Easy Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
June 30, 2021
Introduction
I really don’t know anyone who doesn’t love ice cream. I mean, it is everyone’s favorite dessert, and for good reason! It’s sweet, creamy, and satisfyingly melts in your mouth. And it comes in lots of flavors! There’s the standard affair of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and cookies n’ cream. Then you have the flavors for the adventurous ones, such as sea salt caramel, bubblegum, pumpkin spice, and many more.
But despite your flavor, typical ice cream is made with lots of sugar, which is a no-no for keto. Thankfully, there are many keto-friendly ice cream brands out there. Or, you can make one yourself.
With our keto vanilla ice cream recipe, you can have low-carb ice cream anytime. And you don’t even need an ice cream maker or machine for this one. All you need is a refrigerator with a freezer.
Interested? Let’s get to it then!
Reviews
Sweets
Ingredients
| 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, divided | |
| 2 tbsp Butter | |
| 1/3 cup Lakanto Powdered Monk Fruit Sweetener | |
| 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum | |
| 2 tsp Vanilla Extract |
Nutritional Information
Directions
In a saucepan, add 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream.
Add 2 tbsp butter to the saucepan.
Whisk in Lakanto powdered sweetener into the saucepan.
Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the xanthan gum a little at a time until smooth.
Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Whisk in the remaining 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream.
Transfer your heavy cream mixture to a loaf pan.
Once the ice cream has chilled enough and reached its desired consistency, transfer it to your freezer.
Notes
Key Ingredients and Tools
Heavy Whipping Cream (or Heavy Cream)
Heavy whipping mainly acts as the ice cream base for our keto ice cream recipe, giving it its structure. Its high-fat content contributes to a rich and creamy texture in our ice cream. When heavy cream is chilled and whipped, it creates a smooth and velvety consistency that is similar to that of traditional ice cream. The high-fat content also helps prevent the ice cream from freezing into a solid block, which is how it can achieve a scoopable consistency even when frozen.
In this recipe, we'll be dividing the heavy whipping cream into two. The first half, mixed with butter and sweetener, will be heated up and brought to a low boil. The other half will be added later on.
Lakanto Powder Monk Fruit Sweetener
We want our keto vanilla ice cream to be sugar-free so that we can keep its carb count as low as possible. So we'll be using Lakanto Powder Monk Fruit Sweetener instead. It's a keto-friendly sugar substitute that's all-natural, zero-glycemic, and has no aftertaste. It also has a 1:1 ratio to sugar, making it easier to convert traditional ice cream recipes into keto-friendly ones.
We're using powdered sweetener in this recipe as it dissolves more easily, resulting in a smoother texture in our keto vanilla ice cream.
Xanthan Gum
To thicken and stabilize our keto vanilla ice cream, we'll be relying on xanthan gum. It helps prevent ice crystals from forming on the ice cream while it's freezing. It also helps create a more cohesive structure by preventing the separation of the heavy whipping cream and other ingredients in the ice cream.
Vanilla Extract
To round up our keto vanilla ice cream recipe and give it its vanilla flavor, we'll be using vanilla extract. It adds a distinct and pleasant flavor and aroma to our ice cream, making it a more enjoyable treat. Its slightly bitter and floral flavor complements the sweetness of the powdered sweetener.
Tools
- Medium saucepan: you'll be using this to heat and simmer the heavy cream mixture.
- Whisk or spatula: you'll be using this to mix your ingredients together.
- Loaf pan: this is where you'll be transferring your heavy cream mixture for chilling and freezing.
- (Optional) Plastic wrap or freezer-safe container: using this will add another layer of protection to your keto vanilla ice cream, helping prevent ice crystals from forming.
- Ice cream scoop or spoon: you'll be using this to scoop out your keto vanilla ice cream once it's ready to serve.
- Small bowl: you'll be serving your ice cream in this.
Misc Notes
- While this recipe calls for using Lakanto Powdered Monk Fruit Sweetener, you can use another keto-friendly sweetener of your choice. You can even use a combination of sweeteners such as Swerve and Besti. Just be mindful of the ratios as they aren't always 1:1 with sugar.
- Want your keto vanilla ice cream to be lighter and less dense? You can substitute the second half of the heavy cream with a lighter ingredient such as unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk. Doing so will reduce the fat content, resulting in a lighter vanilla ice cream.
- Want your ice cream soft and more melt-in-your-mouth? You can lessen the amount of xanthan gum you add or you can omit it altogether. Do note that your ice cream might melt faster without it.
- If you have an ice cream maker or ice cream machine, you can give your homemade ice cream a smoother and more scoopable consistency. After chilling your ice cream mixture for about an hour or two, transfer it to your ice cream maker and churn for 20-30 minutes or until it reaches a soft-serve consistency. Transfer your ice cream into a freezer-safe container, and let it freeze there for at least 2 hours.
- Feel free to customize your keto vanilla ice cream! Add some low-carb mix-ins such as chopped nuts or fruits, keto chocolate chips, or crushed berries for more texture or flavor.
- While this keto vanilla ice cream can 100% stand on its own and be amazing, adding toppings can make it even better. Here are some of our suggestions:
- ChocZero Sugar-Free Syrups: If you're looking for a great and tasty sugar-free syrup, you can't go wrong with ChocZero. They have a variety of keto-friendly sugar-free syrup flavors such as chocolate, caramel, and maple syrup.
- ChocZero White or Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Spread: Top your keto vanilla ice cream with a dollop of either of these keto spreads.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Chunks: Cookies and cream anyone? These mini keto chocolate chip cookies are delicious and pair well with vanilla ice cream!
- Sugar-Free Sprinkles: Sprinkles on ice cream is a classic. It adds color, texture, and joy factor. These sugar-free sprinkles can give you all that without ruining your keto diet.
- Store any leftover keto vanilla ice cream in an airtight, freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer to maintain its texture. It will stay good in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. If the ice cream becomes too hard, you can let it soften in the refrigerator for a few minutes before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
The answer to that question is, “It depends!”. Traditionally, no. The ice cream that most of us have probably come to know and love for most of our lives is, of course, not keto because it contains an enormous amount of sugar and even carbs. And that’s just for the ice cream itself.
Classics flavors like rocky road or cookies and cream contain even more sugar because of the added ingredients like chocolate, sweetened peanut butter, etc.
Sure, a half cup won’t likely kick you out of ketosis, but who stops eating ice cream at just half a cup? And it’s not like it’s the only thing you’ll be eating throughout the day that contains carbs.
Thankfully, there are already many commercially available keto and sugar-free ice cream brands out there such as Enlightened and Rebel ice cream. And of course, you can make your own keto ice cream with the help of this keto vanilla ice cream recipe. It’s a great base to start on, and you can add different flavors if you want.
Sure you can, but make sure to use only fresh, high-quality eggs to eliminate the risk of foodborne illness. Adding egg yolks to the recipe will result in a smoother, richer, and creamier texture. It will also reduce the ice cream’s tendency to melt when taken out of the freezer.
You can also heat the egg yolks together with the heavy cream to create a custard base for your keto vanilla ice cream.
Yes, you can. Using a vanilla bean will provide your keto ice cream with a more intense vanilla flavor. Using a knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Then scrape out the seeds using the knife blade. Add the seeds and the scraped vanilla bean pod to the heavy cream mixture while it simmers. Don’t forget to remove the pod before chilling and freezing your ice cream.
This recipe uses two dairy ingredients: heavy whipping cream and butter. You only need to replace these ingredients with non-diary substitutes. For the butter, you can use coconut oil or vegan butter. As for the heavy cream, you can replace it with full-fat coconut cream or milk. There might be a slight difference in the taste and texture, but your keto vanilla ice cream will still turn out delicious. Enjoy!
Wrap Up
Everything about this vanilla ice cream is great. It’s sweet, cool, and creamy! And it’s a great base to start on for making other flavored ice creams. Think of keto chocolate ice cream, keto salted caramel ice cream, and many more. With this keto recipe, it’s all possible.
The best part is that you can enjoy this delicious treat without worrying too much about your carb count or blood sugar levels. A serving of this keto vanilla ice cream only amounts to <3g net carbs. So go ahead, treat yourself to a cup or two of this luscious, creamy vanilla dessert.
This keto vanilla ice cream is the perfect topping on Keto Brownies, Keto Chaffles, and even Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies! But of course, it is amazing all on its own! After all, there is nothing like a big bowl of creamy vanilla ice cream!