There are a handful of recipes on this website that I make over and over and over again, and this keto ice cream recipe is one of them. It’s silky smooth and ultra-rich, and it stays scoopable in the freezer for weeks on end. I haven’t changed anything about the recipe in over a decade, which tells you just how reliable it is!
I make a batch every few weeks so that I have it on hand when I want it. It’s absolutely sublime with some Keto Caramel Sauce or Keto Chocolate Sauce drizzled over it.
★★★★★
“Best ice cream EVER. Have made it numerous times and it turns out perfect and delicious. Thanks, Carolyn!” – Anna
Recipe Highlights
Easy to make: This keto ice cream recipe takes just a handful of ingredients and very little effort. The hardest part is waiting for it to set up in the freezer!
Egg-free: Unlike many ice cream recipes, this requires no eggs. Which means no fussing with a thermometer or risking food-borne illnesses from raw eggs.
Rich and creamy: The texture is phenomenal, so smooth and creamy. And it doesn’t freeze rock solid so you can scoop it without having to let it sit on the counter first.
Classic vanilla flavor: Between the keto condensed milk and the added extract, it has a sweet vanilla flavor.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sugar Free Condensed Milk: You will need to make my recipe for keto condensed milk prior to making this ice cream. It serves as the egg-free base and contributes to the creamy, scoopable quality.
- Heavy cream: If you want to lighten the ice cream a little, you can replace half of the cream with nut milk or other low carb milk. It does tend to make it freeze a little harder.
- Additional sweetener: Using a powdered sweetener avoids any grittiness in the ice cream. See the Sweetener Options section for more details.
- Vodka: This is optional, but it does help reduce iciness. And it only amounts to about 1/2 teaspoon per serving.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract and salt.
How to Make Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
- Prepare the condensed milk: Make this in advance of getting started and let cool to room temperature.
- Add the remaining ingredients: Whisk in the heavy cream, powdered sweetener, vodka, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Taste test: Taste the mixture and adjust sweetener to taste.
- Refrigerate: For most ice cream makers, you will need to chill the mixture prior to churning.
- Churn: Pour the mixture into the canister of an ice cream maker and churn until it reaches desired consistency.
- Freeze: Transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Most home ice cream makers require you to freeze the canister for at least 12 hours prior to churning, so don’t forget! I now have one of the big compressor models that doesn’t require this. But both kinds work well.
I recommend churning the ice cream until it reaches a firm soft-serve consistency. This makes it easier to get out of the ice cream maker and into a freezer safe container. Then you can transfer it to the freezer to keep firming up.
Don’t forget the salt! It helps the texture of the ice cream because it prevents the formation of large ice crystals and keeps it from freezing too hard. But a little salt also brings out the natural sweetness and flavor of the other ingredients.
Sweetener Options
The ratio of sweeteners in the condensed milk is important to the consistency. Too much erythritol and it freezes harder. Too much allulose and it becomes so soft that it can take a long time to firm up properly. It also melts faster when out of the freezer.
If you can’t access allulose, try using xylitol. Just remember that it is toxic to dogs so keep it away from your pets.
Of course you are free to use whatever sweetener or combination of sweeteners you prefer, but I want you to be aware of how it may affect your results!
Frequently Asked Questions
More Popular Keto Ice Cream Recipes
Keto Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Sugar-Free Condensed Milk
- 1 1/2 cups (354.88 ml) heavy cream, (can replace half of the cream with nut milk, coconut milk, etc.)
- 3 tbsp (45.65 g) powdered sweetener
- 1 1/2 tbsp (22.5 ml) vodka, (optional, helps reduce iciness)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make the sweetened condensed milk according to the directions and let cool to room temperature.
- Whisk in the heavy cream, powdered sweetener, vodka, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Taste the mixture and adjust sweetener to taste. **You can use additional allulose here but because it's granular, you will need to whisk for a while to dissolve it properly.
- Chill the mixture at least one hour and up to overnight, then pour into the canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions.
- Once it reaches soft-serve consistency, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
Video
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.
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I hate leaving negative reviews. Usually, if I don’t have anything good to say, I don’t say anything at all. The good: The flavor, texture, scoop-ability, and the alternative sweetened condensed milk. The bad: THIS RECIPE IS SOOOO RICH AND HEAVY. 319 CAL PER 1/2 CUP. My stomach couldn’t handle that much solid heavy cream. I wouldn’t consider drinking that much heavy cream. I’m not sure why I thought it would be any different frozen. By comparison, my favorite regular old standard butter pecan ice cream is only 170 calories and 24g carbs for 2/3 of a cup. Allowing the 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day for keto, I would have been better off avoiding carbs all day and just having the ice cream I already love in the amount I always enjoy. If I am going to sacrifice for my health, I sacrifice my days worth of carbs and give this recipe a hard pass.
There’s an option to sub out some of the cream with almond milk, etc.
Flavor was ok but did not stay soft in the freezer. I had to let it sit on the counter for an hour before I could scoop it out.
What sweeteners did you use? Did you change anything? Because as you can see from the majority of reviews, this stays nice and scoopable in the freezer.
Super bummed. Made mine last night and followed the recipe exactly. This morning I went to check it and it is not like ice cream- consistency overly soft more like a thawed milkshake. Any idea what I could modify? Again i did everything per instructions- how thick should the sugar-free condensed milk have been? Mine seemed thick but maybe I needed it thicker? Thanks for any advice. I used a Kitchen Aid ice cream maker.
Did you use exactly the same sweeteners? Also… does your cream have carrageenan or any additives? The sweetened condensed milk should be as thick as the real thing.
I made this recipe as dessert after our family dinner and I was quite surprised that even my not keto family members were complimenting me and you for the wonderful icecream.
Dear Carolyn,
I want to make this ice cream as desert for our xmas dinner. In the recipe you are talking about erythritol (powered0 and Bocha Sweet. The last is not available in the Netherlands so I do have Xylitol.
In you recipe description you are talking about 3 tbs Erythritol, but not about the about of the Xylitol. Can divide the 3 tbs Erythritol in half or add the Xylitol extra?
Looking forward to hearing from you and I am sorry if I am a bit of a nuisance.
best regards,
Thecla
I love this so much! Any suggestions to make this chocolate easily?
I’d recommend my Death By Chocolate Ice Cream instead. Only because chocolate has much more fiber and will thicken this too much to churn (both cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate have a lot of fiber). https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-death-by-chocolate-ice-cream/
Yikes! The most expensive ice cream on the planet? Haha! $30 for a third of a kilogram (12oz) of Swerve here in Spain. Add the other ingredients, and by the time you have them all, you’d better be planning on selling some! It looks delicious, but just setting me up to make some would cost around $60, rough guess. I do realise it will last some time, but the initial cost is high. I can buy diabetic ice cream for around $1.50/litre, and yes, less healthy, but – this is why keto is too darned expensive to stick to, sadly. I enjoy your site, but it’s mostly out of my reach. Good work, though! I’ll keep watching. 🙂
It is when you live outside the US, I can see that. It would be more like $4 a pint here…
Sugar free ice cream costs $10 per 500ml or $20 per kilo here and is not the nicest taste. Not creamy at all. I will give this recipe a go and see.
I haven’t tried this yet but I know I will!! I just wanted to say, I would not have stayed on keto this long (approx 4 years) if it weren’t for your blog. Your recipes are amazing, as is your dedication to making them perfect! I thank you for that, from the bottom of my heart! Happy Holidays!
Thank you so much!
Received my ice cream maker yesterday and just put the first batch of vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Made the sweetened condensed milk yesterday and made the mixture ice cream mixture this morning. So far so good. This is definitely a plan ahead recipe but from licking the paddle it is well worth the wait. I bought the compressor version ice maker and my ice cream appeared done at the 30 minute mark(soft serve consistency) . All the recipes I looked at in the owners manual said 40-50 minutes. Has this been your experience? Will other recipes take longer to “firm” up? Can hardly wait to try a chocolate version.
I have a compressor model too and I keep mine in there for 40 or 50 minutes… in that kind of machine, the extra churning is worth it.
Hello and thanks for the recipe! I am wondering if I can use Lakanto monk fruit/erythritol powdered sweetener instead of just Swerve? I don’t have Swerve or Bocha Sweet on hand. I suppose if it was possible to use it, you would have stated so. Thanks in advance!
You can… but it’s going to freeze pretty hard and you will need to leave it out on the counter for 15 minutes or so before serving.
I have a setting on my microwave for softening ice cream….works great
Ah but the best part of this recipe is that you won’t need it! 🙂
This is amazing!! And I love that you took the time to explain why each step (and ingredient) in the recipe matters. That’s so helpful. Thank you!!
Cheers from NY, Ema
Glad it helped!
The flavor of this was great right out of the ice cream freezer! But mine did not stay scoopable. I used Allulose and powdered swerve in the sweetened condensed milk. Followed all other directions to a T. Do you have any idea on this? As it thawed enough to scoop it was a bit on the crumbly side. Do you think I could have over cooked the Sweetened Condensed Milk? Maybe cooked a little too high? Please share thoughts.
I really can’t be sure but it’s possible. It’s also possible that BochaSweet is a better option than allulose, I am not really sure. I seem to have good luck with allulose though. Then there is the temp of your freezer… if it’s set super low it can make any ice cream freeze pretty rock hard.
Maybe next time try using more allulose and less Swerve? I have trouble when I do that, it ends up goopy and won’t firm up. But that may take care of your issues with it.
How much Bochaswee to uset? It’s not in the ingredient list? Thanks!!
It’s in the condensed milk… click that link in the recipe.
I am getting ready to try this recipe but I have some confusion about the ingredients for the sugar free condensed milk.the ingredients are:
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1/4cu- Botha Sweet (OR powdered Swerve sweetener)
1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum
My confusion is how much sweetener to use
1/2 cup. Preferably 1/4 cup of that would be BochaSweet or allulose. If not, the powdered swerve will work but it will freeze very hard.
Made this ice cream yesterday. It has the loveliest texture imaginable. I ended up only putting in one tablespoon of sweetener in the ice cream mixture. I found that the homemade condensed milk was plenty sweet. At first, I was afraid this change had altered the ice cream texture, making it more like soft-serve, but after cooling all night in the freezer, it’s perfect.
I was never a big consumer of condensed milk back in my non-keto days, so I can’t recall what it taste like. The ice cream does taste like cooked cream. It’s a bit different from ice cream made with just cream. It’s still very good!. My next ice cream project will be your toasted almond mocha ice cream. Very much looking forward to this one.
Thank you so much for giving me ice cream on keto! I really feel like I can have my cake and eat it too 🙂
I noticed that a lot of recipes call for MCT oil powder and/or Psyllium Husk. I am not sure what to buy. I have seen the Psyllium Husk with the stuff for constipation. But in one recipe it said not that kind if Husk but one for cooking. What is the difference? What should I buy?
Very few of my recipes call for either of these things… so I am a little confused as to why you’re asking me to elaborate on something someone else suggested you purchase.