Is this the best keto ice cream recipe?
It’s the best fastest Keto Ice Cream recipe. What does that mean? It means that with about 15 minutes active work time (max) you can have an amazing ice cream that blows every other keto ice cream you’ve had out of the water – and it’s achievable with ingredients you likely already have in your cupboard. If you want a full fledged recipe for ice cream that will require more in depth techniques and a bit more effort, it’s what I’m planning on covering in my Keto Ice Cream Master Class – but this class will be for those fascinated with the science and the intricacies to make the absolute best keto ice cream!
Why all the gums?
There are a couple of reasons! Commercially prepared ice cream is a crazy concoction of ingredients carefully put together to make the frozen dessert we know and love. Each gum serves a purpose: whether it’s reducing ice crystal formation, providing emulsification between the water and the fat, increasing the time before the ice cream melts, etc, etc.
Do I really need to buy Locust Bean Gum?
No, you don’t need to purchase locust bean gum – but it makes a big difference. Locust bean gum is the best ingredient for suppressing ice crystal formation. It also reduces the impact of heat shock: the extreme change in temperature that results from removing your ice cream from and the freezer and back into the freezer.
Do you need an ice cream machine?
Yes and no. If you want the best ice cream you need to freeze it as fast as possible – and that is something that simply placing the custard base in the fridge cannot do. You can get an inexpensive ice cream makers such as this Cuisinart 1.5 quart maker that requires you to freeze the bowl, or you can go for something like the macdaddy Cuisinart ICE-100 Compressor model that doesn’t require freezing of any bowl. Believe it or not, the less expensive model actually gets your ice cream to temperature faster by about 5 minutes, but the tradeoff is that you need to freeze the bowl for a full 24 hours beforehand. One of the reason I purchased the compressor model is because of all the testing I do – and the lack of freezer space! I can recommend the ICE-100 whole-heartedly, but it’s expensive. Only splurge if you’re an ice cream fanatic!
Don’t you need to hydrate Locust Bean Gum?
Yes! at 176 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Guar gum also takes about an hour for full hydration. However, they still work, just to a lower extent in this use case, which is why we are using a bit more than usual – to account for the reduced efficacy. If you’re interested in the science and the reason for these gums, how they work together, and how they improve ice cream, consider my Keto Ice Cream Master Class!
Keto Ice Cream
If you like ice cream, youll love this recipe!
Ingredients
- 100g allulose
- 20g unflavored protein isolate
- pinch of salt
- 2/16 tsp locust bean gum* (see notes)
- 1/16 tsp guar gum
- 1/64 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup cold filtered water
- two large egg yolks (raw or pasteurized, see notes)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 10-12 drops liquid stevia
Instructions
- Separate the egg yolks from the eggs and set aside. Save the egg whites for other recipes (such as whiskey sours!).
- Into a large (preferably tall) container, add the allulose, protein powder, salt, locust bean gum, guar gum, xanthan gum.
- Mix the dry ingredients very well with a whisk - we need to make sure the gums are evenly distributed!
- Add the half cup of water into the dry ingredients and whisk (or use an electric mixer) for a few minutes until mixed superbly well. The gums can tend to clump up, which is why we mix it before and whisk vigorously for a few minutes with the water.
- Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, liquid stevia, heavy cream, and whisk vigorously until you get a thick consistency. It will not turn into whipped cream, but it should have the consistency of milkshake that's somewhat melted. You should also see the overall volume increase.
- Place the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn until it has a consistency of a thick milkshake (should take 20-30 minutes depending on the machine and starting temperature of the mixture).
- Remove the ice cream base and place into a container that has the highest surface area (e.g. a flat container as opposed to a quart container).
- Cap and place the mixture into the freezer.
- Allow ice cream to freeze for at least 3 hours. This may take shorter or longer depending on your freezer temperature and container the ice cream is in.
- Remove from freezer and enjoy!
Notes
- Locust Bean Gum - Although not absolutely necessary, this is what helps maintain small ice crystals in the final result. This also helps prevent heat shock and the formation of large crystals as you take the ice cream in and out of the freezer
- Raw Eggs - Raw eggs pose a salmonella risk. If you're ok with that risk, then raw egg yolks will work fine. Otherwise, you can use pasteurized eggs OR cook the custard (without the gums) to 135 degrees F for 5 minutes. Once you remove it from the heat, you can add the gums and whip it vigorously to ensure they mix in evenly, then allow the mixture to cool in the fridge before proceeding!
- Ice Cream Machine - not absolutely critical, but this will make a big difference in how your ice cream turns out. This quickly shortens the time to freeze the mixture and also aerates the mixture, which is critical for ice cream.
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Nutrition Information
Serving Size 2 scoops (1 cup)Amount Per Serving Calories 246Total Fat 22.3gSaturated Fat 14.8gCarbohydrates 4gNet Carbohydrates 4gSugar 0gProtein 5.8g
What amount in cups does your Keto Ice Cream recipe yield? You list 4 servings then list a serving as 2 scoops in the Nutrition label. Quantities please.
I too have the compressor model. Another benefit is that you don’t have to refreeze the container AFTER making a batch, allowing you to make several batches in one day.
Each serving will be about 1 cup! I’ve updated the recipe to reflect it!
Imma gonna try it, but those gums are some pricy ingredients!! Of course, at 1/16 of a tsp, they will make a million batches of ice cream!!!
The Locust Bean Gum IS pricey, but like you said it will last for a long time. The xanthan and guar gum – get consistent use with all sorts of recipes – and they too last a while
Tara gum is a great replacement for locust bean gum at a fraction of the cost, at least that’s what Modernist Pantry said in its description. I never bought locust bean gum so I’ve never compared the two.
For the simple version, yeah – tara gum will work. It also goes by Carob Bean gum!
on the eggs part of the recipe, it says “two large egg yolks (raw or pasteurized, see notes)” but there’s no mention of eggs in the notes. why don’t you have to cook the yolks if you won’t used pasteurized eggs.
also, it would be nice to have an approximate gram measure for the serving size. it’s hard to tell what a cup of ice cream is in scoops and the size depends on aeration a lot.
i’ve been messing with keto ice cream for some time. I look forward to the master class.
Ill update the notes – it was basically supposed to be a warning about salmonella. You dont need to cook them in this recipe as it’s going for time, but if you dont feel safe, then you can pasteurize them. As far as serving size – I usually just eyeball the container and split it into 4 servings. Ill have to weight it out to get a more accurate reading.
Thank you so much for this. It is indeed a great ice cream and even better base for experimentation. I made a super delicious batch of Coconut flavored ice cream using this recipe. My only change was to omit the vanilla extract and use Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk instead of the half cup of water. The results are marvelous. It turned smoother and creamier than the original vanilla batch I made earlier in the day. Both are now favorites in the house. Can’t thank you enough.
Awesome! The vegan version Im working on works really well with the coconut milk with the ever so slightest hint of coconut. I do miss some good coconut ice cream though, so I will have to try your modification!
As I’ve got lots of that egg white protein powder can I use that to replace the protein isolate powder?
Yes, that should work! Just be aware that it may have a slightly different end flavor!
I am making this as written except I subbed liquid Splenda drops for the stevia. I am using a Cuisinart with the freezer bowl. So far (I tasted the concoction after being in the machine and before being frozen for three hours) it is really tasty and creamy. Much better than Store bought keto brands! Thank you so much for working on this recipe! I will update this review if the recipe fails after freezing (which I highly doubt will happen) I look forward to tweaking this recipe by using other extracts. I’m thinking a chocolate ice cream with banana extract, maybe a cherry nut ice cream with Lily Chocolate chips as well. I also think cake batter extract would be awesome1
Im excited to hear about the concoctions! One thing you can do as well is used different flavored proteins, but you have to account that it will change the texture as well as they usually have a bit of gums and such as well!
Ok After the vanilla ice cream turned out to be the best keto recipe I’ve ever tried, tonight I did chocolate banana. Recipe was modified by using 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/2 teaspoons banana extract and 1 tablespoon & 1 teaspoon cocoa powder. I probably won’t try any different flavored protein powders simply because I only have the unflavored in my pantry,but due to my love of baking I have lots of flavored extracts. I was considering subbing out a bit of the protein powder so the cocoa would not increase the dry ingredient ratio but I figured the small amount of cocoa that would be needed would probably not affect the final recipe texture.
I want to try this, but how do you measure 1/64 of a teaspoon?! My smallest is 1/8th.
You can put 1/8th on a piece of paper, and eyeball separating it in half until you get to 1/64th! OR you can buy a 1/64th tsp – I linked to the one I used in the recipe card and on the post!
I am so excited to try this. I just bought a gently used ice cream machine like yours for $50! I am now trying to find a spot for it so the magic can begin. Thank you for your hard work and recipe.
Have you tried it yet? How’d it turn out?!
It was delicious!!! I am planning to make more tomorrow along with the turnips gratin before I use up all the gruyere.
Happy Thanksgiving! Our feast concluded with your ice cream. Second time I’ve made it ‐ great both times! But always a little softer than we would like it. Which ingredients drive the softness, and is there any easy fix to allow the ice cream to harden just a tad more? Not much…just a smidge more. Thanks, Dennis!
I know I answered your question for you on Xip, but for those wondering: reduce the amount of allulose!
Hey Dennis – looking forward to your masterclass!
Definitely curious to understand what role each gum provides.
Curious – what role does the protein isolate play?
It helps add structure and texture to the ice cream! Otherwise it just feels like you’re eating frozen whipped cream!
Hmm.. wondering what else might serve the same purpose. Collagen? I might tinker. Any glaring fails on your end?
Also – this worked great: I put 16x the gums into 2 cups water in the blender – 2-3 minutes to shear and form a gel which I then tucked away in the fridge.
Now, 2 Tbsp gel, 3 oz water, cream, allulose, protein, egg yolks all in the blender. Blend and freeze. Done.
Super creamy and speeds it up so I’m making ice cream WAY WAY too often!
That was a genius idea! – I made your goop recipe and have it in a 16 oz mason jar – 2 tsp of locust bean gum, 1 tsp of guar gum, and 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum combined with 2 cups of water. I am experimenting with other ice creams besides Dennis’s recipe and add 2 tablespoons of goop along with 2 Tbsp of vodka – very creamy.
Wish I’d thought of it sooner instead of fighting with those tiny packages for tiny amounts of gum – particularly that very pricy locust bean gum
So this is the best keto ice cream recipe ever. I tried several before and they all had that ice crystals I don’t like.
This one – perfect. It was a bit is a hussle with all the gums, but nothing that amazon wouldn’t help with. Locust gum was most expensive costing £12 per 100g but at amounts used it will last me for ages. I’m also not used to cups/spoons/friction of spoon measurements – I’m definitely scale team, but I worked it out.
Ice cream are bit softer than I’d like them. They melt almost instantly after takim them out of freezer. I wonder whether can it be because of coconut cream I used instead of water.
I’m making batch number 2 today, so I’ll check if that’s the case or I need to adjust allulose amount.
If you want to reduce the melting, scale back on the allulose in 5g increments. The coconut cream will also affect it because you introduced more fat and not just water. The reason I used the tsp for the gums is… the amount of locust bean gum you need… you would require a jewelers scale for that – and I know for a fact that 99.99999% of people dont own one lol!
It definitely makes sense! After all I bought measuring cups, spoons and fraction of spoons and that was best thing I could do. My keto life got easier and I can easily make way more recipes than before! Lol
After making plenty more batches, I know it was use of coconut cream that affected structure and adding 90g of allulose instead of 100g made it just perfect for me.
So far made coconut, strawberry, pistachio and peanut butter with chocolate chips and straciatella flavours.
Have you tried making any other flavours yet? What I found so far is that adding actual ingredients changes structure a lot, it’s much harder to scoop than original recipe. Only time it worked were straciatella and strawberry ones (I added a bit of strawberry puree and strawberry drops to make flavour more noticeable)
Any tips?
Yeah – any sort of sugar content or additional water content will change it. Ive found that a good way to make other flavors is to use different flavored protein powders and omit the stevia!
What is the purpose for the protein powder and is it necessary? I made it last time and it was good but much like protein powder often does it upset my stomach! Not sure if I need it or there may be a replacement for it? maybe I could even cut down on the amount used? Any suggestions would be great!
The protein helps provide structure to the ice cream, also improving the feeling of the ice cream. Are you sure protein upsets your stomach and not any additives such as sweeteners, anti-caking, colors, etc? Unflavored whey isolate should literally just be protein in the ingredients list!
I love this recipe!!! But I would like to add a little strawberry purée to it for a change Do you see any alterations that I would need to make to ensure that it doesn’t affect the structure?
Likely reduce the amount of allulose – although there isnt much sugar in strawberries, it will have enough to affect the overall sugar content and reduce the freezing temp
Thanks Denis! When you say “cook the custard), would that include eggs, cream and allulose? Thanks!
Yup!
Dennis, I actually own a jeweler’s scale (yep…one of the 0.000000001 LOL) what is the gram measurement of all the gums please.
I’ll have to find out when I get back home (Im traveling at the moment!)
I finally ordered the gums and made this. it is very good, creamy, tastes like frozen custard, scoops out of the freezer. I made it in my compressor icecream maker.
I’m eagerly awaiting the masterclass.
What about the carageennan and stabalizers in store bought cream? a problem or no?
What should be adjusted to make it harder so it is more like normal ice cream that is rock hard at 0F and softens closer to 15F?
If you want it to be a little harder, reduce the amount of allulose by 2g at a time until you get the consistency you want! You may want to add a drop or two of stevia depending on how much allulose you remove!
Hi Dennis,
I made this tonight and it sits in my freezer. Quite an easy recipe after you decide 1/64th must be a minute pinch of xanthan. It was starting to melt even as I was putting it into my glass container. Can’t wait to try the end result. Thank you for all of your experiments!
I made a simplified half batch to see if I want to go in this direction and buy an ice cream maker (I do!!). I used what I had (no guar & locust bean gums, no ice cream maker) and I increased the xanthan gum.
Just by frequently stirring with a whisk while in the freezer, it turned out remarkably good. Maybe a bit putty like, but zero crystallization. Absolutely none!
So thanks for giving me the confidence to go ahead and get that machine & the other gums.
(Luckily I brought a bunch of vanilla beans from my last visit to Europe!)
Awesome! Continually mixing it means that youre basically controlling the crystal size (which is basically what an ice cream maker does – constant agitation while freezing it)
I wonder if this recipe can be done in the Ninja Creami…….going to have to give it a shot.
Dennis I LOVE this recipe thank you so very much!!! I’ve made it 4 times and just can’t seem to get the volume increase that you do during the whipping step. I’m using an electric whisk and even set a timer for 3 minutes to make sure I’m giving it enough time. What do you think I’m doing wrong? Too much of Xanthan gum? Wrong container geometry? Ingredient temperature? I never have trouble whipping just heavy whipping cream so I’m stumped. Other than that this recipe works great and I LOVE!!!! You’re awesome for developing it!
Ive noticed there seem to be a level of variability between creams. One thing you can do is just whip it by itself, then fold it in! If it fails to whip on it’s own, it’s probably the cream!
Thanks! I’ll try whipping the cream separate and folding in! Good idea!
Update: I finally bought the silicone measuring cup you use in the video and it whips up much better. I had been using the large cup that came with my Nutribullet. I think the small internal ‘fins’ were interfering with the whipping process. Wanted to share that containers matter when trying to whip the cream to perfection!
Thats great to know! Maybe they werent allowing enough air to get into the cream – interesting!
Thank you for the recipe, I am anxious to try it. Wondering if I can use whey protein rather than protein isolate. Will it make a difference in the ice cream?
you can use regular whey (especially flavored). If you do – omit the stevia. It may change the structure of the ice cream a bit, since whey powders always have a few carbs in them!
It’s me again…..I would LOVE any advice you have on how to make the ice cream recipe peanut butter flavored! My boyfriend wants that for Valentine’s Day. Any clever ideas? Add maybe 1/4 cup peanut butter? But what should I remove to compensate for the fat? One of the eggs? Some of the HWC? Thanks!!!!!
That’s a good question. I would maybe try adding peanut butter powder and cut back on the allulose a little bit!
Hello Dennis, I don’t know if you are “back in the saddle” anywhere, but just wanted to say that this is my go-to standby and I even make it non keto as it is healthier and wholesome, I just use a tad of sugar for non keto people as I give it away. Everyone loves it. I make a coffee version with brewed extra strong cold coffee instead of the cold water. It is a winner and rivals the Baskin-Robins. I give it as gifts to friends! Thanks so much for your science and love of being in the kitchen. I hope you come back sometime. Hope you are well.