It is mango season here in Australia so a delicious Ninja Creami mango ice cream is the order of the day. It is SUCH an easy recipe – all you need are mangoes, white sugar and some thickened cream. Let’s get straight into it!
This mango ice cream is naturally gluten free, easily low lactose and I daresay easily vegan as well. Mango is such a great fruit for a Ninja Creami because it has a capacity for creaminess that masks small variations in fat content.
Ninja Creami ice cream science reminder
Sugar and fat content are hugely important in an ice cream recipe. Dream Scoops is much more knowledgeable on this topic than me – my knowledge is Ninja Creami based.
Sugar lowers the freezing point of ice cream in addition to making it taste good and creating a creamy texture. This means that an ice cream without sugar is much more likely to freeze into a solid block. Ice cream with too much sugar will fail to set and create more of a slushy texture.
Our issue is that fruit is a variable ingredient. Every mango you pick up will have a slightly different sugar content even if they are the same varietal.
Working with a variable ingredient can sometimes mean that the results are less than you’d hoped for. This is just the nature of the game! Read the tips section below and give it a whirl. Slightly soft ice cream (the result of adding too much sugar) can be returned to the freezer to firm up a little. Ice cream that isn’t sweet enough can be sprinkled or drizzled with something sweet.
In this recipe, the fat content is slightly less important than, say, my vanilla Ninja Creami recipe. Fruits like mango and banana are great at making ‘creamy’ textured ice cream in the Creami, whether or not they contain much cream. However, it is still important to stick to the fat percentage and ratio. Too much fat in an ice cream creates a split texture and oily mouthfeel. Too little fat creates an icy texture without good chew.
Tips for determining how much sugar to add
How much sugar to add is determined by a number of factors. Firstly, what variety of mango are you using? Different mangoes have different average sweetness levels which means the variety you are using may be more or less sweet. I have tested Kensington Pride (my preferred variety) and Honey Gold varieties. Kensington pride have around 15g sugar per 100g, while Honey Gold have around 13g sugar per 100g.
Of course, we have to take into account the ripeness of the mango. The sugar content of mangoes, as with all fruit, increases as the fruit ripens. This means that you’ll need to add more sugar with unripe mango and less sugar with ripe mango.
The mango varieties I have tested are not available worldwide – they are Australian varieties of mango. I’d recommend searching ‘(name of mango variety) sugar per 100g’ to get an idea of how sweet your mango varietal. I’d also recommend ensuring you are using ripe mangoes and tasting a little bit to confirm the sweetness.
Recipe tips
- I have not tested any sugar alternatives in this recipe. Because I have never worked with allulose or any other alternative sweetener, I can’t offer suggestions.
- Make sure you use ripe mangoes here. In Australia, I find Kensington Pride to be the most mango tasting mango by far. I highly recommend them.
- The colour and mango flavour are a direct correlation to the mango you use. If your ice cream is bland, try again with sweeter, riper mangoes.
- I haven’t tested frozen mango here and I don’t recommend canned mango. Canned fruit is often canned in sugar syrup which may contribute too much sugar to allow the recipe to freeze. If you do try using frozen mango, make sure it doesn’t contain added sugar and defrost it before blending.
- I haven’t tested vegan cream or coconut cream but I am confident they would work. For vegan cream, I recommend Flora Plant Cream. It tastes very neutral and contains roughly the same amount of fat as thickened cream. For coconut cream, I recommend choosing a brand with a fat content of over 20g per 100ml and one with only coconut as the ingredient. In Australia, I like Ayam brand.
More Ninja Creami fruit ice cream recipes
- Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream (vegan option)
- Ninja Creami raspberry sorbet (vegan)
- Ninja Creami lemon curd ice cream
- Ninja Creami peach ice cream from my Ninja Creami ice cream e-book
- Ninja Creami açai bowl recipe (vegan)
Ninja Creami mango ice cream
Equipment
- NC300 Ninja Creami machine with 470ml size tubs
Ingredients
- 350 g ripe, sweet mango (I used Kensington Pride) see notes in body of post
- 50 g caster/superfine sugar
- 100 g thickened cream (35% fat, see notes – heavy/whipping in US/UK)
- Pinch fine salt (optional)
- Squeeze of lime juice if the mixture is tasting too sweet (optional)
Instructions
- Blend the mango until smooth, then add the sugar and cream and pulse to combine. Once smooth, taste the mixture. If it tastes extremely sweet, you can add a squeeze (2-4 teaspoons) lime juice. Salt can also help balance and add contrast but it is an optional ingredient.
- Pour the mixture into the 470ml Ninja Creami tub. It should come up to the fill line.
- Freeze the mixture with the lid off for 16-24 hours. Freezing the mixture with the lid off can help avoid it developing a hump in the centre which may damage your machine.
- When ready to process, use the ice cream function. I find this ice cream benefits from a re-spin, but if the mixture is creamy and smooth after the first spin there is no need.
- Return leftovers to the freezer with the lid on.
Notes
- Read the notes in the body of the post before starting. They are important to success, I promise.
- Thickened cream contains around 35% fat here in Australia. The equivalent in America is heavy cream. The UK equivalent is whipping cream.
- I have tested Kensington Pride and Honey Gold mangoes. I much prefer Kensington Pride and I recommend them if you can get there. If you are not Australian based, search online for the best mangoes where you live.
- You can use vegan cream (I recommend Flora Plant Cream) in this recipe. Choose a brand that has a similar fat content to that specified in the recipe.
- I daresay you can also use coconut cream with a good fat content – at least 20g per 100g.
Have you tried this recipe with canned mango puree’? I just purchased a case of it, and I’m always looking for new ways to use it.
Hi Daryl,
I haven’t used canned mango puree in this recipe. My issue with canned fruit is that every brand contains a varying amount of sugar (if any) which contributes extra sugar to the mixture.
If you use too much sugar in an ice cream it won’t be able to set, which is why I generally steer clear of tinned fruit (too much of a variable for international readers).
If the tinned mango contains no added sugar you could give it a go. If you are a math whiz you could maybe also figure out how much sugar the puree contributes and subtract that from the sugar total in the recipe. The issue is that the nutritional label will include the natural sugar from the mango in that total which muddies the waters.