LOW CARB NO CHURN VANILLA ICE CREAM

October 23, 2024 Naturally Sweet Products

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Low carb sugar free no churn vanilla ice cream

This is the best recipe for sugar free ice cream. It is so easy to make and the texture is really smooth and creamy.

Prep 20 minutes · Cook 5 minutes · Freeze 12 hours · Serves 12

The reason this ice cream works

While there are some less common ingredients in this recipe, they are the reason it is so good. In the past I have tried to make so many different ice creams and have never been happy with the end result. I believe this is the best homemade ice cream recipe you are going to make.

This is another ice cream where I emulated one of the best ones you can buy from the store — and it actually tastes better than any store-bought version I have tried. You will also save plenty of money, as it is not going to cost you $13 for 500g, which is what you pay for premium low carb ice cream in Australia.

Dairy free and paleo option

If you are avoiding dairy, you can swap the cream for coconut cream. Switch the cream in full for coconut cream but still follow the instructions — heat 400g of coconut cream with your sweetener, and also beat the coconut cream before adding the chilled sweetener mixture. Just do not expect to get the peaks you would get using pure or heavy cream.

Where to buy MCT oil and guar gum

MCT oil and guar gum or xanthan gum are the stars of this recipe. You will find both at iHerb and specialty stores, and MCT oil is also available in some chemists and supermarkets. Some people get a laxative effect from MCT oil, but you can switch it for extra virgin olive oil. You cannot taste the olive oil at all and it works brilliantly as a replacement.

Serving

A feature of low carb and sugar free ice creams is that they do tend to firm up in the freezer. Unlike regular ice cream that you can pull out and scoop into straight away, you may need to let this one sit at room temperature to soften a little. Trust me, it is going to be worth the wait.

The reason xylitol is brilliant in ice cream is that it does not crystallise in the freezer the way other sweeteners do. I have found this vanilla recipe stays soft and creamy, so you probably will not need to let it sit before scooping. What affects this most is which sweetener you use.

Dog lovers beware. Please take care with xylitol — it can seriously harm and kill dogs. I am an avid dog lover with two beautiful schnauzers I would never want to harm. Just as I am careful with chocolate, I make sure I never leave food containing xylitol anywhere they can reach it.

I gave a lot of thought to using xylitol because of my dogs, and refused to use it initially. I eventually decided I would keep using it but be cautious. I have had an issue with dark chocolate and one of my dogs — it made her so ill we thought we would lose her — but that has not stopped me having dark chocolate in the house. What it has done is make me more vigilant when the dogs are around.

Ingredients

600ml pure or heavy cream
½ cup xylitol (see the sweetener notes below for alternatives)
1 tablespoon MCT oil, or extra virgin olive oil
400ml sugar free coconut cream, or quality full-fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (scraped vanilla bean can also be added)
A pinch of sea salt
½ teaspoon guar gum — measured very accurately. See notes about xanthan gum.

Method

Bring the coconut cream, xylitol, salt and vanilla extract to just below boiling point on the stove top. Add scraped vanilla bean at the same time if using. Hand whisk to ensure the sweetener has dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool completely in the fridge.
Once the coconut cream mixture has cooled, beat it with the MCT oil and salt using electric beaters until smooth and creamy.
Whip the cream in a large mixing bowl until it thickens and forms peaks. Add the coconut cream mixture to the whipped cream and beat until well combined.
Sprinkle or sift your precisely measured guar gum over the mixture and beat it in quickly until well combined. Take particular care not to over-mix, but do make sure the gum is fully incorporated. Sprinkle it away from the edges of the bowl, as it clumps there, and scrape the sides down while beating.
Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container with a lid, or one that can be well sealed, to prevent icing up and hardening.
Freeze until firm — overnight is ideal. The ice cream firms up the longer it is in the freezer, which is when you will be grateful for the softening agents (the oil and the gum).
You may need to let it sit on the bench for up to 20 minutes before serving if it is too firm to scoop. If you used xylitol it should be scoopable straight from the freezer.

Sweetener notes

Xylitol is the best sweetener for ice cream because it does not crystallise when frozen. Testing showed good results across a range of sweeteners, but if you use an alternative there is no guarantee the result will be as smooth.

To replace the ½ cup of xylitol:

Monk fruit blend — use ½ cup. It replaces sugar 1:1.
Erythritol — use about &frac23; cup, since it is only around 70% as sweet as sugar. Expect a firmer, icier result, as erythritol recrystallises in the freezer.
Stevia blend — use only about 1½ tablespoons. Our stevia blend is five times sweeter than sugar, so a straight swap by volume would be badly over-sweet. Because that removes most of the bulk, top up with erythritol if the mixture seems thin.

Taste the mixture before freezing so you can adjust the sweetness to your own taste. Our conversion chart has the exact ratios for every sweetener we sell.

Recipe notes

This recipe was made to be a no-churn ice cream, so you do not need an ice cream maker. It can be made in a churner if you prefer — follow your churner's instructions once the mixture has been made as above. If you would rather a traditional churned custard version, we have a churned vanilla ice cream as well.

For a creamier result use coconut cream rather than coconut milk. Coconut milk reduces the calories slightly but the end result is slightly icier and not quite as creamy.

For a dairy free or paleo version, simply switch the pure or heavy cream for coconut cream, following the same steps. Your coconut cream will not whip up the way cream does, but it still works beautifully.

If you do not have guar gum, try ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum in its place. Guar gum is preferred if possible. Measure either one accurately — too much and your ice cream will end up claggy.

If you do not have MCT oil you can simply leave it out, or switch it for the same amount of extra virgin olive oil, as long as it is a light-tasting EVOO and not "light olive oil". It helps prevent icing up and creates a smoother texture, and you will not taste it.