Check out my recipe for making Ninja Creami Scoopable Vanilla Lite Ice Cream! I’ll show you how to make Ninja Creami Vanilla Lite Ice Cream stay soft enough to scoop straight out of the freezer!
I’ve been doing some experimenting with different things to see if I can get a Ninja Creami ice cream maker frozen treat to stay soft enough to scoop straight from the freezer! I’ve been successful with making full fat/sugar and protein ice creams scoopable, and now I’ve taken on the challenge of making Ninja Creami low calorie, low sugar, low fat ice cream that stays soft enough that you can scoop your leftovers right out of the freezer. I think I’ve got it figured out!
This recipe comes in at 127 calories, 2 grams of protein, 3 grams of sugar, and 4 WW points. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts.
I recently found success with adding food grade vegetable glycerin to some of my Ninja Creami pints and found that the glycerin has helped keep the ice cream soft enough to scoop after refreezing the leftovers. The full fat/sugar, and protein recipes have worked great! So, now it’s time to try it out on a low fat/sugar recipe!
I will say that I was surprised that I was able to get the lite ice cream to be soft enough to scoop out of the freezer. This recipe has very few calories and is very low in sugar and in fat, which means traditionally, the base recipe would be very hard and very icy. But, after a few tries, I got it to stay soft in the freezer!
Scoopable leftover Ninja Creami homemade ice cream makes it possible to eat leftovers with mix-ins like cookie dough, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, and cookies without having to reprocess the ice cream! If you ask me, this is a total game changer!
How to make Ninja Creami SCOOPABLE Vanilla Lite Ice Cream!
I created 3 ice cream bases using the EXACT same ingredients with the exception of adding vegetable glycerin to the bases.
Pint #1- NO vegetable glycerin
Pint #2- 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
Pint #3- 2 teaspoons vegetable glycerin
All three were blended in a small blender, poured into a Ninja Creami container up to the max fill line, and then frozen in a 0 degree freezer with the lids on for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, I took them out of the freezer and processed all on the LITE ICE CREAM setting.
All three pints of ice cream has small mounds on the top of the mixture. I did not scrape the mounds down before processing them.
Processing Ninja Creami SCOOPABLE Vanilla Lite Ice Cream!
Pint #1 was respun with about a tablespoon of almond milk added in.
Pint #2 was not respun.
Pint #3 was not respun.
All three pints processed pretty well. They were not overly dry but you could definitely tell that this is a lite ice cream recipe. Since there’s not much in the way of fat or sugar in the recipe, the ice cream looked icier and less creamy than a traditional full fat recipe.
The Results of the Experiment
After processing the pints of ice cream, I stuck them back in the freezer, as is, I did not smooth out the top or anything. I kept them in the 0 degree freezer for a full 24 hours. After the 24 hours, I took them out of the freezer to see if they were still soft enough to scoop.
Pint #1 was very hard and icy! You could tell by looking at the ice cream that it was not going to be soft enough to scoop. The surface was very shiny. When I tried to scoop it, nothing scooped out.
Pint #2 was almost soft enough! I was able to get almost a full scoop of ice cream. However, the texture was quite icy and a bit dry. It was technically scoopable, but with the texture the way that it was, you would not want to eat this without reprocessing it in the Ninja Creami. Too icy and not creamy at all.
Pint #3 was SCOOPABLE. This pint was soft enough to scoop. I was able to get full scoops out of the pint. The flavor of the ice cream was good. But, it was also icy. Not nearly as icy as pint #2, but still icy and not very creamy.
My recommendation would be to go with 2 teaspoons of vegetable glycerin when you are making Ninja Creami Lite ice cream if you want to be able to scoop it straight out of the freezer. However, with the ice cream being as icy as it was, I would add more fat and/or sugar to this base recipe to get it to be a creamier texture. I’ve kept the base recipe in this post the same as what I used for the experiment, but if you have room in your diet for more fat or sugar, I would recommend it.
Tips for making Ninja Creami SCOOPABLE Vanilla Lite Ice Cream!
Any dairy or non-dairy milk can be used instead of almond milk. A few examples are oat milk, coconut milk, soy milk, whole milk, heavy cream, 2% milk, 1% milk or a vegan alternative.
When using very low fat milk or dairy substitutes along with sugar substitutes, use the lite ice cream setting. When using higher fat and higher sugar recipes, use the ice cream setting.
I am not a health professional and would recommend doing some research to see if vegetable glycerin is right for your diet. Based on my research, FOOD GRADE vegetable glycerin can be found in several foods like ice cream. Vegetable glycerin is made from soybean, coconut, or palm oils. Learn more here.
With this recipe, the ice cream stays scoopable for several days, and possibly weeks. Since I just developed this recipe, I haven’t had several weeks to check on the ice cream yet. But, several days later it’s still perfectly scoopable!
No, the amount is not the same for all recipes. I’ve tested out full fat/full sugar recipes and protein recipes, using glycerin. I have found that the more fat/sugar in a recipe, less glycerin is needed. The lower fat/sugar content, the more glycerin you will need to keep it scoopable. Full fat/sugar- about 1 teaspoon. Protein recipes- about 1.5 teaspoons. Lite ice cream- about 2 teaspoons.
It does! I’ve done an experiment to see how much glycerin to add to protein ice cream recipes. See the full experiment on Ninja Creami Scoopable Protein Ice Cream here.
Yes, this recipe should work in the Ninja Creami, Ninja Creami Breeze, and the Ninja Creami Deluxe ice cream makers. To make larger portions to fit the deluxe cups, use the button on the recipe card to give measurements for 1.5X.
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Ingredient substitutions for Ninja Creami SCOOPABLE Vanilla Lite Ice Cream!
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
- Almond Milk- Unsweetened, unflavored almond milk was used in this recipe. I will be experimenting with other milks like unsweetened oat milk, to see if similar results can be achieved.
- Swerve Allulose Blend– Try using your favorite sugar or sugar substitute that is a 1:1 ratio with sugar.
- Vanilla Bean Paste– I prefer to use vanilla bean paste because it provides a deeper vanilla flavor. But, if you prefer, you can use the same amount of vanilla extract instead.
- Vegetable Glycerin– Make sure to use FOOD SAFE vegetable glycerin.
- Guar Gum– Some have found good results using xanthan gum instead of guar gum. Others prefer to use stabilizer/thickeners like cream cheese. See full list of Ninja Creami stabilizers here.
Directions for making Ninja Creami SCOOPABLE Vanilla Lite Ice Cream!
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour almond milk, Swerve, glycerin, vanilla and guar gum 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 with the lids on. Your freezer should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit.
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.”
- You should not need to respin the ice cream. But if the ice cream is looks like little balls of ice cream (dippin dots), respin without adding liquid. If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking (like sand), pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and then re-spin. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times.
- If you want to add mix-ins, dig a whole down the center of the ice cream and pour in your mix-ins. Put the pint container back into the Ninja Creami and process on “MIX-INS.”
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
- Put your leftovers back into the freezer. When you are ready to eat the leftovers, take out of the freezer and scoop. No need to reprocess or thaw. The ice cream should be perfectly scoopable!!
Pint #1- No Glycerin added
Pint #2- 1 Teaspoon of Glycerin added
Pint #3- 2 Teaspoons of Glycerin added
Scooping Leftover Ice Cream
- Put your leftovers back into the freezer. When you are ready to eat the leftovers, take out of the freezer and scoop. No need to reprocess or thaw. The ice cream should be perfectly scoopable!!
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Ninja Creami SCOOPABLE Vanilla Ice Cream
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Add Food Grade Vegetable Glycerin To Make Leftover Ice Cream Scoopable Right Out of the Freezer
*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.
Original and Deluxe Ingredient Measurements
Use the multiplier below to adjust quantities based on the machine that you own. 1X=Original 16 ounce 1.5X=Deluxe 24 ounces
Ingredients
- 1¾ Cups (414 ml) Almond Milk
- 3 Tablespoons (3 Tablespoons) Swerve (Allulose Blend)
- 2 Teaspoon (2 Teaspoon) Vegetable Glycerin
- 1 Teaspoon (1 Teaspoon) Vanilla Bean Paste
- ¼ Teaspoon (¼ Teaspoon) Guar Gum
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour almond milk, Swerve, glycerin, vanilla and guar gum 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 with the lids on. Your freezer should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit.
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."
- You should not need to respin the ice cream. But if the ice cream is looks like little balls of ice cream (dippin dots), respin without adding liquid. If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking (like sand), pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and then re-spin. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times.
- If you want to add mix-ins, dig a whole down the center of the ice cream and pour in your mix-ins. Put the pint container back into the Ninja Creami and process on "MIX-INS."
- Remove the pint from the machine and enjoy!
- Put your leftovers back into the freezer. When you are ready to eat the leftovers, take out of the freezer and scoop. No need to reprocess or thaw. The ice cream should be perfectly scoopable!!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. Optional ingredients are not included in the nutrition information.
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