I absolutely love developing Ninja Creami recipes that work and I like to think I have a good grasp on using traditional sugar in Ninja recipes. My new challenge is to develop sugar free Ninja Creami recipes using the sugar substitute that performs mostly similarly to sugar in ice cream recipes: allulose. So today, we’re making this sugar free strawberry Ninja Creami ice cream.
Before we begin: with the addition of strawberries, this recipe contains natural sugars. When I say sugar free, I mean made without cane sugar. Although my understanding is that this recipe is suitable for diabetics and ketogenic diets, I make no dietary guarantees here. I am not a doctor or dietician and you should consult with a professional before embarking on any diet. If you are diabetic and taking insulin, it is recommended to check in with a medical professional before substituting sugar as it can cause a drop in blood sugar levels.
Using allulose in Ninja Creami recipes
Allulose performs similarly to sugar in Ninja Creami recipes, I have found (although there are some exceptions). I will note here that I have only worked with powdered allulose in this recipe.
Allulose, like sugar, lowers the freezing point of a Ninja Creami mixture. This means is that if you add too little allulose, the mixture will freeze rock hard. As a result, it will be harder to spin and is more likely to have an icy texture. On the flip side, adding too much allulose will result in a Ninja Creami mixture that will not set. When you go to spin it, it will be more of a milkshake consistency.
Something I noticed while developing my sugar free vanilla ice cream recipe is that allulose seems to have a different effect on the fat content of an ice cream. I found that I could add more cream to a recipe without it splitting or becoming overly fatty. While I need to do more research on this, I did think it was worth mentioning.
I recommend a window of 75-125g allulose for a 470ml tub of Ninja Creami ice cream. 75g is subtly sweet and sets to a much more firmer texture. 125g is pretty sweet (to me) and sets to a medium soft consistency straight after processing. It will set up a littler firmer if chilled again after processing.
Ingredient notes
Strawberries are a variable ingredient – some are sweeter than others. It can be trickier to know how much allulose to add based on your strawberries, but such is the nature of working with fruit. I recommend using 100-125g allulose and ideally summer strawberries the first time you make this recipe. You can then assess your own tastes and get a sense of how the sweetness of the strawberries works with the allulose.
Thickened cream in Australia is generally 35% milk fat. You cannot just use any cream you have lying around as the fat percentage of a Ninja Creami ice cream is important. Too little fat and you may end up with an icy, sorbet style ice cream. Too much fat and the mixture has a tendency to split and become gritty as well coating the roof of your mouth.
Thickened cream might be called heavy cream in the USA. Aim for a milk fat percentage as close to 35% as possible.
In the UK and sometimes in Europe, thickened cream might be called whipping cream. I don’t recommend double cream here as the fat percentage is too high.
This recipe has only been tested with 100% allulose granules – not liquid allulose, not lankanto and not other artifical sweeteners. You are welcome to experiment but I can’t guarantee the result.
Sugar free vegan strawberry Ninja Creami ice cream
I have successfully used Flora Plant Cream in this recipe to make it dairy free/vegan. HOWEVER, note that this product does contain sugar. Per 100g, it contains approximately 1.3g sugar according to the label at the time of writing. Keep this in mind when deciding if it is right for you.
I haven’t tested coconut milk or cream or any other product here. These will change the taste of the recipe.
To make a sugar free, dairy free/vegan strawberry Ninja Creami ice cream, simply replace the thickened cream with plant based cream. If Flora Plant Creami is not available where you live, choose a brand with similar ingredients and a similar nutritional profile. My research suggests that Country Crock plant cream is similar in the USA. Other countries have similar products too – read my notes in this recipe for more information.
More Ninja Creami ice cream recipes
- Ninja Creami high protein recipe e-book
- Ninja Creami high protein ice cream, 5 ways
- Ninja Creami mango ice cream
- Ninja Creami custard base ice cream
- Maple pumpkin spice Ninja Creami ice cream
Sugar free strawberry Ninja Creami ice cream
Equipment
- 1 X NC300 machine with 1 X 470ml tub
Ingredients Â
For the sugar free Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream:
- 300 g fresh strawberries, weighed after hulling (see notes)
- 100-125 g pure granulated allulose (I haven't tested liquid allulose or any other sugar substitutes, see body of post)
- 125-150 g thickened cream, 35% milkfat (may be called whipping cream or heavy cream where you live) see notes
Optional flavour boosters:
- Tiny dash balsamic vinegar (yes, really)
- Few cracks freshly cracked black pepper (yes, I promise!)
- Tiny pinch fine salt (makes everything more complex)
InstructionsÂ
- Hull, chop and weigh your strawberries into a medium pot. Use your hands or fork to mash the strawberries up. Our main goal here is to get some liquid happening so we don't have to add any.
- Add the allulose and stir to combine. The mixture should be a paler pink colour with strawberry chunks. The allulose should all be starting to dissolve.
- Place the pot over a medium heat and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the allulose has dissolved and the mixture is a vibrant red coulis. If you are adding any flavour boosters, stir them in here, then set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
- Once the mixture has cooled to a hand comfortable temperature, transfer it to the 470ml Ninja Creami tub.
- Add the cream and mix thoroughly to combine. I like the version with 150g cream so if I need to, I go a tiny bit above the fill line. The volume of your strawberries will depend on how much liquid they contained and how much liquid you cooked off, so it might vary a little.
- Once thoroughly mixed, place the tub in the freezer with the lid off. This can help prevent the mixture developing a hump in the centre which can damage your machine.
- 16-24 hours later (see notes) process your ice cream using the ice cream function. With 100-125g allulose, it should come out as a perfect texture on the first spin. The more allulose you add, the softer your ice cream will set. This is why it's important to weigh the ingredients.
- Return leftovers to the fridge with the lid on.
Notes
- Read the notes in the body of the post on allulose and on ingredient notes before starting.
- How sweet your ice cream is, how many seeds are in it and what colour it is depends on your strawberries. For the sweetest, pinkest result I recommend summer strawberries.
- If your strawberries are super sweet, you might only need 75-100g allulose.
- If a batch of 125g allulose ice cream comes out too soft, your strawberries likely contained more sugar than mine. You can simply chill it for an hour or two before serving. Next time, add 25-50g less allulose.Â
- If you really don’t want any strawberry seeds in your ice cream you could try blending them and then running them through a sieve before starting the recipe. You will still need 300g total volume of strawberry, so you will need to use more than 300g strawberries to account for the volume lost. I haven’t tested this so I can’t say how much more you will need – I like the seeds!
- The more allulose you add to your ice cream, the longer you should chill the mixture. A tub with 75g allulose might only need 16 hours chilling time, whereas I’d recommend a full 24 hours for a tub with 125g allulose.Â
- I do not recommend exceeding 125g allulose in this recipe or any other Ninja Creami recipe as it won’t set.Â
- Allulose based ice cream tends to have a slightly more textured look than ice cream made with sugar. This is just the way it looks – the ice cream itself should be perfectly smooth and creamy.Â
Made this a couple weeks ago and it came out shockingly good. The only change I made was a mix of powdered and liquid Allulose (because I had it.) Amazing flavor and texture and tastes like it’s “regular” and not sugar free. Don’t skip the pinch of salt.
I am so thrilled you enjoyed it Lee! Great to know it works with some liquid allulose too 🙂