Ninja Creami Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

I've tested a lot of sugar-free bases in the Creami, and most of them came out icy. This Ninja Creami sugar free vanilla ice cream is the one that finally worked.

It's four ingredients: half and half, cottage cheese, allulose, and vanilla bean. There are no gums, no pudding mix, and no protein powder. The allulose keeps it soft enough to scoop, and it tastes close to my classic vanilla base, just without the sugar.

If you're cutting sugar but still want real ice cream, start here. If you'd rather use cream cheese and monk fruit, my keto vanilla ice cream is built that way.

Creamiest sugar free vanilla bean ice cream made using Ninja Creami.

Jump to:

Why You'll Love This Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice Cream
What Does It Taste Like
Ingredients You’ll Need
Swaps & Add-Ins
How to Make Sugar Free Vanilla Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami
Mix-Ins and Topping
Flavor Variations to Try
Serving Size and Pint Size
Tools You’ll Need
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting
Recipe FAQs
Vanilla- Based Ice Cream Recipes
Cheesecake Style Ice Cream Recipes
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Ninja Creami Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

Why You'll Love This Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

Four ingredients: Half and half, cottage cheese, allulose, and vanilla bean. Allulose is the only one you might have to look for.
No gums, pudding mix, or protein powder: The cottage cheese and half and half give it body on their own.
Sweetened with allulose: Allulose behaves more like sugar in the freezer than most sweeteners, so the pint stays softer and easier to scoop.
Lower in carbs: With no added sugar, it's lighter on carbs than the classic base. The recipe card has the numbers per serving.
You won't taste the cottage cheese: It blends out completely and adds creaminess, not a cheesy flavor.
Easy to adapt: Try the mix-ins and flavor variations further down, or see my vanilla recipes page for versions made for other diets.

What Does It Taste Like

It tastes like classic vanilla ice cream, with the deeper flavor and black specks you get from vanilla bean. Allulose sweetens it cleanly, without the cooling aftertaste erythritol-based sweeteners can leave.

After spinning on Lite Ice Cream, it's smooth and scoopable. If you served it without saying it was sugar-free, most people wouldn't notice.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients for making the creamiest sugar free vanilla bean ice cream made using Ninja Creami.

Half and half: The main liquid. It has enough fat to spin creamy without the waxy texture heavy cream alone can get when you respin. Milk alone has less fat, so the pint tends to come out icier.
Cottage cheese: It gives the base body and creaminess, and adds a little protein. Blend it until there are no curds left, because any lumps in the base will still be there after spinning.
Allulose: It behaves more like sugar in the freezer than most sugar substitutes, so the pint stays softer and scoops more easily. Erythritol-based sweeteners tend to freeze harder and can feel gritty. Allulose is a little less sweet than sugar, so taste the base before freezing.
Vanilla bean paste or extract: Vanilla is the only flavor here, so it's worth using a good one. Bean paste gives you the black specks and a deeper vanilla flavor.

Swaps & Add-Ins

No half and half? Mix equal parts heavy cream and whole milk. Together they come close to half and half. Don't use heavy cream on its own, since it can turn waxy when you respin.
A different sweetener? Monk fruit blends and erythritol work, but they're mostly erythritol, so the pint freezes harder and can feel gritty. Allulose gives the softest result. If you'd rather use monk fruit, my keto vanilla ice cream is built around it, with cream cheese for body.
Need it dairy-free? This recipe depends on half and half and cottage cheese, so a simple swap won't work. My dairy-free vanilla ice cream is made with coconut milk and oat milk instead.
Vanilla extract instead of paste: It works, but you'll lose the black specks.

How to Make Sugar Free Vanilla Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami

Blend the base. Add the half and half, cottage cheese, allulose, and vanilla to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, with no cottage cheese curds left.
Freeze the pint. Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint, keeping it below the max fill line. Freeze on a level surface for 24 hours, until solid.
Spin on Lite Ice Cream. Place the frozen pint in the machine and use the Lite Ice Cream setting. Without sugar, this base freezes harder than the classic version, and Lite is made for sugar-free and lower-sugar bases.
Respin if needed. If it comes out crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of half and half or milk and respin. Once is usually enough.
Serve or add mix-ins. Scoop and serve it plain, or use the Mix-In setting to add sugar-free chocolate chips, nuts, or anything from the ideas below. My mix-ins guide covers timing.

Mix-Ins and Topping

Sugar-free chocolate chips: Add them with the Mix-In setting after spinning, chopped small so they spread through the pint instead of sinking.
Freeze-dried strawberries: Tart and crunchy. Because they're dried, they don't freeze into icy chunks the way fresh berries can. Look for ones with no added sugar.
Unsweetened toasted coconut: Adds texture and a nutty flavor. Toast it yourself to control the color, and make sure the bag says unsweetened.
Crushed sugar-free or keto cookies: For a sugar-free take on my cookies and cream ice cream. Add them after spinning so they stay in chunks.

Flavor Variations to Try

Blend into the base before freezing:

Maple vanilla: Add maple extract. Extract gives you maple flavor without the sugar real maple syrup would add.
Chai vanilla: Cinnamon, cardamom, and a pinch of clove. Blending the spices in spreads them evenly through the pint.
Lemon vanilla: Lemon zest and a splash of lemon extract. The zest has time to flavor the whole pint while it freezes.
Coffee vanilla: Espresso powder dissolves fully in the base, unlike brewed coffee, which adds liquid.
Mint chip: Peppermint extract in the base, then sugar-free chocolate chips with the Mix-In setting after spinning. Start with a little extract, since it's strong.

Swirl in after spinning:

Peanut butter swirl: Dollop in unsweetened or sugar-free peanut butter and swirl it through with a spoon.
Chocolate ripple: Swirl in sugar-free fudge sauce for ribbons of chocolate.

Serving Size and Pint Size

This recipe fills one Ninja Creami Deluxe pint (24 ounces) and makes 4 servings.

If you have a model with a 16-ounce pint, use two-thirds of each ingredient, which makes about 3 servings. The steps and settings stay the same. Either way, keep the base below the max fill line on the pint, because an overfilled pint won't spin properly.

Tools You’ll Need

Blender: The cottage cheese has to be completely smooth and the allulose fully dissolved before freezing, so the blender does the most important step. A high-powered one gets there fastest.
Ninja CREAMi Deluxe: This recipe is sized for the Deluxe's 24-ounce pint. Other models work too, using the two-thirds conversion above.
Extra pint containers: Worth having if you batch prep, so you can keep a few pints in the freezer ready to spin.

Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

Storing leftovers: Keep the ice cream in the pint with its storage lid. Smooth the top flat with a spoon before refreezing so it doesn't freeze into a dome, which makes the next spin uneven.
Serving stored ice cream: Without sugar, it refreezes harder than regular ice cream. Respin on Lite Ice Cream for the smoothest texture, or let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes before scooping.
How long it keeps: Best within 2 to 3 weeks. After that, ice crystals start to form.

Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting

Crumbly after spinning? Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of half and half or milk and respin. Once is usually enough.
Taste before freezing: Cold dulls sweetness, and allulose is a little less sweet than sugar, so the base should taste slightly sweeter than you want the finished ice cream to be.
Freeze the pint level: An uneven top makes the blade cut into the pint unevenly, which affects the texture and can strain the machine.
Add mix-ins after spinning, never before: If they're in the frozen base, the blade grinds them up instead of leaving them in pieces.
Cottage cheese lumps? Blend longer. Lumps don't break down in the freezer or the machine, so the base needs to be smooth before it goes in the pint. For problems beyond this recipe, see my Ninja Creami troubleshooting guide.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this without cottage cheese?

You can, but it won’t be as thick and creamy. Cottage cheese really makes the texture awesome.

Is allulose better than erythritol or monk fruit?

For a frozen dessert, usually yes. Allulose behaves more like sugar in the freezer, so the pint stays softer. Erythritol, which most monk fruit blends are built on, tends to freeze harder and can feel gritty.

Why use Lite Ice Cream instead of the regular Ice Cream setting?

Without sugar, this base freezes harder than a regular ice cream base. Lite Ice Cream is designed for sugar-free and lower-sugar bases, so it spins this one smoother.

Is this sugar-free vanilla ice cream keto?

It has no added sugar, but half and half and cottage cheese both have some natural carbs. Check the nutrition info in the recipe card against your own carb goals. For a version built around keto, see my keto vanilla ice cream.

Vanilla- Based Ice Cream Recipes

Cheesecake Style Ice Cream Recipes

The Creameri- Ninja Creami Recipes author, Rose.

Did you try this recipe?

Share how it turned out in the comments below, and if you loved it, share it on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram.

Thank you! - Rose