Maple walnut ice cream is one of my all-time favourites. This homemade maple ice cream recipe is keto, sugar-free, and absolutely amazing. It’s no-churn and stays scoopable even after days in the freezer! And at less than 3g total carbs, you can afford to indulge in this creamy low carb treat.
Okay, so I am usually a chocolate girl through and through. It’s a rare day that you can tempt me with anything other than chocolate. But when it comes to ice cream, I have a few other flavors I absolutely adore, and maple walnut ice cream is one of them. Maybe it’s the Canadian in me, I don’t know. But maple flavored treats have a special place in my heart. And when you taste this no churn ice cream, it’s going to have a special place in your heart too.
I feel like I’ve spent the summer perfecting my keto ice cream game. Both churned and no-churn recipes. And I feel like I have found the secret to perfectly scoopable sugar-free ice cream. Here’s the deal:
You have to use two different sweeteners – you can’t just use erythritol. You can use some erythritol sweetener, like Swerve, but you have to also use another sweetener that helps keep the ice cream soft. Such as Bocha Sweet. I hear that xylitol can do the same as well. And allulose may have the same affect too, although I haven’t tried it.
I know some people won’t be happy to hear this because Bocha Sweet isn’t cheap. But it’s worth it, believe me. You know I am a huge fan of Swerve, which is an erythritol based sweetener. But erythritol and ice cream are not a great match, as the ice cream freezes rock hard once it’s been in the freezer longer than a few hours. Using some Bocha Sweet makes a huge difference, but you don’t actually want to use it full strength. Using only Bocha Sweet results in keto ice cream that is TOO soft and goopy – it stays like soft serve the whole time. That’s why the mix of the two sweeteners works so well.
I’ve found that using half Swerve and half Bocha Sweet results in ice cream that stays perfectly soft in the freezer.Check out this video as proof. This was after a full 24 hours in the freezer…and it stayed that way for the whole week until we finished it up.
How To Make Maple Walnut Ice Cream
For a no-churn ice cream like this, you want a thickened cream base. I basically used my sugar-free condensed milk recipe, except that I replaced the vanilla extract with maple extract. And since maple walnut ice cream typically has a darker appearance than vanilla, I used Swerve Brown for one half of the sweetener. If you can’t get Swerve Brown, you can also do regular Swerve with 1 tsp of molasses. The other half of the sweetener was Bocha Sweet.
Once the condensed milk was done, I let it cool and refrigerated it for a few hours. Then I whipped up some more cream, folded the two together, and stirred in some chopped walnuts. Don’t toast the walnuts for this ice cream, as they can get kind of bitter. You could replace the walnuts with pecans, or you could skip them altogether.
Then I simply spread the mixture in an ceramic dish and placed it in the freezer. No churn ice cream takes a long time to freeze so I left it there overnight. And the next day, it was soft and scoopable, straight out of the freezer! It’s some of the best low carb ice cream I have ever made.
Want more amazing keto ice cream? Check out my best Keto Desserts here!
Low Carb Maple Walnut Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1/4 cup Swerve Brown
- 1/4 cup Bocha Sweet
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tsp maple extract
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 1/4 cups of the whipping cream and the two sweeteners to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Watch carefully as you want it to simmer but not continue to boil. There should be little bubbles along the edges the whole time.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and maple extract. Sprinkle the surface with xanthan gum, whisking vigorously to combine. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
- In a large bowl, beat the remaining whipping cream until it holds stiff peaks. Fold in the chilled maple/cream until well combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts.
- Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 5 hours.
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 tried making this with Allulose and it froze hard as a rock, had to keep putting it in the microwave for 15 second bursts to get it out of the container. Will try again with Botchasweet when it arrives. Still tastes good.
That’s very interesting. Many people who use allulose don’t have that issue at all. Sorry! I don’t really use it because it upsets my stomach.
I am wondering can I substitute Monk fruit sweetener for Bocha sweet in the ice cream recipe? And will using Monk fruit sweetener produce a hard ice cream?
If by “monk fruit sweetener” you mean Lakanto, then no. It’s mostly erythritol.
This ice cream looks incredible! Love the maple and walnut flavors!
This sounds so good right now!! These AZ temps are starting to get warm & all we eat is ice cream! Thanks for sharing!
What a great combination for ice cream! I love that it is keto as well makes me not feel as guilty when I eat it.
Looks delicious! I need to try this sweetener!
This recipe is so good! I love maple ice cream! Perfect to satisfy the sweet tooth.
OMG – just put this into the freezer for dessert tonight and “sampled” it. It is sooo good! Wish my dad was still with us, this was his favourite ice cream flavour. Thank you Carolyn????????
That touches my heart, thank you for sharing.
I just made this, it came out amazing! Thank you!
You mentioned a price of about $15 for the Bocha Sweet. I assume this is in US $ ?
I live in Canada and Amazon.da sells it for $25 for the 1lb bag. This is terribly expensive. I read that xylitol had side effects so I’m a bit leery of trying it.
Yes, it’s pricy. But you only use a little at time if you combine with other sweeteners. It’s not great in every application so I only use it for ice cream and sauces like caramel. A pound bag lasts me over a month and I bake and cook WAY more than anyone else I know!
Hi there! Thanks for the great recipe. For this step: “In a large bowl, beat the remaining whipping cream until it holds stiff peaks.” Should I make it exactly as I would make whipped cream? That means I make the bowl and my hand mixer cold, then whip the cream until it tastes like whipped cream. I want to do it right! Thanks in advance.
Yep, exactly like that!
Hi Carolyn,
I think I got impatient when waiting for the condensed milk to thicken and added wayyyy to much xanthan gum. At least that’s what I think caused my issue. My condensed milk turned completely solid in the fridge and the “sugar” seemed to crystallize. It tasted DELICIOUS, but I’m wondering if I can still use it– for this ice cream or anything else— in its current state. Is there something I can do to fix it? add more cream? Should I just make another batch and just eat this one with a spoon? I wouldn’t mind that 😉 but was hoping for your advice.
Thanks for reading and for this delicious recipe!
Layla
Warm it gently in a saucepan and add some cream. If it’s not coming together, pop it in a blender and see if you can get it to smooth out.
Thank you very much!
Carolyn,
How were you able to obtain the Bocha Sweet? I placed an order over a month ago, said it was 2 weeks back order, but now I cannot get a response from the company.
It sounds really good in theory!
This ice cream recipe sounds delicious! I love maple everything, so I want to try it. I also like the idea of it not being hard as rock, so I am hoping the Bocha Sweet actually materializes!
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
Just want to give you a follow up to my previous comment…I did receive the Bocha Sweet. It is so popular that the company cannot keep up with the demand! So, for those of you trying to get this, please have patience as it is worth it! Good stuff!
I have made this twice now, and it’s so good! The second time around I used Rum extract and pecans instead of the maple and walnut. I’ve also made your Death by Chocolate and it’s just as amazing! For that one, I added 1 tbsp of espresso powder which gives the chocolate flavor an extra depth. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
YOu’re welcome!
Hello, my name is Brenda and I am officially addicted to this ice cream. I didn’t even think I missed ice cream, but this is the bomb! I’m getting ready to make it for the fourth time, it’s my special bedtime treat. Using a tip from My Montana Kitchen. I make the milk in half the time. Using a frying pan instead of a saucepan let’s it reduce faster. Thanks again for my “addiction”????
OMG Carolyn!
I was skeptical, the first and last time I purchased Swerve White, I couldn’t stand the cooling effect, so I switched to Xylitol for all of my sweets. When I saw the PICTURE of this recipe, it beckoned me. But, to avoid the Swerve, I looked into other brown sugar alternatives, and the Swerve was the only one available with acceptable nutritional info and reviews for me. I shrugged, ordered the Swerve Brown and made this last night, exactly as written, to a “T,” including the Bocha. I just got home from work and tried it.
WOWWWWW! So rich and creamy and dense – like the silky texture of the best gelato! And the flavor…. zero cooling effect. Zero aftertaste at all! Dreamy, with the perfect kiss of sweetness. This is actually better than any commercially made ice cream I’ve had. Am I really that talented??? Haha, no. It’s you. You are a genius. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!
Hooray so glad to hear it! Often when you combine two sweeteners, they cancel out each other’s aftertastes