Keto Ice Cream: Understanding Carb Content And Enjoyment

The ketogenic (keto) diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. While ice cream is usually off the menu, there are keto-friendly ice cream brands and recipes that can satisfy your sweet tooth without kicking you out of ketosis.

Keto ice cream is made with sugar substitutes like erythritol, monk fruit, and stevia, and sugar alcohols like xylitol and erythritol. These alternatives don't typically spike your blood sugar, which is key to staying in ketosis.

When choosing a keto ice cream, look for products with fewer than 10 grams of net carbs per serving, ideally closer to 5 grams. Be mindful of the fiber source and sweetener used, as some can cause digestive issues.

- Rebel Ice Cream: 4-8 grams

- Enlightened: 1-3 grams

- Halo Top: 5-10 grams

- Keto Pint: 2 grams

- Killer Creamery: 2-3 grams

- Arctic Zero: 5 grams

- So Delicious: 9-10 grams

- Nick's: 6 grams

Keto ice cream brands and recipes

Keto Ice Cream Brands

If you're looking for a keto ice cream brand, there are several options available. Here are some popular choices:

• Rebel Creamery: This brand uses real cream and offers a variety of flavours, including Butter Pecan, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Mint Chocolate Cookie. A serving of their ice cream typically contains around 2 grams of net carbs and 13 grams of total carbohydrates.
• Arctic Zero: This brand stands out for its lack of sugar alcohols, making it a good choice for those sensitive to sugar alcohol intake. Their ice cream is also dairy-free and lower in calories, but it's fat-free, which may not be ideal for a keto diet.
• Enlightened Keto: Enlightened offers a variety pack of keto-friendly ice creams with flavours like Chocolate Peanut Butter, Caramel Chocolate Double Dough, and Coffee Chocolate Chunk. Their products typically contain around 7 grams of net carbs and 14 grams of carbohydrates.
• Halo Top: Halo Top offers a range of keto-friendly options that are higher in protein and typically have 5 to 10 grams of net carbs per pint. Some of their popular flavours include Macadamia Nut Cookie, Mint Chocolate Cookie, and Chocolate Cheesecake.
• So Delicious No Sugar Added: This brand offers a dairy-free and plant-based product line, including a coconut milk-based ice cream. Their No Sugar Added varieties have negligible amounts of sugar and are sweetened with erythritol and monk fruit extract. A serving typically contains 9-10 grams of net carbs.
• KETO Foods: Founded in 2018, KETO Foods offers a range of keto-friendly products, including ice cream pints, bars, and chocolate. Their ice cream is made with cream, egg yolks, and erythritol, resulting in a high-fat and relatively low-carb treat. Popular flavours include Peanut Butter Fudge Swirl and Triple Chocolate Brownie.
• Breyer's Carb Smart: This brand offers a budget-friendly option for keto ice cream. While it is lower in fat compared to other brands, it still fits within the keto diet due to its low total carbohydrate content.

Keto Ice Cream Recipes

If you prefer to make your own keto ice cream at home, here are some recipes to try:

• Vanilla Keto Ice Cream: This recipe combines heavy whipping cream, powdered zero-calorie sweetener (such as Swerve), vanilla extract, and xanthan gum. It yields a smooth and creamy ice cream that stays scoopable.
• No-Churn Keto Ice Cream: This recipe doesn't require an ice cream machine and uses a combination of ingredients like heavy cream, sweetener, vodka (optional), vanilla extract, and xanthan gum. It results in a creamy texture without freezing rock-hard.
• Homemade Vanilla Keto Ice Cream: Whisk together canned full-fat coconut milk, erythritol, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze, then blend the frozen cubes until smooth and creamy.
• Homemade Strawberry Keto Ice Cream: Blend heavy cream, sour cream, fresh strawberries, and erythritol or Swerve. Transfer the mixture to a loaf pan and freeze until hard. This recipe adds a fruity twist to your keto ice cream.

Carb count

Most regular ice creams are loaded with sugar and carbs, with a cup of regular ice cream containing about 37 grams of carbs. However, there are now several keto-friendly ice cream options available on the market, as well as recipes for making your own keto ice cream at home.

When it comes to store-bought keto ice cream, different brands offer varying carb counts. Here are some popular options:

• Rebel Ice Cream: Their Mint Chip flavour has 4 grams of net carbs per serving.
• Enlightened: Their Chocolate Glazed Donut flavour has 1 gram of net carb per serving.
• Halo Top: Their Sea Salt Caramel flavour has 5 grams of net carbs per serving.
• Keto Pint: Their Sea Salt Caramel ice cream bars have 2 grams of net carbs per serving.
• Killer Creamery: Brownie Points flavour has 2-3 grams of net carbs per serving.
• Arctic Zero: Cake Batter flavour has 5 grams of net carbs per serving.
• So Delicious: Their Dipped Vanilla Bars made from coconut milk have 7 grams of net carbs per serving.
• Nick's: Triple Choklad flavour has 6 grams of net carbs per serving.

It's important to note that the term "net carbs" is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and different brands may calculate it differently. Therefore, it's always a good idea to read the ingredient list and nutrition label carefully.

When making keto ice cream at home, you can create recipes with varying carb counts. Here are some examples:

• A basic keto vanilla ice cream recipe using heavy cream, sweetener, and xanthan gum can result in about 1 gram of net carb per serving.
• A homemade strawberry keto ice cream made with heavy cream, sour cream, strawberries, and erythritol can have a carb count of about 16 grams per 1/2 cup serving.
• A homemade vanilla keto ice cream recipe that includes erythritol can have a carb count of 3.3 grams net carbs per serving.

In conclusion, when it comes to keto ice cream, the carb count can vary depending on the brand or recipe. It's important to choose options that fit within your daily carbohydrate limits and support your keto diet goals.

Sugar substitutes

The keto diet involves drastically reducing your intake of carbohydrates while eating the majority of your calories from fat and a moderate amount of calories from protein. This means that ice cream, which is usually high in carbs, is off the menu. However, some ice cream manufacturers have created keto-friendly varieties by using sugar substitutes.

Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols are sweeteners that have about half the calories of sugar. They are often used in foods labelled "sugar-free" or "no sugar added". Popular swaps include xylitol and erythritol. Erythritol is a zero-calorie sugar alcohol that is used to sweeten Halo Top's Keto Series ice cream.

Natural Sweeteners

Food manufacturers also use natural sweeteners such as stevia and monk fruit. Stevia is made from plant leaves, while monk fruit comes from a small round fruit native to China. Monk fruit is used by Rebel, So Delicious, and Enlightened in their keto ice cream ranges.

Other Sugar Substitutes

Other sugar substitutes used in keto ice cream include allulose, sorbitol, maltitol syrup, and Splenda (sucralose). Allulose is recognised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a "sugar substitute" and is metabolised differently by the body, providing only 0.4 calories per gram compared to sugar, which provides 4 calories per gram.

Homemade Keto Ice Cream

When making keto ice cream at home, it is important to use a sweetener that dissolves well and does not result in a gritty texture or rock-hard ice cream. Powdered sweeteners are recommended, such as the Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend, which can be used to make a sugar-free sweetened condensed milk base for keto ice cream.

Flavours

The keto diet is a low-carb diet, so it's great news for ice cream lovers that there are keto-friendly ice cream options out there. These treats are made with ingredients that won't kick you out of ketosis.

There are a few keto ice cream brands to choose from, and they offer a wide range of flavours. Here's a list of some of the most popular brands and their flavours:

Rebel

Rebel specialises in low-carb, high-fat, gluten-free, and keto-friendly ice cream. Their ingredients include heavy cream, egg yolk, erythritol, monk fruit extract, milk protein isolate, chicory root fibre, and vegetable glycerin.

Rebel's ice cream flavours and their carb count are:

• Butter Pecan: 4g net carbs per pint
• Cookie Dough: 4g net carbs per pint
• Mint Chip: 4g net carbs per pint
• Triple Chocolate: 5g net carbs per pint
• Chocolate Peanut Butter: 6g net carbs per pint
• Coconut Almond Swirl: 6g net carbs per pint
• Black Raspberry: 7g net carbs per pint
• Peanut Butter Fudge: 7g net carbs per pint
• Cookies & Cream: 8g net carbs per pint

Enlightened

Enlightened offers keto ice cream and keto ice cream bars. Their ingredients include cream, erythritol, non-GMO soluble corn fibre, egg yolk, milk protein concentrate, skim milk, gums (tara gum, guar gum, carob gum), oils (cottonseed, sunflower, coconut), butter, monk fruit extract, and natural flavours.

Enlightened's keto ice cream flavours include:

• Caramel Chocolate Double Dough
• Chocolate Glazed Donut
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Mint Chocolate Chunk
• P.B. Cookie and Brownie Dough

All of the above flavours have 1g net carb per serving.

Halo Top

Halo Top is a popular ice cream brand that offers a keto ice cream range. Their ingredients include ultrafiltered skim milk, cream, erythritol, eggs, vegetable glycerin, soluble corn fibre, chicory root fibre, gums (xanthan, guar, carob bean, cellulose), natural flavours, stevia, and various inclusions like roasted pecans, cocoa, and strawberries.

Halo Top's keto ice cream flavours and their carb count are:

• Caramel Butter Pecan: 5g net carbs per pint
• Jelly Donut: 7g net carbs per pint
• Peanut Butter Chocolate: 8g net carbs per pint
• White Chocolaty Macadamia: 8g net carbs per pint
• Chocolate Cheesecake: 10g net carbs per pint

Arctic Zero

Arctic Zero isn't technically considered a keto ice cream, but its net carb amount is low enough to make it keto-friendly. Their Cake Batter flavour, for example, has 0g sugar alcohol and 5g net carbs per serving.

So Delicious

So Delicious is a dairy-free, no-sugar-added ice cream brand. Their ingredients include organic coconut milk, chicory root extract, acacia gum, erythritol, vegetable glycerin, pea protein, guar gum, monk fruit extract, and natural flavours.

The Vanilla Bean flavour has 10g net carbs per serving.

Keto Foods

Keto Foods has a range of keto-friendly products, including ice cream. Their Peanut Butter Fudge Swirl flavour has 3g net carbs per serving.

Nick's

Nick's ice cream is made with skim milk and actual chunks of brownies. Their Triple Choklad flavour has 6g net carbs.

Scoops on Tap

This California-based company offers a line of Keto Incognito ice creams in flavours like mint chip and coffee.

Killer Creamery

Killer Creamery makes keto-friendly ice cream with very low net carbs (2-3g per serving) and includes MCT oil, a popular fat source for those on the keto diet. Their Brownie Points flavour has 3g net carbs per serving.

Breyer's

Breyer's Carb Smart ice cream is a budget-friendly option. Their Coffee Cookie Crunch flavour has 8g sugar alcohol and 10g net carbs per serving.

Making keto ice cream

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter
• Heavy cream or full-fat coconut cream/milk (for a dairy-free option)
• Sweetener (powdered monk fruit allulose blend, erythritol, xylitol, stevia, or sugar)
• Vanilla extract
• Unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk (optional)
• Add-ins of your choice (chocolate chips, cookie dough, nuts, etc.)

Instructions:

• Make the condensed milk: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add sweetener and heavy cream, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the mixture thickens and reduces by half, stirring occasionally.
• Add vanilla: Pour the condensed milk into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla extract.
• Add milk and cream: Whisk in almond milk and additional heavy cream until smooth.
• Chill the mixture: Refrigerate the mixture for at least 4 hours or overnight until very cold.
• Churn the ice cream: Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions, or until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
• Freeze: Enjoy the soft-serve ice cream immediately, or transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 2-4 hours for a firmer texture.
• Serve and enjoy: If the ice cream is too hard after freezing, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften before serving.

Tips and Variations:

• You can make keto ice cream without an ice cream maker by transferring the mixture to a freezer-safe container and freezing it, stirring frequently, until solid.
• To prevent crystallization and improve texture, add a stabilizer like xanthan gum or MCT oil.
• Experiment with different flavors and add-ins, such as chocolate, strawberry, mint chip, or butter pecan.
• For a dairy-free version, use full-fat coconut cream or milk instead of heavy cream.
• If you prefer a lighter version, replace some of the heavy cream with coconut milk or almond milk.
• Always use a high-quality sweetener to avoid a gritty texture and aftertaste.

Frequently asked questions