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.
Rae says
OMG, this is my new ice cream base! I substituted creme de menthe for the vodka and mint extract for the vanilla, and it was uh-mazing. So creamy, and I couldn’t tell it was sugar-free. Thank you so much for sharing!
Sunny says
Hi
Can I use evaporated milk instead of your home made condensed milk? Would I need to add swerve and bocha to it? Butter? Woukd I mix it room temperature or mix it on low heat?
If I wanted to make chocolate ice cream how much cocao would I add?
Thank you
Carolyn says
I don’t use evaporated milk so I can’t say for sure, but yes, I think you would need to sweeten it, since the bulk of the sweetener is in the condensed milk. And yes, mix them in on heat. Not sure about the cocoa powder… do it to taste. There are no eggs here so you can add and taste as you go.
Cate says
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation and the fantastic recipe! Also thank you to commenters who added valuable details about their own experiences (the people who ask questions addressed in the blog or repeatedly by other commenters are a bit of a drag).
This was my first keto ice cream ice tried to make, and I’ve thrown away all the commercial brands I’ve tried. I was super excited about the condensed milk at first, but then it totally solidified after being in the fridge… I think my cream was solid enough on its own that it didn’t need xantham gum, which I’ll try next time. I tried using the Gooddee’s brand sweetner (allulose monk fruit blend) as I didn’t like the reviews of Bocha Sweet enough to order it.
I was a little nervous after the condensed milk because I planned to alter the recipe… but it turned out fantastic. I boiled the cream with fresh cherries, immersion blended them, then let it cool. I left out the vodka from the mix, and instead soaked chopped fresh cherries in kirsch. Right before putting in the ice cream machine I folded the cherry/kirsch mix in. After 3/4 time in the ice cream machine I dropped in chipped Lily’s dark choc chips (Stevia sweetened). Right out of the machine it had a very “whipped cream” flavor, which was ok but not the same as ice cream. However, after letting it freeze for several hours it tasted much more normal. I’m not totally used to the ultra high fat taste and may try partially non dairy next time to see if it cuts it a little. The texture is great, hard enough to be scoop-able, but otherwise ready to devour.
Lori Ballard says
I want to tell you how wonderful you are for putting these recipes out there. I bought your cookbook the ultimate guide to keto baking and I love it! You are awesome! With out your sweets I would be a failure at this keto plan.
Carolyn says
Thank you, Lori!
Matthew Clark says
Mine was soft out of the maker but turned into a brick in the freezer….It right after churning was almost exactly like frozen Cool Whip! Not sure if I did something wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, as the ice cream slightly thawed is pretty awesome, but for me is not scoopable when totally frozen.
Still love the flavor with some Lily’s Chocolate Chips added in!
Carolyn says
What sweeteners did you use? because if you used what I suggested, it wouldn’t be rock hard…unless you have your freezer turned WAY low.
Sam says
Would a sugar alcohol, act like vodka? I have not tried this recipe but I am very interested. Is there a way to search the questions that are asked, I got tired of reading.
Carolyn says
No, sugar alcohols are not in anyway similar to alcohol in how they behave.
Karen S says
I made this ice cream this week. I don’t have an ice cream freezer so I followed the directions for making it without. It is incredibly creamy and does not get too hard but mine tastes like cool whip more than ice cream. Is it possible that whipping the cream too much before adding the sweetened condensed milk would do that?
Carolyn says
Might do it. The reality is that no-churn ice cream has a different consistency than churned ice cream. So you just kind of have to accept it!
Matt Clark says
This is truly fantastic! Mine right out of the ice cream maker reminded my of frozen Cool Whip! It is soft and very delicate, and has a almost buttery richness. This is great stuff! Will add a second review once it comes out of the freezer to see how solid it got! I’m impressed!!!!
I would like to try adding a bit of unsweetened milk to build a more ice cream texture. I think the vodka is a killer idea!
I am looking forward to making a Neapolitan by making a series of batches in one day and assembling them into the 3 flavors in the deep freeze, by stacking them one on top of the other.
Awesome!
Roxxy says
Hi.I absolutely love your OGERA and posts!Tried this for the first time I think I over whisked the cream bit because it started getting solid which resulted in a super delicious but over rich ice cream.Please tell me how to fix it?
Carolyn says
If it happens again, thin it out with some almond milk before churning.
Michelle White says
Ok. Something didnt work for me.
I know you said to use 2 different kinds of sugar. I only had powdered Swerve. So I used just that. Could I have used coconut palm sugar granulated? Maybe I could grind the coconut palm sugar to a finer consistency? I didnt use the vodka either. It’s hard as a rock…
I’m desperately trying to find a keto ice cream that isnt a rock.
Michelle White says
Side note: straight out the machine was a creamy dream! But frozen …alas no.
Carolyn says
Hi Michelle. You’ve already addressed your own question. Without one of the other sweeteners, it’s going to be very hard in the freezer. And coconut palm sugar is not going to help (it’s also not low carb).
Judy says
Thank you for the recipe. It was delicious. However question for you, the feedback from the family was that it was too sweet. Any way I could reduce the sweetness?
Steve Ashie says
Help,
I made this ice cream recently as written except I had no Bocha Sweetener and used 1/2 cup of Swerve for the Condensed milk. The Ice cream came out hard and really not creamy. I did not quite beat the heavy cream to a whip cream texture, may that have caused my issues?
Thanks
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post, I am quite clear on why BochaSweet will make your ice cream a better consistency.
Stephanie says
You are my go to for keto/low carb recipes! This was amazing, but almost too rich! Any suggestions for swapping out some of the heavy cream for almond milk? Figured I can do some trial and error but hate to waste the bocasweet as it is pretty pricey!
Carolyn says
You can do about 1/2 of the sweetened condensed milk with almond milk. It takes a bit longer to simmer and isn’t quite as thick but it works.
Ann Pelaez says
I’m so excited! I’m waiting for the sweetened condensed milk to cool. This will be my second go at keto ice cream. The first one – not your recipe – had a full quarter cup of MCT oil, and the texture was horrible. It left a greasy residue in the mouth.
SO! I only have tequila in the house and will probably try it. Fingers crossed!
Ann
Liezel Boonzaier-Lacquaye says
hi. can i use mct oil instead of vodka
Carolyn says
I guess you can try. No idea if it’s a good replacement.
Elita in L.A. says
What would the measurement of the condensed milk be if I were to use canned evaporated milk or evaporated coconut milk, rather than making my own? Thank you!
Carolyn says
It’s about 1 cup. But you will need to add sweetener to it!
Elita in L.A. says
Thank you for your speedy reply!
Squid says
how much is “1 recipe Sugar-Free Condensed Milk”?
Carolyn says
Hi Squid. Please click the link in the recipe. You make what is written… that is “1 recipe”.
Pam deLeon says
2nd time making this ice cream, my husband’s LOVES it! He also adds the candied pecan or the peanut butter cookies.
Carolyn says
Yummy!
Lalie says
if I already mixed the condensed milk with the cream and other ingredients but don’t have an ice cream maker handy, is there any other way of turning it into ice cream? I didn’t see the directions for the freezer version until after I’d already combined
Carolyn says
I am really not sure what to say here. I don’t quite know how to rescue this except to suggest that you beat even more cream and mix it in.
Anna says
I haven’t had a chance to try this yet, but I just wanted to point out in step 2 you wrote “chill” and I put it in the freezer, which I don’t think we were supposed to do ????♀️
Carolyn says
No, you weren’t supposed to put it in the freezer. “Chill” in recipes always means the refrigerator.