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

This is the protein base we run most weeks on the Ninja Creami NC351, and it works because of the balance of fat, sugar and solids. Fairlife skim milk brings about 19 g of protein and almost no fat, the whey isolate adds another 25 g, and a tablespoon of sugar-free pudding mix supplies the starch and gum that keep the frozen block from turning to ice. With so little fat and sugar the first Lite Ice Cream spin comes out powdery, which is normal, and one re-spin turns it creamy. Per serving, four per pint, we estimate 65 kcal, 11 g protein, 4 g carbs and 0 g fat.

Tested recipe

Vanilla Protein Ice Cream

A high-protein vanilla pint built on Fairlife skim milk and whey isolate 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) vanilla whey protein isolate
• 1 tbsp (8 g) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 tbsp (12 g) allulose or granulated sweetener of choice
• 1 tsp (5 g) vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp fine salt

Equipment

• Ninja Creami NC351
• 16 oz Creami pint

Method

1. Pour the milk into a blender or a tall cup for an immersion blender.
2. Add the whey isolate, pudding mix, sweetener, vanilla and salt.
3. Blend for 20 seconds, until no dry pockets of powder remain.
4. Pour the base into the Creami pint up to the max fill line and tap the pint on the counter to settle the foam.
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, install the paddle lid and press Lite Ice Cream.
7. Check the texture; if it looks powdery, press Re-spin once.
8. Scoop and serve straight from the pint.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Calories

65 kcal

Protein

11 g

Carbs

4 g

Fat

0 g

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

Tips

• Freeze the pint on a level shelf and check that the surface is flat before you process. A sloped or domed top makes the paddle hit one side first, which is the most common cause of a crumbly first spin and the reason we repeat the flat-top rule on every recipe. Our base ratio cheat sheet has the fill line and leveling notes for all three pint systems.
• Expect to re-spin once. On the NC351 the Lite Ice Cream cycle ran 128 seconds and the re-spin 70 seconds in our timed tests, so the whole process is under four minutes. Press Re-spin when the result looks like fine sand; do not add liquid yet.
• Add liquid only before a second re-spin. If the pint is still crumbly after one re-spin, pour 1 tbsp of milk over the surface, then re-spin again. Adding milk before the first re-spin makes the pint soft and soupy at the edges.
• Blend cold. Fairlife straight from the fridge dissolves the whey without foaming into a head that freezes as a brittle crust. If you do get foam, let the pint stand five minutes before you lid it so the bubbles settle below the fill line.
• Keep the freezer at 0 F. A warmer freezer or a pint stored in the door leaves a soft center that smears under the paddle instead of shaving cleanly.

Variations

• French vanilla: add one pasteurized egg yolk or 2 tbsp (30 g) of fat-free Greek yogurt to the blender for a custard note and a slightly denser scoop.
• Vanilla cookie: after the re-spin, dig a hole to the bottom, drop in two crushed chocolate sandwich cookies and run Mix-In, as in our cookies and cream protein ice cream.
• Vanilla peanut butter swirl: stir 1 tbsp of powdered peanut butter into 2 tbsp of milk and spoon it on top before the re-spin, or make the full peanut butter protein ice cream.

Storage and refreeze

Level what is left in the pint with the back of a spoon so the top is flat, press the storage lid on and return the pint to the same level shelf. The base refreezes solid within about six hours and fully hard overnight. To serve again, run Lite Ice Cream and then Re-spin once; a refrozen protein pint is drier than a fresh one, so plan on adding 1 tbsp of milk before any second re-spin. We keep refrozen protein pints for up to a week, after which the surface goes grainy. Processing only half a pint is not recommended because the paddle needs the base to reach above the pint’s lower rib to spin evenly; it is better to process the whole pint, scoop what you want and refreeze the rest.

The model and pints we used

We tested this recipe in an original 16 oz pint on the Gen 2 Creami NC351, which measured 82 dB during the spin and shows no paddle wear after a month of near-daily protein pints. The same pints fit the NC301 and NC299AMZ; our pints guide covers the two-packs and four-packs and the ones that do not fit. More bases like this are in the protein recipes and lite recipes categories.

Frequently asked questions

Related recipes