Check out my recipe for making Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Ice Cream!
Butter pecan ice cream is a staple at any ice cream shop! The ice cream base is rich and creamy with a hint of sweet buttery flavoring. Add in some chopped pecans and you’ve got the perfect dessert that everyone will be wanting more of!
Ninja Creami Butter Pecan is the perfect homemade ice cream…that doesn’t taste homemade! It’s got tons of flavor and it’s super creamy! I’ve made this recipe several times and have never had issues with it being icy or lacking in flavor. It makes creamy ice cream every time!
What can you make with a Ninja Creami?
The Ninja Creami ice cream maker is like no other ice cream maker out there, except the Pacojet. But the Pacojet is thousands of dollars! The Ninja Creami takes ordinary or in some cases, extraordinary ingredients and turns them into a refreshing treat!
- The Ninja Creami can make ice cream, lite ice cream, gelato, smoothies, smoothie bowls, Italian Ice, sorbet, milkshakes, frozen yogurt, creamiccinos, frozen drinks, and slushies.
- There are a couple of different models available. The functions vary slightly between the machines.
- You can use almost any ingredient that you can think of to make your frozen treat! Some of the most common ingredients are bananas, chocolate chips, pie filling, canned fruit, cream cheese, strawberries, chocolate, and flavored extracts or Lorann Oils.
- You can make full-fat and sugar treats or you can make keto, vegan, sugar-free, dairy-free, weight watchers, or bariatric-friendly recipes. The options are endless!
- Just about any dairy can be used. Many recipes call for cream cheese, milk, half and half, heavy cream, or even goat cheese. But, many find great results when using almond milk, coconut milk or coconut cream, oat milk, protein powder or vegan cream cheese. Since there are so many different options, you do need to do a test run with your non-dairy substitute to check to see if it gets really icy.
- If you are on a low-sugar diet, you can even use sugar substitutes like monk fruit sweetener, allulose, erythritol, or agave nectar!
- To ensure that you get a creamy texture, you can usually do a re-spin. If that doesn’t help, add a tablespoon of so of liquid (usually milk) and then spin again.
Butter pecan ice cream is the perfect sweet treat! Something to keep in mind when making Ninja Creami butter pecan ice cream and other Ninja Creami recipes is that when you add in mix-ins, it becomes a challenge to eat the leftovers. Once the mix-ins have been added in, you do not want to process it again. If you do, the mix-ins will be pulverized by the paddle and completely mixed in with the ice cream base.
So, for this recipe, and other recipes that have mix-ins, like mint chocolate chip ice cream, or anything with brownies, nuts, graham crackers, cookies, or chunks of fruit, I would recommend sharing it with a friend so that you finish the pint off in one sitting.
Or, if that’s not an option, put it back in the freezer (you can even transfer it to another container so that you are not using up your valuable pint containers) and when you are ready to eat it again, let it sit on the counter until it softens up and becomes scoopable again. This can take 10-30 minutes. The texture will not be quite as creamy but it will still be delicious!!
Tips for making Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Butter pecan ice cream combines a rich buttery ice cream base with pecans. It’s super creamy with an added crunch from chopped-up pecans. Many butter pecan recipes call for adding actual butter to the base mixture. Instead, we are using butter extract to provide a nice buttery flavor.
No. You do not need to use cream cheese to make Ninja Creami ice cream. The cream cheese acts as the stabilizer and a thickener and there are many substitutes that can be used. My favorite substitute is instant pudding mix. You can use sugar-free or regular instant pudding. See the full list of stabilizers that can be used here: Stabilizers
Some recipes do better if they are mixed or blended before freezing. If you just need to mix the ingredients together, like in this recipe, an immersion blender or milk frother will work well. If you are mixing fruit or larger, chunkier ingredients, use a bullet blender or regular blender.
If you are getting a ring of ice around the outside of the ice cream, try rinsing the outside of the pint container with warm water for several seconds before processing. Or set the pint out on the counter for 5 or 10 minutes (up to 30 minutes) before processing.
Yes, you can make your own butter extract by combining it with water and melting the butter. Here’s more info on how to make your own butter extract: How to make butter extract.
Looking for more of the best Ninja Creami Recipes? Check out all of our Ninja Creami ice cream recipes here!
If you’re looking for the best chocolate ice cream ever….try this one!
What you’ll need to make Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Ice Cream:
Ingredient substitutions and tips for making Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Ice Cream:
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
***Ice Cream Base
Milk- I prefer to use whole milk when making an ice cream base. But, you can use lower-fat milk or a dairy substitute instead. Lower-fat ice creams tend to be less creamy than full fat so the texture may vary a bit.
Half and Half- If you don’t have half and half, you can use a mixture of heavy cream and milk instead.
Sugar– White sugar was used. You can use a sugar substitute instead.
Cream Cheese- Full-fat or reduced-fat cream cheese can be used. If you don’t want to use cream cheese, you can easily substitute 2 tablespoons of instant pudding mix for the cream cheese. DO NOT use cook-and-serve pudding. Be sure to use instant pudding. You can use sugar-free instant pudding instead. If you use sugar-free, you don’t need to make any other adjustments. But, if you use regular instant pudding with the sugar already added, reduce the amount of sugar by one teaspoon.
Butter Flavor (Lorann Oils) If you don’t have butter-flavored Lorann oils, you can use a small amount of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract instead. You can make your own butter extract. Here’s a link to see how to make it yourself: Butter Extract Substitute
Pecan Flavor (Lorann Oils) If you don’t have Lorann oils, you can use regular pecan extract, almond extract or skinny syrup. However, the amount needed will vary. I would recommend starting with a few drops, stirring the mixture, and tasting it before freezing it. Add until the flavor is strong enough.
Pecans– You can use walnuts, almonds or your favorite nut instead. The flavor might be slightly different though.
Optional- You can add even more flavor if you add a pinch of salt or a small amount of brown sugar to your chopped pecans before adding them in as mixins. This small addition can make the butter pecan ice cream a little more savory or a little sweeter.
Steps for making Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Ice Cream:
Directions for making Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Ice Cream:
1. Combine all ice cream base ingredients in the Ninja Creami pint container and stir well with a spoon, whisk or you can blend, until the cream cheese has fully mixed in with the other ingredients.
2. Freeze on a level surface for 24 hours.
3. After 24 hours, remove the pint from the freezer. Remove the lid.
4. Place the Ninja Creami pint into the outer bowl. Place the outer bowl with the pint in it, into the Ninja Creami machine and turn until the outer bowl locks into place. Push the ICE CREAM button. During the ice cream function, the ice cream will mix together and become very creamy.
5. Once the ice cream function has ended, turn the outer bowl and release it from the Ninja Creami machine.
6. Dig a hole down the center of the ice cream and pour in chopped pecans.
7. Put the outer bowl lid back on and insert it back into the Ninja Creami machine.
8. Choose the mix-ins function and process.
9. Once the mix-ins function has ended, turn the outer bowl and release it from the Ninja Creami machine.
10. Your ice cream is ready to eat! Enjoy!
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Recipe
Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Ice Cream
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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
- 1 Cup (244 g) Milk (Whole Milk)
- ⅔ Cup (161 ⅓ g) Half and Half
- ½ Cup (100 g) Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Cream Cheese (or 2 tablespoons of vanilla instant pudding- see ingredient substitutions in the post for more details. )
- ¼ Teaspoon (¼ Teaspoon) Butter Flavor (Lorann Oils)
- ¼ Teaspoon (¼ Teaspoon) Pecan Flavor (Lorann Oils)
Mix-Ins
- 2-3 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons) Pecans (Chopped)
Instructions
- Combine all ice cream base ingredients in the Ninja Creami pint container and stir well with a spoon, whisk or you can blend, until the cream cheese has fully mixed in with the other ingredients.
- Freeze on a level surface for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, remove the pint from the freezer. Remove the lid.
- Place the Ninja Creami pint into the outer bowl. Place the outer bowl with the pint in it, into the Ninja Creami machine and turn until the outer bowl locks into place. Push the ICE CREAM button. During the ice cream function, the ice cream will mix together and become very creamy.
- Once the ice cream function has ended, turn the outer bowl and release it from the Ninja Creami machine.
- Dig a hole down the center of the ice cream and pour in chopped pecans.
- Put the outer bowl lid back on and insert it back into the Ninja Creami machine.
- Choose the mix-ins function and process.
- Once the mix-ins function has ended, turn the outer bowl and release it from the Ninja Creami machine.
- Your ice cream is ready to eat! 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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Kathy says
Is there a way to create this recipe with other ingredients? The pecan was the one flavouring l could not find. I found the butter one though. Thanks
Lauren Cardona says
I have not found a way to make the butter pecan flavors strong enough to be able to tell what the flavor is supposed to be, without using flavor oils or extracts.
Kathy says
I could not find the pecan flavouring where l’m from. Is there another flavouring l could use that would work? Is there a way to create this recipe with other ingredients? I found the butter one though. Thanks
Lauren Cardona says
I have not found a way to make the butter pecan flavors strong enough to be able to tell what the flavor is supposed to be, without using flavor oils or extracts.