Homemade Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Bars (Low Carb & Sugar-Free)

These raspberry ripple ice cream bars are perfect on a hot day when you want something cold, but not overly sweet.  Since the raspberries have plenty of natural sugar, I didn’t go wild with the sugar substitute additions, so they maintain much of that tart raspberry flavor.

These ice cream bars are sugar-free, low carb, gluten free and keto, so we have pretty much all bases covered. They also only have 3.7 net carbs per bar! 

If you want a dairy-free and paleo option you can make these with coconut milk instead of cream.  Easy breezy!

 

Raspberry ripple ice cream bars 

You can use fresh or frozen raspberries here, it doesn’t matter.  I made mine with fresh raspberries from the summer garden that were frozen rock solid and likely way past their prime.  They were still perfect in this recipe.  

I also bought a small package of fresh raspberries from our local market for the photographs.  Those raspberries were so good, they were gone before the photo shoot was over.  I just kept popping them in my mouth until I only had a handful left.  They really do taste like spring and summer.  

Raspberries are a great low carb option.  A cup of raspberries has 7 net carbs.   A perfect berry to use in low carb baking and low carb treats. 

Plus they taste AMAZING! 

A bit about the sweeteners

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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.  

Swerve and stevia will work perfectly fine here as well as does any powdered erythritol or xylitol. 

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. 

 

Remove the raspberry seeds, and get a perfectly creamy raspberry ripple bar

I am not a fan of raspberry seeds in these bars.  Since I wanted a creamy texture, I didn’t want those seeds to grain up the texture so I opted to remove them.  

To get the juice and not the seeds, gently cook the raspberries over very low heat with a bit of water. Once the juice releases use a strainer to separate the juice from the seeds and pulp.  

To get all that good juice from the raspberries, use the back of a spoon and press the raspberries against the strainer. 

And speaking of texture – To keep the bars from freezing solid I also added 2 tablespoons of vodka.  Totally optional.  The alcohol helps prevent some of the ice crystals from forming.  Notice I didn’t say all of them, because even with the vodka you do get some.

You can skip the vodka all together, but I do find the texture is better when the vodka is included.   

A few tips for blending the perfect raspberry ripple ice cream bar

This is a simple recipe, but I swear I used every single bowl in my tiny kitchen to make them!  

Creating that rippled raspberry look is very easy.  I simply blended different amounts of raspberry juice with my cream base. 

I poured a little of the lightest color into each popsicle mold, and then went back and added the darker. 

A gentle pour is a trick here.  If you pour gently, the colours don’t mix entirely and you get that really pretty ombre ripply look.

I kept pouring until my molds were full. 

 

Tips for freezing ice cream bars and popsicles

I am going to recommend a silicone popsicle mold. 

I bought one of those super fancy stainless steel jobs, and I can tell you, they were the worst.   

When the popsicles are frozen solid they take a bit of work to pry loose and I have found prying them from the silicone molds was quicker and easier!

I just run a bit of warm water over the bottoms of the molds and give them a tug until they pry free. 

I store mine in small freezer bags or sometimes wrap them in small pieces of parchment paper and store them all together in a big freezer bag.  

They will last up to four weeks if stored well in the freezer.  

Looking for More Summertime Frozen Treats?

I have lots of sugar-free and low carb ice cream treats.  I am a little crazy for frozen desserts so I have all kinds of options for you!  Like this amazing peanut butter ice cream cake, or these ridiculously good coconut ice cream bars. 

And if those don’t do it for you, I have an incredible flakey chocolate ice cream recipe you should check out (so good!).

If it’s summer berries you’re craving, try a batch of raspberry or blackberry jam!