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Pictured above with my Ultimate Brownies and a Skinny Chocolate drizzle
What is life without ice cream? Here’s a basic recipe that can be adapted for many different flavors. Check out my ice cream recipe index for lots of great ideas!
(Shown below with natural peanut butter, sliced strawberries, and Skinny Chocolate, the recipe for which can be found in the book Trim Healthy Mama. The chocolate drizzle hardens as it cools.)
If you don’t have an ice cream maker and don’t want to invest in one, check out my single-serving base ice cream recipe that doesn’t require a machine.
Need an E or FP ice cream base? I’ve got you covered right here!
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- 2½ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 egg (optional but adds a nice richness)*
- 1 T vegetable glycerin (optional but highly recommended)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 6-7 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (a doonk is 1/32 tsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. glucomannan
- Blend all ingredients together until completely smooth. Churn in an automatic countertop ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Freeze to firm up even more, if desired.
- Like most homemade ice creams, this recipe is best eaten fresh (unless using vegetable glycerin, which gives you more flexibility-see below). If you have leftovers, freeze them and when you're ready to eat them, either let them sit out on the counter for 30 minutes or so or defrost them for a few seconds in the microwave.
- I recommend adding 1 T of vegetable glycerin to this ice cream to keep it from sticking to the sides of the ice cream maker and to keep it softer and not let it get hard so fast in the freezer. If you freeze the ice cream for an extended length of time in the freezer, it will still freeze hard, but if you let it sit out to soften up a little, the glycerin keeps it scoopable instead of icy. Transfer the ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator 3 hours before serving for optimum texture, or let it sit out on the counter for 30-40 minutes.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, you could try freezing the blended mixture in ice cube trays, blending the cubes with a little unsweetened almond milk or heavy whipping cream in a high-powered blender until it reaches a soft-serve consistency, then freezing to firm up if desired.
Recipe updated 2/24/16
Suggested products:
- I recommend sweetening this ice cream recipe with THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder, which can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
- To churn this ice cream, I use a Cuisinart 1 1/2 qt. Automatic machine. I’ve been very pleased with its results, although I often put the ice cream in the freezer for another hour or so after churning to firm it up.
- Glucomannan
- Vegetable Glycerin
This is my first THM ice cream recipe. It just did not taste sweet at all. Maybe I was expecting it to taste more like ice cream.
Feel free to add more sweetener to taste; a lot of people do since I like things not as sweet. 🙂 This is one of my older recipes, and it’s meant to be quick to whip up and light on calories. If you’re wanting something more similar to regular ice cream, I recommend starting with this recipe! https://www.briana-thomas.com/basic-vanilla-scoopable-ice-cream/
Made this tonight and I am trying to figure out where I goofed….it tastes ok, but it is nowhere near ice cream consistency. More like a super cold yogurt. I used coconut cream and I’m wondering if that messed it up? Or maybe I didn’t turn it long enough. This was my first time ever making ice cream. Thanks!
Using coconut cream could definitely change the consistency. This will be a soft serve texture right after churning because it doesn’t have a super high fat content, but you can always stick it in the freezer for a few hours to firm it up to the desired consistency. 🙂 Churning longer may help too; if using the churn I recommend it will probably take 15-20 minutes I’m guessing? I haven’t made this one in awhile so I can’t remember for sure.
Hi Briana,
I love your site, thanks for putting all this out here for us. I wanted to let you know that the link for Glucomannan says that the Manufacturer has discontinued the product. :/ I wanted you to know-if you didn’t already.
Hi Cindy! Thanks for pointing that out! I’m afraid Netrition no longer carries that brand, and for awhile Amazon didn’t either, but currently (07.09.19) it’s available on Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/2JpbWJB
So I don’t know if it’s actually discontinued by the manufacturer or not! I hope not! I really like the Konjac Foods brand of glucomannan and don’t find it to be slimy. I’m afraid a lot of my old links still point to the product on Netrition’s website and I haven’t had time to go through hundreds of posts and change them… 🙁 It’s an ever-changing world out there!
Amazon has some good options s product.
I am wondering, after I put this in the freezer, it tastes ice crystallly instead of smooth. Any way to get rid of that…?
What kind of sweetener did you use? If you used a granulated sweetener you may want to grind it in a coffee grinder before adding it since this recipe isn’t heated and some sweeteners may not dissolve so well in cold liquid. =)
I ‘m having the same problem as Jacci. I used the THM stevia extract listed. I’m wondering I need to let it thaw longer than I think?
I’m afraid I’m not sure what would be causing the ice crystal effect! Thawing longer might help, or you could try adding more cream or half and half in place of some of the almond milk when making it again. Almond milk is on the icier side when frozen. This recipe is best eaten fresh as a soft serve since it’s lower in fat and calories. I have some other richer recipes that work better for long term freezing and thawing, like this one: https://www.briana-thomas.com/basic-vanilla-scoopable-ice-cream/
I’ve seen your ice cream recipes for years, I finally decided to try this in 2019. Absolutely fantastic! I made mine with chopped smoked almonds and coconut flakes, with a bit of almond extract. Thanks for all the work you do!
Oooh…that sounds amazing!
How many carbs are in this recipe?
I don’t usually calculate nutrition info on my recipes since the healthy eating lifestyle I follow doesn’t require it (Trim Healthy Mama), but MyFitnessPal is a super easy way to find nutrition facts! If you sign up for an account, under the Recipes tab there’s a place where you can just add the link to a recipe and it will pull up the ingredients for you to confirm, then generate the nutritional info! 🙂
Do you think this recipe would work well to make ice cream bars or would they get rock hard?
Yes, this is a lighter ice cream so leftovers get fairly hard. For ice cream bars that don’t take so long to thaw, I recommend the chocolate-covered ice cream bar recipe or the ice cream sandwich recipe in the Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts section of my cookbook, Necessary Food.
You could also try this recipe: https://www.briana-thomas.com/chocolate-covered-peanut-butter-ice-cream-bars/
Or turn this ice cream recipe into bars: https://www.briana-thomas.com/special-occasion-ice-cream/
Or this one: https://www.briana-thomas.com/basic-vanilla-scoopable-ice-cream/
Here’s an ice cream sandwich you could adapt: https://www.briana-thomas.com/peppermint-ice-cream-sandwiches/
I have an abundance of egg yolks in the freezer. Could I use one of those? Or is a whole egg preferable?
Hi Andrea! I would try using 2 egg yolks in place of the whole egg, but I personally haven’t had much success with freezing and thawing egg yolks. They tend to get pretty solid, but maybe if you have a good blender it won’t be an issue.
This recipe saved my “stay on plan 4th of July”! Thank you! I have now pulled your cookbook off my shelf to use some more. Thanks for making THM so fun!
I’m glad you liked it, Adrienne! Way to go, staying on plan!
I made this tonight. I forgot the egg, but did have the glycerine. I added 1 1/2 Tbs. cocoa powder. I melted some 85% dark chocolate with part of the whipping cream and coated some almonds in it for a toothsome add-in.
Silky, creamy, no hint of cottage cheese and approved by the whole family. Even though my kids are not following a keto diet as my husband and I are, I figure this recipe is far healthier for them than store bought varieties.
If I don’t use the egg or heavy whipping cream would I be at an e or fp instead of an s?
Yes, without the egg and heavy whipping cream, this recipe would be a FP, but the texture would change drastically. If you want a FP ice cream recipe, I recommend checking out this one that is already a FP: https://www.briana-thomas.com/basic-e-or-fp-ice-cream-recipe/
Here’s another FP option: https://www.briana-thomas.com/strawberry-almond-soft-serve/
I made this for the first time tonight. It tasted great at first, but seemed to lose flavor while eating it. Any advise? We are a family of seven and four of us agree this happened, I know it’s weird.
I would use half the amount of glucomannan. I haven’t noticed that happening myself, but glucomannan can have that effect sometimes and if the brand you’re using is pretty strong, that could be the culprit. 🙂
My husband makes this ice cream often and we love it! He’s been adding one scoop of whey protein to the recipe and we love the texture it gives. Is there any ready why this isn’t a good idea as far as it being on plan??
Adding whey protein is a great idea! Nothing wrong with that!
Love this recipe! So yummy! Just wondering though if xanthan gum can be used in place of the Glucci?
That should work. 🙂
I was just wondering if there is anything you can use instead of stevia, maybe honey? and also is the glucomann needed in this? xx
You can use whichever sweetener you normally use (you can use this conversion chart to help: http://www.trimhealthymama.com/main-home/sweetener-conversion-chart/ ), but if you use a granulated sweetener you may need to powder it first so it will dissolve since this ice cream base does not get cooked before churning. I’ve never tried honey in an ice cream recipe so I really have no idea how it acts – I’m sorry! I assume it would work; it would at least be worth a try! The glucomannan really helps the texture, so I don’t recommend leaving it out (it’s a natural thickener). Xanthan gum is similar and more readily available locally, and they are usually interchangeable in a 1:1 ratio.
I’m trying this recipe as chocolate but I’ve forgotten to add the Gluccie… does this mean it won’t churn into ice cream? I’m using all the same products you have used with the exception of gentle sweet instead of stevia.
It should still churn, but the texture probably won’t be as smooth and creamy.
This recipe also works well with xanthan gum instead of gluccie, which my husband doesn’t like. He LOVED this ice cream. We found the perfect serving combo–THM zucchini trimtastic cake (leave the butter out), topped with natural pb and then this ice cream. We found we didn’t care for the chocolate in the horsetracks ice cream (the flavors didn’t complement each other), but the pb was great, so we tried the ice cream on the chocolate trimtastic cake with pb instead, and it was awesome! Have you tried subbing either yogurt or light cream cheese in for the cottage cheese? We don’t always have cottage cheese on hand, but my husband loved this ice cream recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the ice cream! I personally don’t care for the flavor of Greek yogurt in ice cream, and I’ve never tried cream cheese because it has a lot more fat than the cottage cheese we buy. If you enjoy a cream cheese flavor in your ice cream and don’t mind the extra calories, I’m sure it would work, though. 🙂
Hi Briana, I am new to THM and your Ice Cream recipes pop up alot, and I am a HUGE fan of Ice Cream (kind of my downfall) i want to try the basic vanilla but it calls for the pure stevia can i substitute truvia instead. stevia in that form gives me severe migraines. Thanks so much for your help and contributions. You are such a blessing to my ice cream habit!!! 😉
Hi Lisa! I always use stevia because it dissolves so well, and some people who have used granulated sweeteners in my ice cream recipes have told me that they’re gritty. If you use Truvia, I would grind it in a coffee grinder first. 🙂 You can use this sweetener conversion chart to help find out how much you would use: http://www.trimhealthymama.com/main-home/sweetener-conversion-chart/ (measure the Truvia before grinding it).
Where can vegetable glycerin be purchased at?
I usually purchase mine here from Amazon (affiliate link): https://www.briana-thomas.com/recommends/vegetable-glycerin-2/
Brianna,
I just love your site and look forward to your cookbook! I tried your basic ice cream tonight and added cocoa powder to make chocolate, but it didn’t freeze. It came out like a thick pudding. I followed the directions and the directions on my brand new ice cream maker. Any idea what could have gone wrong? This was my first attempt at home made ice cream.
Thank you!
Jean
Jean
Hi Jean! My best guess is that your ice cream maker canister wasn’t completely frozen. How long did you freeze it before making the ice cream?
Brianna,
We had it in the freezer 24 hours but my fridge is old and the freezer is not that cold so that definitely could be a possibility! I’m going to try again after freezing the bowl for a longer time. Thank you so much!
No problem – I hope it works out better for you next time!
I just made this tonight and it turned rock hard on the sides of ice-cream maker…. Any idea of why?
Maybe you left it in the ice cream maker too long or your ice cream maker is not working properly. A thin coating usually sticks to the sides of mine, so I just scrape everything out of the middle and leave the aluminum canister out on the counter until it warms up enough for me to get the rest of the ice cream off.
Looks yummy!
I’m planning to use it for root-beer shakes(I might not be able to use it right away but have to freeze it for awhile)! At parties, I longingly look at other’s foaming cups and I have to think about how yummy and refreshing it would be.
Holy Grail Pizza & Root-beer shakes are on the menu!!
_thanks briana_
Great idea! You’ll probably want to let it set out about 20-30 minutes before serving to let it soften up.
Can these recipes be used in a large electric ice cream maker?
Thank you!
The kind I use is an electric countertop model. I assume you could use this in a larger model if that’s what you have, but I don’t know for sure how it would respond. Now if you’re asking about the kind that uses ice and rock salt, I’m not sure on that either. I’ve been wanting to try that, but I’m out of state for the summer and I’m afraid testing will have to wait until I get back.
I have tried several different low carb icecream recipes. Some have been to calorie dense even being sugar free and some to icy. This is the best recipe I have made I can’t wait to try the other flavors and it’s THM friendly yipeee!
Wow, thank you! I’m so glad you liked it!
I love your website! My question: is the egg critical to the vanilla ice cream recipe?
Not critical, no, but recommended for extra richness and flavor. If you don’t add it, add a few tablespoons more cream. 🙂
Thanks for your site…I Love it!,
I’m impressed! Will be here often 🙂