This keto ice cream recipe has a rich vanilla flavor and a super smooth, creamy consistency. It’s easy to make and stays soft and scoopable in the freezer. It’s the sugar-free ice cream of your dreams!
Well it’s about time I updated this recipe for keto ice cream. It’s one of my all-time favorites and it always gets rave reviews.
Don’t panic, though. I didn’t change the recipe itself, since it’s absolute perfection as it is (she says humbly). I’ve been making this delicious low carb vanilla ice cream recipe the exact same way for over 10 years now. And 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 drizzled over it.
But I truly want everyone to get the best out of my recipes. With that in mind, I have updated the helpful information and added tips in this article. Because you deserve to have the creamiest, dreamiest sugar free vanilla ice cream in your freezer too!
Why you will love this recipe
Prepare to be AMAZED! This is no ordinary keto ice cream recipe. Oh no, my friends, not at all.
This ice cream has magical properties and should not be underestimated. Sure, it looks like regular vanilla ice cream and tastes like regular vanilla ice cream. It even behaves like regular vanilla ice cream.
And that, my dear readers, is exactly the point. It has the truly astonishing property of staying soft and scoopable, even after several days in the freezer. And it’s entirely egg-free and has no added sugars, which makes it all the more astonishing.
If you’ve ever made your own sugar-free ice cream at home, you know that this is no small feat!
Why it works
The magic of this stay-soft keto ice cream comes down to a few little tricks.
The first is using my keto condensed milk as the ice cream base, which contains a mix of both allulose and erythritol. These sweeteners have a symbiotic relationship, with each one making up for what the other lacks. If you’ve ever made ice cream with just erythritol, you know how rock hard it gets in the freezer. I’ve tried doing just allulose but then it never firms up at all and stays like soft serve. Together, they are perfect.
The condensed milk also contains a little bit of xanthan gum. Xanthan is often in commercial ice creams because it inhibits recrystallization, so the ice cream doesn’t get icy.
This sugar free ice cream recipe also contains a touch of alcohol. This raises the freezing point of liquids so it also reduces iciness. It is not enough to affect even a child (yes, I do feed my kids this ice cream), as it amounts to about half a teaspoon per serving. That said, the choice to include it is up to you.
Reader Reviews
“Best ice cream EVER. Have made it numerous times and it turns out perfect and delicious. Thanks, Carolyn!” — Anna
“I have tried several vanilla ice cream recipes and haven’t been pleased. This one is delicious. The salted caramel recipe was also delicious. I can’t wait to try all the other flavors that she has created.” — Becky
“Once again, you’ve hit the mark. I used your adaptation to make your Browned Butter ice cream and the result was exactly as you said. Thanks for continuing to work on Keto everything.” — NK
Ingredients needed
- Sugar Free Condensed Milk: You will need to make my recipe for sugar free condensed milk prior to making this ice cream.
- 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.
- Additional sweetener: Using a powdered sweetener avoids any grittiness in the ice cream.
- Vodka: This is optional, but it does help reduce iciness from occurring. Don’t worry, it only amounts to about ½ teaspoon per serving
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract and salt.
Step-by-step directions
1. Prepare the condensed milk: Make the sugar-free condensed milk according to the directions and let cool to room temperature.
2. Add the remaining ingredients: Whisk in the heavy cream, powdered sweetener, vodka, vanilla extract, and salt.
3. Taste test: Taste the mixture and adjust sweetener to taste. You can use additional Bocha Sweet or allulose here but because it’s granular, you will need to whisk for a while to dissolve it properly.
4. Refrigerate and churn: 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.
5. Freeze: Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
Tips for Success
I highly recommend churning this in a proper ice cream maker like this Cuisinart model. I had one for years and it always worked well for me (I now have a larger compressor-style model). Don’t forget to freeze the canister for at least 12 hours before you churn!
The ratio of sweeteners is very important. Too much erythritol and it is less scoopable. Too much allulose and it becomes so soft, it takes days to firm up properly. It also melts very quickly 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.
No ice cream maker?
Don’t want to purchase yet another piece of kitchen equipment? You can still make this recipe. While churned recipes have better texture, I also have plenty of experience with no churn keto ice cream. It’s a relatively simple adaptation.
To make this keto ice cream without an ice cream maker:
- Make the condensed milk as directed. Let cool to room temp and then whisk in the vodka and salt.
- Whip the heavy cream with the powdered sweetener and vanilla extract until it holds stiff peaks.
- Pour in the condensed milk and fold these two together until no streaks remain.
- Transfer to a container and freeze at least 6 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
This keto vanilla ice cream recipe has 2.4g of carbs and 0g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.4g net carbs per serving.
Once your ice cream has set, store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Unfortunately, I have not had much luck making this with ingredients like coconut milk or coconut cream. It always freezes harder and has a more icy texture. So I do not have a good dairy-free equivalent.
More delicious low carb ice cream recipes!
- Keto Strawberry Ice Cream
- No Churn Coffee Ice Cream
- Keto Chocolate Ice Cream
- Maple Walnut Ice Cream
- Jamoca Almond Fudge Ice Cream
Keto Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Sugar-Free Condensed Milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream (can replace half of the cream with nut milk, coconut milk, etc.)
- 3 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 ½ tablespoon vodka (optional, helps reduce iciness)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon 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.
Kim says
Also, for the record, couldn’t find Swerve in my rural area… I used “Nutresse” instead and it worked beautifully. Although I’m too mentally challenged to figure out the carb content using the “Nutresse”, I feel in my soul that it has a lower carb content than “Blue Bell”, so for me, I’m waaay ahead of the game…. Thanks again, Carolyn….
Kim says
Alcohol-free substitutes – Absolutely LOVE this recipe and am so grateful for the time and experimentation it took to perfect it! I figured that the Vodka was added to make the TEXTURE smooth and creamy… I don’t have the luxury of cooking with ANY alcohol (boo-hoo) and figured I’d try egg yolks instead. Being the extremist that I am, rather than start with ONE egg yolk, (if one is good, 2 is better! NOT) I added two egg yolks and a teaspoon of vanilla beans. FABULOUS flavor, but WAAAAY to eggy… at this point, with so much invested, I couldn’t give up, so I thought that a cup of food-processed strawberries might cut the “egginess”. BINGO… The ice cream was GONE in 2 minutes flat and everyone was begging for more!!!! Thank you so much for the base recipe!!!
Carolyn says
Glad it worked out with your changes!
Shel says
Thanks! Bought an ice cream maker for this and it was worth it. Amazingly, crazy creamy. I keep my freezer cold enough that it did harden up overnight. Which is good, because it slows me down when I think I’ll have just a little more.
Barbara says
When I first make a recipe I follow instructions/ingredients very closely and measure everything. I used Now Healthy Foods Erythritol. Also used SweetLeaf SteviaClear. The double batch Condensed Milk recipe looked to come out perfectly (reduced to 2-cups) and tasted good, but when put in the fridge overnight was VERY gritty when cooled.
When I made the ice cream it called for powdered erythritol, so I ground what I had in a coffee grinder (and measured it after grinding).
The ice cream did not set up well in the churner, I finally froze it and it froze as hard as a brick (and still was very gritty). Does the Sweetened Condensed Milk need to be freshly made and not refrigerated before making the ice cream? Maybe has to even be warm when added to the ice cream mixture?
Does the Condensed milk usually get gritty after it cools? It came out to the correct 2 cups after reducing and tasted great. Thanks for any help/ideas.
Carolyn says
Hi Barbara,
My condensed milk is often refrigerated and never becomes gritty so I think it has to be the brand, since I use Swerve. I just can’t vouch for any of the other brands of erythritol. Powdering your erythritol in a coffee grinder will only go so far. The commercial powdered varieties (again, I used Swerve) are so fine they are almost like dust.
The condensed milk does not have to be warm when added to the cream mixture. Mine wasn’t. Also, not sure what you mean by it did not set up well in the churner? Mine got like the consistency of soft serve, but it was also quite gummy from the xanthan.
From other people’s comments, I’ve come to realize that this recipe (which has now worked perfectly for me 3 or 4 times) is very sensitive to freezer temperature and other small factors. So I am very sorry that it didn’t work as it should have.
Barbara says
Thanks so much for your help. I’m going to buy both types of Swerve, because I love trying your recipes! Do you know how cold your freezer is? I have two and could set them differently. Am I correct that you use the regular Swerve (granulated) in the Condensed Milk and the Powered Swerve in the ice cream? Am I correct that they would measure differently? I am on a quest for ice cream;-) and I know chocolate introduces all kinds of other factors, so am working on the vanilla first. Thanks again.
Carolyn says
I have used both the granulated and the powdered in the condensed milk….i used powdered when I ran out of granulated. Both should work. The powdered in the ice cream itself is best. I honestly don’t know the exact temp of my freezer, and am away from home right now but I can look in a few days!
Lisa says
No problem with the condensed milk (recipe quite ingenious, actually), but this ice cream was a failure for me, too. Also routinely use Swerve (I’ve been buying erythritol, and cooking lowcarb for a decade). Alas, results can be inconsistent, depending upon the application. It’s the standard problem of grittiness (regardless of brand). Pity.
Carolyn says
I don’t find any grittiness with the Swerve. Most other people had issues with the consistency of the ice cream. Did you find that?
Carolyn says
And all of your feedback is appreciated. I have tried this several times and it does seem very sensitive to the temperature of one’s freezer.
Carolyn says
I made the sweetened condensed milk with Swerve and it became VERY grainy when it cooled. I’m nervous about putting it into ice cream. Any way to fix the texture?
Carolyn says
I don’t think there is any way to fix it at this point but I find it strange because I always make mine with Swerve and don’t find it grainy at all.
Deb Lohman says
OMG…just made this and it is delicious! I dont think many of us would succeed on this keto way of life without all your fabulous recipes Carolyn! Thank you so much for another delicious recipe!
Brenda says
Barbara, what kind of other factors does chocolate add? I’m a new LC cook thanks in advance.
Valerie says
Is this ok to give to kids, considering there is vodka? What does the vodka do for it? We don’t consume alcohol, would the recipe work with out it?
Carolyn says
Alcohol lowers the freezing point of liquids, helping the ice cream stay soft. You can skip it if you like, but there is very little and I served it to my kids. It’s about a tsp per serving.
Diane says
I just made this Ice cream last night!! I am not sure what I did but the texture was different I may have used to much xanthan Gum It was a little bit chewy or something I only used 1 tablespoon of vodka instant of 1/4cup when in the ice cream machine I ran it for 1 hour and it was still very soft so I poured it into an air tight container and put it into the freezer over night ! The next day it was scoopeble and good but like I said early the texture was chewyish …. If that is even a word LOL.. So again not sure what I did right or wrong !But I will try it again!! Will let everyone know how the second batch works out!!! : )
Carole says
Hi there. The current Food on Friday on Carole’s Chatter is collecting links to posts about ice cream and sorbets – or anything similar like gelato. I do hope you link this in. This is the link . Please do check out some of the other links – there are a lot of good ones already. Have a great week.
Colleen says
I can’t thank you enough! I just finished making your ice cream and even before the final 2 hour freeze, I can tell it’s going to be delicious!! I followed your recipe exactly (people who make changes and them complain crack me up!) and it turned out beautifully after 30 minutes of churning!! I can’t wait to see your future adaptations and to try some of my own (now that I know I can do your basic recipe!) Thank you sooooooo much!!
Carolyn says
So glad it seems to have worked! THis one has given some folks a bit of trouble…I think that perhaps freezer temp does make a difference. But it’s worked 3 times for me now.
Colleen says
I put the ice cream (and my ice cream maker bowl) in the my chest freezer which is very cold. Also, I used this ice cream maker http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-20-Automatic-2-Quart-Cream/dp/B00000JGRT if that helps anybody else who is wondering about trying the recipe! Can’t wait to see more adaptations – particularly chocolate and/or a nut butter variety!
Carol says
I followed the recipe exactly (except I steeped 1/2 a vanilla bean in the cream) and thought i would share my results. After a couple of hours in the freezer ice cream was soft, soft-serve consistency, not much different from when I removed it from ice cream maker, after 24 hours it was unscoopably hard. Turned freezer up to slightly warmer setting and after 12 hours ice cream was soft enough to scoop again. Makes me think it might be quite sensitive to freezer temperature variations. Wish I had thought to take the ice cream’s temperature each time! Of course it is all gone now. Next batch!
Carolyn says
Hi Carol…thanks for all of your experimenting! I have some cream that needs using up so I am going to try my hand at it again today or tomorrow, although I might make it chocolate flavour. I can’t quite figure out what’s going on, but obviously it is sensitive to freezer temp as you found. I am glad you found a way to make it work for you.
Dana says
Thank you so much for all of your recipes!! This came came out great!! Made it for your ice cream recipe and a little extra for my morning espresso!!
Tried it in my espresso and it made my espresso nice and thick!!!
Trying the ice cream recipe later today ????????
Carolyn says
Yum, that sounds delicious!
Buttoni says
Gee, Carolyn, what a feat you’ve accomplished there. I, like you, have experimented and experimented to no avail at trying to achieve a softer ice cream. Must be the condensed milk that is the magic here, because 8 yolks, booze and xanthan gum haven’t dine it for me. Congratulations to you, my friend!
My problem is I just have never been able to eat anything made with condensed milk, so I may be doomed to dealing with harder ice cream at my house. 🙁
Lola says
Carolyn, Do I wait to add the vanilla and vodka AFTER it’s chilled 3 hours + (and/or over night)?
Carolyn says
I don’t think it matters. The first time I added it before, the second after.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
I know it’s winter but I’ve been having some serious ice cream craving lately and vanilla is what I go for first!
kelly @ kellybakes says
You are an ice cream genius! When I first got an ice cream maker way back when, I was discouraged because of the rock-hard freezing problem. I tried to take it in stride and eat as much as I could in one sitting, but after a few batches, the buttons and zipper on my pants didn’t really get along. I have some caramel vodka that I think would be perfect in this. Do you think the low carb sweetened condensed milk could be boiled to make a low carb dulce de leche?
:D says
How can I substitute regular sugar and regular condensed milk in your recipe?
Carolyn says
Honestly, I wouldn’t use this recipe. Sugar already reduces the freezing point and if you add in my amounts of xanthan gum and alcohol, you may end up with a goopy mess. My best suggestion is to find another vanilla ice cream recipe, one made with sugar, and then add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum and maybe a tbsp or two of vodka.
sonia says
Hi Carolyn, how about using unsweetened condensed milk? Just asking because I have tons of it. Thank you!
Carolyn says
I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of unsweetened condensed milk. Do you mean evaporated milk? If so, I believe that’s a lot higher in carbs.
Catherine H. says
Don’t worry–if it helps your other readers avoid my mistakes, it’s all worth it :). Final question: do you think just churning the whole milk into the cream in the ice cream maker would work, or should I cook it all together first, then re-churn it?
Carolyn says
I can’t be certain it will work, but if I were doing this, I think I wouldn’t cook it, but I would whisk the milk into the ice cream until they were mostly combined, and then add it to the ice cream canister.
Carolyn says
And I think I did a lot of experimenting here! You’re the real guinea pig now… 🙂
Alexis Mobley says
Hello!! I saw your post on Pinterest (I realize it’s been a while). I’m interested in trying this recipe but I do not drink!!!!!! Nor will I purchase it!!!! Is there a substitute for the Vodka?? I’m new at this “trying” to reduce sugar life. I am doing Keto plus I have to be cautious with dairy. Just wondered what your thoughts are. Thank you!!
Carolyn says
You can skip it, it just may be slightly more icy.
Diana says
If adding the vodka lowers the freezing temperature why wouldn’t you put the eggs back in? Or am I missing something. That’s a good idea though, maybe we could use flavored rum instead..? yum!
Carolyn says
You could do this with an egg-based custard, it’s just nice to have an egg-free recipe that’s easy to make like this. The egg custards take a lot of extra work!
Lisa says
Would liquid Allulose work in the condensed milk recipe? I think you said BochaSweeet & Allulose are interchangeable… just wondering if liquid form is ok to use?
Carolyn says
I think so but I haven’t used it much so it’s hard to be certain.
Sarah G says
I’m assuming this is ok for kid consumption?
Carolyn says
My kids ate it! If you are worried about the alcohol, let me assure you that it adds up to 1/2 tbsp per serving, which isn’t enough to even buzz anyone. 🙂 And I usually serve my kids closer to 1/3 cup, then 1/2 cup, so it’s even less.
Sarah G says
Ok. 🙂
Catherine H. says
As soon as I saw this recipe yesterday, I got to work. I have been searching for the perfect low carb ice cream recipe for five years, so I was pretty eager. This morning, after freezing the churned recipe all night, I tasted it and discovered that it was still extremely goupy, stretchy, and sticky, like cold marshmallow fluff. It does not seem to have set up at all. I re-read the directions, and the only thing I did differently (other than slight changes to cooking/cooling times) was use orange liqueur in place of vodka. Could the liqueur have prevented the ice cream from getting firm? As you can imagine, I’m so disappointed!
Carolyn says
No, I don’t think the orange liqueur would do that (although orange liqueur does contain sugar, which lowers the freezing point too…might make a small difference but not much). But mine did not come out that way at all…it comes out of the ice cream maker like that, but then freezes up. 2 questions…how long did you churn it and what temperature is your freezer? It should set just fine after a few hours and since I’ve made this recipe twice now, I have to think it either didn’t churn long enough OR your freezer is set too high and it’s not freezing properly. You also mentioned changes to cooking/cooling times? How much did you change those by?
Carolyn says
You know what? Based on your experience, I am concerned that there is too much xanthan gum in the recipe. Since both the cream base and the condensed milk take xanthan gum, I think 1 tsp would be sufficient for the cream part. I’ve used more and still been successful, but I think if you change things like the alcohol for liqueur (which does contain sugar), it’s going to throw things off.
Catherine H. says
That’s what I was thinking, too–that the liqueur would be more helpful than not in keeping the ice cream soft. In this case, perhaps too helpful. I only used it because I didn’t have vodka and my husband thought it would add a nice citrus flavor. The cooking/cooling differences were small things like accidentally letting the powdered erythritol/cream boil briefly before bringing it down to a simmer, and letting it cool for thirty minutes instead of just ten. I churned it for forty minutes, and it never got firmer. I don’t think my freezer has any problems, so your guess about the xanthan gum seems the likeliest. What would you recommend for fixing it? My first hope was to use the ice cream as a base to which to add more cream, and maybe dilute the xanthan already there and give it a chance to firm up. Do you think that could work? Should I do a regular custard base and mix that with this recipe as it is, and hope the two will balance each other?
Carolyn says
I think the accidental boiling may have affected it a tiny bit too, because cream gets REALLY thick once boiled so it would change the consistency as well. I don’t think cooling for 30 minutes would make any difference at all though.
I think your only chance at fixing it is to dilute it…maybe with whole milk instead of cream to help thin it out. I’d go for at least an additional cup, if not a cup and a half or two cups. I think a custard base isn’t going to help, since the point of a custard base is to be thick and we are trying to thin it out. But it’s all worth a try. And I am sorry about this! It was hard to get this right, but my biggest problem was having it still freeze too hard, not get all gooey like that. My chocolate version was so tasty, but definitely froze too hard to be scoopable.
Carol says
Any way to convert this to a chocolate ice cream?
Judy@lifeonthefoodchain.com says
Good vanilla ice cream is the one thing that has eluded my diabetic husband’s search for the perfect topping to “his” sf-low carb fruit crumble. I think we have a score here. Thank you Carolyn, you’ve done it again. I may have to erect a shrine to you in my kitchen, LOL.