s fresh local fruits and vegetables. But lately, I’ve been thinking of, well, all kinds of frozen desserts.
Becuase, in the heat of summer, what’s more satisfying than a yummy chocolate frozen yogurt (people say mine just like ice cream), or a tasty smooth gelato. Like my new Stracciatella Gelato!
Now normally I’d be hitting up the local gelato stand, but since my prediabetes diagnosis, I’m really watching the sugar in my diet. But what if I could make it homemade—with a sugar version for guests and a sweetener version for myself.
And what if it were super easy to make… so I could have it anytime I wanted.
In the end I got everything on my wish list. Just blend the ingredients (mostly in the blender) and pour it into the ice cream freezer.
Yup, this could be life changing!
Why You’ll Love This!
Tasty. With a fragrant vanilla base, accented by crunchy chocolate bits, Stracciatella Gelato is a taste delight!
Refreshing. Summer is a time for cool (even frosty!) indulgence!
Easy. With no cooking, just a quick mix and churn, I think this is even easier than no churn ice cream (and you don’t need to buy sweetened condensed milk).
Flexible. When you make it homemade you can “have it your way!” Dark or milk chocolate? Full or reduced sugar? All good!
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Half & half. Provides the creamy (but lighter than cream) base for the gelato. You can also use 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream.
- Vanilla. This provides the classic vanilla flavor. If you’d like the cute vanilla beans to show (though they’ll be somewhat obscured by the chocolate bits), you can use a vanilla paste.
- Nonfat dry milk powder. This is the DIYer’s version of milk solids, helping improve texture and reducing crystallization.
- Sugar. Sugar provides the sweetness. This has also been tested with 5 Tablespoons allulose and 4 Tablespoons sugar. Full allulose version coming soon!
- Salt. Salt is a flavor enhancer and actually did improve the taste of this.
- Guar gum (optional). This is a bean extract that improves the texture of frozen foods such as ice cream. It can help this last longer without crystalizing and gives it a slightly thicker mouthfeel. See “On Guar Gum” below for more detail.
- Chocolate chips. These provide the chocolate shards in the Stracciatella. You can use a good bar chocolate as well, chopped finely to facilitate melting. Dark chocolate, semi-sweet and milk will all work. So go with your favorite!
- Cocoa butter, butter, or coconut oil. This is used to thin the melted chocolate so that it easily pours and breaks into fine shards.
Special Tools
- You’ll need an ice cream freezer for this.
Step by Step Directions
Mix the dry milk powder, sugar, salt and guar gum if using in a bowl (guar gum, especially can clump if added to a wet ingredient alone).
Add the half and half and vanilla to the blender and start mixing on low.
Gradually pour in the dry mix mixture. Blend until well combined.
Pour into your ice cream freezer and process according to the manufacturer’s directions.
When gelato is almost done, melt the cocoa butter, coconut oil or butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in your chocolate chips, then alternate stirring with brief bursts (5-10 seconds) in the microwave until melted.
Slowly drizzle the melted chocolate into your nearly frozen gelato.
When mixed in, scoop the finished gelato into a freezer container to firm up more (recommended) or eat immediately.
How to Serve
Serve Stracciatella Gelato any way you’d serve ice cream. Go simple and put a scoop or two in a dish or in a cone.
Of get fancy and top it with chocolate syrup or caramel sauce for a sundae. All good!
On Reducing Sugar with Allulose Sweetener
I have made this successfully with sugar, and also with half sugar, half allulose. Then I ran out of allulose—oops! When my replacement allulose arrives, I’ll update this post with an all allulose measurement (likely ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons).
If you aren’t familiar with the sweetener, it measures like sugar though is slightly less sweet, so I add more or boost with stevia. It has other great traits like browning during baking and not producing a mouth cooling sensation like erythritol can. It’s become my go to product when I need a sweetness fix though it can take some experimentation!
For more information, see Health.com.
On the Optional Guar Gum
Guar gum is useful for creating a frozen product with a creamy mouthfeel like ice cream and for reducing crystallization. It is produced from the Guar bean and may actually have some health benefits, though as with any ingredient, some people will be sensitive (as could certainly be said of the dairy in this). For more information, see this Healthline article.
Now because this is gelato, instead of ice cream, the expected mouthfeel is a little different. That means that, for this recipe, the Guar Gum is less important. Ice Cream has a thicker body, with almost a slight chew, where gelato is lighter and smoother. So don’t feel you have to order it special for this if you don’t own it. But if you’re planning to get more heavily into frozen homemade ice creams, consider doing some experimentation with it since it can make a big difference.
Leftovers
Leftovers, of course, need to be stored frozen. I would recommend a slightly warmer freezer if you have multiples to pick from since gelato is usually served at a warmer temperature than ice cream.
I have kept this up to a week without too much crystallization, but it’s never going to be a long keeper. And that’s part of the reason I make it in small batches.
If yours does last over a week, please send me your willpower tips!
Tips & FAQs
If you use coconut oil to thin your chocolate, coconut haters may notice the flavor. This is your only warning.
There is an alternative chocolate preparation method that some people use. Sometimes people melt their chocolate, spread it out in a thin layer, then let it cool and break it into shards. But since this is supposed to be the easiest Stracciatella ever, I use the more common, dribble into the gelato at the end method.
Sometimes I’ll put a towel over the top of my ice cream freezer while it churns to help insulate and hasten the freezing process.
And I learned something really exciting testing this—you can (at least sometimes) use non-fat dry milk in an ice cream or gelato recipe to take the place of egg. That removes the cooking and cooling times from the process, making this recipe super easy!
Other Frozen Inspiration!
- Pistachio Mascarpone Ice Cream by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Vanilla Bean No Churn Ice Cream by Blogghetti
- No-Churn Layered Blueberry & Vanilla Ice Cream by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Cognac Ice Cream by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Dragonfruit Kulfi by Magical Ingredients
- Vegan Chocolate Nice Cream by Shockingly Delicious
Just in case you’re still hungry!
Stracciatella Gelato
Ingredients
- 2 cups half & half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
- ½ cup sugar or 1/4 cup sugar & 5 Tablespoons allulose
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon guar gum (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the dry milk powder, sugar, salt and guar gum if using in a bowl (guar gum, especially can clump if added to a wet ingredient alone).
- Add the half and half and vanilla to the blender and start mixing on low. Gradually pour in the dry mix mixture. Blend until well combined.
- Pour into your ice cream freezer and process according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- When gelato is almost done, melt the cocoa butter, coconut oil or butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in your chocolate chips, then alternate stirring with brief bursts (5-10 seconds) in the microwave until melted.
- Slowly drizzle the melted chocolate into your nearly frozen gelato. When mixed in, scoop the finished gelato into a freezer container to firm up more (recommended) or eat immediately.
Seriously, who doesn’t love stracciatella gelato? It is a favorite in our house! Love the easy recipe, too!
your Stracciatella Gelato recipe sounds like the perfect solution for a summer sweet treat, I can almost taste the creamy vanilla base complemented by those crunchy chocolate shards it’s making my mouth water already!
Great description Raymund!
I’m going to have to look into the guar gum. Crystallization is the main reason I don’t make ice cream at home. And I’ll try the milk powder, too.
If you look carefully, commercial ice cream actually has a little bit of stretch when you pull out a spoonful. The guar gum will do that for your homemade ice cream.
This is a flavorful icecream and thanks for sharing the tips. Addition of milk powder sounds great and I too love to control the amount of sugar. Great recipe!
Being able to lower the sugar has been a lifesaver this summer!
I love gelato! All of your tips will be very useful when I make this. It definitely will not last week in this house!
I’d be surprised it it lasted anywhere!
Yeah, that most definitely would not last a week here! Will have to look into the allulose for my dad, thank you.
I’ve been very pleased. It can perform a little differently so I always test knowing this, but I’m quite happy with it.
What a sophisticated flavor. I absolutely must try this. And thanks for ALL the tips sprinkled throughout. Much appreciated!
So many ice cream flavors, so little time!
My dad used to spend 6 weeks in Italy every year and he had gelato every single day! This sounds delicious!
That sounds like a great way to do Italy! Hope you got to visit!
So many great tips in this recipe and I love that you can still enjoy this treat while watching your sugar intake. Sounds like the perfect summer treat!
It’s been a godsend!