Keto Ice Cream: Is It Possible To Enjoy This Treat?

The ketogenic (keto) diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. Ice cream is traditionally high in sugar and carbs, but there are keto-friendly ice creams available, such as Halo Top, Edy's, Enlightened, So Delicious, and Rebel. These ice creams are made with sugar substitutes and natural sweeteners and are low in net carbs. There are also recipes for making your own keto ice cream at home, which typically involve using heavy cream, a sweetener, and a thickening agent like xanthan gum.

Keto ice cream brands and flavours

There are several keto-friendly ice cream brands available, including Halo Top, Edy's, Enlightened, So Delicious, and Rebel. These brands offer ice cream with low or no added sugar and are suitable for people on a ketogenic diet, which is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates.

Halo Top's Keto Series offers a range of flavours, including Chocolate Caramel Lava Cake and Banana Cream Pie, with about 4-10 grams of net carbs per pint. Edy's Slow Churned No Sugar Added range includes fan favourites such as Fudge Tracks, Vanilla Bean, Triple Chocolate, and Neapolitan, with 14 grams of net carbs per serving. Enlightened provides both keto and non-keto options, with the keto choices containing 2-3 grams of net carbs per serving. So Delicious makes dairy-free ice cream from full-fat coconut milk, with negligible amounts of sugar and 9-10 grams of net carbs per serving. Rebel is a brand specifically designed for people on the keto diet, with pints made with cream, high-fat ingredients, erythritol, and monk fruit, and just 4-8 grams of net carbs per pint.

In addition to these brands, there are other keto ice cream options available, such as Keto Pint, which offers flavours like Triple Chocolate Brownie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and claims to have zero added sugar and use only natural sweeteners. Other brands mentioned by keto dieters include Nick's, Killer Creamery, and Breyers. These brands offer a variety of flavours and textures, with some being comparable to regular ice cream.

Keto ice cream recipes

The ketogenic (keto) diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. While ice cream doesn't usually make the list of foods to choose from when on a keto diet, there are some keto-friendly ice cream brands, and it is also possible to make your own keto ice cream at home.

Store-Bought Keto Ice Cream

Some keto-friendly ice cream brands include Halo Top, Edy's, Enlightened, So Delicious, and Rebel. These manufacturers tend to use sugar substitutes such as sugar alcohols (e.g. xylitol and erythritol), stevia, and monk fruit. They also add ingredients like chicory root, guar gum, and acacia gum to create a creamy texture and mouthfeel.

Homemade Keto Ice Cream

There are many recipes for making keto ice cream at home, which typically involve combining milk or cream with sweeteners, flavourings, and stabilisers, and then freezing the mixture. Here are some examples:

No-Churn Keto Ice Cream

This recipe does not require an ice cream maker. It involves folding whipped cream into a thickened base. For the base, you can use a sugar-free condensed milk recipe, softened cream cheese, double cream, sugar-free lemon curd, keto chocolate fudge sauce, or a custard base made by heating egg yolks.

For the sweetener, a combination of Swerve Sweetener and either allulose or BochaSweet is recommended. You can then add in your choice of flavourings, such as chopped keto peanut butter cups, keto caramel sauce, fresh berries, or crushed keto thin mints. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and freeze until firm (at least 8 hours).

Keto Ice Cream Made with Coconut Milk

This recipe is dairy-free, sugar-free, and low-carb. It requires only four ingredients: coconut milk, sweetener (e.g. xylitol or erythritol), pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. For the chocolate version, simply stir in a quarter cup of regular unsweetened cocoa powder.

If you have an ice cream maker, prepare the machine according to the manufacturer's instructions and churn the mixture accordingly. For a no-churn version, freeze the mixture in ice cube trays and then blend the frozen cubes in a high-speed blender. Eat as-is, or freeze for an hour or so for a firmer texture.

Keto Ice Cream Made with Heavy Cream

This recipe requires just three ingredients: heavy cream, sweetener (e.g. powdered allulose), and xanthan gum. For the vanilla version, add vanilla extract. For chocolate ice cream, add unsweetened cocoa powder.

Add all the ingredients to a deep jar and gently mix. Using an immersion or stick mixer, blend the mixture until it has thickened and soft peaks form. Cover the jar and place it in the freezer for at least 4 hours, stirring every 40 minutes to ensure it doesn't become too icy.

Tips for Making Keto Ice Cream

• If you are making ice cream without an ice cream maker, it is best to consume it on the same day it is made, as it does not contain any preservatives or stabilisers.
• To make the ice cream less icy and prevent crystallisation, you can add a stabiliser like xanthan gum or vodka to the mixture.
• If you are making ice cream with an ice cream maker, it is best to stir the mixture every 30 minutes for the first couple of hours to ensure it is smooth and creamy.
• To make the ice cream easier to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
• If you are making a dairy-free version, you can swap heavy cream for full-fat coconut cream.

Keto ice cream and diabetes

Keto ice cream is a reality, with several brands offering low-carb, low-sugar, and low-calorie options. For people with diabetes, keto ice cream can be a suitable option to satisfy their sweet tooth without compromising their health.

Diabetes management involves monitoring carbohydrate intake and maintaining normal blood sugar levels. Traditional ice cream is high in sugar and carbohydrates, causing a spike in blood sugar levels, especially when paired with other high-carb foods. However, keto ice cream is different.

Keto ice cream brands achieve lower carbohydrate and sugar content by using sugar substitutes and natural sweeteners. Common sugar substitutes include sugar alcohols like xylitol, erythritol, sorbitol, and maltitol. These sugar alcohols have a minimal effect on blood glucose and insulin levels. Natural sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit, and allulose are also used, which do not appear to impact blood glucose levels.

Additionally, keto ice cream often has a higher fat content, which helps slow digestion. This means that blood glucose levels may rise more slowly, reducing the risk of a significant spike.

Recommended Brands

Several keto ice cream brands have been praised for their taste, texture, and low impact on blood sugar. Here are some recommended options:

• Rebel Ice Cream: This brand offers a range of flavours, including Cookie Dough and Coffee Chip. Their ice cream is full-fat and keto-friendly, sweetened with erythritol and monk fruit. A serving has less than 3 grams of net carbs.
• Enlightened: Enlightened provides keto options like their P.B. Cookie & Brownie Dough flavour, as well as low-calorie, non-keto choices. They use a combination of sweeteners, including erythritol, allulose, monk fruit, and stevia.
• Halo Top's Keto Series: With flavours like Chocolate Caramel Lava Cake and Mint Chocolate Cookie, Halo Top offers indulgent options while keeping the carb count low.
• Keto Pint: This brand offers high-fat, low-carb ice cream in flavours like Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Their ice cream is sweetened with monk fruit, stevia, and erythritol, resulting in minimal blood sugar impact.
• Nick's Light Ice Cream: Nick's has a range of flavours, including Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Birthdäg Cake. They use a mix of sweeteners, including allulose, erythritol, and stevia. Their ice cream is also coloured with vegetable juice instead of artificial colouring.
• So Delicious No Sugar Added: This brand offers a dairy-free option made with full-fat coconut milk and sweetened with erythritol and monk fruit extract. It has negligible amounts of sugar, with 9-10 grams of net carbs per serving.

Precautions

While keto ice cream can be a better option for people with diabetes, it is important to remember that it should still be consumed in moderation. Additionally, some sugar alcohols can cause digestive issues for some individuals, so it is essential to monitor how your body responds to these products.

Keto ice cream and weight loss

The ketogenic (keto) diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. The goal of the keto diet is to shift your metabolism into ketosis, which is a state where your body uses ketones (from burning fat) for energy instead of carbohydrates.

Ice cream is usually not keto-friendly, as a cup of regular ice cream contains about 37 grams of carbohydrates, which is almost an entire day's worth of carbs for someone on the keto diet. However, there are some keto-friendly ice cream brands available, such as Halo Top, Edy's, Enlightened, So Delicious, and Rebel. These ice cream brands use sugar substitutes and natural sweeteners like xylitol, erythritol, stevia, and monk fruit to reduce the carb content.

Keto ice cream can also be made at home using a combination of fat and sugar substitutes. For example, a simple keto ice cream recipe can be made with just four ingredients: coconut milk, a sweetener of choice (such as xylitol or erythritol), pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. To make a chocolate version, simply add a quarter cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.

The keto diet may help people lose body fat, but it is not for everyone. It is important to talk with a healthcare provider before starting this type of diet.

Keto ice cream and sugar substitutes

The ketogenic (keto) diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. As ice cream is typically loaded with sugar, it is not keto-friendly. However, several ice cream brands now offer keto-friendly options, including Halo Top, Edy's, Enlightened, So Delicious, and Rebel. These manufacturers use sugar substitutes and sugar alcohols like xylitol, erythritol, stevia, and monk fruit to sweeten their ice cream without adding carbohydrates.

Sugar alcohols are sweeteners that have about half the calories of sugar. Erythritol, for example, has a negligible metabolic impact and can be subtracted from total carbohydrates to lower the net carb count. Erythritol is also used to prevent ice cream from becoming too hard or icy.

Stevia is another popular sugar substitute, made from plant leaves. Monk fruit, meanwhile, is a natural sweetener derived from a small round fruit native to China. These sugar substitutes are used to create a sweet taste without disrupting the ketosis process.

In addition to sugar substitutes, keto ice cream brands also add ingredients like chicory root, guar gum, and acacia gum to enhance texture and mouthfeel. These ingredients contain soluble fiber, which helps to thicken the ice cream and slow the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, thereby regulating blood sugar levels.

Some keto ice cream brands also use allulose, a sugar substitute recognised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Allulose provides only 0.4 calories per gram compared to sugar, which provides 4 calories per gram.

By using these sugar substitutes and ingredients, keto ice cream brands are able to offer low-carbohydrate, keto-friendly options that still taste sweet and indulgent.

Frequently asked questions