Chocolate-Coconut Protein Ice Cream – Mounds Bar Swirl

How about a MOUNDS BAR Ninja Creami protein ice cream flavor!? This chocolate-coconut swirl is incredible and worth the time it takes to swirl flavors. This post will teach you how!

But if you love Mounds Bars as much as I do, your mind is about to be blown. If you’d rather skip the chocolate, try out this high-protein Ninja Creami coconut ice cream recipe instead.

Ingredients for Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream

This looks like a lot of ingredients, but remember we are actually making two flavors that we are going to swirl together. And it’s going to be 100% worth it. Trust me.

You will need:

• Cottage Cheese
• Allulose
• Skim Milk
• Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• Coconut Extract
• Vanilla Bean Paste (If you don’t have this, vanilla extract is okay to use, too)
• Black Cocoa Powder
• Vanilla flavored whey protein – Use what you have on hand, but I am using Legion which has a great ingredient profile and nice flavor.
• Chocolate whey protein – Use the best-tasting chocolate protein powder you can find. I can only vouch for a whey protein in this recipe. If you use a powder that has casein, it will be very thick so I’d cut it back to 1 scoop’s worth. This recipe has not been tested with any dairy-free proteins. If you try it, let me know how it goes in the comments!

You also need a Ninja Creami machine and an immersion blender.

Instructions:

For the Vanilla Coconut Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream

1. Make the vanilla coconut flavor. Take one of your Ninja Creami pint cups and add 100 grams reduced fat cottage cheese. This is just under a 1/2 cup if you do not have a scale.
2. Add your vanilla protein powder. Use 1.5 scoops, or 50 grams.
3. Add in your sweetener & flavorings. Add 1/2 a teaspoon vanilla paste (or extract) and 1/4 teaspoon Coconut Extract. I’m using McCormick and it is an excellent flavor. Then add 2 tablespoons of allulose for a little extra sweetness. See the FAQ block below for more info on allulose.
4. Add 1 cup of the unsweetened coconut milk.
5. Grab your immersion blender and blend it together right in the Creami cup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a small whisk or a drink frother. A big blender might add too much air when blending, causing it not to freeze properly.
6. The final step for this flavor is to pour half of it into a little jar or Tupperware container to put in the fridge. To make our flavor swirl, we need to freeze half at a time, and then pour half of the second flavor on top and let it freeze completely. Put this Ninja Creami pint cup with half of your ice cream mixture into the freezer to set.

For the Chocolate Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream Flavor

Next we will make the dark chocolate flavor.

1. Add 100 grams of cottage cheese to the Ninja Creami pint.
2. Add 50 grams of chocolate whey protein powder.
3. Add your sweetener & flavoring ingredients: 2 tablespoons allulose, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste and 12 grams (1.5 tbsp) black cocoa powder (can also use regular cocoa powder, but black cocoa gives more depth and less bitterness. I use Anthony’s Black Cocoa).
4. Add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of Fairlife Skim Milk. Fairlife is a great choice because it has more protein (which not only adds more protein to the recipe, but it makes for a creamier Creami) and less calories than regular skim milk. However, you can use regular skim milk, too.
5. Blend, then pour half into a little jar to stick in the fridge. Put the pint cup with half of the mixture in the freezer.

To Make the Coconut Chocolate Swirl

Now you need to let these bottom layers freeze for a few hours. Once they’re frozen enough not to mix together, you will take the jar of the chocolate mixture and pour it on top of the vanilla coconut layer. Take the vanilla coconut jar from the fridge and pour it on top of the frozen chocolate layer. Let these pints freeze for a full 24 hours.

Here is what the pints look like when they’re frozen.

Spin Your Ice Cream

After you have let the pint freeze a full 24 hours, you can spin it with your Creami machine on the Lite Ice Cream setting.

When it is done spinning, take off the lid and check the texture. You will likely need a second spin, but it’s possible one is enough. If you would like to spin again, put it back in the machine and hit “Re-Spin.”

IMPORTANT: Do NOT add extra liquid at the respin! This tip is often given by people to improve texture, but it’s not necessary. The respin will make the ice cream come together without adding extra liquid. All the extra liquid will do is make the ice cream soft.

If the ice cream gets too soft, the flavors will no longer stay separate, and you will just end up with a gray blend. A delicious gray blend, but…not what we are going for.

For best results, do the respin without any added liquid to keep this ice cream firm and scoopable.

Nutritional Information

This recipe makes 2 full pint cups. For one pint cup:

• Calories: 337
• Protein: 51 grams
• Fat: 7 grams
• Carbs: 39 grams (the vast majority is from the allulose, which is not metabolized by the body. If you subtract the allulose and fiber carbs, you get only 12.5 net carbs)
• Fiber: 2.5 grams

Yes, those are the nutrition facts FOR AN ENTIRE PINT OF ICE CREAM. Do you see now why I say the Ninja Creami is worth the hype? This can’t be beat, not even by commercial brands like Halo Top. And if you needed more convincing, this recipe tastes 10x better than anything Halo Top has put out. That’s why this machine is one of the best healthy treat investments I’ve ever made.

I spin up a Ninja Creami protein ice cream every day for my husband and I to split, but there’s no shame in eating the whole pint yourself. I’d be lying if I said I never did that…

Recipe Notes

You need a Ninja Creami Machine for this recipe. I’m sorry, but other ice cream makers just won’t work (I have tried. There’s a reason I caved to the trend).

Also, I know some people really struggle with cottage cheese. You cannot taste it at all! But if you’re too nervous about it, substitute Greek yogurt instead.