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If you love the combination of cherries and chocolate, you have to make this Ninja Creami black cherry chocolate chunk ice cream. It has real fresh cherry flavor, chunks of dark chocolate in every bite, and the most amazing creamy texture.
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Cherries and chocolate are one of those classic flavor combinations that just works. The sweet, slightly tart flavor of fresh black cherries paired with rich dark chocolate is so good, and this Ninja Creami ice cream gets you all of that flavor in a creamy frozen treat. It’s perfect for a hot summer day when fresh cherries are in season and you want something cool, sweet, and full of flavor.
Using fresh black cherries is what makes this homemade cherry ice cream taste amazing. They get blended right into the base for that real cherry flavor, and then more cherries get added as a mix-in for those chunks of fruit in every bite. Make sure to wash and pit them really well before using because nobody wants to bite into a pit while eating ice cream.
The dark chocolate candy bar gives this ice cream that rich chocolate flavor. I usually chop the bar into chunks so you get real pieces of chocolate throughout the ice cream instead of just a few huge chunks here and there. Use any dark chocolate bar that you like the taste of since the flavor of the bar will come through in the ice cream. You can even use dark chocolate chips if you want. But, you’ll want to chop those into smaller pieces because the Ninja Creami doesn’t do a very good job of breaking down chocolate chips.
The cream cheese in the base is one of my favorite tricks for getting a really creamy texture in Ninja Creami ice cream. Just one tablespoon of room temperature cream cheese acts as a stabilizer and gives you that thick, scoopable consistency without making the ice cream taste like cheesecake. Make sure it’s at room temperature before adding to the blender so it blends in smoothly without leaving lumps.
A combination of whole milk and half and half gives this ice cream a rich and creamy texture without using heavy cream. The higher fat content in the dairy is what makes the ice cream taste rich and smooth instead of icy. If you want it even creamier, you can swap the whole milk for more half and half or even some heavy cream, just know it’ll be richer and have more fat. And, the higher the fat content, the more likely it is that the texture will start to get a little greasy and butter-like.
Tips for making Ninja Creami Black Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
There are quite a few options! You can use sugar-free instant pudding mix (2 tablespoons per pint), guar gum (¼ teaspoon per pint), tara gum (⅛ to ¼ teaspoon per pint), acacia gum (¼ teaspoon per pint), mayonnaise (1 tablespoon per pint), coconut cream (1 to 2 teaspoons per pint), or Dream Whip (1 to 2 teaspoons per pint). You can also skip the stabilizers altogether, but the texture won’t be quite as creamy.
Yes! Feel free to substitute the dairy for your favorite non-dairy milk. Just know that lower fat non-dairy milks won’t give you quite as creamy of a texture as using dairy.
If your ice cream isn’t quite as creami as you would like, the re-spin function on the Ninja Creami machine is your best friend. Pour one tablespoon of milk or cream into the pint, place the pint into the outer bowl, snap it into place, and choose the RE-SPIN function. Once the cycle completes, remove the pint and enjoy.
Fresh cherries give you the best flavor in this recipe, but frozen (thawed) cherries work too. I don’t recommend using canned cherries since they tend to be packed in syrup that will throw off the flavor and sweetness of the ice cream.
The chocolate bar tastes the same as chocolate chips and has the same texture, but a chopped chocolate bar breaks up really well in the Ninja Creami and doesn’t seem to get quite as hard when frozen. Chocolate chips can be tough to bite into after freezing, so the chopped bar is just easier to eat.
Ingredient tips and substitutions
The full ingredient list is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
- Whole Milk: You can use any dairy or non-dairy milk in place of whole milk, just know that the higher the fat content of the milk, the creamier the texture of the ice cream will be.
- Half and Half: Heavy cream can be used in place of half and half for an even richer, creamier texture, or you can use more whole milk if you want a lighter ice cream. Just keep in mind that if you use a lot of heavy cream, it tends to be too high of fat content and can turn to butter or make the ice cream feel greasy.
- Cream Cheese: Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so it blends in smoothly, and if you don’t have cream cheese, you can use 2 tablespoons of sugar-free instant pudding mix, ¼ teaspoon of guar gum, or 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise in its place.
- White Sugar: You can use your favorite granulated sweetener in place of regular sugar (allulose works great).
- Vanilla Bean Paste: If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract works as a substitute at a 1:1 ratio.
- Black Cherries: Fresh cherries give you the best flavor, but frozen (thawed) cherries work too (just don’t use canned cherries since they are usually packed in syrup that will throw off the flavor).
- Dark Chocolate Candy Bar: Use any dark chocolate bar that you like the taste of, and you can swap it for milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or even white chocolate if you prefer.
- Whole Milk (Optional): This only gets used if the ice cream looks like sand after the first spin, and any dairy or non-dairy milk works in its place like 2% milk, half and half, heavy cream, coconut milk, oat milk, or Fairlife milk.
Directions for Making the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the milk, half and half, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla bean paste, cherries and chocolate 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.
Directions for Processing the Ice Cream Mixture
- 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 “ICE CREAM.”
- If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking (like sand), pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and then re-spin. If the ice cream looks like little balls of ice cream, respin without adding liquid. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times.
- Dig a well down the center of the ice cream and pour in the remaining cherries and chocolate. Process on mix-ins.
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
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Recipe
Ninja Creami Black Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
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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
- 8 Fluid Ounces (236 ⅗ ml) Whole Milk
- 4 Fluid Ounces (118 2/7 ml) Half and Half
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Cream Cheese (Room temperature)
- ¼ Cup (50 g) White Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon (1 Teaspoon) Vanilla Bean Paste
- 3 (3) Black Cherries (Washed and pitted)
- .75 Ounces (21 ¼ g) Dark Chocolate Candy Bar (About 2 Squares-depending on the brand)
Mix-Ins
- 3 (3) Black Cherries (Washed and pitted)
- .75 Ounce (21 ¼ g) Dark Chocolate Candy Bar (About 2 Squares-depending on the brand)
Optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons (1 Tablespoons) Whole Milk
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the milk, half and half, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla bean paste, cherries and chocolate 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 "ICE CREAM."
- If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking (like sand), pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and then re-spin. If the ice cream looks like little balls of ice cream, respin without adding liquid. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times.
- Dig a well down the center of the ice cream and pour in the remaining cherries and chocolate. Process on mix-ins.
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
Notes
- Sugar-Free Instant Pudding Mix– 2 tablespoons per pint
- Guar Gum– ¼ teaspoon per pint 0r 0.1% by weight per pint
- Tara Gum– ⅛-¼ teaspoons per pint
- Acacia Gum– ¼ teaspoon per pint
- None- skip the stabilizers altogether
- Mayonnaise-1 tablespoon per pint
- Coconut cream– 1 to 2 teaspoons per pint
- Dream Whip– 1 to 2 teaspoons per pint
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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