Expect this (no-churn!) keto ice cream recipe to be ridiculously creamy and absolutely tasty! And whichever flavor you go for, it won’t freeze rock solid like your usual homemade ice cream.
(No-Churn!) Keto Ice Cream
A Master Recipe
From your classic vanilla, to decadent chocolate (and coffee!), to adding fruit, making frozen yogurt, cheesecake and cookies ‘n cream varieties… you’ll find everything in this post to whip up your favorite flavor of keto ice cream!
Did I also mention this low carb ice cream is super easy to whip up?! With a few simple tricks, you’ll get ridiculously creamy results; no churning required!
And yes, pictured are our real life (1g net carb!) keto ice cream cones! Pick a classic ‘sugar’ cone or go extra with the chocolate variety.
The Method
Whipping up the base for our no-churn keto ice cream is a breeze. Think melting the sweetener into (full fat!) coconut milk, whisking in a tad of xanthan gum (which acts as a stabilizer here), and incorporating the cooled mixture into whipped cream.
You see, by whipping up the heavy cream you’re incorporating quite a bit of air. And the addition of xanthan gum helps keep your ice cream creamy smooth.
And if you plan on making a larger batch and letting it hang in your freezer, it’s generally a good idea to incorporate a couple of tablespoons of booze into your ice cream (particularly if you use erythritol, see below!). Remember that high alcoholic beverages do not freeze, so they will help your ice cream stay creamy smooth rather than rock-solid. Just don’t overdo it, or you’ll end up with a slushy.
The Sweetener
Xylitol (not corn-derived to avoid tummy problems!) and allulose are, without a doubt, the best sweeteners for keto ice cream. They help to retain the creamy texture (they work pretty much like inverted sugars!), and allow you to skip the churning if need be in many recipes.
And if using allulose, just keep in mind that it’s about 70% the sweetness of sugar and xylitol (i.e. you’ll have to add 30% more).
Having said that, this ice cream is sooo luscious, that you can get away with using erythritol with relatively good results too. Though it most likely will freeze rock-solid, and you’ll have to let it hang out for about 15-30 minutes to scoop it out.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup (or pet)around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 
Vanilla (i.e. The Base!)
Our luscious vanilla ice cream is the perfect base to start (and the ideal keto fat bomb to always have on hand!!)! From this base you can swap out the vanilla beans (or extract!), and add in chocolate, coffee, matcha and any dried berry powder (such as raspberry!).
Also note that using a vanilla bean (i.e. pod) and infusing the coconut milk with it is ideal in order to get that natural and complex vanilla flavor. But you can also readily make it with just vanilla extract (up to 1 1/2 tablespoons).
Oh! And feel free to do add ins here! Think our instant ‘oreo cookie crumbs’ (and you can whip up a cookies ‘n cream milkshake too!). Or simply mix in some peppermint extract at the end and fold in chocolate chips (you guessed, mint chocolate chip ice cream!).
Chocolate, Coffee, Matcha…
To whip up flavors that are added in dried form (cocoa, coffee, matcha, turmeric, dried berries…), you’ll simply add them to the coconut milk mixture while cooking.
Cocoa or cacao? Both work great, just know that quality really matters here. My favorite will forever be the Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world. But feel free to use a raw cacao powder (arguably more nutritional perks here), though keep in mind that your ice cream will be lighter in color and more reddish in hue. Both are well and good, as long as they’re unsweetened.
How dark? Talking dark chocolate versus milk is a sure way to divide a crowd! But know that you can make this keto chocolate ice cream to your taste buds’ desire. So I suggest doing the base with the lower quantity of cocoa (1/2 cup) to yield a milk chocolate ice cream. And if you like your chocolate dark, simply add in more cocoa (think 1/4-1/3 cup more) after everything is incorporated. A taste-as-you-go sorta thing.
And for those rocky road lovers amongst us, do whip up a batch of our keto marshmallows and fold them in (so ridiculously good and you’ll be adding in some extra collagen too!).
The Fruity Business
For ice creams using natural fruit, I suggest blending the fruit fresh and folding it at the very end to the vanilla ice cream base. Roughly 225g (8 ounces/about 1 cup) of fruit will do the trick! But do feel free to adjust it down (or up!) to suit your macros and taste buds.
Feel free to check out our strawberry cheesecake ice cream (or mint chocolate chip using avocado!) for further deets.
For The Cheesecake (And Froyo!) Lovers
Whipping up a cheesecake ice cream or frozen yogurt from our master base is super easy! For cheesecake you’ll simply be swapping half of the heavy cream for cream cheese, and for froyo all of it for full fat (Greek style!) yogurt.
The (No-Bake!) ‘Cookie’ Crumbs
I’m definitely going to suggest you guys take the lazy route (like I did!) and go for our instant ‘graham cracker’ crumbs (i.e. crust), as opposed to making some actual keto graham crackers.
In the end, the cookies will get a big soggy so there’s barely a difference… and arguably ‘the crumbs’, with its toasted almond, are even tastier!
Having said that, I’ve made ice cream sandwiches with the crackers (and chocolate chip cookies!) and they’re ah-mazing! Your choice!
No-Churn Keto Ice Cream (A Master Recipe, 6 Ways!)
Ingredients
For the paleo & keto vanilla ice cream
- 1 vanilla bean (i.e. pod) or more vanilla extract
- 1 13.5-ounce can full fat coconut milk *
- 135-150 g xylitol erythritol, to taste*
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or 3/4 teaspoon arrowroot flour if paleo&**
- 480 g heavy whipping cream or chilled coconut cream (see notes)*
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract up to 4 or 6 teaspoons if not using a vanilla pod
- 1 tablespoon vodka, brandy or booze of choice omit if using the larger quantity of vanilla extract****
Flavor variants
- 50 g cocoa powder for chocolate ice cream
- 3 tablespoons espresso powder for coffee ice cream
- 225 g fresh berries for fruity ice cream
- 'oreo' cookie crumbs for cookies and cream
- keto marshmallows for rocky road ice cream
Instructions
- See recipe video for guidance!
- Slice open the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds with a sharp knife.
- Add coconut milk, sweetener, vanilla bean with scraped seeds (if using), and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until all the solids from the coconut milk have the dissolved and the mixture is smooth. If using a vanilla bean, simmer for 15 minutes to infuse the milk.
- Remove the vanilla bean and sprinkle xanthan gum little by little and blend until fully combined. If paleo and using arrowroot, dissolve it first in a tablespoon of cold water (i.e. make a slurry). You will likely have some air bubbles, but be sure to check there are no lumps. Any lumps will be resolved by mixing with an immersion blender (or in an actual blender). Sieve the mixture to a bowl, cover with a layer of cling film (saran wrap) laid directly over the vanilla mixture, and allow the mixture to cool completely. The texture will be thick and jelly-like (don't worry, your ice cream won't have this texture!).
- Add heavy whipping cream or cold coconut cream to a large chilled bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Mix in vanilla extract and the cooled vanilla mixture.
- (Optional): add in your booze of choice (omit if using the larger quantity of vanilla extract). The mixture should be thick but still slightly pourable. And, if for any reason your mixture is too thick, thin it out little by little with more coconut milk. See recipe video for texture reference.
- Transfer ice cream to a sealable container and place in the freezer until frozen (4-6 hours to overnight). And note that you can still use your ice cream machine if you wish (roughly 15 minutes to churn).
- If freezing overnight: take out your ice cream 10-20 minutes prior to serving (depending on your room temp!) and scoop away.
For flavor variants
- If making chocolate (coffee, matcha or using any dried fruit powder), simply add it to the coconut milk while cooking.
- If making ice cream with fresh fruit, puree it and fold it in at the very end.
I have been making this recipe for years and as long as you use xylitol sweetener it will not freeze hard. Every time I’ve made it it has stayed scoopable. Just be sure you don’t let your cat or dog lick your bowl when you’re done. Xylitol is harmful to dogs.
Has anyone tried adding powdered, unflavored gelatin to keep the ice cream from freezing so solid? I saw it was included by a recipe from Maria Emmerich.
I have been making this recipe for years and as long as you use xylitol sweetener it will not freeze hard. Every time I’ve made it it has stayed scoopable. Just be sure you don’t let your cat or dog lick your bowl when you’re done. Xylitol is harmful to dogs.
Thank you Jamie for jumping in! Yes. And allulose works the same as xylitol (you just have to use the larger amount as it’s less sweet than sugar. Xo!
Any dairy free options?
Swap out the whipped cream for coconut cream Karen! You do lose a bit of fluffiness (as coconut cream doesn’t quite fluff up as much when whipped), but I think you’ll find its still terrific 😉 xo!
This is the absolute best icecream ever. Used xylitol the first time with vodka, will use erythritol this time with vodka for the softening effect. I stick with vanilla so I can add a variety of ingredients later on after it’s frozen.
Taste is fabulous, maintains well in freezer!
🙂
How can you make this peanut butter flavour?
I would add in POWDERED DEHYDRATED PEANUT POWDER. You can often find it in the health food and organic section of a supermarket. As the author stated adding in cocoa at the coconut heating stage, I would also add it then as it’s a powder. It doesn’t add in any extra fat. I use it in all kinds of recipes that call for peanut butter when I don’t want extra fat. Also, I think you inspired me to also try a pb & chocolate version, so thanks!
Ooooh this sounds like a *brilliant* idea, thank you for sharing Elaine I’ll be trying it too!
This recipe is awesome! But in the video, my chocolate ice cream looked like yours until the cut. How did you get yours so dark and thick?
I may have overdone it a tad with the cocoa when I did the video…! :-S
This is my “go to” ice cream recipe. I made a tin roof version of it by adding crushed whole almond and 85% dark chocolate into my chocolate base. It’s diabetic friendly as well, no shift in sugar levels. So it’s a win-win for all! I used erythritol second time around, rock solid, took half an hour to defrost. Will use xylitol instead the next time.
Glad it has become your go to ice cream Michelle ;)! Please note that you can also use allulose as your sweetener xo!