This Ninja Creami low calorie vanilla ice cream comes out to about 60 calories a serving, made with oat milk, low-fat cottage cheese, monk fruit, and vanilla.
There are no gums or pudding mix. The cottage cheese gives it a body oat milk can't get on its own, and spinning on Lite Ice Cream keeps it smooth instead of icy. You can see my other low-calorie ice cream recipes if you want more flavors.
If you want more protein, my high-protein vanilla ice cream adds protein powder to a similar base. For a richer pint, start with my classic vanilla base. Every version is on my vanilla recipes page.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Low-Calorie Vanilla Ice Cream
- What Does It Taste Like
- Ingredients You'll Need
- Substitutions and Additions
- How to Make Ninja Creami Low-Calorie Vanilla Ice Cream
- Mix-Ins and Toppings
- Flavor Variations to Try
- Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Serving Size and Pint Size
- Tools You’ll Need
- Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting
- Recipe FAQs
- More Vanilla Recipes
- More Ice Cream Flavor Ideas
- Did you try this recipe?
- Ninja Creami Low-Calorie Vanilla Ice Cream
Why You'll Love This Low-Calorie Vanilla Ice Cream
- About 60 calories a serving: Oat milk and low-fat cottage cheese keep the calories down without making the base taste thin. The recipe card has the full nutrition.
- Four ingredients: Oat milk, low-fat cottage cheese, monk fruit, and vanilla.
- No added sugar: Monk fruit does the sweetening, so the calories come from the oat milk and cottage cheese.
- No pudding mix or gums: The cottage cheese gives it body, so it doesn't need stabilizers.
- Smooth instead of icy: The Lite Ice Cream setting is made for lower-fat bases like this one, and a respin with a splash of oat milk smooths out any crumbly spots.
What Does It Taste Like
It tastes like a lighter vanilla ice cream. With oat milk instead of half and half, it's less rich than my classic vanilla base, and the oat milk adds a mild natural sweetness that works with the vanilla. The cottage cheese gives it body, and you won't taste it once it's blended smooth.
After spinning on Lite Ice Cream and a respin, it's smooth and scoopable. It firms up quickly, so eat it soon after spinning, or let it sit for a few minutes if it's been stored.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Oat milk: The main liquid, with fewer calories than half and half. It's thinner, so the cottage cheese does the job of adding body. Barista-style and sweetened oat milks have more fat or sugar and will raise the calories, so check the label against what you used for the recipe card.
- Low-fat cottage cheese: It gives the base body and creaminess, which a thin oat milk base can't get on its own. Low-fat keeps the calories down. Full-fat works, but the calorie count goes up. Blend it until there are no curds left.
- Monk fruit sweetener: Sweetens the base with almost no calories. Most granulated monk fruit blends are mostly erythritol, which can freeze a little harder. Taste the base before freezing, since cold dulls sweetness.
- Vanilla bean extract: Vanilla is the only flavor here, so it's worth using a good one. It gives a deeper vanilla flavor than imitation.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Unsweetened almond milk instead of oat milk: Almond milk has fewer calories than oat milk, but it's thinner, so the pint may spin up a little icier. Expect an extra respin.
- Nonfat Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese: It also gives the base body, with a tangier flavor. Blend it smooth like the cottage cheese.
- More sweetness: Add more monk fruit before freezing. Honey works for flavor, but it adds sugar and calories, so the 60-calorie count won't apply.
- More protein: Stir in a scoop of protein powder, or start with my high-protein vanilla ice cream, which is built around it.
- Dairy-free: The cottage cheese makes this recipe dairy-based, so a simple swap won't work. My dairy-free vanilla ice cream is made with coconut milk and oat milk.
How to Make Ninja Creami Low-Calorie Vanilla Ice Cream
- Blend the base. Add the oat milk, low-fat cottage cheese, monk fruit sweetener, 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. Lower-fat bases like this one often come out crumbly on the first spin, like in the photo.
- Respin. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oat milk and respin. Low-calorie bases usually need one or two respins to turn smooth.
- Serve or add mix-ins. Scoop and serve it plain, or use the Mix-In setting to add any of the ideas below. Toppings and mix-ins add calories, so keep that in mind if you're counting.
Mix-Ins and Toppings
- Freeze-dried strawberries: Tart and crunchy, and very light. Because they're dried, they don't freeze into icy chunks the way fresh berries can.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut: A little goes a long way for flavor. Toast it first for more of a nutty taste.
- Crushed almonds: Adds crunch. Toasting them first brings out more flavor, so you can use less.
- Mini dark chocolate chips: Mini chips spread through the pint, so a small amount goes further than regular chips. Add them with the Mix-In setting after spinning.
- Cookie crumbles: A spoonful on top gives you the cookies-and-cream feel without folding a whole cookie into the pint.
- Maple syrup drizzle: Adds real sugar, so keep it to a thin drizzle on top if you're counting calories.
Flavor Variations to Try
Blend into the base before freezing:
- Chocolate vanilla: Add a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder. Cocoa adds chocolate flavor for very few calories, but it can taste bitter, so add a little extra monk fruit.
- Peanut butter vanilla: Use powdered peanut butter instead of regular peanut butter for the same flavor with far fewer calories. My PB2 peanut butter ice cream is built this way.
- Matcha vanilla: A little matcha powder blended in. It's strong, so start small.
- Lemon vanilla: Lemon zest gives bright flavor with almost no calories.
- Coffee vanilla: Espresso powder dissolves fully in the base, unlike brewed coffee, which adds liquid.
- Banana vanilla: Blend in half a frozen banana. It adds natural sweetness and creaminess, along with some calories and sugar.
- Coconut vanilla: Swap the oat milk for unsweetened carton coconut milk. Canned coconut milk is much higher in fat and calories.
Swirl in after spinning:
- Honey vanilla: Swirl in a thin ribbon of honey. It adds sugar and calories, so a little goes a long way.
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: A low-fat base like this refreezes hard. Respin on Lite Ice Cream with a splash of oat milk 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.
Serving Size and Pint Size
This recipe fills one Ninja Creami Deluxe pint (24 ounces) and makes 4 servings, at about 60 calories each.
If you have a model with a 16-ounce pint, use two-thirds of each ingredient, which makes about 3 servings at the same calories per serving. 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 before freezing, especially in a thin oat milk base where any lumps stand out. A high-powered blender 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 want a few pints in the freezer ready to spin.
Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting
- Expect to respin: Low-fat bases almost always come out crumbly or icy on the first spin. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oat milk and respin, once or twice, until smooth.
- Chalky or grainy texture? The cottage cheese wasn't blended smooth. Blend the base longer next time, until there are no curds at all, because lumps don't break down in the freezer or the machine.
- Not sweet enough? Add more monk fruit before freezing. Cold dulls sweetness, so the base should taste slightly sweeter than you want the finished ice cream to be.
- Too hard after storing? Respin it, or let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes.
- A cooling or off aftertaste? That usually comes from erythritol, which most monk fruit blends are built on. Try allulose instead, which is what my sugar-free vanilla ice cream uses. Also check that your cottage cheese is fresh.
- Freeze on a level surface: An uneven pint spins unevenly, which affects the texture.
For problems beyond this recipe, see my Ninja Creami troubleshooting guide.
Recipe FAQs
They start from a similar oat milk and cottage cheese base. The high-protein version adds protein powder, which raises the protein and the calories. This one leaves it out to keep the calories as low as possible. If protein matters more to you, start with my high-protein vanilla ice cream.
This base is much lower in fat and sugar than a regular ice cream base, and Lite Ice Cream is designed for bases like this. The regular Ice Cream setting is meant for richer bases like my classic vanilla.
Yes. It makes the pint a little creamier, but the calories go up, so the 60-calorie count won't apply.
No. Once it's blended completely smooth, you get creaminess without any cottage cheese flavor or texture. If you can taste it, it needed more blending.
More Vanilla Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
More Ice Cream Flavor Ideas
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
Ninja Creami Low-Calorie Vanilla Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 Ninja Creami Deluxe
- 1 Blender
- 24 oz Ninja Creami Container Pint
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Oat Milk
- ½ cup Cottage Cheese Low Fat
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
- 4 tablespoon monk fruit sweetener
Instructions
- Add the oat milk, low-fat cottage cheese, monk fruit sweetener, and vanilla to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, with no cottage cheese curds left.1½ cups Oat Milk, ½ cup Cottage Cheese , 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract, 4 tablespoon monk fruit sweetener
- Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container, keeping it below the max fill line. Cover with the lid and freeze on a level surface for 24 hours, until solid.
- Remove the lid, place the pint in the outer bowl, and lock it into the machine. Spin on the Lite Ice Cream setting.
- If the ice cream looks crumbly or icy, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oat milk and respin. Repeat once more if needed.
- Serve right away, or use the Mix-In setting to add toppings. Mix-ins add calories beyond the nutrition shown.
Notes
- Pint size: This recipe is sized for the Ninja Creami Deluxe's 24-ounce pint. For a 16-ounce pint, use two-thirds of each ingredient.
- Oat milk: The nutrition is based on regular oat milk. Barista-style or sweetened oat milk will raise the calories.
- Cottage cheese: Use low-fat to keep the calories down, and blend until there are no curds left. Full-fat works but raises the calories.
- Respinning: Low-fat bases usually need one or two respins. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oat milk before each respin if it's crumbly.
- Sweetness: Taste the base before freezing. Cold dulls sweetness, so it should taste slightly sweeter than you want the finished ice cream to be.
- Storage: Smooth the top flat and freeze leftovers in the pint with the lid on, for up to 2 to 3 weeks. Respin before serving, or let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes.
- Nutrition: Calories don't include mix-ins or toppings.
Rose says
Incredibly creamy and satisfying for being low-calorie. It’s a great option when you’re craving something sweet but want to keep it light. I hope you all enjoy it just as much. Let me know if you try it!