Healthy Ninja Creami Coconut Ice Cream- High Protein

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I am introducing my personal favorite of all my Ninja Creami recipes: my high-protein Ninja Creami Coconut Ice Cream! This sweet treat is thick, creamy, smooth, and full of tropical coconut flavor, but still low-calorie. You’re going to love it!

dish of ninja creami coconut ice cream scoops with shredded coconut on wooden table

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If this is your first time making a Ninja Creami ice cream, you’re in for a treat. My high-protein, low-calorie Ninja Creami ice cream recipes are made with minimal effort and without heavy cream, sugar, coconut sugar, whole milk, half and half, coconut cream, or any other high-calorie ingredients.

This recipe is for my delicious Coconut Ice Cream, but if coconut is not your thing, check out my Ninja Creami Recipes page to see all the different flavors I have.

Making Coconut Ice Cream

This simple recipe starts with my vanilla ice cream base that is part of many of my recipes, but I use unsweetened coconut milk instead of skim milk, and I add some McCormick Coconut Extract.

In my opinion, this creamy ice cream is the star of my protein ice creams! My husband will debate me on that as his personal favorite is my peanut butter protein ice cream. But we both love this recipe, and it goes great swirled with dark chocolate ice cream. We call our chocolate-coconut swirl our Mounds Bar Creami!

My Ninja Creami machine is definitely one of the best. kitchen investments I have ever made. Making healthy, high-protein ice cream is a dream! While I had nothing like this available to me on my weight loss journey, if I had, it would have made it so much easier. It certainly is a game changer for maintenance and muscle building!

The online Ninja Creami community is a creative bunch, and I must credit so much of my knowledge to what I have learned from others. I am so excited to pass that knowledge on to you, and my overarching goal is that you recognize through my recipes what components are needed to make delicious, creamy, healthy ice cream and that you’re able to experiment with your own flavor profiles.

That said, let’s get to making this awesome recipe!

Ingredients & Equipment

To make this Ninja Creami coconut ice cream, you will need a handful of simple ingredients:

Cottage Cheese– I’m using 2% fat cottage cheese. Use whatever kind you’d like.
Vanilla Whey Protein Isolate Powder– Make it a good powder you love the taste of. I’m using Legion French Vanilla. The amount used in this recipe is specifically for whey protein isolate. If your powder is a different form of protein, you will probably need to adjust the amount. The high amount of protein gives a creamier lite ice cream than lower protein recipes.
Vanilla Bean Paste– I prefer vanilla bean paste for ice cream, but vanilla extract is a fine substitute.
Coconut Extract– I have only tried McCormick’s coconut extract. It’s good and relatively easy to find! It’s strong, though. You will use a small amount.
Allulose– As with most of my Ninja Creami recipes, I use granulated Allulose to sweeten my pints. Find more information about allulose here.
Unsweetened Coconut Milk– I absolutely love coconut milk in my Creami creations! It is thicker than almond milk, lower calorie than dairy skim milk, and super tasty.

As for equipment, you will definitely need a Ninja Creami ice cream maker. This recipe has not been tested in any other ice cream maker, and I don’t think it’s likely to work. I also recommend an immersion blender, but if you don’t have one, you can use a good whisk or frother.

ninja creami coconut ice cream ingredients on dark wood table

Instructions

Making this Ninja Creami ice cream base is very easy.

pouring ingredients into ninja creami pint cup on food scale

1. Combine Ingredients

Add all ingredients to the Ninja Creami pint cup, saving the milk for last. Fill the pint cup to the max fill line with coconut milk. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.

2. Freeze

Freeze the pint container on a flat surface in the freezer for at least 24 hours.

3. Spin

Install your Ninja Creami Pint into your machine as specified by the instructions for your model. Spin once on “Lite Ice Cream.”

spun ninja creami coconut ice cream in holder held by woman

4. Check Texture & Re-Spin

This ice cream is often a great texture after the first spin, especially if you like firm ice cream. But you may need to use the re-spin function to get the texture you’re after.

That’s it! Making this Ninja Creami coconut ice cream couldn’t be easier, and it’s the perfect base to take in all kinds of flavor directions!

Serving Suggestions

Try topping this Ninja Creami ice cream recipe with chocolate chips, shredded or toasted coconut, or even pineapple chunks to make a Pina colada ice cream.

Looking for a completely different flavor profile? Check out my Ninja Creami Coffee Ice Cream.

woman presenting dish of ninja creami coconut ice cream

Ninja Creami Tips & Tricks

Making your own homemade ice cream healthy with less sugar and low-fat ingredients is not only possible, but it’s super easy! That said, sometimes people run into issues. Here are a few tips based on common complaints I see online:

There should not be any ice crystals in this ice cream. It should be smooth and creamy. If you find you’re getting ice crystals, check your ingredients and make sure they match mine. If you’re using less protein powder than I call for, or if you use a different kind of milk, or if you leave out the sweetener, etc, all of those things can impact your final texture.
It might seem like no big deal to leave out an ingredient or do a simple swap. 50% of the time, swaps work okay. 50% of the time they flop. 99% of the time, omitting ingredients changes the texture (unless it was an ingredient used only for flavor, like an extract). So yes, “small” changes really aren’t that small in a Ninja Creami.
Do not leave your Ninja Pint container to sit at room temperature before spinning. While some people say it makes it less icy, the Ninja Creami was designed to drill through the ice cream bases right out of the freezer. You risk making your ice cream very wet and sloppy by letting it sit out. If you’re having texture issues, it’s almost certainly caused by one of your ingredients (or the lack of an important ingredient).

Nutritional Information

For one pint of this ice cream, the nutritional info is as follows:

Calories: 313
Protein: 47 grams
Fat: 6 grams
Carbs: 37 grams (13 net carbs if you subtract the carbs from the allulose)

Recipe Notes

If you don’t finish the whole pint, make sure you level off the top of the ice cream so it is flat before sticking it back in the freezer. Next time you want to eat it, spin it on “Lite Ice Cream” first, and then use the re-spin button if necessary.

If you forget to level off the top, stick the pint of ice cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. That will soften it enough so you can eat it with a spoon, but the texture won’t be as good as when it was spun in the machine.

FAQ

What is the difference between coconut milk and coconut cream?

Coconut cream has a much higher fat percentage than coconut milk. Similarly, canned coconut milk has a much higher fat percentage than coconut milk in the carton. We use a carton for this recipe to keep fat down.

Why is my Ninja Creami ice cream too fatty?

This recipe uses low-fat ingredients. Make sure you choose a reduced-fat cottage cheese, and use the carton of coconut milk, not a can. Then you will not need to worry about fat content.

Did You Make This Recipe?

I hope you love this Ninja Creami coconut ice cream as much as I do! I’m not kidding when I say this is my absolute favorite creami recipe, and this concoction is one I always have in my freezer ready to go. It tastes so indulgent for a “nice cream” that it’s hard to believe this is so macro-friendly. Purchasing a Ninja Creami might feel indulgent, but if you like ice cream and you like the idea of eating healthier treats, it’s sure to be well worth the money.

What flavors would you like to see next? Let me know in the comments!

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