Want to make someone’s day? Make this blueberry cheesecake ice cream for them! If you’re not currently married and looking to get married, this might do the trick. I am not even kidding. It is seriously good ice cream.
I mean what is not to like? This frozen treat has delicious sweet and tart blueberries, creamy vanilla ice cream, ribbons of jammy blueberry drizzle and real pieces of cheesecake.
Like, come on! Make this!
As always this recipe is sugar-free, low carb, naturally gluten free and keto friendly. I say keto friendly because if you eat four servings I can’t help you. One serving is a great treat, and if it fits your macros for the day, indulge.
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Blueberry Ice cream with cheesecake bits
The frozen cheesecake pieces in this recipe take the ice cream from good to “what ice cream honey? I didn’t make any ice cream today. No idea what you’re talking about” good.
If you’ve ever had one of those special Ben and Jerry’s mixtures, you will know what I am talking about. Or better yet a Blizzard from Dairy Queen, specifically their cheese quake blizzards.
Yes I used to eat them back in the day, they were one of my favorite treats, but man they have a lot of sugar. If I ate one now I am sure I would bounce off the walls for 48 hours. I digress, back to our cheesecake bits.
Making the cheesecake bits
To make the bits, it’s super simple. Line the bottom of a 9 x 9 square, or even round or what ever pan you have with parchment paper. I like the square baking pan because I can easily cut and create an overlapping bottom covering that can easily lift out of the pan.
One package of cream cheese, one egg, a quarter cup of erythritol , some vanilla and squeeze of lemon juice is all you need. A quick blend with a mixer, 15 minutes in the oven, and a few hours in the freezer and bam, cheesecake bits.
(don’t skip the cheesecake bits!)
When the cheesecake is frozen, use a cutting board and sharp knife and chop it up into smaller pieces. You decide how small. I left a few pieces nice and big so they didn’t completely blend into the ice cream.
A bit about the sweeteners
Use your favorite 1:1 sugar substitute.
Powered is preferred over granular, as it blends better and has a nicer texture. Erythritol and xylitol also tend to get grainy when cold, but I found the powdered versions to do it much less.
If you don’t have powdered erythritol or xylitol and only have granular, go ahead and give it a blast with a high-speed blender, or food processor. My favorite powdered sweetener by far is So Nourished Monk Fruit Blend, I find it has almost no aftertaste at all.
After making dozens of frozen treats and ice creams with So Nourished I can say without a doubt it is the best for ice cream. It doesn’t get weird in ice cream, and it’s the sweetener most folks can’t tell isn’t sugar. At least from my experience and the folks I keep testing my recipes on. Everyone seems to like it the best.
Swerve and stevia will work perfectly fine here as well as does any powdered erythritol or xylitol brand.
Just remember, xylitol is poisonous to dogs and cats, so if that’s your choice and you have little furry friends running around, be aware that it can be deadly for them.
A bit about the blueberries
No need for fresh blueberries here, I mean if you have them, by all means use them but frozen blueberries work just fine in this recipe.
We will add the blueberries to the ice cream in two different ways. Whole blueberries are added to the ice cream batter mix at the start of the cycle. The second batch of blueberries gets slowly cooked in a pan with a bit of water and sweetener to get glossy, thick and jammy. In fact, if you’ve made our blueberry jam recipe, you could pull out a jar and use that to save time! Or if you want to change it up, use our blackberry jam!
At the end of the ice cream maker’s cycle, the jammy cooked blueberries get added to ribbon through the batch. So each bite has pieces of whole blueberries, creamy vanilla ice cream, jammy blueberry ribbons and chunks of cheesecake.
You’re welcome.
Serve THIS dessert to your sugar eating friends and get their reactions.
No Ice Cream Maker – Try This Method
Although this isn’t a no-churn recipe you can churn it! If you’re willing to put the effort in, you can make this with a hand mixer and your freezer.
What works exceptionally well is an empty metal coffee can. You can freeze the ice cream inside of anything, metal just seems to work best. You also want to make sure whatever container you do use is big enough for your hand mixer and will fit into your freezer.
To make this without an ice cream maker, simply pour your cream base into your container. Place the container inside your freezer for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, bring it out and give it a blend with your hand mixer, making sure you get all the frozen bits off the side of the metal bowl.
Repeat this process (every 30 minutes) until everything is frozen and creamy. It won’t be the same as making it in an ice cream maker, we can’t get as much air built into the cream base manually, but you know what, it works in a pinch!
As the ice cream starts to harden up, add the cheesecake bits and blend them in a bit. You can then add dollops of the cooked blueberries and blend those in too.
All freezers are different, so you may need more or less time. This process does indeed work, it just requires a few bits of patience.
Looking for an ice cream maker?
I recently purchased Cuisinart ICE-70C Gelato, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker and I really enjoy using it. It’s usually a 25 minute cycle to make your homemade ice cream and well worth the investment.
This ice cream maker uses a pre-frozen container, so you need to make sure you have room in your freezer for the ice cream maker tub. You also always have to have it pre-frozen to make ice-cream.
How to store and serve your blueberry cheesecake ice cream.
So this ice cream stores well for up to four weeks in your freezer. Make sure to cover the ice cream well.
I am going to tell you right now there is no way you’re going to have this ice cream in your freezer in four weeks. However, for those who may want to make it in advance for a party or gathering, by all means, make ahead of time and freeze.
Since there are no stabilizers or alcohol in this recipe the ice cream will come out of the freezer hard as a rock. It takes a good 15 minutes to get it to the point where it will scoop, but once it is scoopable it goes right back to its original creamy texture.
If you want to totally skip that hassle you can add 2 tablespoons of alcohol (vodka works very well), or 2 Tablespoons of vegetable glycerin. Both will help offset how hard the homemade ice cream gets and makes it easier to scoop. I have not added glycerine to the recipe because it is a bit controversial in keto circles, so if you do use the glycerin trick, be sure to recalculate the nutritional data.
Want more frozen treat recipes?
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Real Bits of Cheesecake! (Low Carb and Sugar-Free)
A low carb blueberry cheesecake ice cream with ribbons of jammy blueberry drizzle, and chunks of real bakery style cheesecake.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup powdered erythritol + 1 Tbsp
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup water
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
- 1 large egg
Instructions
Cheesecake Base
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking pan with parchment paper. A 9x9 square pan works very well for this.
- In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, blend cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add egg, whip until blended.
- When the cream cheese and egg mixture is light and fluffy, add in 1/3 cup powdered erythritol, 1 tsp vanilla, and lemon juice and blend.
- Spread batter evenly in the pan and bake for 12-15 minutes. When the edges are set, but the center still jiggles a bit, the cheesecake is done.
- Let the cheesecake cool in the pan before removing it. Once cool, wrap well and place inside a freezer for 2 hours.
- Once the cheesecake is frozen, use a sharp knife and chopping board and cut into small chunks and pieces. Place back into the freezer until needed.
Jammy Blueberry Drizzle
- Add 1/4 cup water, 1Tbsp powdered erythritol , and 3/4 cup blueberries to a saucepan and heat gently over low heat.
- Gently mash the blueberries with the back of a fork, or spoon and stir over medium-low heat until blueberries get glossy and thick.
- Set aside to cool.
Ice Cream Base
- Mix heavy cream, almond milk, 2/3 cup powdered erythritol and 1 tbsp vanilla in a large bowl. A pourable bowl works great for this.
- Once the mixture is well blended add in 3/4 cup of frozen blueberries.
- Pour mixture into the ice cream maker and set the machine to the ice cream setting.
- At the end of the cycle (3-4 minutes remaining) mix in the cheesecake bits. Once the cheesecake is mixed in, drop the jammy blueberry mixture into the ice cream maker a few tablespoons at a time.
- Place the ice cream into a freezer-safe container and cover. You can eat this right away, or store it for an additional 30 minutes to get it a bit harder.
- If left in the freezer to freeze solid, allow ice cream to soften for 15 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
To make your ice cream softer and more manageable out of the freezer you can add 2 tablespoons of alcohol (vodka works very well), or 2 Tablespoons of vegetable glycerin.
Both will help offset the hardness of the frozen ice cream and make it easier to scoop.
I have not added glycerine to the recipe because it is a bit controversial in keto circles, so if you do use the glycerin trick, be sure to recalculate the nutritional data.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1/2 cup (4 ounces)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 225Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 90mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 3g
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs (and sugar alcohols) are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fibre.
I just made this and it’s absolutely delicious! One thing I don’t see is how much of the vanilla goes in the cheesecake bits and how much goes in the ice cream batter?
Hi Brenda, it’s 1 tsp in the cheesecake bites, and 1 tbsp in the icecream. So glad you enjoyed this!
Our ice cream maker only makes 2 quarts at a time. Do I need to half this recipe to make sure it fits?
Hi Mandy, I make this in a 2-quart Cuisinart ice cream maker all the time. No need to half it, all in (after the blueberries are cooked down) you’re only looking at 4 cups of liquid, and about a cup of mix-ins. Cheers!
Could I sub the blueberries for an equal amount of frozen strawberries?
Hi Kam, you absolutely can, raspberries or blackberries would work too. Cheers!
Can this this made without using an Ice Cream Maker? Mine is a Kitchen Aid attachment and a bit of a pain to use!
Hi Marci, yeah you can! But you may need to make a few adjustments. How big is the attachment? If it will hold the ice cream base with about 4 inches to spare, you should be fine. My suggestion would be to make the ice cream base and then add the cheesecake bits and blueberry ripple outside of the attachment. Just toss the finished ice cream into a large bowl (cool the bowl off in the freezer first) and then quickly stir in your frozen cheesecake pieces and blueberry topping and you should be good to go. I used to have that attachment and I remember it being a pain too but I cannot remember if it came in different sizes or what the size was. Feel free to email me sugarfreesprinkles@gmail.com and I can rework the recipe for you based on the size of the attachment. We just need to know how much volume it will hold. Cheers!
Wow, this is the first Keto friendly item that I have tasted that is delicious! My husband didn’t even wait for me to put it in a bowl! LOL! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes!
Tina
So glad you guys enjoyed it, Tina! It really is one of those keto desserts that people can’t believe it’s low carb. Try the strawberry version, some argue it’s even better than the blueberry. Cheers!
I’m going to try and make this next week when I get all of the ingredients together I have thought about making a small match the hard way and then using my all canister type ice cream freezer we used to use 20 years ago with the ice and the rocksalt etc. I have to measure how big that container is in order to redo the recipe to fit it I will get Back to you for your comment about resizing it for the total volume of my ice cream freezer
Hi Russ, I am very interested in your test! Let me know how it turns out.
Can this be made without an ice cream machine. I would love to try but I do not own a machine?
Hi Jill, at the bottom of the post before the recipe card there is a section about making the ice cream without an ice cream maker. You can, so long as you’re willing to check it and whip it every 20 minutes or so until the ice cream is creamy. It will take a bit of manual work, but it is completely doable. Once the ice cream is to the texture of your liking fold in the cheesecake bits. Made this way the ice cream will not be as creamy as if it was made with an ice cream maker, but it’s not bad either. We tested the coffee can method and it worked, we were both surprised at how well it turned out, but I was getting pretty impatient for my ice cream and it took a good 10 whippings at 20-minute intervals to get it where it wanted it. Hope this information helps, if you need more information shoot me an email sugarfreesprinkles@gmail.com
This recipe turned out awesome. I followed your suggestions to make this without an ice cream maker. It was delicious!! Thank you!!
I am so glad you liked it Monica and I really want to thank you for leaving a comment here and on Pinterest – comments are so helpful to us and readers so thank you very much!