Ninja Creami Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

If you are interested in protein ice cream try this Ninja Creami vanilla ice cream recipe. I made it with 2 different protein shakes and just 3 ingredients each. So not only is this a healthy homemade ice cream, it’s also easy to make, delicious, low carb and high protein! And I have lots of ideas of keto mix-ins for you too.

You might also like keto birthday cake whipped cottage cheese dessert.

I’ve made all kinds of low carb protein ice creams with my Ninja Creami ice cream maker but I haven’t made the most basic one – vanilla protein ice cream. I’ve made chocolate protein ice cream but not vanilla. So today I bought 2 different kinds of protein drinks and made this super easy but flavorful Ninja Creami vanilla ice cream recipe.

One of the best things about the Ninja Creami is that it can create healthy homemade ice cream that tastes delicious!! I have 4 pint containers in my freezer at all times so I can have homemade ice cream in less than 10 minutes whenever I’m in the mood.

Why I love this recipe is that it’s low calorie, low carb and high protein. Most important it tastes good and it only requires 3 ingredients. And finally vanilla is an underrated flavor. I’ve learned to appreciate the flavor and it’s a blank canvas in which to change up the flavor or add mix ins for more variety.

More Ninja Creami protein ice cream recipes to try.

I just adore my Ninja Creami ice cream maker and so far I have 17 Ninja Creami recipes for you to try. Most are high protein ice cream recipes though they are all pretty healthy ones.

The two low carb high protein shakes I used.

I found these Nurri and Oikos vanilla shakes at Costcos and to be honest I have never tried either. I was pleasantly surprised that they both taste great and I like the macros. They don’t have many calories, few carbs and good protein. And they both cost the same at Costco.

Some of you might be more interested in all the ingredients in each of these shakes but I’m simply trying to make low carb high protein ice cream with store bought protein shakes. So if you are concerned with the type of sugar substitute or and additives, check them out in more depth.

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredient I used in this recipe were a vanilla protein shake, vanilla paste and whipped cream cheese.

• Nurri Vanilla Shake – The macros for this shake is 150 calorie, 2.5 grams fat, 2 grams net carbs and 30 grams protein. I like the taste and final outcome of this shake better but just a tiny bit. They were both very comparable but this one had a better color too.
• Oikos Vanilla Shake – The macros this one is 170 calories, 3.5 grams fat, 3 grams net carbs and 30 grams protein. Again the end result was very similar to the Nurri one.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – I wanted to use this to give it the maximum vanilla flavor with out adding much if any carbs. You can of course substitute with vanilla extract though the paste does offer a lot of extra flavor.
• Whipped Cream Cheese – This adds a bit of creaminess to the ice cream with little carbs. You could substitute with sugar free vanilla pudding mix but that has a bit more carbs. You could also use regular cream cheese though the whipped blends better.

Other options and substitutions for the protein shakes are to use vanilla protein powder and a low carb milk like almond milk or coconut milk. You could also add a bit of heavy whipping cream for some of the milk for added creaminess and little carbs.

I also really like FairLife protein shakes and have used them in my keto salted caramel ice cream with great success.

How to make this Ninja Creami vanilla ice cream recipe.

1. Add the shake to a blender along with the vanilla bean paste and whipped cream cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour into the pint container that came with the Ninja Creami maker. Place the storage lid on the container and put in the freezer on a level surface. Freeze overnight.
2. When ready to eat take off the lid and place in the outer bowl assembly. Don’t worry about the ice crystals that you see as the machine will make it nice and creamy. Place that lid on put it in the machine. Hit the “LITE” ice cream function and run through the cycle.
3. When it’s done, take off the outer bowl assembly lid and if it’s powdery, run through the machine again using the LITE ice cream cycle. For both of these shakes I ran them through the LITE cycle 3 time and for the 4th cycle I used the re-spin function. Below you can see how they looked after each cycle.
4. NOTE: After two cycles you could also add a bit of heavy cream, half and half or unsweetened almond milk and that should also work. I just wanted to see how long it would take and didn’t want to messy with the texture. The heavy cream or even half and half would add a bit calories too. But many people do that.
5. When you reach the consistency you want, spoon into a bowl and eat. I usually get 2-3 servings out of 1 pint. When you are done, if you have leftovers, smooth out the top and place back into the freezer. Run it through the machine just like you did above.

Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card. Below you can see the Nurri shake results. It’s a bit amazing to me that you can make a shake into a smooth and creamy ice cream with the Ninja Creami maker.

And below is the finished Oikos shake. Like I said above they both were very similar in taste, nutrition and they cost the same when I bought them at Costco.

Healthy low carb ice cream toppings and mix-ins to try.

For some ideas of mix in try some of these which will add more flavor but not many carbs. NOTE I would mix these in by hand. I have trouble sometimes using the mix in program as it sometimes becomes totally incorporated in the ice cream.

• sugar free syrups – There are quite a few sugar free dessert syrups that you can by online. Pyure and Lakanto are two brands that offer chocolate sauce. Sugar free maple syrup is a syrup that you can use and add some walnuts for crunch.
• keto cookies – I’ve been trying different keto cookies to see if they would be good and I really like Aldi’s Benton brand. You don’t get many cookies in the bag but you only need 1-2 cookies to mix in.
• dark chocolate – Chocozero chocolate chips, Lily’s chocolate chips or any kind of sugar free chocolate chips will work well. You can also take your favorite dark chocolate bar and using a microplane grate some into the ice cream. You can also use unsweetened cocoa powder to make any kind of chocolate flavor.
• nuts and seeds – These pumpkin spice pecans or any candied nut would be delicious. Chop up your favorite nuts or seeds for added crunch. 
• nut butter and sugar free jams – If you use the Mix in button for these they will become part of the ice cream. To get a vein of these in the ice cream do it by hand. Try almond butter or natural peanut butter or any sugar free jam.
• keto cereal – Homemade keto granola would yummy. Plus there are many keto cereal brands you can add. Magic Spoon has some good flavors.
• other healthy mix ins – toasted coconut, cacao nibs, low carb fruit like berries, etc would all be good.

I hope you give this Ninja Creami vanilla ice cream recipe a try. It’s so easy when you can use an already prepared protein shake and a little cream cheese. And please let me know if you come use any good mix in combinations!

For 1 serving (out of 2) of the Nurri shake the nutritional information was: 106 calories / 3.5g fat / 2.3g carbs / 15.5g protein.

For 1 serving (out of 2) of the Oikos shake the nutritional information was: 116 calories / 4g fat / 5.2g carbs / 2.5g fiber / 15.5g protein = 2.7g net carbs