What’s better than keto chocolate ice cream? One with a ribbon of peanut butter swirled into it, of course! This Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream is ultra-rich and creamy, and stays soft and scoopable in the freezer. Every bite is a little bit of heaven!
Low Carb Baskin Robbins Copycat Recipe
Once up on a time, I was a Baskin Robbins fanatic. We had a store a few blocks away when I was growing up, and we loved to grab a scoop or two on a hot summer night. Chocolate peanut butter was probably my favorite flavor.
For years now, I’ve been trying to recreate that sweet memory in a keto-friendly fashion. I’ve made some pretty tasty versions, but I’ve struggled to get the right balance of flavors. Unlike other brands of ice cream, the Baskin Robbins version features a dark chocolate base, and many of my previous attempts were too light.
But I have finally done it and it’s everything I want it to be. Rich and chocolatey, with sweet and salty chunks of peanut butter. It takes me back to my childhood and I bet it will for you too!
★★★★★
Wendy says: “I made this for my father on Father’s Day and he loved it. I did too! The depth of chocolate flavor was fantastic, and I liked the way you added in the peanut butter so that it did not completely mix in and disappear. I’m certain I will make it again. Thank you Carolyn!“
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Heavy cream: Ice cream should be made with real cream (crazy, right?). You could try coconut cream for a dairy-free version but I find that it always turns out more icy.
- Low carb milk: A little nut milk or other low carb milk can lighten the ice cream and not make it feel so heavy.
- Sweetener: The trick to a scoopable consistency is the combination of sweeteners. I use a combination of erythritol and allulose. Please see the Sweetener Options for more details.
- Cocoa powder: For that really rich chocolate base, I recommend a good Dutch process cocoa powder like Guittard. Natural cocoa powder will work but will result in a lighter chocolate.
- Xanthan gum: This helps thicken the ice cream base and prevents the formation of ice crystals.
- Peanut butter: I recommend using a natural peanut butter with no added sugar or sweetener.
- Butter: A little butter helps melt the peanut butter more smoothly.
- Vodka: While this is entirely optional, it does help the consistency of the ice cream, making it less icy.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla and salt
How to Make Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Whisk the cream, almond milk, sweeteners, and cocoa powder together in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the vodka, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Then whisk in the xanthan gum. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate 2 hours.
- Pour into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- Melt the peanut butter and butter together, stirring until smooth.
- Swirl the chocolate ice cream and the peanut butter together in a freezer safe container.
- Return to the freezer until firm.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Prep your ice cream maker: Don’t forget to freeze the canister if you own a model that requires this step. It often takes 12 hours for the canister to be ready for churning.
I highly recommend a dutch process cocoa, for the richest chocolate flavor. It also dissolves more easily into the liquids.
When adding a thickener like xanthan gum, I like to whisk with one hand while I lightly sprinkle it over the surface of the mixture. That keeps it from clumping up too much when it hits the warm liquid.
You need to work quickly when combining the chocolate base and the peanut butter, so that the ice cream doesn’t get too melty.
Sweetener Options
You have some choice in sweeteners here but it’s important to understand how they will affect your results. I use a combination of erythritol and allulose so that the ice cream is both firm but scoopable.
I do not recommend using only erythritol, as it will freeze very hard and be difficult to scoop. But using only allulose causes the ice cream to melt very quickly and it can take a long time to firm up in the freezer. (You can see from my photos that it was getting very soft as I tried to get photos, and that’s only with half allulose!).
If you wish to eliminate the erythritol altogether, I recommend still using 1/3 cup of allulose (or xylitol) and adding more sweetness with a concentrated extract like stevia or monk fruit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups (315.45 ml) heavy cream
- 2/3 cup (157.73 ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup (66.67 g) erythritol sweetener
- 1/3 cup (66.67 g) allulose, or xylitol
- 6 tbsp (30.43 g) cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp vodka, (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- Salt
- 1/2 cup (129 g) peanut butter
- 1/2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Whisk the cream, almond milk, sweeteners and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan until cocoa powder is mostly dissolved. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 to 10 minutes, until somewhat thickened.
- Whisk in the vodka, if using, the vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the surface with the xanthan gum and whisk quickly to combined.
- Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
- Pour mixture into canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions.
- While the ice cream is churning, melt the peanut butter and butter together in the microwave, or in a pan over low heat on the stove.
- Working quickly, transfer about half of the churned ice cream to a freezer safe container. Drizzle with about half the peanut butter. Add the remaining ice cream and the remaining peanut butter and swirl with a knife to spread evenly.
- Freeze until firm, another 3 to 4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Absolutely amazing! I had this recipe on my mind for ages! The ration of vodka and xantham gum made the consistency perfect after freezing overnight – hard but still scoopable with a spoon, as opposed to my last try which could have been used as an offensive weapon!
As a bit of added decadence (and after the other half kept making sad begging puppy eyes) we added a quarter cup of fine 80% dark chocolate shreds – this came out as decadent as it comes! We’ve portioned it into half cup dessert cups and stashed them in the freezer (as a precaution to eating the whole thing out of the tub!)
Thank you so much for this great recipe 🙂
If you’re doing Trim Healthy Mama, is this an E or a S
It’s an S. The amount of fat in it precludes it being an E.
Yum! Looks delicious. Have you heard of the new Ben & Jerry’s core flavors? That’d be amazing if you could recreate a low carb version!
Hmmm, what’s in their core flavors?
http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/cores
Hi Carolyn,
This looks amazing! I’m going to make it later today. If I use erythritol instead of swerve, should I increase the amount of stevia? I thought I read somewhere that swerve is sweeter than straight erythritol.
Thanks for all your awesome recipes!
It is a little sweeter than straight erythritol so you could do another 1/4 tsp of stevia.
Than you so much for your fast reply:)
Can’t wait to try! Tx
Hi:
I am wondering if Sunflower Lecithin could replace the gum in this recipe. I cannot use any starches or gums for health reasons. I can use Unsweetened Geletin and Sunflower Lecithin, would any of these work? Thank you for your help, Sincerely, Cathi G.
I’ve never used it but I’d say it’s worth a try. Or you can skip the gum altogether, just know that it will freeze a little more solidly, and as I said in the post, the best approach here is to freeze it in individual portions and just let one portion thaw 10 minutes on the counter and it will be good again.
Oh my goodness. This is my favourite ice cream in the whole wide world and you can’t get this in France. I LOVE YOU!!!
Sorry, was that too eager? 😉 I’ll see how it is without the vodka since we don’t keep alcohol in the house. Anyway, I came back to get your pb chocolate cake recipe for today.
And I thought of you this week when I made sugar-free macarons: http://aladyinfrance.com/low-carb-mocha-espresso-macarons/ although I won’t be launching a career as a sugar-free baker any time soon. Why bother when all day someone else dreams up food for me?
Just made ice cream and love using xanthan gum, but never tried the alcohol trick! Definitely going to use some in my next batch!!!! Chocolate and Peanut Butter ice cream is my husband’s favorite flavor, can’t wait to try this low carb version on him!
This ice cream looks so creamy and decadent!
Oh.My.God. This is Awesome. When I was in college in NC, there was a local grocery store brand that had a chocolate peanut butter ice cream. It had a ribbon of sweetened peanut butter running through it and my roommate and I used fight over it. No more fighting. 🙂 This one is mine. All mine. Can’t wait to make it.
Haha, I used to do the same thing with Turkey Hill Ice Cream!
Love that this ice cream uses almond milk! Chocolate and peanut butter is the best!
Bless you for making this! PB and chocolate take me to my happy place, and I love the almond milk in here too!
This ice cream looks absolutely fantastic!!!
The instructions call for vegetable glycerin yet it’s not in the ingredients?
Sorry, cut and pasted some instructions from another recipe (why re-invent the wheel, right?) and forgot to eliminate that.
Hey Carolyn, is there a reason you use Xanthum gum in this recipe but vegetable glycerin in others? Made and enjoying the PSL ice cream this week 🙂
I often use both, actually! It’s tricky to get ice cream to stay soft but my biggest issue with glycerin is that I can’t find a good solid info on carb count. It’s a sugar alcohol and it doesn’t *seem* to affect my blood sugar very much. I often put it as “optional” in recipes because of that issue.
Yum! And I love the hershey’s special dark cocoa – I always try to keep an extra in the cupboard. So good…
I should have done that too! 🙂
Adore your tips for keeping sugar free ice cream soft and scoopable! I always do the alcohol trick…because, why not. Thanks for these!
And chocolate and peanut butter? Um yes. Always. Everyday. Even in the winter.
Thanks, Taylor!
Is this THM approved? I won’t be using the vodka . does anyone also know if it be a lot harder to scoop then? Maybe I’ll put it in the fridge for 3 hours and leave out for 15 minutes before using if so. Thanks!
It will freeze a little harder but you can skip the vodka
Would this recipe work with coconut cream instead of heavy cream? I can’t have dairy sadly and I looove icecream!
I honestly have not been that successful in getting coconut milk based ice cream to say soft. So it will work but it will freeze very hard.