The Ninja Creami is my favorite small appliance I’ve ever bought. Somehow to takes a protein shake and makes it into creamy ice cream. We make our ice cream in this multiple times a week. So in order for us to eat it multiple times a week it has to be healthy! I have came up with a super simple, easy, healthy, and protein packed. I have the Ninja Creami deluxe with the larger container size but these recipes will work with the original Creami as well.
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The base for the ice cream is pretty much the same for any variation with slight adjustments for a different flavor.
The base recipe for any Ninja Creami
The base for the ice cream is pretty much the same for any variation with slight adjustments for a different flavor. Here it is
Whole Milk – Dairy milk. The higher fat the milk is the more creamier the outcome is. I have tried dairy free milk and it does work but the texture is not the same. It’s more icy than creamy.
Protein Powder – Any kind of protein powder should work. This recipe is tested with the Clean Simple Eats brand, Equip brand, and Ballerina Farm’s protein powder. Equip is my favorite though as it is a beef isolate protein rather than whey and has the cleanest ingredients out of any brand I have found.
Sweetener – I use liquid allulose or liquid monk fruit sweetener. You can use whatever liquid sweetener you are comfortable with using. Agave nectar works well too. Why do you need extra sweetener? Well the cold temperature dulls sweetness. Some sweeteners can also lower the freezing point of the ice cream, meaning it will be less icy and a creamier texture. I’ve found Allulose is the best for this.
Those are the main 3 ingredients, now let’s get into flavors.
Chocolate base ninja creami
Whole Milk – 1-2 cups or to fill line on container
Protein powder. I use vanilla and then add cocoa powder. I do this so I don’t have to buy multiple flavors of protein powder. I just have the one flavor and add things based on what I want it to taste like. But you can use a chocolate protein powder and leave cocoa powder out.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 2 tbsp
Allulose/liquid Monk Fruit Sweetener – 1 tsp
Vanilla base ninja creami
Whole Milk – 1-2 cups or to fill line on container
Vanilla Protein Powder – 1 scoop
Allulose/liquid Monk Fruit Sweetener – 1 tsp
Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
Maple Ice cream
Whole Milk – 1-2 cups or to fill line on container
Vanilla Protein Powder – 1 scoop
Pure Maple Syrup – 3 tbsp
Maple extract – 1/2 tsp
Pistachio Ninja Creami
Whole Milk – 1-2 cups or to the fill line
Vanilla Protein Powder – 1 scoop
Pistachio pudding mix – 2 Tbsp
Allulose/liquid monk fruit sweetener– 1 tsp
Cookies and cream Ninja Creami
I have found the only way to get a good tasting cookies and cream ice cream is to actually put oreos into it or use oreo pudding mix
Whole Milk – 1-2 cups or to the fill line
Cookies and cream protein powder – I like clean simple eats brand
Oreo Pudding mix – 2 tbsp
Allulose/liquid monk fruit sweetener– 1 tsp
Oreos – 2 added in after initial mixing with the “mix-in” setting. Soak oreos in milk for a minute before adding in if you like them softer.
Peanut butter chocolate ice cream
Whole Milk – 1-2 cups or to the fill line
Protein powder – I use vanilla and then add cocoa powder. I do this so I don’t have to buy multiple flavors of protein powder. I just have the one flavor and add things based on what I want it to taste like. But you can use a chocolate protein powder and leave cocoa powder out.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 2 tbsp
PBfit or other powdered peanut butter – 2 tbsp
Allulose/liquid monk fruit sweetener– 1 tsp
Mix-In – Peanut butter. Natural peanut butter that is a little runny is best
Peanut butter ice cream (vanilla base)
Whole Milk – 1-2 cups or to the fill line
Vanilla Protein Powder – 1 scoop
PBfit or other powdered peanut butter – 2 tbsp
Allulose/liquid monk fruit sweetener– 1 tsp
Mix-In – Peanut butter. Natural peanut butter that is a little runny is best
How to make your Ninja Creami ice cream
Step 1: Add all of your ingredients to the container and mix with a high powered frother, such as this one.
Step 2: place lid on and freeze on a flat surface. It cannot be turned sideways. Freeze for at least 16 hours.
Step 3: When you’re ready to eat it take it out of freezer and either let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to soften it a little bit OR run it under hot water. This will help make it less icy.
Step 4: Run it on lite ice cream. This is a 4 minute cycle.
Step 5: Take it out and if you want it to be a softer, blizzard like consistency add 2 tbsp of milk and run again on re-spin. If you want it to be harder use a spoon to scrape down the ice cream on the sides and re-spin without adding milk.
Step 6: Add in your mix-ins at this point and run again on mix-in setting.
The best mix-ins
The mix ins truly make the ice cream next level! Here are some of my favorite mix ins for my Ninja Creami’s.
These Coconut Rolls from Costco. These make it taste like a waffle cone. My husband doesn’t like coconut but he likes these! They don’t have a strong coconut taste at all.
Homemade cookies
Brownies
Fresh fruit
Graham crackers
Homemade Marshmallows
Cereal
Simple Mills brand cookies
Cookie dough bites
How to have that blizzard like consistency
I’ve found a few things that create that DQ Blizzard like ice cream. First off the higher fat in the base the creamier it will be. Gums create a creamy ice cream (xanthan gum, guar gum) I’m not really a fan of adding these for health reasons, but if you want to go right ahead. Pudding mixes, they have those thickeners already in them that help thicken it up a bit.
Next, the way you run the creami matters. Like I mentioned above either let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes before running OR run the container under hot sink water for a minute before running it.
After the first run on lite ice cream the ice cream will be built up on the sides. Use a spoon to scrape it down then add your milk and run again on re-spin.
By using these recipes and tips you are bound to have the perfect Ninja Creami everytime!
How to make it even creamier (and higher protein)
I’ve experimented with different recipes to create and even creamier ice cream. Here are some things you can do if you want to take it to the next level.
Collagen powder– adding 1 scoop of a collagen powder really helps with the texture
Blending in cottage cheese– This adds even more protein and creaminess
Youtube video
Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add all your ingredients to the ninja creami container and blend with a high powered frother
- Freeze for at least 16 hours
- When you're ready to eat it take it out of freezer and either let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to soften it a little bit OR run it under hot water. This will help make it less icy.
- Run it on lite ice cream. This is a 4 minute cycle.
- Take it out and scrap down the sides with a spoon if needed. Add a splash of milk to the ice cream. 1-2 Tbsp. The amount depends on how thick or thin you want your ice cream.
- Run again on respin
- take out and add in mix-ins at this point if adding and run again with the mix-in button