This (no-churn!!) paleo and keto chocolate ice cream is ridiculously creamy and a breeze to whip up… at just 3g net carbs a scoop!
And psssst….! If you’re looking for more flavors you most definitely want to check out my keto ice cream master recipe.
Paleo & Keto Chocolate Ice Cream
Suuuper Creamy & No-Churn (!!)
With a few simple tricks, this recipe for keto chocolate ice cream will yield ridiculously creamy and luscious results; no churning required!
Plus, this ice cream is also easily customizable to suit all chocolate taste buds: from the milk chocolate lovers to the darkest-of-dark fanatics (ahem, me!).
Oh, and know that you don’t need to whip up a full batch (think ice-cream-for-one!). Simply adjust servings in the drop-down menu to desired amount, and whip up any quantity you want!
The Method
Making this no-churn keto chocolate ice cream is a breeze. Think melting the sweetener and cocoa into (full fat!) coconut milk, whisking in a tad of xanthan gum (which acts as a stabilizer here), and incorporating the cooled mixture into whipped cream.
You see, by whipping up the heavy cream you’re incorporating quite a bit of air. And the addition of xanthan gum helps keep your ice cream creamy smooth.
And if you plan on making a larger batch and letting it hang in your freezer, it’s generally a good idea to incorporate a couple of tablespoons of booze into your ice cream (particularly if you use erythritol, see below!). Remember that high alcoholic beverages do not freeze, so they will help your ice cream stay creamy smooth rather than rock-solid. Just don’t overdo it, or you’ll end up with a slushy.
The Chocolate
Cocoa or cacao? Both work great, just know that quality really matters here. My favorite will forever be the Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world. But feel free to use a raw cacao powder (arguably more nutritional perks here), though keep in mind that your ice cream will be lighter in color and more reddish in hue. Both are well and good, as long as they’re unsweetened.
How dark? Talking dark chocolate versus milk is a sure way to divide a crowd! But know that you can make this keto chocolate ice cream to your taste buds’ desire. So we suggest doing the base with the lower quantity of cocoa (1/2 cup) to yield a milk chocolate ice cream.
And if you like your chocolate dark, simply add in more cocoa (think 1/4-1/3 cup more) after everything is incorporated. A taste-as-you-go sorta thing.
p.s. a lightly sprinkle of flakey sea salt works wonders to cut through the dark chocolate variation!
The Sweetener
Xylitol and allulose are, without a doubt, the best sweeteners for keto ice cream. They help to retain the creamy texture (they work pretty much like inverted sugars!), and allows you to skip the churning if need be in many recipes.
And if using allulose, just keep in mind that it’s about 70% the sweetness of sugar and xylitol (i.e. you’ll have to add 30% more).
Having said that, this no-churn vanilla ice cream is sooo luscious, that you can get away with using erythritol with relatively good results too. Though it most likely will freeze rock-solid, and you’ll have to let it hang out for about 30 minutes to scoop it out.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 
No Churn Paleo & Keto Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the keto chocolate ice cream
- 1 13.5-ounce can full fat coconut milk *
- 135-150 g xylitol or allulose, to taste (see notes for deets!)
- 50-75 g cocoa powder use the smaller amount for milk chocolate and the larger for dark
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or 3/4 teaspoon arrowroot flour if paleo**
- 480 g heavy whipping cream or coconut cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons vodka or booze of choice *** optional
Instructions
- See recipe video for tips and tricks!
- Add coconut milk, sweetener, cocoa and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Mix using an immersion blender or whisk until all the solids from the coconut milk have the dissolved and the mixture is fully blended.
- Sprinkle xanthan gum little by little and blend until fully combined. You will likely have some air bubbles, but be sure to check there are no lumps. Any lumps will be resolved by mixing with an immersion blender (or in an actual blender). Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.
- Add heavy whipping cream to a large chilled bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Blend in vanilla extract and the cooled chocolate mixture. (Optional): add in more cocoa, to taste, for a dark chocolate version.
- (Optional): add in your booze of choice. The mixture should be thick but still pourable. And, if for any reason your mixture is too thick (whipped cream too much, used a lot of cocoa...): thin it out little by little with more coconut milk. See recipe video for texture reference.
- Transfer ice cream to a sealable container and place in the freezer until frozen (4-6 hours to overnight).
- If freezing overnight: take out your ice cream 10-20 minutes prior to serving (depending on your room temp!) and scoop away.
Video
Notes
The Sweetener
Xylitol and allulose are, without a doubt, the best sweeteners for keto ice cream. They help to retain the creamy texture (they work pretty much like inverted sugars!), and allows you to skip the churning if need be in many recipes. And if using allulose, just keep in mind that it’s about 70% the sweetness of sugar and xylitol (i.e. you’ll have to add 30% more). Having said that, this no-churn vanilla ice cream is sooo luscious, that you can get away with using erythritol with relatively good results too. Though it most likely will freeze rock-solid, and you’ll have to let it hang out for about 30 minutes to scoop it out. And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys!
*You absolutely NEED to use full fat coconut milk here! As lighter versions are simply diluted in water, and they'll make your ice cream more icy.
**Be sure to measure a very lightly packed 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum, as it's an ingredient that's easy to overpack. And if you overdo it, you'll get gummy ice cream.
***Booze is totally optional, it just keeps your ice cream from freezing rock solid. This ice cream is super creamy though, so 10-15 minutes at room temp make it ultra scoopable once again.
Please note that nutrition facts were estimated per 1/2 cup serving. This recipe yields approximately 5 cups.Nutrition
There was another vanilla ice cream recipe that I can’t find anymore. It used yogurt, is that still on your site?
Hi Andrea! I’m republishing it as frozen yogurt this weekend!! I can email it to you though no prob- should I send it along to the email address you put down in the comment (only I can see it) xo!
Hi
Can erythritol be used instead of xylitol?
Hi Arati! Yes, just keep in mind that xylitol does work best in ice creams. With erythritol you sometimes get the odd sugar alcohol crystal forming (not a big deal though). xo!
I have made this recipe several times and LOVE it. My husband doesn’t love the coconut aftertaste. Could I use Almond milk or cow’s milk in place of the coconut milk?
Hi Stephanie! In all honesty you want coconut milk (or alternatively double HWC). Though maybe you can try another brand? Generally peeps find that any coconut taste is actually masked very well. Hope this helped! xo
Think I could use this recipe in an ice cream maker? Should I still whip the cream or just let the ice cream machine do all the work? Thanks!
Hi Francesca! You can definitely churn it in a machine, but still go ahead and whip the cream xo!
I just made this today and it’s “FANTASTIC”!!
I have tried other recipes of which were ok. But this recipe is OH -MY-GAWD…GOOD!
My question is when I made the chocolate portion and added the Xanthan gum should I continue to cook it to thicken it more. After cooling the chocolate/coconut milk mixture it was still quite runny and I noticed in your video yours was very thick. Does the xanthan gum need to be heated for a period of time to set up?
I don’t remember a description for how long to heat the chocolate/coconut milk mixture.
However once the ice cream froze it was perfectly ice cream like!!
:>)
Hi Randy! I’m thinking that the difference you noted is simply a difference in the strength of the xanthan gum (which really varies a lot from brand to brand). You don’t need to heat it up to activate it. Alternatively it can also be a difference in cocoas (but this is less likely to have made such a big difference). Either way so happy you loved it!
I don’t have enough heavy whipping cream. I was wondering if mixing hwc with coconut cream and beating them would work? I have never whipped coconut cream before, but have seen it as a sub for whipping cream.
Hi Marijane! I’ve never whipped them together before, so how about whipping them separately just in case? Coconut cream doesn’t whip as light as HWC, but it does get fluffy. xo!
I made this ice cream today and I just took a bite of my first scoop. I had to come running to comment and tell you, this is *AMAZING*. Delicious ice cream by any criteria, nevermind low carb. You just made this diet a lot more sustainable for me. Thank you!!!!
Lol Monica! I literally cracked up! So happy you enjoyed it so much, it’s my absolute pleasure 😉
Hi there!
I’m dying to try this recipe but have one question. Is there a sub for the xanthan gum? Or is it possible to omit it? I’m horribly allergic to xanthan gum – it causes me to throw up for several days after consuming it 🙁 I’m brand new to keto, so I’m unsure if omitting it would still work, or if there was an appropriate sub. Would appreciate any advice you can give! 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Ahsley, the xanthan gum stabilizes the ice cream and keeps it nice and creamy. You could always swap it with guar gum (works a little less well, but works). Or just do without (maybe churn it then if you can?) xo!
I am wondering if I can put it into the ice cream machine since I already have one.It looks absolutely amazing and I cant wait to try it!! 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Bianka! Apologies for missing your comment earlier, definitely can use your ice cream machine too 😉
Hi can i use coconut cream instead of coconut milk?
Hi AvYanna! I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why not! xo
This is probably a silly question but can you use an ice cream maker for this? Got one for Christmas and am anxious to use it.
Hi Kate! Not a silly question at all, you can use an ice cream maker to speed up the process. Just keep in mind that the mixture will be very thick so a slight pain to clean up…! xo!
I was going to ask a similar question!
To use the ice cream maker, should we skip the xanthan? Or is it not the one that thickens the dough?
I know nothing about Xanthan. I bought it just now (after finding your recipes) and know nothing about its properties…
Hi Ana! I still use the xanthan gum with an ice cream maker as it stabilizes the mix so you get no ice crystals (particularly when using xylitol!) xo
How did you get the nutritional information for this recipe? I was adding it to Myfitnesspal, but the numbers didn’t add up to yours. I took your ingredients and worked them into their calculator and got: Calories 297, Total Fat 29 g, Total Carbohydrate 17 g. 🙁 I like your carb count better.
Hi Carrie! Remember that sugar alcohols are not regular carbs and most people simply deduct them as they do fiber (as they pass undigested through most peeps’ digestive systems). This should be it right? xo!
Oh – ok… unfortunately Myfitnesspal doesn’t track sugar alcohols. Oh well.
Hi, I’m going to try this tonight! Just wondering, I have a strange reaction to alcohol, but I’ve read other recipes that call for MCT oil to keep the ice cream from freezing too hard. What do you think adding a tablespoon or two of MCT oil will do to this recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Kristin! Just skip the alcohol (the xanthan gum will stabilize it enough that after 10-15 minutes at room temp it’ll be scoop able and not icy). Regarding the MCT oil, I’ve never tried- but with all the coconut fat etc already in the ice cream tbh I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference. Enjoy! xo
This is INSAAAANNNNNE! I just tried some of this ice cream mid-freeze and it’s like ayummy dark chocolate Frostie. Thanks so much for posting. I love all your recipes but this one is my all-time face <3
Hi Sarah! I’m sorry to have missed your comment…! But so happy you enjoyed it so much (it’s also one of my favorite recipes on the site ;)! xo!
This is fantastic! I am making it for the second time for my dad. Whom I am trying to go keto for health reasons. He has been hesitant, but I’m thinking this dessert alone may go a long way in changing his mind 🙂 He’s requested that I make it for our family vacation this summer too. Oh and the most amazingly, best part is, my father abhors coconut!! He will seriously vomit if he smells or tastes it. I almost felt guilty serving it to him without warning him first…almost, lol. He dug into it and just LOVED it! When I told him it was coconut, he blanched a bit, then he shrugged and said it was the best coconut he’s ever tasted. Then he requested more. It’s amazing because coconut is so good for you. Now I can get him to eat it!! Oh and FYI, he LOVES your granola too. 😉 Gnom Gnom rocks!
That’s so wonderful to hear Julie! So happy you and your dad are enjoying the recipes and thank you for your lovely comment xo!
In the video it looked like the sweetener was a powder form. Is it granulated or powdered? I can’t wait to make this! It looks so lush and delicious. Reminds me of a gelato I’ve had years ago just looking at the texture in the videos. My husband is addicted to the Halo top and I’d love to do a full fat alternative to help with our transition into keto.
Hi Liz! If I remember correctly I had some leftover powdered xylitol and used that. Either works though, as both will melt into the coconut milk. xo !
Can i use heavy cream and not coconut milk?
Hi Matthew! Yes, but keep in mind that I like the results best with coconut milk (there honestly is NO taste whatsoever) xo
You must be a wizard. This is honestly my favorite chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had, including the store bought versions. It’s light and fluffy, perfectly chocolate (I like milk chocolate more, so I used the minimum you said), it’s stupid easy to make. Next time I’m going to add nuts to it, or coconut flakes, make rocky road. I also want to use the cookies from your oreos and make ice cream sandwiches with it. How important is the cocoa? Could I make a vanilla version of this by not adding the cocoa?
It took a pretty long time to cool the mixture completely, so my idea of starting this at around 12:30am was less than ideal Also, I didn’t mix it well enough so some of it was harder than other parts after freezing overnight. Still delicious and perfect after sitting on the counter for 15 minutes though.
Hi Krystyna! I might be a little late to get back to you, but you can definitely do wihotut the cocoa and do flavors of choice 😉 xo!
Hello, very excited to try the recipe! Any recommendations on using stevia in place of xylitol/swerve? Thanks!!
Hi Jordan! Unfortunately stevia is not a good choice for this recipe
Eeeek. Should have watched the video to see the consistency after adding the xantham gum 😜 Mine was much more runny. I also had a three year old hanging off me wanting to lick the beaters and the bowl, so the mix wasn’t fully cooled when I added it.
I have to say, if by a fluke this actually turns out (because of my ‘amendments’) as well as it tasted going into the freezer, I’ll be pretty addicted.
OH LOL!! Well fingers crossed Alana that it still worked out! Though even if the consistency isn’t perfect, it should still taste wonderful hopefully! xo!
I would love to add a nut butter. Hiw and when do i do that?
Hi Trisha. Do you mean as in peanut butter/almond butter swirls? You can add those at the end before freezing the ice cream.
Otherwise, I would advice against adding a nut butter to the ‘base’ as it would change the texture and cannot guarantee the results. Hope this helps!
Thoughts on using half and half in place of the coconut milk and plain erythritol in place of the swerve?
Hi M! The half and half should work relatively well (I haven’t tested it, so cannot guarantee it) and the erythritol would be fine. Regarding the coconut milk, if it’s a taste thing it really leaves no trace. xo!
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TASTE.. SO DELICIOUS … I also found that just using the first part ( the coconut milk, sweetener and cocao powder & Xanthum gum) alone made a totally easy and delicious chocolate pudding / custard if you didnt want icecream … awesome . thank you so much
I agree with the comments above, this tastes like real store-bought ice cream it’s crazy! I made the dark chocolate version and it’s definitely the best homemade ice cream I’ve ever made! Kudos for such a keeper recipe!
AND it’s also the easiest ice cream I’ve ever made!
I’m leaving a review because to be honest I was very hesitant about this one, even after I saw someone posting it on keto beginners saying it tasted like real ice cream. Well girl, you proved me wrong!! It tastes EXACTLY like REAL ice cream!! Cannot believe how easy it was, and I didn’t have to go out and buy an ice cream machine (which I was about to do this year because I’m committed to being 100% keto!). THANK YOU, I’m very much looking forward to experimenting with different flavors!
And if there are others out there hesitant about the coconut milk, there’s ABSOLUTELY NO COCONUT TASTE!! It’s remarkable!
Do you have alternative suggestions for coconut milk? Could you do more cream instead?
Hi Jeni! You can use more cream, but if it’s a taste thing I promise you cannot taste it one bit! xo
Made it last night and it was SO GOOD! Halo Top just lost a valued customer lol! I’m going to save a fortune!!!
Forgot to ask, it would work without the cocoa right? Like I could add coffee, vanilla etc?
SO happy you loved it Stace! And YES! You can get very creative with your add-ins and toppings for this one. xo!
Hi.Im wondering why you say completley cool the coconut/choc/gum mixture.
Are we supposed to heat it up (you said put it in saucepan)
Just a bit confused.It sounds good and I want to make it.
thanks,KAREN
Hi Karen! Yes, you want to heat up the coconut/chocolate/sweetener/salt first until fully incorporated (coconut milk usually comes out with solid chunks from the can). Then incorporate the xanthan gum slowly and allow to cool completely.
I HIGHLY suggest you watch the recipe video in the post, should clear things up! xo!
The video icon is not working for me. Am I missing something?
Now it’s working. Don’t know what I did, wrong or right. lol.
Lol, glad it’s working xo!
Drooling quite a bit after watching the video!! Looks so decadent my goodness!
Thanks so much Emma!
Can’t wait to try this one! Looks absolutely incredible WOW!! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes, I look forward to them very much. You’ve made keto such a bliss for us!
It’s my absolute pleasure Mary Anne! Let me know how you like it! xo!
I am going to make this. Can I use some fresh Cherries in the ice cream? My husbands request! And would using a coffee flavored liquor work the same as Vodka?