Keto mason jar ice cream is the easiest sugar-free ice cream recipe! You only need four ingredients (or just three ingredients for vanilla ice cream) and less than 10 total minutes of prep time. Plus, no ice cream maker needed for this frozen keto treat – just shake, freeze, serve and enjoy!
I added a tip down near the recipe card so you can adapt this recipe for a carnivore diet and make carnivore-friendly ice cream too.
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How to Make Keto Ice Cream without a Machine
I try to keep my kitchen as simple as possible because I believe in cooking with simple ingredients and kitchen tools. To keep the space clean and clear, I haven’t committed to buying an ice cream maker yet. Although we did borrow one from a friend, and it’s on my wish list, I can’t yet justify the purchase for our budget or my pantry space.
So, how do we make ice cream without an ice cream maker?
The title probably gave it away, but if not, the secret to making ice cream without a machine, also called no-churn ice cream, is with a mason jar! Yes, that’s right, your favorite farmhouse kitchen accessory just got a lot cooler. You can get perfectly creamy and delicious homemade keto ice cream in a mason jar!
How to Make Keto Ice Cream in a Mason Jar
How does a four ingredient ice cream recipe sound? Pretty good, right?! That’s all you need here, so get them ready and prep a no-churn keto chocolate ice cream recipe with me in less than ten minutes!
I’m featuring chocolate mason jar ice cream because I’m a huge chocoholic. However, there are directions for other flavors below (vanilla, strawberry, and more!), so you can customize this in many ways.
Ingredients
- Heavy whipping cream – 1 cup of heavy cream makes the base of this delicious frozen dessert.
- Keto sweetener – I prefer a powdered sweetener over a granular one because it will mix smoothly without leaving a gritty texture behind. Save 20% on powdered keto sweetener with our coupon PRIMALEDGEHEALTH in checkout.
- Cacao powder – cacao powder brings a deep and rich chocolate flavor, sure to satisfy any craving!
- Vanilla extract – Add a smooth flavor with more sweetness with ½ tsp vanilla extract.
Step-By-Step Directions
Making low-carb ice cream in a mason jar couldn’t be easier! It’s a simple 3 step process anyone can do.
Add ingredients to the jar. Pour the cream, and add sweetener and cacao powder to a 16-ounce wide-mouth mason jar. Then, measure the vanilla extract and add that too. A narrow-mouth jar will work too, but a wide-mouth jar makes scooping easier.
Shake well! Without an ice cream machine, you will be the one doing the mixing. Don’t worry; it only takes a few minutes. Secure the lid tightly and shake well for 3-5 minutes.
Stop shaking once the cream thickens and almost doubles in volume. Mind the time though. You don’t want to shake too much and make whipped cream or butter instead.
Freeze. The recipe prep is done! Now, freeze the jar for 3 hours and then serve in bowls or direct from the jar.
If you freeze for significantly longer or overnight, the ice cream will get very hard and be difficult to scoop. Leave the ice cream at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving until it softens up enough for you. No problem!
Feel free to make mason jar keto ice cream ahead of time. Since it needs at least 3 hours to set, this is a great recipe for prepping in advance.
Nutrition Info for Keto Chocolate Ice Cream in a Mason Jar
- 207 calories
- 1.5g net carb
- 22g fat
- 2g protein
- 2g total carb
Please note that the nutritional value will change if you substitute ingredients. Use a nutrition app to recalculate and reflect your changes.
Keto No-Churn Ice Cream Tips
This recipe is all the more delicious with raw cream. Use the directories in my post How to Find Local Food to source raw dairy near you.
Other Flavors
Make a few simple swaps and adapt this mason jar chocolate ice cream recipe for other flavors.
- Vanilla: omit the cacao powder.
- Strawberry: add 2 tbsp keto strawberry jam or ¼ cup fresh or frozen strawberry puree
- Chocolate mint: Add ¼ tsp peppermint extract
- Chocolate brownie: While the ice cream freezes, bake and cool a batch of Flourless Keto Brownies. Cut them into small pieces and mix into the soft ice cream before serving.
- Peanut butter chocolate: Drizzle one or two spoonfuls of homemade keto peanut butter (or store-bought healthy peanut butter with no added sugar) after shaking the cream. Swirl the jar gently to preserve thick peanut butter ribbons in every scoop! Alternatively, mix the peanut butter with a spoon for a uniform finish.
Keto Toppings
- Cacao nibs
- Finely shredded coconut
- Chopped nuts
- Fresh berries
Carnivore Diet Ice Cream
Ice cream on a carnivore diet sound pretty nice, doesn’t it? I recommend getting a copy of The Carnivore Cookbook, which has 100+ strict carnivore recipes made exclusively with animal protein and fats. This book has the best carnivore ice cream recipe!
Alternatively, you can modify the recipe below by removing the cacao powder, sweetener, and vanilla. Before freezing the cream, I would add a pinch of salt (I love this Red Alaea salt in desserts!).
Ice cream is a great opportunity to enjoy raw honey, if you’re eating honey on carnivore. Serve the dish with a drizzle of honey over the top. It’s amazing! If staying low-carb aligns with your goals, you can choose to use either keto sweetener or vanilla extract, both, or neither.
Mason Jar Keto Ice Cream
Equipment
- Mason jar with a wide-mouth
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream raw if possible
- 1½ tablespoon powdered Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour the cream, and add sweetener and cacao powder to a 16-ounce wide-mouth mason jar. Then, measure the vanilla extract and add that too.1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1½ tablespoon powdered Monkfruit Sweetener, 1 tablespoon cacao powder, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Secure the lid tightly and shake well for 3-5 minutes. Stop shaking once the cream thickens and almost doubles in volume. You don’t want to shake too much and make whipped cream or butter instead.
- Freeze the jar for 3 hours and then serve in bowls or directly from the jar.
Notes
Nutrition & Macros
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information.
More Keto Chocolate Recipes
You can also find more delicious chocolate candies in 24 Guilt-Free Keto Chocolate Recipes.
- Keto Avocado Chocolate Pudding
- Keto Chocolate Cake with Coconut Flour
- Sugar-Free Hot Chocolate
- Keto Avocado Chocolate Mousse
- 3 Ingredient Keto Peanut Butter Cups
The recipe was originally published on August 16, 2019.
I tried the chocolate mint version of this mason jar ice cream and it was delicious. The peppermint extract adds a refreshing flavor and the cocoa powder gives it a rich chocolate taste. It’s my new favorite dessert!
Same!!!!! OMG, delicious!
I just made this ice cream for my kids yesterday. They even helped me make it. We experimented with different toppings like chopped nuts and cacao nibs and we really loved it! Wondering if I can make an adult version and add a splash of rum extract. I think I’m going to try that next when the kids are at school hahaha.
Loving all those ideas for add-ins 🙂 We appreciate the comment and the five star review. Thanks, Myka.
This ice cream recipe is my new favorite! I added chopped strawberries and a swirl of sugar-free strawberry jam and it was really really good! My kids loved it too! I’m making this again for sure.
Kid friendly for sure. Thank you for the five star review, Camil.