Chocolate Protein Ice Cream (Ninja Creami, Lite Ice Cream Program)

Chocolate is the easiest protein flavor to get right in a Creami because cocoa adds solids and bitterness that hide the thin taste of skim milk. We tested this one on the Ninja Creami NC351 with Fairlife skim milk for about 19 g of protein, chocolate whey isolate for 25 g more, Dutch cocoa for color and sugar-free chocolate pudding mix to hold the water. With almost no fat or sugar the first Lite Ice Cream spin looks like cocoa powder, and one re-spin turns it into a dense, dark scoop. Per serving, four per pint, we estimate 70 kcal, 11 g protein, 5 g carbs and 1 g fat.

Tested recipe

Chocolate Protein Ice Cream

A deep chocolate protein pint made with cocoa, whey isolate and Fairlife skim milk that turns creamy after one re-spin on the Lite Ice Cream program.

Lite Ice CreamNC3511 re-spin

Prep

5 min

Freeze

24 h

Process

4 min

Total

24 h 9 min

Servings

4 per pint

16 oz pint24 oz XL tub

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (360 g) Fairlife skim milk, cold
• 1 scoop (31 g) chocolate whey protein isolate
• 1 tbsp (6 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process
• 1 tbsp (8 g) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 tbsp (12 g) allulose or granulated sweetener of choice
• 1/2 tsp (2 g) vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp fine salt

Equipment

• Ninja Creami NC351
• 16 oz Creami pint

Method

1. Pour the milk into a blender.
2. Add the whey isolate, cocoa, pudding mix, sweetener, vanilla and salt.
3. Blend for 30 seconds, stopping once to scrape cocoa off the sides.
4. Pour the base into the Creami pint up to the max fill line.
5. Lid the pint and freeze it on a level surface for 24 hours.
6. Remove the lid, lock the pint into the outer bowl, fit the paddle lid and press Lite Ice Cream.
7. If the surface looks powdery, press Re-spin once.
8. Scoop and serve.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Calories

70 kcal

Protein

11 g

Carbs

5 g

Fat

1 g

Program: Lite Ice Cream · Tested on NC351 · By Mike Lala

Tips

• Follow the flat-top rule. Freeze the pint on a level shelf and look at the surface before processing. If it froze at a tilt, the paddle meets the high side first and the low side stays crumbly, which no amount of re-spinning fixes evenly. The fill lines and leveling notes for every pint system are in our base ratio cheat sheet.
• Re-spin once, without liquid. On the NC351 the Lite Ice Cream cycle took 128 seconds and the re-spin 70 seconds in our timed runs. The first result should look like damp cocoa powder, and that is the signal to press Re-spin, not to add milk.
• Add 1 tbsp of milk only before a second re-spin. Cocoa absorbs water, so this pint is slightly drier than our vanilla version, and if the first re-spin leaves a crumbly ring at the edge, pour 1 tbsp of milk over the top and re-spin again.
• Blend longer than you think. Cocoa and chocolate whey both clump. Thirty seconds with one scrape of the blender jar is the minimum; any dry specks you see in the liquid will be frozen specks in the pint.
• Keep the freezer at 0 F and store the pint away from the door. A soft center smears under the paddle and leaves the bottom third of the pint soupy.

Variations

• Mocha: replace 1/4 cup (60 g) of the milk with cold strong coffee or add 1 tsp of instant espresso powder to the blender.
• Chocolate peanut butter: add 2 tbsp (12 g) of powdered peanut butter to the blender, or run Mix-In with a tablespoon of chopped peanuts after the re-spin, following the method in our peanut butter protein ice cream.
• Double chocolate chunk: after the re-spin, dig a hole to the bottom of the pint, add 1 tbsp of sugar-free chocolate chips and run Mix-In.

Storage and refreeze

Smooth the leftover ice cream flat with a spoon, press the storage lid on and put the pint back on a level shelf at 0 F. It refreezes hard overnight. To serve again, run Lite Ice Cream and then one Re-spin; the second time around the base is drier, so have 1 tbsp of milk ready in case a second re-spin is needed. A refrozen chocolate protein pint keeps its texture for about five days in our experience, slightly less than the vanilla, because cocoa pulls water out of the matrix as it sits. If you only want two servings, process the whole pint anyway and refreeze half; the paddle cannot reach a half-full pint evenly.

The model and pints we used

This recipe was tested in an original 16 oz pint on the Gen 2 Creami NC351, which measured 82 dB on our meter and still shows no paddle wear after a month of daily protein pints. The pint also fits the NC301 and NC299AMZ; our pints guide lists the packs that fit and the Deluxe tubs and Swirl pints that do not. For more bases built the same way, see the protein recipes category.

Frequently asked questions

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