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Check out my recipe for making Ninja Creami Key Lime Pie Gelato! Ninja Creami Key Lime Pie Gelato is a super creamy, tangy, sweet, and delicious dessert! It tastes just like pie, but in the form of scoopable ice cream! Make your own homemade ice cream and gelato at home in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker with just a few ingredients!
Key Lime Pie Gelato is not actually made with pie but it tastes like it! I used lime curd and key lime juice to create the perfect key lime flavor! Yes, lime curd! I cheated a little bit and bought it pre-made at the grocery store…and I used bottled key lime juice! You can make your own lime curd and squeeze your own fresh lime juice if you would like. Key limes are harder to find and are more work to squeeze, so you can use regular limes for this recipe.
Traditionally, key lime pie is made up of a graham cracker crust for filled with a sweet, tangy, and tart key lime custard base. The filling is super smooth and creamy with just the right tartness. To achieve a similar taste and texture, I used graham crackers as mix-ins for the pie crust and added just enough lime juice and zest to create the perfect amount of tartness!
Is this key lime pie gelato or key lime pie ice cream? You can call it whatever you want but since I used the gelato setting on the Ninja Creami to create a thick and creamy finished product, I’m calling it gelato. There are no eggs in this recipe, except the eggs that are in the lime curd and there is no heavy cream used, instead milk a little half and half was used.
Since the Ninja Creami ice cream machine is different from all other ice cream makers, you can achieve a super creamy texture without having to churn ice cream. Instead, the Ninja Creami paddle basically shaves the ice cream base and mixes it altogether. Since the ice cream base is “shaved,” I wouldn’t recommend adding graham crackers or pie crust to the base recipe. The “crust” will not stay together. Instead, it will completely combine with the ice cream base and can create a grainy texture. Either add the graham crackers as mix-ins or sprinkle on top of the finished gelato.
If you plan on having leftovers, I would recommend sprinkling the graham crackers on top instead of adding them as mix-ins so that they don’t get ground up when you respin your leftovers.
Tips for making Ninja Creami Key Lime Pie Gelato:
Yes, you can use homemade lime curd for this recipe. Lime curd is made of lime juice, white sugar, eggs, salt, and butter. It’s really quite easy to make. Here’s a recipe on making homemade lime curd.
Key limes are much smaller, rounder and are yellower when ripe in comparison to regular limes. The flavor of key limes is similar to that of regular limes as they are both quite tart. But, key limes are not quite as sour as regular limes. In recipes like my Ninja Creami Key Lime Gelato, a very small amount of the actual lime juice is used so the flavor difference will not be noticeable.
Traditional Italian gelato does not have eggs in it. Although, some recipes do use eggs, egg whites, or egg yolks. It depends on the recipe that you are using.
Yes, you can substitute the dairy and sugar to fit your dietary needs. You can use any sugar substitute that you would like, just make sure that it is a 1:1 ratio with the sugar. The milk and half and half can also be substituted. However, some substitutes like oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, and cashew milk have a lower fat content and will likely produce ice crystals and a less creamy result.
If your ice cream or gelato is dry and powdery, almost like sand, don’t worry! Just pour in a little liquid, like cream or juice, and respin. You might need to respin a couple of times. If the ice cream looks more like dippin dots or little balls of ice cream, you don’t need to add liquid to it. Just respin it in the Ninja Creami.
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Ingredient substitutions for making Ninja Creami Key Lime Pie Gelato:
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Milk– I used whole milk in this recipe. You can use a dairy substitute or lower fat milk if you prefer but the lower the fat content, the less creamy the result will be.
Half and Half– If you don’t have half and half, you can use a mixture of ¼ heavy cream and ¾ whole milk.
Sugar– White sugar was used. You can use a sugar substitute that is a 1:1 ratio.
Lime Curd– Store-bought lime curd was used in this recipe. If you prefer, you can make your own lime curd for this recipe. If you can’t find lime curd, lemon curd would work well too. The flavor will be slightly different but still great. You can also use canned key lime pie filling. However, pie filing tends to be VERY sweet so you will likely need to cut back on the amount of sugar that is used for this recipe. Taste the mixture after adding key lime pie filling and before adding sugar. If it’s not sweet enough, gradually add more sugar.
Cream Cheese- I use regular cream cheese, not whipped. If you prefer not to use cream cheese, you can use ¼ teaspoon of guar gum instead or any other Ninja Creami ice cream stabilizer that you would like.
Vanilla Bean Paste- I prefer to use vanilla bean paste because it adds a deeper vanilla flavor and I find that it tastes less like alcohol. You can substitute the vanilla bean paste with vanilla extract.
Lime Juice and Zest- Fresh or bottled lime juice can be used. Key lime juice is preferred but regular lime juice will work just fine. If you use bottled lime juice, I’d still recommend buying a lime to use for the zest. If you don’t have limes, lemons can be used instead but the flavor will be a little different.
Graham Crackers- Do not use graham cracker crumbs. Graham cracker crumbs will create a grainy texture when added as mix-ins. If you don’t have graham crackers, Teddy Grahams cookies work well too.
Directions for making Ninja Creami Key Lime Pie Gelato:
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla bean paste, lime curd, half and half, milk, and lime juice into a small blender and blend until all ingredients are fully combined. Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container. Do not fill past the max fill line.
- 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, put the outer bowl lid on and then place bowl assembly into the Ninja Creami and then process on “GELATO.”
- Dig a hole in the center of the ice cream and add the graham crackers and lime zest.
- Put the pint back into the Ninja Creami and process on the “Mix-Ins” function. Once the Ninja Creami is finished processing, remove from the machine.
- Your treat is ready to eat! Enjoy!
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Ninja Creami Key Lime Pie Gelato
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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
- ½ Tablespoon (½ Tablespoon) Cream Cheese (Room Temperature)
- ⅓ Cup (66 ⅔ g) Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon (1 Teaspoon) Vanilla Bean Paste
- 2 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons) Lime Curd
- ½ Cup (121 g) Half and Half
- 1¼ Cup (295 ¾ ml) Whole Milk
- 1 Teaspoon (1 Teaspoon) Lime Juice (Key Lime or Regular Lime)
Mix-Ins
- 1 (1) Graham Cracker (Broken or smashed)
- ½ Teaspoon (½ Teaspoon) Lime Zest
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla bean paste, lime curd, half and half, milk, and lime juice 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 "GELATO."
- Dig a hole in the center of the ice cream and add the graham crackers and lime zest.
- Put the pint back into the Ninja Creami and process on the "Mix-Ins" function. Once the Ninja Creami is finished processing, remove from the 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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paige says
This was fantastic! I only had some fairlife milk and cream so it was very creamy!
Lauren Cardona says
I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
Amanda says
I finally made this tonight and will be able to try it tomorrow! I’m really excited and even made my own lime curd for it! However, I’m verrrrryyyy confused on the measurements. The recipe states to do 1.5X the recipe for the deluxe (which I have) but it filled my deluxe container to the fill line and almost an entire other container. Are the measurements stated here to make more than one creami container? I wanted to make two but ended up making 4 containers… which is fine if I like it but just confused about the measurements! Thanks!
Lauren Cardona says
Hi Amanda- I just double checked the measurements and they look correct. Did you blend the ingredients before pouring into the container? If so, sometimes too much air gets added to the ingredients if it is over blended. This can cause the mixture to expand quite a bit but it will deflate while it freezes.