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 1/2 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 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 Swerve Sweetener
- 1 1/2 tbsp (22.5 ml) vodka, (optional, helps reduce iciness)
- 1/2 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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Wow. This is the real deal! My kids had no idea it was ‘healthy’ ice cream!
Keto or not, this is delicious nice job!
Hi Carolyn,
I’ve been looking for an excuse to make the condensed milk and here it is (was contemplating keto magic cookie bars, too!). Just curious if you tried the bocha in a custard based ice cream recipe. I do love that type of ice cream and would be STOKED if the bocha helped keep it softer.
Thanks for this new one!
Best,
Linda
I have indeed tried Bocha Sweet in custard bases and it works beautifully if you use it in combination with Swerve.
SWEET! Thanks for getting back.
Best,
Linda
I’m confused and excited. I’m new to this new type of keto cooking. My question is where in your recipe do you mention Xanthum gum and how much do I use? Also, you mention how much swerve to use…..but how much Bocha do i use?
Other than that I’m excited to get started!
It’s all in the condensed milk recipe…
Thank you for this ice cream recipe — I have missed eating vanilla ice cream! Love all your recipes.
I love this recipe and now it’s even softer? Amazing!
I don’t see the measurement for the Bocha Sweet in the recipe itself. Looking forward to trying the new tips!
It’s in the condensed milk. It won’t be “softer” for you if you liked the old one. But that one took a LOT of xanthan and a LOT of vodka to keep it soft and some people still had trouble with it. This has a much better consistency overall.
Carolyn, THANK YOU for all the great recipes…..I so admire the fact that you are always improving your older recipes as new products and new techniques are found. Low carb cooking has come such a long way and much of that is owed to you. Your cakes are indistinguishable from traditional flour ones, and now we have scoopable ice crystal free ice cream….no small feat. Hat off to you.
PS: hoping you will update the DEATH BY CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM to also include the SF Condensed Milk. Your Coffee Ice Cream looks like a no brainer swap.
Bless you for making our lives sweeter.
Amazing recipe!
Can you use gin instead of vodka?
I suppose so but gin has a strong flavor whereas vodka does not.
Carolyn, a question for you, as I seek the perfect NON-DAIRY vanilla ice cream – I am stumped about what to do. I tried your vanilla ice cream recipe, made the double batch of low carb condensed milk, etc, all using coconut milk from a can. I use Trader Joe’s because it truly has no additives or fillers. I used the recommended amounts of xanthan gum, and after all of that work (!), the ice cream had tiny grains of frozen coconut fat mixed all through it. Maybe I just need to switch brands, but on the whole I love TJs products. It’s just so disappointing. My T1D daughter is also dairy free so I really work at finding good recipes she’ll love, and yours are a hit! I could use any tips you have about this coconut milk crisis I find myself in!!
Hi Barb. I have started to play with allulose and Bocha Sweet and they work well in ice cream to keep it soft. The problem is that for dairy free ones, it still gets icy after a time in the freezer. Less so than it would with just Swerve but still more so than dairy…
Thanks, Carolyn. The problem was not really iciness, but the tiny grains of coconut fat that were unpleasant to eat – you really almost had to chew it. My daughter said she would still eat it, but it was off-putting. I did use some xylitol – i have some from a long time ago I want to use up before buying allulose. Maybe I’ll try a different brand of coconut milk and see if that makes a difference. Iciness I can deal with – I usually nuke it for 10-15 seconds and it softens nicely. 🙂
Okay what brand of coconut milk are you using? I use Native Forest. As long as I melt it in a pan so that the “Cream” mixes properly with the water, I don’t get that.
I used Trader Joe’s – I think I’ll try Native Forest and see if that’s the issue. Thanks!! I made your lemon curd and tartlets for Easter and everyone LOVED them!
I use Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk. I warm it just a little in the microwave, whisk till smooth, then chill for a few hours. It actually makes CREAMIER ice cream than heavy whipping cream. Like velvet.
Linda did you follow this recipe just swapping coconut milk for the cream? Would love to try that…
I was so excited to try this…I followed the recipe exactly…it turned out amazing! Thank you so much!
Happy to hear it!
I can’t have alcohol, will this work and still be creamy and yummy without it? I’d like to ask, why does it have Vodka in it? Many people don’t drink alcohol. Ty!!
Alcohol makes sugar free ice cream less icy and hard. You can skip it but your ice cream will freeze very hard.
Question… I would like to make this recipe but have a recovering alcoholic in my home. Is there anything I can use in place of the vodka?
Thanks in advance
Feel free to skip it! It helps with iciness but if you can’t have it, don’t use it.
Perfect is right!!! I made the condensed milk mixture and ice cream mixture yesterday and froze it in my Cuisinart this morning. I’m thankful you persevered when trying to make this ice cream because it is fabulous. Thank you.
1000s of comments, here’s one more. THANK YOU! I can enjoy using my ice cream maker again I can’t wait to make pistachio ice cream.
Is vodka necessary or can it be left out or substituted?
It can be left out but it will be icier.