If you love the combination of strawberry, coconut, and chocolate, you have to give this Ninja Creami strawberry coco-nut protein ice cream a try. It’s creamy, packed with real strawberry flavor, and the toasted coconut goes surprisingly well with chocolate chips and walnuts.
This recipe comes in at 374 calories, 36 grams of protein, 4 grams of sugar, 19 grams of fat, and 19 carbs for the ENTIRE pint.
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The inspiration for this ice cream actually came from a cake that I make. It’s an angel food cake with whipped cream frosting, layers of strawberries and walnuts, shredded coconut all over the top, and shaved chocolate on top of that. It’s so good that I wanted to turn those same flavors into a Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream.
The sugar-free strawberry Jell-O mix is the not-so-secret ingredient in several of my Ninja Creami recipes for a good reason. It adds a ton of strawberry flavor and a nice pink color without adding extra calories or sugar. Make sure to use Jell-O mix and not pudding mix. Pudding will not give you the same flavor.
The coconut extract is what really makes the coconut flavor shine in this recipe. Just ½ teaspoon is enough to give the entire pint a really nice coconut flavor without it tasting like sunscreen. Combined with the shredded, unsweetened coconut as a mix-in, you get the coconut flavor in the base and the chewy coconut texture in every bite.
The chocolate chips have to be CHOPPED before adding them as a mix-in. Whole chocolate chips come out really hard from the freezer and are tough to bite into, so I chop them down with a knife before adding them down the center of the pint. Chopping them also means they spread evenly throughout the ice cream instead of just being sprinkled here and there in a few bites.
If you want to change this up, there are a lot of mix-ins that would work really well in this Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream. White chocolate chips would be amazing in place of the regular chocolate chips. Macadamia nuts would swap in nicely for the walnuts. You could also add some chopped freeze-dried strawberries for an extra strawberry punch, or even crushed shortbread cookies if you want a strawberry shortcake vibe.
Tips for making Ninja Creami Strawberry Coco-Nut Protein Ice Cream
When making ice cream in the Ninja Creami, I use the instant Jello mix. This is Jello and not pudding mix, and you’ll want to be sure to use the mix and not premade Jello. You can use sugar-free or regular Jello mix.
Instant Jello mix adds flavor and helps create a thicker ice cream that is creamy and less icy. There are a variety of flavors available so the flavor combinations for ice cream are endless.
The mix-ins process is not strong enough to break up the chocolate chips, so if they are added in whole, they will stay whole. When whole chocolate chips are very cold, they get VERY hard and are difficult to chew. Cutting them up before adding them in as mix-ins makes them easier to eat and they get mixed into ALL of the ice cream instead of just having a few chips sprinkled here and there.
Yes, sweetened shredded coconut works just fine. The ice cream will be a little sweeter, but the coconut flavor will still come through the same way.
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Ingredient tips and substitutions
The full ingredient list is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
- Strawberry Protein Shake: Any of your favorite strawberry protein shakes will work in this recipe, just make sure you like the taste first since strawberry shakes can really vary, and if you don’t have a strawberry shake, use the same volume of your milk of choice mixed with strawberry protein powder or vanilla protein powder and adjust the flavor and sweetness based on what you use.
- Sugar-Free Strawberry Jell-O Mix: This adds a ton of strawberry flavor and creamy texture, and regular Jell-O with sugar works just as well (do NOT use pudding mix in its place since it won’t give you the same flavor or texture).
- Coconut Extract: A little goes a long way with coconut extract, and if you don’t have any, you can leave it out and just add a little more shredded coconut to boost the coconut flavor.
- Fresh Strawberries: Fresh, real strawberries give you the best real strawberry flavor, and frozen (thawed) strawberries work too as long as they are completely thawed before blending.
- Walnuts: Chopped walnuts add a nice crunch, and you can swap them for any chopped nut like pecans, almonds, cashews, or macadamia nuts.
- Shredded Coconut: I use unsweetened shredded coconut to keep the sugar down, but sweetened shredded coconut works too if that’s what you have.
- 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 (white chocolate chips would also be amazing in this recipe).
- Unsweetened Almond Milk (Optional): This only gets used if the ice cream looks like sand after the first spin, and regular milk or dairy-free milk works in its place like whole milk, 2% milk, heavy cream, coconut milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or Fairlife milk (the higher the fat content, the creamier the texture).
Directions for Making the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the protein shake, Jello mix, coconut extract, and strawberries, into a small blender and blend together until the Jello 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.
- Dig a well down the center of the ice cream and pour the walnuts, coconut, 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 Strawberry Coco-Nut 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) Strawberry Protein Shake
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Sugar-Free Strawberry Jello Mix
- ½ Teaspoon (½ Teaspoon) Coconut Extract
- ¼ Cup (36 g) Strawberries (Fresh or frozen (thawed))
Mix-Ins
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Walnuts (Chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Coconut (Shredded-Unsweetened)
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Zero-Sugar Chocolate Chips (Chopped)
Optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons (1 Tablespoons) Unsweetened Almond Milk
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the protein shake, Jello mix, coconut extract, and strawberries, into a small blender and blend together until the Jello 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.
- Dig a well down the center of the ice cream and pour the walnuts, coconut, 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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