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Recipe updated 6.27.18.
That’s right! You can now have ice cream on a Deep S day of a Fuel Cycle, Trim Healthy Mamas! This Foundational Frozen Custard is a terrific creamy French vanilla ice cream!
Fats are great, but sometimes we overuse certain kinds of fats that our bodies don’t digest as well (such as cream cheese, nuts, heavy whipping cream, and cheese). There’s nothing wrong with those fats per se, but our bodies just don’t burn them as efficiently as they burn fats from coconut oil, eggs, butter, and meat. On the Trim Healthy Mama plan, recipes that use these efficient fats without the heavier fats and common sources of trace carbs (such as Greek yogurt and cottage cheese) are called Deep S recipes. When I was putting my cookbook together, I needed a category for my Deep S-style recipes, so I labeled them “Foundation Fats,” hence the name of the two recipes I posted today. (Click here to see my Foundational Peanut Butter Topping recipe.)
Recently I’ve been trying to implement Deep S recipes into my diet instead of always relying on Heavy S. My body has responded well, and I can tell that my metabolism runs so much better when I feed it cleaner, more energy-efficient fuels! Even though my ice cream recipes are usually fairly light in the heavy cream department (you can find out more about that in this post I did answering healthy ice cream FAQs), I knew I wanted an ice cream recipe that was compatible with Deep S. That’s where this frozen custard comes in.
If you don’t just want plain ice cream, feel free to make some of these Deep S Superfood Brownies and some of this Foundational Peanut Butter Topping and have yourself a Deep S brownie sundae! Is that a thing?? It is now! You could also use the chocolate mixture from my Mock Moosetracks Ice Cream recipe as a chocolate hardshell topping on this ice cream.
Since Deep S guidelines are fairly strict, I was fairly certain that vegetable glycerin would be a no-no. The xylitol does a good job of keeping this ice cream from sticking to the freezer canister, though.
As always, check out the Notes section of the printable recipe below for answers to FAQs. Check out the Suggested Products section below the recipe to find links to the products and equipment I use and recommend.
You might also enjoy:
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Starting THM
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my picture recipe index
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my recipes indexed by THM fuel type, allergy info, and theme
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my Deep S recipes
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Your Healthy Ice Cream FAQs Answered
You can pin this recipe here:

- ⅓ c. refined coconut oil
- 3 c. unsweetened almond milk
- 2 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ c. + 2 T. xylitol (or more, to taste)
- 1 T. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1/16 tsp. (2 doonks) THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
- ½ tsp. glucomannan
- Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on the stovetop. Add the rest of the ingredients except the glucomannan and blend with an immersion blender. Add the glucomannan slowly while blending to avoid clumps. Cook over medium heat just until the mixture starts to bubble, whisking often. Pull it off the heat immediately. Cool, then chill completely before churning.
- Churn in an automatic countertop ice cream churn according to manufacturer's directions. Transfer to a shallow airtight container and enjoy immediately, or freeze for a few hours to firm up. Let leftovers thaw to a scoopable consistency before eating.
I don't recommend replacing the xylitol with a less concentrated sweetener. The sugar alcohols improve the texture of the ice cream and keep it from sticking to the sides of the ice cream maker.
I bet this ice cream mixture would make great pudding pops!
If you don't have an ice cream maker, you could try freezing the pudding into ice cubes, then blending the cubes with a little almond milk in a high-powered blender until a soft-serve consistency is reached.
(This recipe was updated 6.27.18.)
Suggested products:
- Xylitol – improves the texture of ice cream and helps it thaw faster
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder – this is a very concentrated and thus very economical sweetener that I use wherever I can to stretch my money
- Glucomannan (Amazon)
- Glucomannan (same brand as above, but from Netrition.com)
- Cuisinart 1 1/2 qt. Automatic Ice Cream Churn – this is the ice cream churn that I’ve been using for years!
- Immersion blender
I bought the cuisinart for making one of the ice cream recipes you shared. Hmmm…I can’t find that recipe! Please re-post!
Thank You,
Lynnita
You can find all my ice cream recipes right here >> https://www.briana-thomas.com/indexes/complete-pictorial-recipe-index/ice-cream
This is a great one to start with >> https://www.briana-thomas.com/ultimate-vanilla-bean-ice-cream/
Is there a sub for the coconut oil?
I haven’t tried it with anything else, but I suppose you could try butter. Coconut oil revs the metabolism more, though.
Hello, Have you tried other sweeteners besides just stevia? Like one of the THM blends, or straight erythritol or xylitol? Thanks! Having fun trying your many ice cream recipes! THANKS! God Bless!
Hi Juli! I have actually recently been experimenting with several other sweeteners, primarily xylitol. I’m finding out that sugar alcohols can help keep ice cream leftovers from freezing so hard in the freezer, so I’m trying to formulate an ice cream recipe that stays scoopable even after long term freezing. Basically any THM sweetener (to taste) will work in these ice cream recipes.
Sorry Briana! That was a little confusing! Basically what I’m curious about is if I can mix up the base (the whole recipe including cooking it) and store it in the fridge the day before I churn it. Thanks so much!
Hi Briana!
Can I mix this up the day before I churn it and stir it in the fridge? Will it get to thick with the glucomannan in it?
Thank you!
Hi Rebecca! I don’t think I would recommend that. I haven’t personally tried it, but some of my readers have tried doing that with some of my other ice cream recipes and said that the texture wasn’t as good. 🙁
I love frozen custard, any idea on how I could make this as a cherry cheesecake custard? I got the ice cream maker that you use for a Christmas gift. I am excited to use it and my husband requested a cherry cheesecake flavor.
Hi Debbie! This custard recipe is a little different since I made it to fit within THM Deep S guidelines (therefore it doesn’t have any cream). With the addition of cherries and cream cheese, your ice cream won’t be Deep S anyway, so I actually recommend that you use the vanilla pudding from this pie recipe: https://www.briana-thomas.com/brianas-peanut-butter-cream-pie-s/
I would make a batch and a half of the pudding, use only 1 tsp. glucomannan total, add 4-6 oz. of light cream cheese and a tablespoon of vegetable glycerin, churn it as ice cream (bring the cooked pudding to room temperature first), then add some chopped cherries toward the end of churning.
Adding cherries to a THM:S recipe is not recommended since you’re combining fats and carbs which isn’t as weight loss promoting, so if you want to avoid that, you could just add some cherry extract. Personally I would just keep the amount of cherries fairly small and keep the ice cream as a once-in-awhile treat. 🙂
Hi Briana! I made this exactly as instructed and the eggs curdled on me. it didn’t even have a chance to thicken. I’m wondering what happened. I’ve made traditional ice cream and custard before and this never happened to me. any insight as to why this happened? thanks.
I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of insight for you other than to maybe try a lower heat next time? Make sure you’re not cooking it too long – pull it off the heat as soon as it starts to bubble. It doesn’t need to get very thick, just cook the eggs. 🙂
Curious why it needs to be cooked?
If you don’t cook it, the eggs remain raw. Some people are scared of salmonella poisoning, so I try to avoid raw eggs in my recipes (even though I don’t really have a problem with consuming them). Also, cooking thickens the pudding and provides a creamier texture. 🙂
psst….how would you make this into CHOCOLATE frozen custard that MIGHT keep me from making a Rita’s run later??
Thanks!
Just add some cocoa powder. 😛 And maybe some extra sweetener.
Oh I can’t wait to try this! You are awesome!!