Caramel, cheesecake, and chocolate chips all in one ice cream? Yes please!!! This Ninja Creami caramel chocolate chip cheesecake protein ice cream is thick, creamy, and has so much real caramel flavor with bits of Werther’s Original candies and chopped chocolate chips throughout every single bite.
This recipe comes in at 315 calories, 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar, 9.5 grams of fat, and 37 carbs for the ENTIRE pint.
Jump to:
- Tips for making Ninja Creami Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Protein Ice Cream
- Looking for more Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream Recipes?
- Ingredient tips and substitutions
- Directions for Making the Ice Cream Mixture
- Directions for Processing the Ice Cream Mixture
- Save for Later on Pinterest!
- Recipe
- Comments
This recipe is for anyone who loves caramel as much as I do. The caramel protein shake makes the base of the ice cream taste like real caramel without having to add a ton of caramel sauce. Then with the cheesecake pudding mix, sugar-free caramel syrup, and pieces of Werther’s Original candies thrown in, you end up with a really rich, creamy caramel cheesecake ice cream with 30 grams of protein for the entire pint.
The sugar-free cheesecake instant pudding mix is doing two big jobs in this recipe. It adds that classic cheesecake flavor without having to use actual cheesecake, and it acts as a thickener that gives the ice cream a thick, creamy texture instead of an icy one. Be sure to use INSTANT pudding mix and not cook-and-serve, since cook-and-serve won’t thicken in the base without being heated first.
Let’s talk about those Werther’s Original candies because they are honestly what makes this recipe stand out. Breaking them into small pieces before adding them as mix-ins gives you these little pockets of real caramel candy flavor in every bite. The Ninja Creami machine breaks them down just enough on the mix-in cycle so they aren’t too hard to bite into, but you still get that classic Werther’s caramel taste throughout the ice cream.
The chocolate chips have to be CHOPPED before you add them as mix-ins. Whole chocolate chips come out really hard and are tough to bite into, so I chop them down with a knife (or you can pulse them in a food processor) before adding them down the center of the ice cream. The same goes for the Werther’s candies, breaking them into small pieces ahead of time makes sure they spread evenly throughout the pint instead of getting stuck in one big chunk.
The combination of caramel, cheesecake, and chocolate is really hard to beat. You get the rich caramel flavor from the protein shake and Werther’s, the tangy cheesecake notes from the pudding mix, and the chocolate from the chopped chocolate chips in every bite.
Tips for making Ninja Creami Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Protein Ice Cream
While you can add pieces of cheesecake to your ice cream, I chose to use sugar-free cheesecake INSTANT pudding mix. Not only does it help create the flavor of cheesecake in the ice cream, but it also helps create a wonderful, thick, and creamy texture. Make sure to use instant pudding and not cook-and-serve, and you can use instant pudding with sugar in it if you prefer.
No, the almond milk is only optional and is used if the ice cream looks like sand after the first spin. You can use any dairy or non-dairy milk that you would like, like coconut milk, oat milk, cashew milk, skim, 2%, or whole milk. Keep in mind that the nutritional information will change based on what milk you use.
Whole chocolate chips come out REALLY hard in Ninja Creami ice cream because the mix-in button doesn’t break up hard things. Chopping them with a knife or pulsing them in a food processor before adding them down the center of the pint makes sure they are small enough to bite into easily and spread evenly throughout the ice cream.
This recipe uses sugar-free caramel coffee syrup, which is the thin syrup that you add to coffee and drinks. It is NOT the thick caramel sauce that you would drizzle on top of ice cream. Any brand of sugar-free or regular caramel coffee syrup will work as a substitute.
Yes! Crushed cookies, chopped nuts, pretzels, or a tablespoon of peanut butter would all work great in this caramel cheesecake ice cream. Just make sure that any hard mix-ins are chopped into small pieces before adding them to the pint.
Looking for more Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream Recipes?
Ingredient tips and substitutions
The full ingredient list is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
- Caramel Protein Shake: Any of your favorite caramel protein shakes will work in this recipe, and if you don’t have one, use the same volume of your milk of choice mixed with vanilla protein powder plus a little extra caramel syrup, adjusting the flavor and sweetness based on what you use (a splash of vanilla extract can help round out the flavor too).
- Sugar-Free Cheesecake Instant Pudding Mix: Make sure to use INSTANT pudding mix only, not cook-and-serve or premade pudding, and regular pudding mix with sugar in it works fine if that’s what you have.
- Sugar-Free Caramel Syrup: This is the thin coffee syrup that you add to drinks, not the thick caramel topping, and any brand of sugar-free or regular caramel coffee syrup works as a substitute (you could also use 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or honey if you’d rather, but the flavor will be a little different).
- Zero-Sugar Chocolate Chips: Regular chocolate chips work fine too, just make sure to chop them up with a knife or in a food processor before adding them as a mix-in since whole chips come out very hard.
- Sugar-Free Werther’s Original: Regular Werther’s Originals will work in place of the sugar-free version, just break them into small pieces with a spoon or in a food processor before adding them down the center of the pint.
- Unsweetened Almond 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 whole milk, 2% milk, coconut milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or Fairlife milk (the higher the fat content, the better the creaminess).
Directions for Making the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the protein shake, pudding mix, and caramel syrup into a small blender and blend together until the pudding mix is completely combined with the liquids. 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.
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.
- Pour the pieces of Werther’s Original and chocolate chips down the center of the ice cream and then process on mix-ins.
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
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Recipe
Ninja Creami Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecake 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
- 11.5 Fluid Ounces (340 ml) Caramel Protein Shake
- 2 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons) Sugar-Free Cheesecake Instant Pudding Mix
- 1 Teaspoon (1 Teaspoon) Sugar-Free Caramel Syrup
Mix-Ins
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Zero-Sugar Chocolate Chips (Chopped)
- 5 (5) Sugar-Free Werther's Original (Broken into small pieces)
Optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons (1 Tablespoons) Unsweetened Almond Milk
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the protein shake, pudding mix, and caramel syrup into a small blender and blend together until the pudding mix is completely combined with the liquids. 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.
- Pour the pieces of Werther's Original and chocolate chips down the center of the ice cream and then 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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