If you love blueberries as much as I do, then you’re going to love my recipe for making a protein packed blueberry ice cream in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker. There’s lots of flavor, added protein (using unflavored protein powder),no pudding mix, and a super creamy texture!
This recipe comes in at 246 calories, 26 grams of protein, 14 grams of sugar, 71 carbs, 23 grams of net carbs and 5 grams fat for the entire pint. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts.
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- Tips for making Ninja Creami Blueberry Protein Ice Cream:
- Looking for more Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream Recipes?
- Ingredient tips and substitutions for making Ninja Creami Blueberry Protein Ice Cream:
- Directions for Making the Ice Cream Mixture
- Directions for Processing the Ice Cream Mixture
- Save for Later on Pinterest!
- Recipe
- Comments
For this recipe, I chose to use unflavored whey protein powder instead of a pre-made protein shake. Using unflavored protein powder is a great way to add protein without adding extra flavor or sweeteners. When you use unflavored protein powder, you can make just about any flavor of ice cream that you want and you can control the sweetness of it since the protein powder doesn’t have sweeteners already added, like most protein shakes.
You could very easily make this recipe dairy-free or vegan just by changing the type of protein powder used. I used GNC Unflavored Whey Protein powder, but if you want to make it vegan or dairy-free you could use a vegan, unflavored protein powder instead.
Many of my recipes with blueberries have an extra step in them, and that’s cooking the blueberries into a sauce. I LOVE fresh blueberries but sometimes they lose flavor when they are made into ice cream. If you want a rich, blueberry flavor, the best way to get it is by turning the ingredients into a cooked blueberry sauce. It takes a couple of extra minutes but it’s well worth it in the end.
If you’re used to using protein shakes or flavored protein powder, you don’t usually need to add much sweetener since it’s already in the shakes and powders. Since this recipe uses unflavored protein powder, you need to add sweetener. I often use allulose in my protein recipes to keep the net carbs and sugar lower than it would be if the recipe were to use sugar. But, if you aren’t concerned with the carbs or sugar content, you can use regular sugar instead.
Tips for making Ninja Creami Blueberry Protein Ice Cream:
Cooking fruit with sweetener helps to bring out the fruit flavors, adds sweetness and intensifies the flavor. Essentially, you are making a jam or pie filling when you cook the berries. It’s a little extra work but it makes a huge difference in the final product.
Of all the sugar substitutes that I have used, I prefer the Swerve Allulose blend. I can’t tell the difference in flavor and there’s no weird texture. It’s great too because it measures the same as sugar does. If you use a different sugar substitute, you may need to adjust the amount used based on the conversion for that substitute.
Fairlife milk is ultra-filtered milk that is made in such a way that it concentrates protein and calcium while filtering out lactose and natural sugars. It’s available in whole, 2%, fat-free, strawberry, and chocolate.
Fairlife milk is lactose-free, does not contain artificial growth hormones, has a longer shelf life, and has 50% more protein and 50% less sugar than regular milk.
Yes, but the ice cream will have more of a vanilla flavor. And, since the vanilla protein powder is flavored and has sweetener added, you will need to cut back on the amount of allulose that is used.
Yes, you can add anything that you think might go well with blueberry flavors. Dried coconut, lemon cookies, chocolate Oreo cookies, or even vanilla wafers would go great as a mix-in.
Looking for more Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream Recipes?
Ingredient tips and substitutions for making Ninja Creami Blueberry Protein Ice Cream:
The full ingredient list is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
- Blueberries– Fresh or frozen can be used in the base recipe. Fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries can be used as mix-ins.
- Swerve Sugar Substitute Granulated-Allulose Blend– If you prefer, you can use sugar or any other sugar substitute that is a 1:1 ratio with sugar: monk fruit, brown sugar, powdered sugar, Splenda, Stevia, etc.
- Lemon Juice– Fresh or bottled. If you don’t have lemon juice, you can use lime juice or omit it completely. Do not use lemon or lime extract.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk-If you prefer, you can use cow’s milk, (1%, 2%, whole, or half and half), coconut milk, oat milk, soy milk, cashew milk, or any other dairy-free milk substitute that you would like.
- Unflavored Whey Protein Powder-The key is to use unflavored protein powder. The brand or type isn’t as important as the unflavored part. If you absolutely need to use a flavored protein powder, use vanilla and then cut back on the amount of sweetener that is used in the recipe.
- Guar Gum– If you don’t have guar gum, you can use the same amount of xanthan gum, or 2 tablespoons of vanilla instant pudding (you will need to reduce the amount of allulose that the recipe calls for), or 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese or yogurt.
Directions for Making the Ice Cream Mixture
- In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries with the sugar substitute and lemon juice. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the blueberries have burst and turned into a saucy consistency. This should take about 5 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour the blueberry mixture, unsweetened almond milk, protein powder, and guar gum into a small blender and blend together until all ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the Ninja Creami 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 “LITE ICE CREAM.”
- If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking (like sand), pour in a tablespoon or two of unsweetened almond 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 fresh blueberries. Process on mix-ins.
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
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Recipe
Ninja Creami Blueberry Protein 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
- ¾ Cup (111 g) Blueberries (Fresh)
- ¼ Cup (31 ¼ g) Swerve Sugar Substitute Granulated-Allulose Blend
- ½ Teaspoon (½ Teaspoon) Lemon Juice
- 6 Fluid Ounces (177 3/7 ml) Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 Scoop (1 Scoop) Unflavored Whey Protein Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon (¼ Teaspoon) Guar Gum
Mix-ins
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Blueberries (Fresh)
Optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons (1 Tablespoons) Unsweetened Almond Milk
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries with the sugar substitute and lemon juice. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the blueberries have burst and turned into a saucy consistency. This should take about 5 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour the blueberry mixture, unsweetened almond milk, protein powder, and guar gum into a small blender and blend together until all ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the 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 (like sand), pour in a tablespoon or two of unsweetened almond 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 fresh blueberries. 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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