We tested all the best keto ice cream brands on the market. Which brands of sugar free ice cream taste the best? Which ones are truly keto friendly? Which ones stay soft in the freezer? Read on to find out!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for keto ice cream. Yet again, I find myself updating this review of keto ice cream brands. This is the third time in 4 years, for heaven’s sake!
In my opinion, nothing can compare to my homemade keto ice cream. It’s creamier, more flavorful, and you can scoop it straight from the freezer. And I have tons of great ice cream recipes in so many wonderful flavors.
But you also have to spend time making it yourself, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Or everyone’s scoop of ice cream, maybe? Which is why store-bought keto ice cream is so popular.
Keep in mind, however, that anybody can slap the word keto on their product. Sometimes it truly is, but sometimes it really not. And sometimes it really is keto but it doesn’t taste very good.
You deserve ice cream that tastes good and doesn’t blow your macros or spike your blood sugar. Am I right?
Taste testing keto ice cream
My family and I decided to review every brand of low carb ice cream we could get our hands on. We spent a whole afternoon, tasting and reviewing, grading each on a range of variables:
- Flavor
- Scoopability (how hard it is straight out of the freezer)
- Mouthfeel/Consistency (how creamy it is)
- Variety (how many flavors)
- Ingredients (how clean and truly keto are they)
- Carb count (total carbs and net carbs per serving)
Then we gave them a final overall grade. Curious which recipes made the grade? I know you are!
Calculating net carbs
Before we begin, I want to clarify one of our parameters. One of the biggest concerns I have with many keto products is their reliance on net carbs to achieve a keto friendly carb count.
Net carbs is a valid concept, but it’s been badly abused and bastardized by many companies in the low carb and keto space. What exactly do I mean by that?
Well, have you ever flipped a keto energy bar and seen 25g of total carbs and been shocked? And then you see 17g of fiber and 6g of sugar alcohols, and you realize that’s how they arrive at 2g of net carbs.
These brands are adding fiber to a product that probably doesn’t need it, in order to lower the net carbs. And since we really don’t know much of that fiber is absorbed by the bloodstream, it can be very misleading and not particularly trustworthy.
In my rather experienced opinion, the only things you can reliably subtract from total carbs is a handful of sweeteners, including erythritol and allulose. They have zero carb impact and shouldn’t even really be treated as a carbohydrate.
For the purposes of this article, we calculate our own net carbs, which is simply total carbohydrate minus erythritol and allulose.
Keto Ice Cream Brands Review
Ready to get started? Grab a spoon and dig in!
Please note that brands are listed in alphabetical order.
Enlightened Keto
When I last updated this ice cream review, Enlightened only carried a low fat, low sugar line and I gave it a failing grade. Now they carry a wide array of keto friendly ice cream. My kids love it.
Flavor: Very good all around flavor. A
Scoopability: Not great right out of the freezer, needs a few minutes to warm up. C
Mouthfeel: Mostly creamy but some flavors are a bit chalky. B
Variety: Lots of fun, interesting flavors but no basics like vanilla or chocolate. B
Ingredients: Pretty decent ingredients. Contains soluble corn fiber which some people object to (I do not see any spikes or issues from this). B
Carb count: Average of 16g TOTAL CARBS and 7.5g NET CARBS (total minus erythritiol and allulose only). C+
Overall grade: B. Good choice for a treat and my kids love it. If you are diabetic, please test it on yourself carefully.
Halo Top Keto
Halo Top has flipped back and forth a number of times now. The original line was pretty low carb and acceptable as a treat. Then they changed their formula and went for lower fat and higher carbs. Now they have introduced a full keto line.
Flavor: We tried a couple of their more interesting flavors (Jelly Donut and White Chocolate Macadamia). I personally found them too sweet and artificial tasting but the kids loved them. B-
Scoopability: Easy to scoop right out of the freezer. A
Mouthfeel: One flavor was creamy, the other was a bit chalky. B
Variety: Lots of interesting flavors, not too many basics but they do have vanilla bean. B+
Ingredients: Some flavors are cleaner than others! Vanilla is good but some of the crazier ones contain cornstarch, maltitol, and even wheat. C-
Carb count: Average of 15g TOTAL CARBS and 6.5g NET CARBS (total minus erythritol only). A-
Overall Grade: B-. Some flavors are better than others! Read your labels and proceed with caution.
Keto Pint
Full disclosure: this is a local brand and I love the people behind it. But we approached this review with absolute objectivity.
Flavor: Good but tends to be subtle and less sweet than other brands. B
Scoopability: Rock hard out of the freezer, needs 15 to 20 minutes on the counter. D
Mouthfeel: Seems crumbly on the spoon but ends up creamy in the mouth. B
Variety: Nothing too wild and crazy but good solid choices. But they don’t carry vanilla. B
Ingredients: Pretty clean, nothing questionable. A few flavors have added starches so read your labels. B+
Carb count: Average of 16g TOTAL CARBS and 6.25g NET CARBS (total – erythritol only). A-
Overall Grade: B. Most flavors are truly keto friendly, we just wish it was more scoopable and that the flavors were more intense.
Killer Creamery
I first got a chance to try this brand at KetoCon 2019. It’s now much more widely available and we see it frequently at Whole Foods and New Seasons.
Flavor: We were split. My husband and I liked them, but the kids did not. I honestly can’t say why, I think the flavors are terrific.
Scoopability: Pretty hard out of the freezer, and it needs 10 minutes to soften. C
Mouthfeel: It seems a bit crumbly and chalky but gets creamy as it softens. B
Variety: Pretty basic, nothing too fancy but covers the usual favorites. B
Ingredients: Pretty clean, even in their jazzed up Whale Tales flavor. They do contain soluble corn fiber, which some people find objectionable. B+
Carb Count: Average of 15g TOTAL CARBS. Net carbs are a bit unclear, since the grams of allulose aren’t listed anywhere near the nutrition label. On the website it says that net carbs are calculated with 4g of allulose so I have to assume that is for ALL varieties. If that’s the case, net carbs = 7g. B+
Overall grade: B. A good choice for keto, I just wish the amount of allulose was more clearly called out.
Rebel Creamery
This was the FIRST truly keto ice cream on the market. At first, I had to order it online but now it’s been picked up by major grocery chains like Krogers. Hooray!
Flavor: Enjoyed by all! My kids love the cookies and cream flavor. A-
Scoopability: Easy enough to scoop straight out of the freezer. In the past I’ve had some trouble with that so perhaps they’ve changed their formula? A-
Mouthfeel: Seems a bit crumbly at first but has a creamy finish. B+
Variety: A great line up of both basic and interesting flavors. A
Ingredients: Pretty clean, nothing questionable in any of their flavors. A-
Carb Count: Average of 16.5g TOTAL CARBS and 6.25g NET CARBS (total – erythritol only). A-
Overall Grade: A-. A great choice for all keto dieters. I highly recommend.
Simple Truth Keto
Kroger has now developed their own brand of keto ice cream!
Flavor: Great flavor all around. A
Scoopability: It is not scoopable straight out of the freezer, needs 10 minutes to soften. C
Mouthfeel: Pretty creamy. B+
Variety: Very limited, only 4 flavors and has none of the basics. C
Ingredients: Pretty clean for most flavors but the Butter Pecan does contain corn syrup. B-
Carb count: Average of 15.5g TOTAL carbs and 7.5g NET (total – erythritol only). C
Overall grade: B-. A decent choice but use sparingly and read your labels.
A few other brands to mention
Mammoth Creamery
We did not actually test this one this time around, because it’s not widely available in our area. I have had it before and it’s good and VERY clean ingredients. They simply use cream, butter, xylitol, salt and whatever flavorings the varieties include.
My only concern with this brand is that it’s sweetened with xylitol and many diabetics find that this spikes them at least a little bit. But the total carb count is so low and the xylitol is usually 5g per serving.
Overall grade – NA, more testing needed if I can get my hands on some.
Nick’s Ice Cream
Readers have asked me about this brand, but the jury is still out. The only varieties available in my area are not definitely too high carb to be considered keto.
They do have a few of their more plain flavors (vanilla, caramel, birthday cake, etc.) that they call keto friendly. But their website is not particularly forthcoming on how many grams of allulose they contain so it’s hard for me to determent a true net carb count. And since they use mostly skim milk and contain things like cornstarch and xylitol, I am skeptical on how “keto” they can really be.
So Delicious
So Delicious is the only dairy-free brand on the market that’s making no-sugar-added ice cream. Sadly, it’s not really that low carb and it’s rock hard coming out of the freezer. We purchased some for this review and we left it out for 20 minutes and still had trouble scooping it!
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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The only ones available in my area are Halo Top, Rebel, Enlightened and Arctic Zero. AZ is the last resort for me – only if I need something cold and sorta sweet but nothing else. I have 2 beefs with Rebel: (a) the Vanilla has a horrible metallic taste, (b) calorie count. I may eat keto-ish, but calories are still important to me and for my individual style 150 calories and up per 1/2 cup serving just doesn’t work. I have no self control around ice cream and limiting to a tablespoon or so of Rebel at a time is not a price I’m willing to pay. Enlightened can be strange, but their Red Velvet hits the spot for me with creaminess and sweet. Can’t find it any more, though. So I’ll stick with Halo Top. Hint to everyone: You will never replace Haagen-Dasz with a low carb version, so make the best you can of it. My freezer cannot accommodate the Cuisinart ice cream maker bowl, and my fridge is already stuffed with Bob’s Red Mill Flours and Swerve packets, so adding leftover chicharrones to the mix would push out the eggs and yogurt. Sigh. No free lunch.
I love the Breyers low carb chocolate ice cream and I just found out they also make a peanut butter flavor and chocolate dipped ice cream bars too! It’s affordable and available at mainstream grocery stores. I actually found the best selection at Wal-Mart.
On the Rebel Ice cream, it says to leave it out for 15 minutes before eating it. This helps it not to be so crumbly. I think it’s amazing!
They all say that. And yes it helps but some people still object to the texture of some of these ice creams.
So I tried the Killer Creamier 3 different flavors I felt they were very medicine tasting. I couldn’t find the one you tried of the Salted Caramel but it made me sad that they texture and taste wasn’t very good. On the other hand I had rebel cookie dough in the fridge so all was not lost. For texture I have to say Rebel just wins hands down on what is currently on market.
The only low carb ice creams I have in my area are Halo Top and Rebel. Rebel just appeared about 3 months ago, so Halo Top was the only choice for quite some time. I definitely was not a fan of the texture of Halo Top and gave up on it after a few tries. I did let it soften for quite some time, but the texture still was very chalky and gritty. Then Rebel came along, and I gave it a try thinking it would be the same. The texture at first seemed a little chalky again, so I left it out even longer to see what would happen. I have found that, even with the warmer summer temperatures, I need to let it sit on the countertop for about an hour (sometimes longer) before it truly softens. When I do that, it is SOOOOO creamy and delicious. So I decided to try that with another Halo Top, but I still did not like the texture. Can’t wait to see if other brands make it to my area. Until they do, Rebel will be my brand unless I take the leap and start making my own.
Try the Low Cow brand. I can’t remember where I found it, but it beat Halo Top by a mile!
Sorry but with those ingredients (this brand contains sugar, cornstarch, and maltitol), I cannot say this would be a very good choice for keto or even for low carb. Except in very small amounts.
Nobody has mentioned Sola, which I’ve seen in a couple stores. It has a creamy texture. It is sweetened partly with tagatose but does have “less than 2% maltitol”. https://solasweet.com/product/ice-cream/
Regarding corn fiber, I read here:
https://convenientketo.net/tapioca-fiber-soluble-corn-fiber-imo/
that corn fiber has a low blood sugar impact, at least for one individual, unlike tapioca fiber aka IMO, which has been showing up in a lot of things.
Yes, so they say about corn fibre. But tell that to a diabetic who’s sugar spikes every time. Also… some of the brands actually contain corn syrup, not corn fiber. I have not seen any Sola ice cream as yet near me.
Are people not letting their ice cream sit out on the counter before eating? We buy rebel ice cream and depending on the flavor (some of them take longer), we leave them sit out before eating. My favorite, Butter pecan, takes over 30 min to soften…the texture is super creamy!!
I have to admit that out of all the “keto” or “low carb” ice creams out there, I’ve only eaten Rebel. And the reason I haven’t tried anything else is because it is FABULOUS! I’ve probably tried all of their flavors–love that it’s sent to me all the way across the country (still haven’t seen it in my local stores). The negative comments that were made can be fixed by (1) letting it thaw a few minutes on the counter or (2) warming it a bit in the microwave (yes, the microwave!) for a minute at 50% power. I find Rebel ice creams to be creamy, sweet, and delicious! I love that I can recognize all the ingredients and that they come in a variety of flavors. My daughter’s favorite is Coffee Chip and mine is Butter Pecan, but we enjoy all the others. I hope that other blog readers will give it a try. Just let it get a little soft, and you can dish it out of the pint container with ease and enjoy it!
I’m in Austin, and of the Keto selections you’ve covered, have only seen Rebel. They started carrying it at HEB, the local supermarket chain.
Enlightened is GROSS– once I accidentally left out a pint and it “melted” to a completely solid mass of jiggly goo from all the stabilizers and chemicals. Not something I want to ingest.
Apparently Mammoth is local, you should check them out.
I just moved from Portland to CA and I have to give props to KETO ice cream, it is the best out there in my opinion and sea salt Carmel my absolute favorite (I didn’t care for coffee one)! REBEL is my second favorite , I love love the butter pecan and my husbands favorite is strawberry. I did try Killer but only the chocolate peanut butter and thought it was pretty good. Thank you for these posts and awesome recipes!
I have a small grocery store in Lake Tahoe – thanks for the reviews…so far, we’ve ordered the enlightened and arctic…hoping to be able to switch to KETO as soon as they are available in our area. Thanks for the new suggestions!
Oh very cool! I could put you in touch with the people behind Keto Pint or Rebel if you wanted to carry it at your store. For me, these two are on par in terms of taste and texture.
Taste can be very subjective, but on texture… I found the Keto Pint to be very powdery. They advertised a video of you trying it, but was that their production batch? You even said it was scoopable out of the freezer on this video on their instagram. But It took twice as long to to soften as other keto ice creams, and and even then it was still crumbly and powdery… It tasted very powdery in my mouth too. It was very strange. I’ve seen dozens of others on Instagram try to fix this by stirring it for like 15 minutes, after letting it soften for like 45 minutes, to try and make it creamy… so I’m not sure how the texture could be on par with Rebel? Did you try their new improved formula or something
It was a test batch that I tried, yes. But they’ve now changed their formula to be only egg yolks and not whole eggs so you may find it less crumbly now. I’ve since had both of their commercial batches (the ones with whole eggs and the ones just with egg yolks) and I know what you’re talking about. The egg yolk only version is better.
And personally, I find Rebel has many of the same issues.
Thanks Carolyn for this great read! I live in NE Oregon and Keto Pint thankfully is available in my small town. I treat myself occasionally and now feel more confident on indulging after reading your review. Salted Caramel, Coffee and P-nut butter are the only flavors available here, but hey I’ll take it!
When Rebel ice cream ads first popped on Instagram I was anxious to finally try a REAL keto-friendly commercial ice cream! I was then super excited to find that Publix had picked them up and offers them at their stores (1200+!). My husband and I have been hooked ever since. He loves the Butter Pecan and I’m kinda hooked on the Peanut Butter Fudge… and wow, a net carb count for the WHOLE pint that’s equal to the 1/2 cup servings of others we have tried! …Not that we have ever eaten an entire pint! Rebel is creamy and filling and I always hurry the “soften” time by popping the carton in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
Thank you for your review! I useRebel and defrost it in the microwave! On another note, will you please tell me how many teaspoons of Pink salt (not grams) I should consume daily. Thank you!
Sorry, I know nothing about consuming pink salt.
Per Phinney & Volek, 2 1/2 teaspoons of pink salt per day if you are keto. https://blog.virtahealth.com/sodium-nutritional-ketosis-keto-flu-adrenal-function/
But I came here not to answer salt questions but to offer my appreciation for these reviews and to say that Rebel is my new favorite. The mint chip and coffee chip are so tasty. Yes, it has to set on the counter for 15-20 minutes to be scoopable but it is truly keto and it’s delicious.
Thanks so much for this (updated) post. Rebel is the only truly keto ice cream I can purchase in my small town and I’m so pleased to have access to it. While it’s definitely rock hard straight out of the freezer, I’ ve started following the suggestion on the carton to let it sit out 15min before consuming (not easy to do!) and it makes a huge difference in texture…much creamier. (to be honest, the drive home from the store seems to be the exact measure of time to wait!). I assume this recommendation would apply to other keto ice-creams as well.
Yes, I should have mentioned that. Even homemade keto ice cream needs that sometimes.