Keto coffee ice cream without an ice cream maker? It’s not a dream, I promise And this is the richest, creamiest, keto no churn ice cream recipe. What a way to beat the heat!
I first created this no-churn coffee ice cream back in 2015, and I am so excited to give it a new update. It’s better than ever before, and it stays perfectly scoopable, even after weeks in the freezer. If you manage to get it to last that long!
Read on to get all the best tips for this keto coffee ice cream recipe.
Keto ice cream for the coffee lover
I make no secret of the fact that I am a coffee addict. And like many addicts, I have no desire to quit my drug of choice.
But while I do love the energy I get from the caffeine, there’s much more to it than that. It’s about the flavor, the aroma, the hot bitter liquid on my tongue every morning. The slow sipping and savoring in the stillness of my quiet house, before the kids are awake.
I love coffee and I love everything about coffee. And I adore coffee flavored desserts – especially coffee ice cream.
There’s a magic that happens somewhere in there, when coffee comes together with cream and sweetener. It’s a heavenly combination and even many non-coffee drinkers enjoy coffee ice cream.
So when I make a keto coffee ice cream, you can bet it’s rich and creamy and full of deep coffee flavor. When you love that dark liquid brew as much as I do, you can’t mess around!
No ice cream maker required
I love my ice cream maker and I use it frequently. But a few years ago, I started to see all of these no churn ice cream recipes popping up all over the internet, and I was intrigued. I didn’t even know such a thing was possible.
After a little reading and investigation, I realized just how simple and brilliant the method was, and I was eager to try my hand at a keto no-churn ice cream recipe.
Conventional no churn ice cream recipes usually use sweetened condensed milk, which is then folded into some whipped cream. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. An ice cream machine serves much the same purpose, churning air into a cream-based mixture to increase the volume.
I thought it might be possible to use the exact same approach with my keto sugar-free condensed milk. And so keto no-churn ice cream was born!
Of course, having to make the sweetened condensed milk from scratch means it’s not quite so simple as the sugary version, but it really is a great option for those of you without ice cream makers.
And now that I’ve improved my keto condensed milk recipe, this keto ice cream stays scoopable for days, even straight out of the freezer!
Tips for making keto coffee ice cream
A few tips for getting the most out of this delicious no-churn recipe:
- Make the condensed milk in advance and let it cool properly. If you attempt to proceed while it’s still warm, the whipped cream will melt and become liquid again, and your ice cream will never set properly.
- Both Swerve and BochaSweet are critical to this recipe, so that the ice cream firms up but stays scoopable.
- The only thing you can replace the Swerve with is another erythritol based sweetener (Lakanto, Sukrin, etc.).
- The only things you can replace the BochaSweet with are xylitol or allulose.
- The xanthan gum is important for thickening the condensed milk properly but it also inhibits ice crystals in the ice cream. If you must skip it, that’s fine but do realize that the texture of your ice cream may suffer somewhat.
- How much coffee you add is up to you. I like mine with a strong flavor but I also use decaf instant coffee so it doesn’t keep me up at night. You can use any instant coffee and even the Starbucks Via packs work well (I add two when I am using those).
- No churn ice cream takes longer to firm up and freeze properly so be patient and consider making it the day prior to when you want to eat it.
Ready to try your hand at this delicious Keto Coffee Ice Cream?
More great keto coffee desserts
- Keto Double Espresso Brownies
- Low Carb Mocha Chip Biscotti
- Keto Tiramisu
- Coffee Creme Mousse
- Keto Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
- Sugar-Free Coffee Creme Brûlée
No Churn Coffee Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream divided
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or hemp milk for nut-free)
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener divided
- ¼ cup BochaSweet
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon instant coffee (I use decaf!)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup of the cream and the almond milk. Whisk in ¼ cup of the Swerve and the BochaSweet. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 40 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Remove from heat and add the butter. Whisk to combine, until the butter is melted. Then sprinkle the surface with xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Whisk in the instant coffee and vanilla extract, until the coffee granules have dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
- Whip remaining 1 ¼ cups whipping cream with the remaining Swerve sweetener until it just holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in the cooled coffee mixture until well combined.
- Transfer to a container and freeze until firm, about 5 or 6 hours.
Monika Wright says
Carolyn- one other quick question, I am not seeing vodka in this recipe… Does this one not need the vodka to help keep it soft so it doesn’t freeze hard?
Monika Wright says
Could I use espresso powder instead, if so how much? I bought the ingredients for Jamoca almond fudge not realizing it was a churn recipe. So was was going to do this and add the fudge ripple.
Carolyn says
Yes, absolutely! Use 1 to 2 teaspoons. Since there are no eggs, taste the mixture after you add it and decide if you want it stronger.
Monika Wright says
Thanks so much Carolyn, can’t wait to make it today.
Jessica says
I just made this and it’s currently in my freezer. My spoon tasted good, so I’m excited! I made the ice cream vanilla by omitting the coffee and doing a tbsp of vanilla extract and then swirled keto Caramel Sauce and some keto brownie chunks. Can’t wait to try it later! And I just want to say I’ve tried several of your other keto recipes and they have been great! It’s why I chose this recipe.
Carolyn says
So great to hear!
Laura says
Carolyn, Do you have a recipe for churned coffee ice cream, like your salted caramel… my husband loves that one and I need a new flavor ???? or any other custard churn ice cream flavors…. I did made this one, it is in the freezer right now. The spoon tasted wonderful
Carolyn says
You can make this into a churned recipe simply by not whipping the cream and folding it in… just whisk it in and then churn the entire mixture. Take a peek at my vanilla ice cream, it’s the same method there.
Laurie says
This ice cream is delicious!
Barb says
Hi there! First off I absolutely love your recipes! I have a question regarding the coffee ice cream. I made it yesterday and went to check it this morning and it is still in a soft serve state and is very sweet. I can deal with texture but is there a way to tame the sweetness? Not sure what I did wrong to make it so sweet and would love to fix it if possible. It’s delicious but way too sweet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Carolyn says
What sweetener did you use?
Barb says
I used swerve and allulose
Carolyn says
So it’s likely the allulose making it too soft… it will firm up but could take a bit longer. but as for it being too sweet, I can’t say why that would be. This takes very little sweetener compared to most ice creams. Have you had that issue with other desserts? Is there any chance you might have mismeasured?
Barb says
It’s entirely possible lol is there a way to mess with it to make it less sweet without ruining it? More whipped cream w/o additional sweetener?
Carolyn says
Yes, I think so! That’s the only fix I can think of.
Barb says
Thank you so much Carolyn! I’m going to try that and hopefully it works! Outside the sweetness the coffee flavor is fantastic!
Carolyn says
Good luck!
Leslie B says
Want to try this weekend. Can you use monkfruit regular and powdered if you have it instead of whats listed?
Carolyn says
Is your monk fruit sweetener mostly erythritol? Then it can only replace the Swerve… it won’t work for the BochaSweet.
Phyllis says
Can you use a electric churn ice cream machine that has a built in compressor to freeze the ice cream? I got one at Christmas and yet to use it . Would like to make your coffee ice cream maybe add dark chocolate chunks . My husband’s favorite flavor and he has sugar issues too .
Debbie says
I was going to try this today in my ice cream maker. Di you try it? How did it go?
Jodi says
Did it work?
Rashael says
Would it be possible to use coconut cream or canned coconut milk instead of heavy cream? I can’t have dairy but would love to make this ice cream. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Yes but… in my experience, it will freeze a lot more solid than heavy cream, no matter what sweeteners you use. Just know you will need to take it out of the freezer 10 minutes in advance to soften.
Katie says
I sort of cheated and put the mixture in my nutrabullet with the heavy cream and then blended. I got the lightest creamiest mixture, which if I froze I’m sure would have been amazing…..instead I decided since I had an ice cream maker why not use it. Unfortunately, the mixture broke and separated like chocolate can do. It’s disappointing but I learned for next time. I still froze it and I’m sure it will still be delicious even if the texture is off.????
I subbed plain Erythritol for all of the sweeter and it seemed to work fine. Powdered Swerve has a funny taste to me. ????
Doris Hartig says
OMG I made this yesterday and just trying it now. It is MARVELOUS! It has a caramel flavor that is just to die for. I added some no sugar chocolate chips also. but really not necessary as it is so awesome. This may be a new addiction for me. Not sharing with my husband LOL
m says
I haven’t tried this one yet, but the many other recipes of yours that I’ve tried are more than 5 star! Please, I have a question. First, I agree with you coffee is the best flavor! Coffee and French vanilla creamer, nectar of the gods! My question is, can I make this recipe incorporating sugar free French vanilla creamer, for that coffee with French vanilla creamer flavor? If that’s possible, would I replace some of the milk and cream? Or just replace all of it with French vanilla creamer? And thank you for all the great recipes! You’ve made it possible to feed my honeys sweet tooth and cook interesting and very tasty meals for him. We’ve impressed and pleased his dietitian and his docs with how we’ve lowered his blood sugar. Many thanks!
Carolyn says
Yes, I would add it to the milk/cream mixture.
LB says
I made the maple walnuts one and it is delicious. This one is my next one. First no-churn ice cream that actually turns out to be no-churn. The Bocha is the key. I have tried before with other recipes and they all came out as a blco of cement after you return it to the freezer. This one is fantastic! Thank you very much for sharing.
Julie Threet says
Hello, I am confused as to where I used the condensed milk I made. The recipe doesn’t mention it.
thank you
Carolyn says
The condensed milk was already built into the recipe so unfortunately, you did it incorrectly.
Vicki says
I was just coming here to ask the same question, or to see if there was an answer.
Laura says
Just made this and its frozen and ready to go after 3 hours. I don’t normally leave reviews but this ice cream is so freakin’ good I had to come back to this page and comment! Definitely worth the time to make… thank you!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear that!
Beth says
Yummy! This ice cream was such a hit here! My daughter and hubby absolutely love coffee and they definitely loved this flavor! We will be making this again very soon!
Lisalia says
YUM! Every recipe of yours that I make is absolutely delicious. LOVED this coffee ice cream. Perfect for summer. Just wish I had thought of this recipe last week when Portland had record-breaking heat. This would have cooled everything and soothed my soul. Thanks!
Allyson Zea says
Oh my goodness! I love coffee flavored ice cream!
Edith says
Your instructions prior to the Coffee No-churn Ice Cream recipe say to use your sweetened condensed milk recipe, but the recipe that follows does not mention any condensed milk at all.
Where and how much sweetened condensed milk goes in the recipe?
Carolyn says
It’s built into this recipe already. The first few steps, you are making the condensed milk…
Kathy S. says
Any suggestion and conversion to replace the suggested Bochasweet?
Carolyn says
please read the tips section as I discuss that.
aztony says
What needs to be done different if I wanted to make this in the ice cream maker? Not use the condensed milk?
Alison Orr says
I wanted to know that too. I’m sorry you’ve not had a reply. Not use xanthan gum, I suspect.
Carolyn says
They did not get a reply because the question has already been asked and answered in previous comments…