This is a low-carb version of my original Peanut Butter and Honey Ice Cream. It’s sweetened with allulose instead of honey, but you can add back the honey taste with honey flavoring or extract if you want.
A few notes on ingredients:
- Coconut milk — This is unsweetened coconut milk from a can. However, you could use cream if you don’t mind dairy. You could also reduce the fat by using whole milk. I’ve gone so far as to replace the coconut milk with almond milk for the lowest possible fat and calories, but it’s much less creamy, more like an “ice milk” if you ever tried those. Still tastes good, though!
- Almond milk — This is unflavored and unsweetened. You can really use any milk you want for this part.
- Peanut butter — Ingredients should be just peanuts or peanuts and salt. No sugar added. Crunchy or creamy.
- Salt — Use more if your peanut butter is unsalted, less if it has salt. The recipe below has the amounts.
- Xanthan gum — This is optional, but it improves the texture in lower-fat and/or lower-sugar recipes. It only takes a tiny amount to make a difference. It’s also vegan.
Serve with fresh berries, chocolate sauce, or whatever you like. Check the recipe notes below for more suggestions on toppings, mix-ins, and flavor variations.
Low-Carb Peanut Butter Ice Cream (vegan)
Makes ~1 quart
Ingredients
Instructions
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BLEND
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
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CHILL
Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
For a quicker chilling time, place the bowl containing your mixture in an ice bath (a larger bowl containing ice water) for a few hours. Stir the mixture occasionally. As the water in the ice bath warms up, pour off some water and add ice to keep the mixture chilling as quickly as possible.
Ideally, the mixture will be about 40 degrees when you churn it.
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CHURN
Before you start churning, set up everything you'll need to quickly transfer the ice cream from the machine into a container for freezing. I use a knife to scrape down the dasher (or paddle) and a wooden spoon to scoop out the ice cream.
In my machine the perfect churning time is 15 minutes, but your experience may vary.
The ice cream is ready when it has the consistency of soft serve and has started pulling away from the edge of the canister. You'll notice it also gets lighter in color as air is mixed in.
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STORE
When the ice cream has finished churning, scoop it as quickly as possible into your storage container. Cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper, if using. (Placing a sheet of parchment paper between the container and lid will help prevent frost, or you can press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream.) Put the container in the freezer. The ice cream will be fully firm in a few hours.
Note
Optional additions:
- 1-2 tablespoons of alcohol -- Adding alcohol improves the texture and scoopability of the final product and gives a little kick of extra flavor. Rum, vodka, or whiskey would be nice choices here.
Suggested toppings/mix-ins:
- roasted peanuts
- pretzels
- dried fruit (especially freeze dried) -- apple, cherry, raisin, banana
- pieces of peanut butter cookies
- espresso powder -- just a sprinkle on the top when serving
- cinnamon -- just a sprinkle on the top when serving, especially when combined with freeze dried apples or bananas
- spoonful of your favorite fruit preserves
- chocolate sauce
- If you want to create a mix-in, wait until the last 1-2 minutes of churning to add it to the ice cream maker. Adding the bits too early will mean they sink to the bottom. Alternatively, you can layer them into the ice cream as you transfer it to your storage container. I like using 1/2 to 3/4 cups (~2-3 oz). It's usually enough to get a little mix-in in every bite of ice cream
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