Sugar Free Homemade Ice Cream

Temperatures are warming and school is out! What better way to enjoy an evening than with a delicious bowl of sugar free ice cream.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the disclosure policy.

Sweet Tooth

I have always had a sweet tooth ever since I can remember. I have not always had the most restraint with it either. Jonathan has never been one to crave sugar. He would rather have two helpings at dinner than save room for dessert. However, he always has room for ice cream.

Jonathan’s family always makes ice cream during the summer. My favorite summer days visiting is when we spend time on his brother’s boat and then enjoy a nice southern meal finished off with some cold, sweet ice cream.

One time his mom packed up all the ingredients to make ice cream after an outing on the boat. She asked me to help combine all the ingredients. I didn’t realize the sugar was not already measured out, so I just poured in the entire baggie full. Needless to say, that batch of ice cream was almost too sweet even for me.

So long, Sugar

A lot has changed since those days. One of the biggest changes being our diet. Our struggle with infertility has led us down a deep dive into all things food and health. I have tried many different diets in hopes of conceiving.

I have tried the “bean” diet where you eat 1/3 of a cup of legumes six times a day and eliminate numerous things. Then we tried the Keto diet followed by the Hashimoto’s Protocol diet. I have since landed on a low carb, no sugar, healthy fats diet where I have seen improvements with my bloodwork sans any medicine, and it has me feeling the best. We have followed much of what Casey Means, the newly nominated US Surgeon General, has suggested in her book Good Energy. I would encourage you to check out her book and her interview alongside her brother with Tucker Carlson. Regardless of your political affiliation, I think you would enjoy the conversation about food, health, and advocating for yourself in healthcare.

One of the things that all these diets have in common is the elimination of sugar. As much as I love sweets, I have come to the realization that there is no benefit in sugar. Even though they have more carbs than a Keto diet allows, I can make an argument for my whole wheat sourdough bread or my raw milk kefir yogurt. I can tell you the benefits of eating a hefty serving of legumes daily. Unfortunately, I can’t make any good argument for the consumption of sugar. 

Alternatives

Thankfully there are sweetener alternatives. I am a little hesitant on relying on those too much, though I do use them on occasion. What ends up happening is Jonathan and I will eat something with the alternative sweetener. He will ask, “how much sweetener is in here.” I will proceed to tell him. He will say, “we could try less, don’t you think?” This continues with every batch until there is no longer any sweetener. We have found that when berries, coconut milk, and/or vanilla are added, things tend to be sweet enough for us.

New Sugar Free Recipe

With our new eating habits in mind, we knew we needed to figure out a way to still enjoy ice cream. The recipe we use can be modified and it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients or effort.

Ingredients You Will Need

• Milk – We sometimes use raw milk and other times we use almond milk. You choose which one works best for you. Pasteurized whole milk would be fine also.
• Coconut milk – full fat
• Vanilla
• Stevia liquid sweetener
• Ice
• Ice cream salt

Tools Needed

• Mixing bowl
• Ice Cream Machine
• Measuring utensils
• Whisk

Preparations

Place the metal ice cream container in the fridge for about half an hour before making the ice cream. This step is not necessary it just speeds up the freezing process a bit. We did find putting it in the freezer made the ice cream freeze on the sides of the ice cream container before the ice cream was actually finished. This could have been an issue with our particular ice cream machine and yours may turn out just fine after having been in the freezer.

Add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine and then set in the fridge for about an hour unless you are ready to make it immediately.

Make the Sugar Free Ice Cream

Pour the liquid into the ice cream container and place it in the machine and layer ice and ice cream salt around the container. Allow the machine to run until it stops, making sure to add ice and salt as needed. It usually takes 35-45 minutes for our machine.

Once it is done, make sure to wipe of the lid and the metal container so you do not get ice cream salt in the ice cream.

Enjoy!

Scoop out your sugar free ice cream into bowls and add your favorite mix-ins and enjoy! We prefer organic cocoa powder, homemade keto chocolate chips, and blueberries.