Published: · Modified: by Carolyn
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No ice cream maker? No problem! Try this simple method for making homemade keto ice cream without a machine. It’s easy to enjoy your favourite summertime indulgence. Plus 10 delicious recipes!
I’ve had an ice cream maker for over 20 years and I absolutely love making homemade ice cream. I have lost count of the number of keto ice cream recipes I have made over the past 10 years.
But ice cream makers can be large and cumbersome, and take up valuable counter space. And you often need to freeze the bowl for at least 12 hours before you can churn.
No churn ice cream to the rescue! It is relatively new on the foodie scene but it’s become a popular way to enjoy your favorite summer treat.
And you’ll be happy to hear that it’s easy to make no churn keto ice cream.
What is no-churn ice cream?
Conventional ice cream is typically made by constant churning during the freezing process. This beats air into the mixture to lighten it as it solidifies, so it isn’t a dense, solid block of frozen cream and milk.
No-churn ice cream gets around this process by folding whipped cream into a thickened base. It’s quite brilliant when you think about it, as whipping air into heavy cream results in a similar light and fluffy consistency.
This isn’t a new concept, since Italian semifreddo has used this same technique for ages. One might even say that semifreddo is the original no-churn ice cream.
And it’s easy to make sugar-free keto ice cream this way too!
How to make keto no churn ice cream
Time needed:8 hours and 40 minutes
There are plenty of delicious and fun ways to make no churn keto ice cream. I have developed quite a few recipes and the although the details change, the basic formula stays the same. It’s really quite simple:
- Pick the right sweeteners
The sweeteners you use are the difference between ice cream that stays scoopable in the freezer and one that become rock hard. I always recommend a combination of Swerve Sweetener and either allulose or BochaSweet. You can read more about that in my Tutorial on Keto Sweeteners.
- Choose a thick base
By thick, I mean something that’s quite a bit thicker than heavy whipping cream or milk. This gives the ice cream some structure and make it less icy. I have listed your best options below.
- Whip the heavy cream
Whipping the heavy cream to stiff peaks replaces the churning process and makes the ice cream lighter. It also gives it more structure.
- Fold the two together
Use a large silicone spatula and fold the whipped cream into the thicker base until no streaks remain.
- Stir in any mix-ins
Now’s your chance to add chocolate chips, nuts, or swirls of keto caramel sauce.
- Freeze until firm
Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm. You need a bit of patience here because keto no churn ice cream takes at least 8 hours to firm up properly.
No churn ice cream base
I have a wonderful sugar-free condensed milk recipe, and it makes delicious no churn ice cream. But you are by no means limited to that. Try any one of these options:
- Softened cream cheese
- Sour cream
- Double cream (for you lucky folks in Europe!)
- Ricotta
- Mascarpone
- Coconut cream
- Nut butter
- Sugar Free Lemon Curd
- Keto Chocolate Fudge Sauce
All of these work perfectly in no churn keto ice cream recipes. You can also make a custard base by heating egg yolks, as I did in this keto semifreddo recipe.
Flavors for no churn ice cream
This is where the fun begins, my keto friends. You can have so much fun with no churn ice cream flavors.
Add in some chopped keto peanut butter cups! How about a ribbon of keto caramel sauce or some fresh berries? I’ve even crushed up my keto thin mints and swirled them in before freezing. My kids love that one!
And be sure to check out all of these delicious keto recipes for no churn ice cream below. Let your imagination run wild…
No Churn Keto Ice Cream Recipes
- Keto Coffee Ice Cream
- No Churn Maple Walnut Ice Cream
- Easy Keto Strawberry Ice Cream
- Keto Blueberry Pie Ice Cream
- Butter Pecan Ice Cream Pie
- Keto Cannoli Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake
- Blackberry Hazelnut Semifreddo
- Easy Keto Ice Cream Cake
- No Churn Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them.I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Reader Interactions
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Terri says
Hi Carolyn,
Can coconut milk be substituted for the dairy in your recipe? I’m having to go dairy free as it no longer agrees with me.Thanks
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Carolyn says
Yes but you will need to use more allulose to keep it from freezing too hard.
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Jacqueline Mack says
I don’t see this exact recipe. Link?? And what about the use of crème Fraiche?
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Carolyn says
There isn’t an exact recipe… this is a how-to post with 15 recipes linked to it! 🙂
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Sharon says
Carolyn, I recently splurged and bought a Ninja Creami. Have you had and experience with these. I’d love to have some tips if you have any. You are my keto guru, thanks for all you do!
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Carolyn says
I have not, sorry!
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Michelle M says
Same here with the Creami! I wonder if you just put these recipes in the Creami container if they will work. Anyone tried it yet?
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Marlene says
“Serious Keto” has a video on YouTube about it. I watched it last night. He tests it using different ingredients and talks about the pros and cons of the machine. Good video.
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Chantal says
First of all, thank you for making my keto journey delicious and easier! Love so many of your recipes!!
Two questions for these ice creams:
Can we make pop sicles with those wonderful flavors?
What ca I use instead of alcohol (vodka)?Thank you!
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Carolyn says
Yep you can make popsicles with any of these recipes. And many folks like vegetable glycerin instead of vodka.
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Kimberly says
Hi! This may have been asked, but I haven’t seen it in the comments. I would substitute the condensed milk for cream cheese, mascarpone, etc? That’s how I am understanding it and want to make sure that way I don’t have a bad batch and waste anything. Thank you so much!!!
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Carolyn says
Yup.
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Elizabeth Godfrey Ford says
There is literally not a time in our existence when there is not some of your no-churn ice cream in our freezer. Do we have an ice cream maker? Yes, we have 6. One of them is a huge 2 gallon thing from Amish country that costs around $300 and is very wonderful…
BUT… I just don’t want to mess with it and clean it like my husband does when he makes ice cream all through the summer.
THIS NO CHURN ICE CREAM tastes identical to churned versions. It’s crazy! And we are not a drinking family, but my kids know Mama always has a small bottle of vodka for her ice cream to stay creamy (HA!)My 5 year old especially LOVES coming up with ideas for this vanilla base recipe. He loves to add in extracts, fruits and herbs from our garden, or toppings that we make from this blog. We love being creative with our ice cream, and he especially loves that he can eat THIS ice cream anytime!!!
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Carolyn says
You have 6 ice cream makers??? You are seriously my hero. 😉
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Elizabeth says
We throw a LOT of summer ice cream block parties for the neighbors with multiple flavors going on at once lol
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Jocelyn says
Hello, it looks like your link https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/pumpkin-ice-cream/ is missing
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Barbara Derrick says
Can you churn your no churn recipes….I just want to eat them in fewer than 6 hours!
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Carolyn says
You can, simply by not whipping the cream at the end but just whisking it in. However, when it comes out of an ice cream maker, it’s more soft-serve consistency. It still needs 4 hours or so in the freezer to be more like ice cream.
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mmoxx says
Nearly all no-churn ice cream recipes call for a ratio of one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk to 2 cups heavy cream. I have tweaked this amount in both directions and have found this amount to be just right, and then you don’t have any partial cans used! Thank you so much for sharing this!
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Maggie says
What would be the proportions of I want to use sour cream and whipping cream? All the recipes at the bottom have so many ingredients and are not to my taste.
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Carolyn says
Please use the strawberry ice cream as a guide, as it has the sour cream and whipping cream.
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Maria says
where’s the recipe and list of ingredients?
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Carolyn says
This is a post telling you the basics about making no churn ice cream. It is not a recipe unto itself, but there are a number of recipes at the bottom of the post, if you want one.
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Kim says
Carolyn! Help us with a butter pecan! Love your recipes, we really appreciate you.
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Carolyn says
I have one, although it’s not no-churn. But you could take the principles I line here and add the pecans I make in this recipe! https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-butter-pecan-ice-cream-pie/
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Tracy says
This Butter Pecan is the ????
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Deborah says
Love your ice creams….and am finding the blend of Swerve and Bocha Sweet or xylitol along with a bit of xanthan ( and a Tbs of vodka or bourbon) helping a LOT.
Recently tried the Mason Jar method for a serving for one (has 1 egg yolk per half a cup of heavy cream….add sweetener, booze, xanthan, etc and shake 5 min) worked surprisingly well…..in 3 hrs it gets to a nice soft ice cream stage. Looking forward to trying that with your wonderful recipes over the coming weeks….should make for a very sweet summer!
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Mary says
I love your recipes! Do you have a recipe for basic vanilla no churn ice cream? Mary
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Carolyn says
So technically no, but you can actually take my regular vanilla and make it no churn, since it has no eggs. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/perfect-low-carb-vanilla-ice-cream/
Basically, make the condensed milk. Then whip the additional cream and sweetener and fold in the condensed milk.
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Sheryl says
Thank you sooo very much! I have missed my ice cream…I think I can do this!
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Carolyn says
You totally can! So many great options…
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