If you like Butterfingers, you’re going to love my recipe for making Butterfinger ice cream in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker. It’s super creamy with the perfect amount of crunch. The rich vanilla base goes really well with the peanut butter and chocolate flavored flaky, crunch, candy pieces.
Why does everyone love Butterfinger candy bars so much? Yes, Butterfingers taste great. They combine the flavors of peanut butter and chocolate. You can’t go wrong with that flavor combination! But, I think the texture sets them apart from just about every other candy bar on the market. The texture is flaky and almost a little chewy. It’s incredibly unique and works really well as a mix-in for ice cream.
When you make Butterfinger ice cream in the Ninja Creami machine and you have leftovers, it’s best to thaw the leftovers on the counter until they are soft enough to scoop, instead of processing the leftovers in the machine again. If you process the leftovers, the little bits of Butterfinger will end up getting completely ground up and and mixed together with the ice cream base. The thawed leftover ice cream won’t have quite as creamy of a consistency as it did after the original process, but it should still taste great.
Tips for making Ninja Creami Butterfinger Ice Cream:
Vanilla bean paste is a thick syruplike vanilla flavoring. The vanilla bean paste is a combination of vanilla pods (the little seed-looking things inside the bean) and vanilla extract. The flavor is more intense but has less of an alcohol and artificial tasting. Vanilla bean paste is used just like vanilla extract, it's a 1:1 ratio. The result is a rich vanilla flavor with vanilla bean speckles throughout. You can buy vanilla bean paste at most grocery stores (even Home Goods and TJ Maxx sell it now!!) near the vanilla extract and on Amazon.
If you have made ice cream and it just isn't quite as creami as you would like, you can very easily get it super creami by using the re-spin function on the Ninja Creami. After the initial process, if the ice cream is dry and crumbly, pour in one tablespoon of milk or cream and then simply place the pint into the outer bowl and snap it into place. Choose the RE-SPIN function. Once the cycle completes, remove the pint and enjoy! Your ice cream should be nice and creamy.
If you are using the correct ingredients, you should not need to thaw the ice cream before processing. The machine is made to process frozen solid ice cream mixtures, not thawed ice cream. Thawing the ice cream before processing it, can make the ice cream very soft.
Yes, you can use a premade protein shake in place of the dairy or add protein powder to the existing recipe. However, the flavor and texture will vary based on what you use. Many protein shakes and powders have gums, sweeteners, and flavorings already added so you may need to adjust the amount of vanilla bean paste, pudding powder, and sugar used.
Chocolate chips, toffee chips, peanut butter cups, and brownie bites would be great additions!
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Ingredient substitutions for making Ninja Creami Butterfinger Ice Cream:
The full ingredient list is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
Whole Milk- I used whole milk for this recipe. The whole milk helps create a thick and creamy texture. But, if you want to cut back on the fat content, you can do so by using a lower fat milk like 2% or 1% milk. If you prefer, you can use non-dairy milk like almond milk or coconut milk. Keep in mind that the lower the fat content, the higher the likelihood is that the ice cream will be a bit icy.
Half and Half- Half and half helps make the ice cream thick and creamy. But, similar to the whole milk in the recipe, you can substitute it for a lower fat or non-dairy option. The lower the fat content in the ice cream, the more likely it is going to be icy.
Sugar- Feel free to substitute the sugar with your favorite sugar substitute that is a 1:1 ratio sugar. Allulose, monk fruit, Stevia, Swerve, Splenda, agave, and honey are all options.
Instant Pudding Mix- Use instant pudding mix. You can use regular or sugar-free. Vanilla flavored instant pudding mix is recommended.
Vanilla Bean Paste- If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can use the same amount of vanilla extract.
Butterfingers- It’s Butterfinger ice cream, so I wouldn’t substitute the Butterfingers with anything else.
Directions for making Ninja Creami Butterfinger Ice Cream:
Directions for Making the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the milk, half and half, sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla bean paste 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, pour in the broken candy bar pieces, and process on mix-ins.
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
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Recipe
Ninja Creami Butterfinger 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
- ⅓ Cup (66 ⅔ g) Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons) Instant Pudding Mix (Vanilla)
- 1 Teaspoon (1 Teaspoon) Vanilla Bean Paste (or Vanilla Extract)
Mix-Ins
- 1.8 Ounce (51 g) Butterfinger (Broken into small pieces)
Optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons (1 Tablespoons) Milk
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the milk, half and half, sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla bean paste 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, pour in the broken candy bar pieces, and 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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Julie says
My first attempt with using my Ninja Creami Deluxe. Bam! Amazing! Can’t wait to try all of your recipes!
Lauren Cardona says
Woo hoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!