Keto Candy Cane Ice Cream

If you have a Ninja Creami ice cream maker and are on a low carb diet, you have to try this keto candy cane ice cream recipe. It’s creamy, sweet and has the delicious peppermint flavor but it’s low carb and high protein! So next time you have an ice cream craving but want a healthy option, try this homemade keto ice cream recipe. It only has 5.4g net carbs!

You might also like this keto candy cane cocktail recipe.

I bought a Ninja Creami ice cream machine in the summer time. I have be contemplating it for a long time and finally bought one and boy am I glad I did. I use it all the time to make healthy low carb, high protein ice cream all the time. I was amazing at how creamy it comes out and it’s so much better than store bought keto ice cream in my option.

So I’ve been playing around with recipes for quite a while and every once in awhile I share them here. Because they are so specific to this machine I don’t want to make too many posts with recipes but it’s hard not too. However today I had to share this keto candy cane ice cream recipe. This peppermint ice cream flavor is perfect for the holidays.

These ice cream recipes are low carb, high protein and most of the time low calorie too. But best of all they taste like a decadent treat! Creamy and healthy, you can’t beat that if you have a sweet tooth and are on a low carb diet in my opinion.

What is a Ninja Creami machine?

This ice cream machine is different from regular slow churn machines in that it sort of works in reverse. The Ninja Creami starts with a frozen pint of the base mixture and then grinds it into a smooth and creamy homemade ice cream in minutes.

It comes with 2 pint containers that you have to use with the machine. I ended up buying 2 more of these airtight containers so I have a few flavors in the freezer on hand at all times.

Also the Ninja Creami can make other frozen treats like sorbets, gelato, smoothies and milkshakes. I have yet to try these other functions because I can’t get past how much I like the amazing ice cream! It just has such awesome texture for being low carb and sugar free.

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutes.

All you need to make this sugar free ice cream is almond milk, coconut cream, vanilla protein powder, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, sweetener and small peppermint candies or candy canes. I also add a sprinkle of salt to bring out the sweetness but you don’t need to add this.

Unsweetened Almond Milk and Coconut Cream
I had a small can of coconut cream on hand but you can also use canned coconut milk in this recipe. It’s what makes the more creamy than if you just used almond milk. You could also use heavy whipping cream instead of either but I was trying to keep it lower in calories too.

You can substitute the almond milk with other nondairy milk if you wish or you can use more of the coconut cream or milk to make it more creamy. You would have to recalculate the carbs though.

Low Carb Vanilla Protein Powder
I love IsoPure vanilla protein powder because they are very low carb and some have no carbs. You can use whatever your favorite protein powder is but check the carbs to make sure it’s not too high.

Vanilla and Peppermint Extracts
You definitely need the peppermint extract to give this recipe the candy cane flavor with. The vanilla flavoring you could probably eliminate if you don’t have it. It just adds a bit more flavor.

Keto Friendly Sweetener
I used Swerve sweetener for this recipe but you can use your sweetener of choice. I have also used SweetLeaf Vanilla stevia drops which are nice and if you have both sometimes that is a good combination. If you don’t care about carbs you can use regular granulated sugar.

Small Peppermint Sugar Candies or Candy Canes
I bought this candy at Dollar General and it is totally optional. It’s nice for color and more flavor but it does have sugar. I just used 1 candy or you could use 1 mini candy cane and it won’t increase the carbs too much and it’s enough for the 2 servings that this recipe makes.

You could also add a bit of food coloring if you want the typical green color or pink. I was just making this for us so I didn’t go through the bother. Just add a few drops when mixing ingredients before freezing.

How to make keto candy cane ice cream.

Step 1: To make the ice cream base, add the almond milk, coconut cream, protein powder, flavor extracts, sweetener and a pinch of salt to a blender and blend on low for a few seconds to combine. You can also whisk this mixture together in a pyrex measuring cup or mixing bowl.

Step 2: Pour the mixture into the Ninja Creami pint container and place the store lid on top. Put in the freezer overnight to freeze complete. Make sure to place on a level surface in the freezer so it freezes evenly.

Step 3: When ready to eat, take off the storage lid from the peppermint ice cream base and place the frozen ice cream in the outer bowl assembly. Attach the outer bowl lid and pllace it in the Ninja Creami machine and hit the LITE button. Run it through the cycle and then take it out and see if it is creamy enough for you.

Step 4: If the consistency is not creamy enough (and it probably won’t be) run it thought the LITE cycle again. Above you can see what it looks like after 1 cycle for me. Below is what it looks like after 2 cycles.

As you can see above it had a nice and creamy texture for me. If yours is more of a powdery consistency you can add a tablespoon of milk (almond), coconut milk, heavy cream, whatever and run it though the LITE function again and it should be fine.

Step 5: If you want to add the crushed candy cane or candies to this dish you can place a piece in a baggie and crush it with a meat mallet or heave pan. I just sprinkled the bits on top for color but you can either mix it in after it’s done or even use the mix-in button on the machine. I found 1 small piece or mini candy cane should be enough and keep the carbs down.

This recipe makes about a pint of ice cream. I can get at least 2 servings out of the entire pint and sometimes 3. If you have leftover ice cream place the store lid on top of the pint container and refreeze. You will have to run it though the machine again to make it creamy though.

Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

More Ninja Creami protein ice cream recipes to try.

I LOVE my Ninja Creami and I make healthy low carb high protein ice cream all the time. I need to start making more posts but I forget to write down the ingredients. Here are few that I did write them down. 😉

• keto chocolate with keto mixins
• keto strawberry
• keto salted caramel
• keto coffee
• keto cinnamon
• keto maple walnut

Look for more Ninja Creami recipes to come in the future. I want to explore using regular cream cheese which is a low carb food and one that is use in these kinds of recipes. I usually use sugar free pudding to these recipes if I just use almond milk but the coconut cream worked well instead.

Well I hope you give this keto candy cane ice cream a try. My husband loved the flavor and I loved that it was so healthy and the perfect keto treat for my sweet tooth. And the Ninja Creami is one of my favorite kitchen products I have bought. Enjoy!

The nutritional information for 1 serving (note I used 1 piece of candy for the whole recipe) = 235 calories / 15.9g fat / 5.8g carbs / 0.4g fiber / 12.9g protein = 5.4g net carbs