Craving low carb cannoli ice cream that doesn’t require an ice cream maker? You’ve come to the right place. Thick and creamy, this keto ice cream recipe really hits the spot. This post is sponsored by Lily’s Chocolate.
Summer’s not over yet, friends, a fact which Portland wishes to make abundantly clear. It’s forecast to be 101ºF here today (that’s a balmy 38ºC for those of you that think in Celsius) and it’s been like that for several days. In fact, it’s going to be so hot that the schools have already warned us that we may have an early release this afternoon. Our outdated old school buildings aren’t built for these sorts of extreme temperatures. We had 8 snow days last winter and now, barely into the second week of school, and we’re having HEAT days.
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So naturally, we are all craving frozen desserts and this keto Cannoli Ice Cream hits the spot! And best of all, it doesn’t require an ice cream maker to make it. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my ice cream maker and I use it frequently. But I know not everyone owns one, and I love testing out new ways of doing things. When I first started seeing recipes for no churn ice cream, I was stumped. Most of them take sweetened condensed milk to make a thick custard-like base without an ice cream maker. And while I do have a fabulous low carb sweetened condensed milk recipe, I didn’t want to have to take that extra time to make it. No churn ice cream is supposed to be easier, after all. We deserve our easy low carb recipes too!
But you know me…I firmly believe almost anything can be made low carb and sugar-free. So I studied this concept a bit and realized that all I needed was a thick cream for the base. Sour cream quickly became my thickener of choice and I’ve used it several low carb ice cream recipes, including No Churn Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Pie.
And I have an absolutely amazing keto Strawberry Ice Cream recipe in my cookbook. Honestly for that recipe alone, you will love The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen!
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But for this keto cannoli ice cream, I didn’t need to fall back on sour cream, because of course the ricotta itself provides the thick base. I blended the ricotta up to make it very smooth, and then folded it into the whipped cream. And of course, it wouldn’t be cannoli ice cream without some chocolate chips. And the best low carb chocolate chips are, in my opinion, Lily’s Chocolate. Mix it all together and what do you have? A perfect low carb, no churn ice cream treat! My kids loved this and it was a great easy way to cool off.
Craving low carb cannoli ice cream that doesn't require an ice cream maker? You've come to the right place. Thick and creamy, this keto ice cream recipe really hits the spot.
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener divided
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 3 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Lily's sugar-free chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped pistachios optional
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In a large bowl, beat the cream with 1/4 cup of the sweetener until it holds stiff peaks.
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In a blender or food processor, combine the ricotta, cream cheese, vanilla extract and remaining sweetener. Blend until smooth.
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Fold the ricotta mixture into the whipped cream. Then gently fold in the chocolate chips.
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Spread in an airtight container and freeze until firm, 6 to 8 hours.
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This will get very hard in the freezer when it's been in there longer than 6 to 8 hours. But 30 minutes on the counter make it perfectly scoopable again. You can also portion it up into individual servings before freezing so you don't have to thaw the whole thing each time.
janet says
Hmm. interesting and I have all the ingredients on hand, must try. Thanks for the recipe! Have been trying to make things with enough fat… it”s amazing how difficult that can be! : )
Pansy Limes says
Mmmm, so happy, I knew there was a reason I bought that big container of ricotta! Now just hope my whipping cream is still good! Can’t wait to give it a try! Thanks!
Toni says
This looks incredible and just what I need to cure my cravings after returning from Italy. What kind of pistachios do you recommend (brand/salted or non)?
Toni says
What kind of pistachio’s do you recommend (brand/ salted or not)?
Carolyn says
Just plain unsalted. I bought some bulk at Whole foods.
Carol Luciano says
Looks delicious. I’m not a fan of Swerve so could I just use regular sugar ?
Carolyn says
Sure!
Emma says
A recipe with pistachios ? It sound really good to me. Thanks for the recipe.
Sara says
I love this! I just eat it chilled instead of frozen, it’s like a delicious mousse. SO good.
Lisa Matthews says
I used chopped pecans because it’s what I had on hand and added some cinnamon on top before serving. I could easily see where I could have topped with pumpkin pie spice for a different twist. At any rate, it was insanely yummy. Keep these great recipes coming.
kelly says
I just have to finally comment. We have made this more times than I can count. It is delicious. Even our non low carb friends think so too.
We just made your gingerbread with maple frosting and that frosting inspired another ice cream!
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup swerve
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup truvia brown sugar (or sukrin gold)
1/3 cup choc chips
follow the same directions as your ice cream.
We called it maple choc chip ice cream! SO good. You have given us so much confidence with your recipe that we thought we could do it. Thanks for the recipes and inspiration! I am going to share this with your other recipe since it was inspired by that one. =)
Kelly says
Forgot to add the 1 1/2 tsp of maple flavoring
April says
Hi Carolyn! I am in the process of making one of your ice cream recipes (the one where you add vodka), and I was wondering if vodka could be added to this one, as well to prevent it freezing so hard?
Carolyn says
Sure you can add that. I do find that these no churn ice creams freeze pretty hard regardless but they thaw nicely with just a few minutes on the counter.
Suzanne says
Holy cannoli! I made this ice cream last night (I actually used my ice cream maker because I didn’t want to wait) and it was DIVINE! Everyone in my family loved it – and that hardly ever happens! My mom grew up in Boston, MA, which is where I was introduced to cannoli in my childhood and this brought me back trips with my cousins to Faneuil Hall and their amazing food halls. Thank you, Carolyn!