Who loves Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream? Our Keto-Friendly Chunky Monkey Ice Cream copy-cat recipe tastes just like the real thing, but with fewer carbs. The lower carb count allows those on a keto, low-carb, gluten-free, grain-free, diabetic, Atkins, or Banting diet to enjoy our recipe.
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The Recipe
This Keto-Friendly Chunky Monkey Ice Cream is a low-carb dream come true! Imagine creamy goodness loaded with banana flavor, chunks of chocolate and crunchy walnuts.
The Inspiration
This recipe was, of course, inspired by the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor, Chunky Monkey. I haven’t eaten the real thing for a very long time, but my craving for that flavor combination has held on like a monkey holds onto a branch.
I based this recipe on my recipe for Low-Carb Candied Pecan Pumpkin Ice-Cream. After developing lots of ice-cream recipes, I have learned a few things about keeping homemade ice-cream soft, so I did make a few changes to improve the texture even more.
Keeping Homemade Ice-Cream Soft
I often get questions about how to keep homemade ice-cream softer. The hardening of homemade ice-cream as it sits in the freezer overnight isn’t only a problem with low-carb recipes, but with homemade ice-cream in general. There are two big reasons for this problem:
- Home ice-cream makers turn the ice-cream slower than commercial makers. Because of this, less air is whipped into the ice cream, making homemade ice-creams less fluffy and therefore harder after freezing.
- Commercial ice-cream manufacturers tend to use additives that help keep their ice-creams soft at low temperatures.
I found some great ideas in this article about how to keep ice-cream softer–some of which I have incorporated in this recipe. Some things I did to help make this ice-cream softer are:
- I changed the sweetener I normally use. For this recipe, I used a sweetener with the same sweetness level as sugar, rather than one that is twice as sweet as sugar. This allowed me to use a larger quantity of an ingredient that doesn’t freeze hard.
- A fiber syrup in the recipe adds additional softness to the final product.
- Gelatin helps stabilize the ice-cream.
- A large quantity of cream to keep the fat level higher and therefore, keeps the ice-cream softer.
A Few More Tips and Tricks
While these changes in the recipe will help keep the ice-cream from freezing brick-hard, you may find these tips helpful as well:
- Turn the ice-cream in the ice-cream freezer until it is as frozen as possible. Any liquid left will freeze hard.
- Store the ice-cream in the door of the your freezer. The door compartment is the warmest area of the freezer.
- Allow the ice-cream to set at room-temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- If desired, add a tablespoon of vodka to the recipe before churning. This will decrease the freezing point of the mixture to help it stay softer in the freezer.
- Freezing the ice-cream in individual containers takes away the problem of scooping out the ice-cream and offers portion control.
Final Thoughts
Developing this recipe was a way of holding onto summer for me. I’m trying to switch into fall mode for foods now, so I hope you’ll join me again soon as I transition into pumpkin spice and comfort foods. Enjoy!
-Annissa
Who loves Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream? Our Keto-Friendly Chunky Monkey Ice Cream copy-cat recipe tastes just like the real thing, but with fewer carbs. The lower carb count allows those on a keto, low-carb, gluten-free, grain-free, diabetic, Atkins, or Banting diet to enjoy our recipe.
Keto-Friendly Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
Who loves Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream? Our Keto-Friendly Chunky Monkey Ice Cream copy-cat recipe tastes just like the real thing, but with fewer carbs. The lower carb count allows those on a keto, low-carb, gluten-free, grain-free, diabetic, Atkins, or Banting diet to enjoy our recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup erythritol/monk fruit sweetener (sweetness level must be the same as sugar)
- 1 packet unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup unsweetened original-flavor almond milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup Vitafiber IMO syrup
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon banana flavoring
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
- 1.5 ounces stevia sweetened dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
In a large saucepan, whisk together the erythritol/monk fruit sweetener and the gelatin.
Whisk in almond milk and eggs. Heat mixture over low heat, whisking frequently, until it just starts to simmer. At the first sign of a simmer, remove from heat and place pan in an ice bath to chill.
When mixture has reached room temperature or below, whisk in Vitafiber syrup, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and banana flavoring.
Pour mixture into an ice-cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions.
When mixture has entirely turned into ice-cream, add the walnuts and chocolate pieces and allow the machine to stir them in.
Transfer mixture into a freezer-safe container or several serving-size containers. Cover and place in the freezer.
This ice-cream is best served 2-3 hours after making. If it gets to hard to serve, allow it to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Serving Size: 4 ounces
Net carbs per serving (g): 3
Chunky Monkey is my favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor! I ate it all the time growing up. So excited to try this!
Mine too!
What a cool recipe and the photography is stunning!
Thanks so much!
Yummmm!!!!! Chunky Monkey and Keto I am in heaven! thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
This looks so delicious I will be trying this. thank you
It’s still blazing hot here so this is a must make! Such a delicious way to stay cool in the last days of summer!
It’s still scorching here, too!
I love homemade ice cream and this version looks as good as it sounds! I can’t wait to make this recipe soon.
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy it!
Annissa,
This may be a dumb question but would the best type of sweetener be the Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener? I was pondering using Swerve but since that does not have monk fruit in it, I was thinking of the Lakanto’s on.
I used Lakanto in this recipe. Swerve would probably be okay to substitute as the sweetness level is the same. I actually like the Lakanto and may start using it a bit more. It provides a little more bulk (than Pyure would) to the ice cream to help keep it softer. Unfortunately you have to use twice as much as you do Pyure for the same sweetness level, so that makes it more expensive.
-Annissa
The Cookie Dough flavour is my favourite but Chunky Monkey is pretty high up on my list too! (Honestly, any kind of ice-cream is good ice-cream.) Time to find an ice-cream maker…
I couldn’t live without an ice-cream maker!
-Annissa
Anyone know if the IMO Vitafiber syrup actually spikes blood sugar?
I want to try but have never purchased or used the syrup. Complaints
on amazon stating it does raise sugar.
I would be interested in hearing how it works for others. I use it frequently and test my ketone levels on a daily basis and know that it does not kick me out of ketosis. I do think that it can break down a bit when heated too high, so it may vary by individual recipe. Also, they may have tried it with other ingredients that elevated blood sugar. Sometime I’ll try it by itself and test my blood sugar before and at a few intervals afterward.
-Annissa
Thank you! I think I’ll go ahead and order it and just test it out too. I miss ice cream more than any
dessert, but my low carb efforts end up hard as a rock once frozen. I’m willing to try new ingredients in an effort to figure out the key.
I keep playing with ice cream recipes and trying to make it softer. This will still be harder than the commercial stuff because you won’t be able to whip the air in like they do. I find that leaving it on the counter for about 10 or so minutes before serving is helpful.
Hi Karen,
So I took one for the team today. I checked my blood sugar and blood ketone levels, then ate a whole Tablespoon of Vitafiber by itself. After half an hour, I rechecked my blood sugar and ketones again and then again a half hour later. I was surprised by how much it elevated my blood sugar.
Before eating the syrup:
Blood sugar: 87mg/dl, Ketone level: 1.5 mmol/l
1/2 hour after eating the syrup:
Blood sugar: 163mg/dl, Ketone level: 1.2 mmol/l
1 hour after eating the syrup:
Blood sugar: 121 mg/dl, Ketone level:.8 mmol/l
While I rarely check my blood sugar after eating, I do check my ketones daily. It’s interesting how quickly the ketone level dropped. I did eat a fairly large amount without any other food to slow the absorption so this could have affected the numbers. I do know that I have been able to stay in ketosis after eating a serving of the ice cream.
I did make a version of this ice-cream using a bit of avocado oil instead of the syrup. I’ll see if I can find where I wrote those numbers and offer it as an alternative.
-Annissa
Have you found your version of this recipe with avocado oil. I would like to try it.
Thanks you,
Terrie
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re referring to. Let me know.
Annissa
Hi Annissa
I think Terri is referring to your comment on September 16, 2018:
“I did make a version of this ice-cream using a bit of avocado oil instead of the syrup. I’ll see if I can find where I wrote those numbers and offer it as an alternative.
-Annissa“
I’d love to know if you substituted avocado oil in your chunky monkey ice cream recipe
Thank you
Cynthia
Thanks for setting me straight, Cynthia. Honestly, I completely don’t remember! I’m sure I must have used it if I said I did. I have found that 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin works like a charm. Also, the sweetener BochaSweet can be used to replace some of the Pyure and this will help keep it softer. I would take out one or two tablespoons of the Pure and replace it with two to four tablespoons of the Bochasweet. I have to say, though, that while I love the taste of BochaSweet, it does not agree with me.
Oh, this ice cream looks so delicious, I could jump into the screen! And I love the beautiful rustic blue wood surface you photographed on, it works perfectly here!
Thanks so much! I love rustic things.
-Annissa
Chunky Monkey has been the centerpiece of my keto failure. I love, love, love this flavor, and suddenly the grocery stores in my area ALWAYS seem to have it on sale. I know many keto dessert recipes, but it’s so much easier to just grab a pre-made container versus spending an hour making something good for yourself. THIS was the first recipe I’ve tried that tasted anything like Chunky Monkey — thank you and totally worth the time to make! One adjustment I’m going to try (may or may not work) is 3/4 heavy cream and 1/4 light cream…the final product tasted a *little* too much like whipped cream vs ice cream to my palette (again – don’t get me wrong – DELISH!), but I want to play with it a little and see if I can bring down the whipped cream taste. I’m thrilled to have discovered your site and will be trying the sugar-free maple syrup and keto pancakes next!
Have fun playing with it!
You could also use Allulose as the sweetener which would help maintain creaminess. Maybe MCT oil?
Allulose will help keep the creaminess.
-Annissa