If you’ve ever had Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream then you know that banana ice cream with chocolate chips and walnut pieces is awesome!! The sweet banana base works incredibly well with the little bits and pieces of chocolate and walnuts! Now what if I told you that you could make your own version using your favorite kitchen appliance, the Ninja Creami ice cream maker and you can make it with added protein and lower calories and sugar? Well, you can!
This recipe comes in at 464 calories, 43 grams of protein, 20 grams of sugar, 16 grams of fat, and 49 carbs for the ENTIRE pint. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts.
My recipe for making high-protein Ninja Creami Chunky Monkey ice cream does not use protein shakes, instant pudding mix, or artificial sweeteners. Instead, it uses an unflavored whey protein powder and unsweetened almond milk. The main source of flavor for this recipe comes from a banana! Bananas add so much flavor and help to create a super thick and creamy texture when you make your frozen treats in the Ninja Creami ice cream machine!
High-protein homemade ice cream doesn’t have to taste like a protein shake! It should taste like ice cream! If it tastes like a protein shake or protein powder, I’m not eating it! So, when I say that my homemade chunky monkey ice cream recipe with added protein tastes like delicious ice cream, I mean it! You’d never even know there’s added protein in it or that it was made with almond milk and cottage cheese! Did I mention that I don’t like cottage cheese either? I don’t know which is worse, the taste or the texture. I can assure you that you cannot tell there is cottage cheese in this recipe!
If you have leftover chunky monkey protein ice cream, I would not recommend processing the leftovers again after freezing. If you process the leftovers after the mix-ins were added when you originally processed the ice cream, the mixins, chocolate chips, and walnuts, will get completely pulverized and mixed into the banana ice cream base. While it might still taste great, the texture is going to be different and less appealing.
Instead of processing the leftovers, I usually leave the container on the container and let it thaw until it’s soft enough to scoop. You can speed up this process by microwaving the leftovers until they are soft. The texture is not as good as it was when it was originally processed, but I think it’s better than it is when you reprocess the leftovers with the mix-ins already added.
Tips for making Ninja Creami Chunky Monkey Protein Ice Cream:
Yes. You can. But, you will need to thaw them a little bit so that they will blend together well with the other base ingredients.
Yes! The ice cream base should taste like bananas! That’s what makes this chunky monkey ice cream! In other recipes, you can add small amounts of banana to help with the texture and based on what other ingredients you add, you may not be able to taste the banana.
If it’s a good recipe, you should not be able to tell that there is protein powder added to the ice cream. The ice cream should have a smooth and creamy texture with great flavor from the other ingredients.
Chunky Monkey ice cream is a banana-flavored ice cream base with pieces of chocolate chips/chunks and walnuts mixed throughout.
You can use a bottled, premade protein shake instead of the almond milk and protein powder that is in the recipe. However, premade protein shakes are already flavored and the recipe calls for unflavored protein powder. Using a premade protein shake will work but the flavor and nutritional information will not be exactly the same.
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Ingredients to make Ninja Creami Chunky Monkey Protein Ice Cream:
Ingredient substitutions for making Ninja Creami Chunky Monkey Protein Ice Cream:
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Unsweetened Almond Milk- You can use any type of dairy or dairy-free product that you would like. However, since the recipe calls for sweetener and flavorings, I would recommend choosing a milk/non-dairy milk that is unflavored and unsweetened. You can use Fairlife milk, oat milk, skim milk, whole milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, or soy milk.
Cottage Cheese- Be sure to buy NO SALT ADDED cottage cheese if you can find it. Otherwise, the end result might taste a little salty. Low-fat cottage cheese was used but if you prefer, you can use regular fat.
Banana- A small fresh banana was used. You can use frozen bananas but you will need to thaw them first otherwise they will not fully blend together with the other ingredients in the ice cream base mixture.
Protein Powder- Use your favorite brand of unflavored protein powder.
Chocolate Chips- Zero-sugar chocolate chips were used in the recipe to reduce the amount of added sugar. If you prefer you can use regular milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or any other flavored chips or chocolate chunks.
Walnuts- If you don’t have walnuts, you can use different nuts like pecans or peanuts.
Directions for making Ninja Creami Chunky Monkey Protein Ice Cream:
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the unsweetened almond milk, cottage cheese, banana, and protein powder into a small blender and blend until all ingredients are fully combined. Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container.
- Freeze on a level surface for 24 hours. Your freezer should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit. To avoid getting a bump on the top of the frozen mixture, freeze with the lid off of the container.
Process the Ice Cream
- After 24 hours, remove the pint container from the freezer.
- Place the pint container into the outer bowl of the Ninja Creami and then process on “LITE ICE CREAM.”
- If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking, pour in a tablespoon or two of unsweetened almond milk and then re-spin. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times.
- Dig a well down the center of the ice cream and pour in chopped chocolate chips and walnuts. Process on mix-ins.
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
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Recipe
Ninja Creami Chunky Monkey Protein Ice Cream
Rate this Recipe
Equipment
Add Food Grade Vegetable Glycerin To Make Leftover Ice Cream Scoopable Right Out of the Freezer
Per 16 ounce pint: *Add 1 Teaspoon to full fat/full sugar bases *Add 1.5 teaspoon to high protein bases *Add 2 teaspoons to low sugar/low fat lite bases. Freeze and process per the recipe. Take the leftovers out of the freezer and scoop without having to reprocess. ***This is a guideline and adjustments may be needed based on your recipe.
Original, Breeze, Swirl, and Deluxe Ingredient Measurements
Use the multiplier below to adjust quantities based on the machine that you own. ***If you have the Original, Breeze, or Swirl machine, which use 16 ounce containers, choose the 1X option. ***If you have the Deluxe or XL machine, which use 24 ounce containers, choose the 1.5X option.
Ingredients
Ice Cream Base
- 6 Ounces (170 g) Unsweetened Almond Milk (Fluid)
- ½ Cup (113 g) Low Fat Cottage Cheese (No Salt Added)
- 1 (1) Banana (Small)
- 1 Scoop (1 Scoop) Unflavored Whey Protein Powder (33.6 Grams)
Mix-ins
- 1½ Tablespoons (1 ½ Tablespoons) Zero Sugar Chocolate Chips (Chopped)
- 2 Teaspoons (2 Teaspoons) Walnuts (Chopped)
Optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons (1 Tablespoons) Unsweetened Almond Milk
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the unsweetened almond milk, cottage cheese, banana, and protein powder into a small blender and blend until all ingredients are fully combined. Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container.
- Freeze on a level surface for 24 hours. Your freezer should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit. To avoid getting a bump on the top of the frozen mixture, freeze with the lid off of the container.
Process the Ice Cream
- After 24 hours, remove the pint container from the freezer.
- Place the pint container into the outer bowl of the Ninja Creami and then process on "LITE ICE CREAM."
- If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking, pour in a tablespoon or two of unsweetened almond milk and then re-spin. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times.
- Dig a well down the center of the ice cream and pour in chopped chocolate chips and walnuts. Process on mix-ins.
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. Optional ingredients are not included in the nutrition information.
Recipes that use allulose:
Allulose is a low calorie sweetener that your body doesn't fully digest, so it provides only 0.4 calories per gram instead of 4. That's why the calorie total doesn't match what you'd expect from the carb count. Calories from allulose are calculated based on metabolized carbohydrates. Allulose contributes fewer calories than standard carbohydrates.
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