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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Could you use rum in place of vodka to achieve the same effect but more of a hot buttered rum ice cream?
Sure!
How would we alter the recipe to change it to a custard base?
Find a different recipe 🙂 Honestly, I have tons of vanilla custard ice creams on this blog (with fun flavors and additions) so I recommend searching “ice cream” here. This is not one that lends itself to that method.
I am going to try this recipe today but I want to add in a keto cookie butter that I made. I wanted to get your opinion on how I should adjust the sweetener but not affect the texture. My plan is to make the condensed milk recipe as you have written it. Given that the cookie butter recipe has both swerve and brown sugar swerve in it, I was going to leave out the additional 3 tablespoons of swerve in the ice cream mixture. Also I plan on melting the cookie butter before mixing it into the ice cream mixture as it gets hard in the fridge. Then dollop another half cup of the cookie butter in between layers of ice cream after it comes out the mixer to create a swirl. Thoughts?
Since it has no eggs, you can taste and adjust as you go, but I can’t say for sure how this will work out without testing it myself.
How much sweetened condensed milk do you use? Also if its not sugar free sweetened condensed milk is it still keto?
I made this for the first time yesterday. I can’t believe I get to have real ice cream without weird funky sweeteners. This is so good!!! My adult son teasingly accused me of lying about it being sugar-free. Ice cream is one thing I’ve missed desperately since going keto a few years ago. I just bought an electric ice cream maker, and now it’s going to get a workout! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Carolyn.
Now that summer is finally here I have been DYING for Key Lime Pie ice cream but Halo Top stopped selling it in stores around me so I have to try to make a true keto version – without the benefit of an ice cream maker. Your vanilla ice cream looks like the PERFECT place to start. If I add some lime juice and lime zest and crumble up a few of your graham crackers into it that might just do the trick! If you have any suggestions on this I would LOVE to hear them! Fingers crossed…I’ll keep you posted!
I do think this will work but to really get lime flavor, you want some lime zest. You’d have to add a LOT of lime juice to really get good flavor and that could make it a bit icy. I suggest maybe 1/3 cup lime juice and two tbsp lime zest.
Hi I just needed to come back and comment on this recipe.
I bought a new ice cream maker-cuisinart with the bowl you freeze, because I wanted to make better sugar free ice cream than what is in the stores.
This recipe is a bit time consuming but the flavor and consistency is amazing. I didn’t change a thing and only needed 1/4 tsp of the xanthigum.
This is really rich for us now (we are in our 70’s) though. Can I use one tablespoon of butter instead of two? didn’t know if scientifically it needs the two. Also after making the first part-reducing down the cream, when adding in the rest of the ingredients-can I change that to whole milk, or almond milk to cut down on the cream. we are not keto but I am making us up many of keto desserts as I have celiac and husband has diabetes and heart disease. wanted to know if this ice cream would still be creamy with these changes?
Also I didn’t get much ice cream in the end-I was thinking churning it would have added in allot more volume? I churned it for 30 minutes and it was like a thick soft serve. if this doesn’t expand I will do a double batch next time. It did freeze well
thank you so much for all your time and work developing these recipes.
Hi Kathy… leave the butter in, but replace some of the added cream at the end with whole milk. It may be a bit icier but it will still work.
thank you so much
I just needed to come back for a follow up. I am on my third ice cream batch-we love this ice cream. I doubled the recipe because it fits in my ice cream maker better-it’s the 2 qt cuisanart, there is about a half a cup that doesn’t fit-I just use that in my coffee.
The changes I made after my above question.
To the second part of the recipe since I am doubling I need 3 more cups of cream-so what is left in my quart of cream from making the first part of the recipe is around 3/4 cup so I add half and half to make a cup, then one cup half and half, and one cup whole milk.
I do use the vodka, and total I use 3/4 tsp of xantham gum. 1/2 tsp first let sit 10 minutes and then add 1/4 tsp. this churns up so well-and is not noticably icey at all we love. it thank you so much again for creating this recipe. I also got a better churn of the ice cream if I make this up early evening-sits in the frig overnite, and in the morning I churn it-really chilled that way.
A new question I didn’t spot an answer in comments-while churning towards the end can I add fresh blueberries, or chopped up fresh strawberries and will it stay creamy if I do that thanks Kathy
Hi Kathy, as regards your last question, it’s easier to fold them into the churned ice cream as you transfer it to a container. Otherwise they get mushed up and squished by the paddle during churning.
I absolutely love this ice cream! My questions are, can it be doubled and cananything be added to it – like Lily’s chocolate chips or nuts without altering the softness?
Any additions are fine, they won’t affect the ice cream. Well, fruit will because it has a high water content, but nuts and chocolate chips would be fine.
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
Thank you, Lori!
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!
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.
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.
No, sugar alcohols are not in anyway similar to alcohol in how they behave.
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?
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!
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!