Finding a Ninja Creami keto vanilla ice cream that tasted like real ice cream took me longer than I'd like to admit. The almond milk versions came out icy. The protein powder versions were chalky. The ones heavy on cream felt like eating a stick of butter. This is the version that finally worked: rich, creamy, and sweet, while staying low in carbs.
The trick is half and half with cream cheese. Half and half keeps it light enough to scoop, and cream cheese gives it the body heavy cream would, without the waxy texture. It's four ingredients, with no gums or pudding mix.
If you're eating keto or low-carb, start here. If you don't need it to be keto, my classic vanilla base uses condensed milk instead.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
- What Does It Taste Like
- Ingredients You'll Need
- Keto Sweetener Options: Which One Works Best?
- Swaps & Substitutions
- How to Make Ninja Creami Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
- Keto-Friendly Mix-In Ideas
- Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
- Serving Size
- Tools You’ll Need
- Recipe Tips & Troubleshooting
- Recipe FAQs
- More 3-4 Ingredient Ice Cream Recipes
- Low- Calorie Ice Cream Flavors
- Did you try this recipe?
- Ninja Creami Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
Why You'll Love This Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
- Tastes like real ice cream: Cream cheese and half and half give it the body many keto recipes lack, so it scoops like ice cream instead of freezing into icy milk.
- Four ingredients: Half and half, cream cheese, monk fruit, and vanilla, all from a regular grocery store.
- No pudding mix or gums: The texture comes from the dairy itself, not from stabilizers.
- No cooking: Blend, freeze, and spin. There's no custard to cook or cool.
- Low in carbs and gluten-free: Monk fruit replaces the sugar, and none of the four ingredients contain gluten. The recipe card has the carbs per serving.
- Works with keto mix-ins: The plain vanilla carries nuts, sugar-free chocolate, or cinnamon. There are more ideas further down.
- Batch-prep friendly: I keep 2 to 3 pints in the freezer, so there's always one ready to spin.
What Does It Taste Like
It tastes like classic vanilla ice cream from a scoop shop. The cream cheese gives it body without making it taste like cheesecake, and the vanilla comes through clean.
Right after spinning, the texture is smooth and scoopable. Let it sit for a minute or two and it gets even creamier. If you didn't tell someone it was keto, they probably wouldn't guess.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Half and half: The main liquid. It has enough fat to spin creamy, but not so much that it turns waxy the way heavy cream can when you respin. Milk alone has less fat, so the pint tends to come out icier.
- Cream cheese: It does the job sugar and eggs do in regular ice cream, giving the base body so it spins smooth instead of crumbly. I use Philadelphia. You won't taste cream cheese in the finished pint.
- Monk fruit sweetener: I use a granulated monk fruit blend that measures cup-for-cup like sugar. Most of these blends are mostly erythritol, with monk fruit added. If you're using pure monk fruit extract, use far less, since it's many times sweeter.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste: Vanilla is the only flavor here, so use pure extract rather than imitation. Bean paste gives you the black specks and a deeper vanilla flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Keto Sweetener Options: Which One Works Best?
Sugar substitutes don't all behave the same once they're frozen. Here's how the common ones compare:
- Monk fruit blend (what this recipe uses): Measures cup-for-cup like sugar, so it's the easiest to swap in. Most blends are mostly erythritol, which can leave a slight cooling taste and can feel a little gritty once frozen. If that bothers you, try allulose or a mix of the two.
- Allulose: Behaves more like sugar in the freezer, so the pint stays softer and easier to scoop. It's what my sugar-free vanilla bean ice cream uses. Some people find it upsets their stomach, so start with a small amount if it's new to you.
- Half allulose, half monk fruit blend: A middle ground that softens the texture and cuts down on any erythritol cooling.
- Pure monk fruit or stevia extract: Very concentrated, so you only need drops. They add sweetness but none of the bulk a granulated sweetener does, so the pint can freeze harder. Stevia can also turn bitter if you use too much.
Whatever you use, blend until the sweetener is fully dissolved and taste the base before freezing.
Swaps & Substitutions
- Want more protein? Stir in a scoop of unflavored collagen powder. For a pint built around protein, see my high-protein vanilla ice cream.
- Prefer cottage cheese to cream cheese? That's closer to my sugar-free vanilla bean ice cream, which uses cottage cheese and allulose.
- Need it dairy-free? This recipe depends on half and half and cream cheese, so a simple swap won't work. My dairy-free vanilla ice cream is built from coconut milk and oat milk instead.
- Changing the sweetener? See the sweetener comparison above.
- Vanilla bean paste: Use it in place of extract for a deeper flavor and the black specks.
For a vanilla base for every diet, see my vanilla recipes page.
How to Make Ninja Creami Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
- Blend the base. Add the half and half, cream cheese, monk fruit sweetener, and vanilla to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, with no cream cheese lumps and no undissolved sweetener.
- 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 Ice Cream. Place the frozen pint in the machine and use the Ice Cream setting. Keto pints often come out powdery on the first spin, like in the photo.
- Respin. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of half and half or unsweetened almond milk and respin. Repeat once more if it's still crumbly.
- Serve or add mix-ins. Scoop and serve it plain, or use the Mix-In setting to add nuts, sugar-free chocolate, or anything from the mix-in ideas below.
Keto-Friendly Mix-In Ideas
Blend into the base before freezing:
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: A warm, spiced vanilla. Spices need to be blended in so they spread evenly instead of clumping.
- Espresso powder: Turns it into a mocha. It dissolves fully in the base, unlike brewed coffee, which adds liquid.
- Lemon zest: A bright lemon vanilla. The zest has time to flavor the whole pint while it freezes.
- Peppermint extract: Start small, since a little goes a long way. Add sugar-free chocolate chips after spinning for a keto take on my mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Add with the Mix-In setting after spinning:
- Pecans or macadamia nuts: Both are lower in carbs than most nuts, and they stay crunchy in the frozen base.
- Sugar-free chocolate chips: Chopped small, so they spread through the pint instead of sinking.
- Keto granola: For crunch. Add it right before serving so it doesn't go soft.
- Sugar-free caramel or chocolate syrup: Drizzle it on or swirl it in at the end for ribbons of flavor.
To add mix-ins: After the final respin, make a hole down the center of the pint, add your mix-ins, and run the Mix-In setting. You can also fold them in by hand for more control. For more ideas and timing, see my mix-ins guide.
Storage & 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 to keep it soft, keto ice cream refreezes rock hard. Respinning on the Ice Cream setting brings back the creamy texture, and it may take two respins. If you just want a scoop, let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes instead.
- How long it keeps: Best within 2 to 3 weeks. After that, ice crystals start to form.
- Batch prep: I keep 2 to 3 pints of different flavors in the freezer at all times. Blend the bases on Sunday, freeze them, and there's keto ice cream ready to spin any night of the week.
Serving 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: Blending until the cream cheese is smooth and the sweetener is fully dissolved prevents the grainy texture keto pints are prone to. 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 batch prep, so you can keep a few pints in the freezer ready to spin.
Recipe Tips & Troubleshooting
- Crumbly after spinning? That's normal for keto pints, which often need more than one respin. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of half and half or unsweetened almond milk and respin.
- Grainy texture? Either the sweetener didn't fully dissolve or the cream cheese wasn't blended smooth. Blend the base longer next time. If you're using an erythritol-based blend, some graininess can come from the sweetener itself, and switching some or all of it to allulose helps.
- Too sweet or not sweet enough? Taste the base before freezing and adjust. Cold dulls sweetness, so the base should taste slightly sweeter than you want the finished ice cream to be.
- Too hard to scoop? Keto ice cream freezes harder than regular ice cream because there's no sugar to keep it soft. Respin it, or let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes.
- A cooling aftertaste? That usually comes from erythritol, which most monk fruit blends are built on. Try allulose or a half-and-half mix. The sweetener comparison above has more detail.
- Pint frozen unevenly? Freeze it on a flat, level surface so the base sets evenly for spinning.
Recipe FAQs
Not in the Ninja Creami. Heavy cream has so much fat that it can turn waxy and butter-like when you respin, and keto pints usually need a respin or two. Half and half with cream cheese gives you richness without that problem.
No. The Creami spins a frozen base, so there's nothing to cook. The cream cheese adds the body eggs would give a custard.
It's low in carbs: monk fruit replaces the sugar, and half and half and cream cheese are lower in carbs than a milk-based base. Whether it fits your keto plan depends on your daily carb goal, so check the nutrition info in the recipe card.
It swaps sugar for a sugar substitute and relies on higher-fat, lower-carb ingredients. Sugar is what keeps regular ice cream soft in the freezer, so keto ice cream freezes harder. Respin it or let it sit for about 10 minutes before scooping.
Yes. A shorter freeze leaves the center softer than the edges, and the pint spins up icy and uneven. Twenty-four hours makes sure it's frozen solid all the way through.
More 3-4 Ingredient Ice Cream Recipes
Low- Calorie Ice Cream Flavors
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 Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 Ninja Creami Deluxe Ice Cream maker
- 1 24 oz Ninja Creami Container Pint
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups Half and half
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 4 tablespoon Monk fruit sweetener
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Add the half and half, cream cheese, monk fruit sweetener, and vanilla to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, with no cream cheese lumps and no undissolved sweetener.1¾ cups Half and half, 4 ounces cream cheese, 4 tablespoon Monk fruit sweetener, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 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 Ice Cream setting.
- If the ice cream looks powdery or crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of half and half or unsweetened almond milk and respin. Repeat once more if needed.
- Serve right away, or use the Mix-In setting to add nuts, sugar-free chocolate chips, or other keto mix-ins.
Notes
- Use room temperature cream cheese for easier blending.
- Ensure the base is fully frozen before spinning.
- Re-spin if the texture is crumbly, adding a splash of almond milk helps.
- Use high-quality vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Freeze extra pints to always have a keto, gluten-free ice cream stash ready.
- Customize sweetness levels by adjusting the monk fruit sweetener.
Rose says
My family really enjoyed this creamy and delicious Ninja Creami Keto Vanilla Ice Cream! It’s the perfect guilt-free treat. I hope you all love it too—let me know if you give it a try!
Megan says
4 tbls of monkfruit sweetener?! Surely that's a monkfruit blend right? I haven't made it yet and I do have pure monkfruit but I've only ever used half a teaspoon at most for any recipe.
Rose Sioson says
Great question — and yes, that’s for a monkfruit blend, not pure monkfruit.
Most grocery store monkfruit sweeteners are blended with erythritol or another bulk sweetener so they measure cup-for-cup like sugar. That’s what the recipe was tested with.
If you’re using pure monkfruit extract, you’ll want to use much less — usually just a small pinch or ¼–½ teaspoon depending on the brand. I’d recommend starting small, tasting, and adjusting from there.