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In a nutshell, this Ultimate Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is my go-to FULLY SCOOPABLE vanilla ice cream recipe. It might just be the best ice cream you’ve ever made. Created from years of sugar free ice cream trial and error, this recipe is where science meets utter deliciousness. Sound corny? Just try it. THM S, low carb, sugar free
Funny story: in our house growing up it was the running joke that my mom loved vanilla bean ice cream because she liked the *crunch* from the vanilla bean specks. None of the rest of us ever got that sensation and we preferred French vanilla for its deeper flavor.
Whaddya know – when Ryan (my husband) came along, he said the exact. same. thing. No wonder my mom saw him as my Prince Charming from the get go!
Here ya go, Mom. Vanilla bean ice cream just for you, with real specks that crunch.
New and improved
This recipe – originally called “Special Occasion Ice Cream” – was first posted to my website in July 2016. It was my first foray into using cups of cream in an ice cream recipe, and I was blown away by the results. (All of my ice cream recipes up until that point had been relatively low in fat and were best eaten fresh as soft serve, not stored long term in the freezer.)
As good as it was, now it’s even better. I’ve learned a thing or two about making ice cream since 2016, and I wanted to improve my Holy Grail of ice creams. In March 2022 I updated this recipe here on my website and renamed it Ultimate Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
This is now my go-to quick, easy, and delicious – FULLY SCOOPABLE – vanilla ice cream recipe, with or without the vanilla bean specks. (Feel free to just add some extra vanilla extract if you don’t have any vanilla bean powder. The specks are mostly for aesthetic appeal.)
You can still find the Special Occasion Ice Cream recipe on page 237 of Necessary Food.
Yes, it’s scoopable!
This ice cream recipe is indeed fully scoopable, thanks to the combination of fat (heavy cream) + a xylitol-based sweetener. THM Gentle Sweet (made with xylitol) has become my favorite ice cream sweetener because it provides the most balanced sweetness and creamy, scoopable texture of any sweetener I have tried.
Xylitol is part of the key to the scoopability of this ice cream, so substituting other sweeteners could change that. Xylitol does cause digestive upset in some people and is poisonous to dogs so I understand that not everyone wants to use it, but you may sacrifice scoopability if you substitute other sweeteners.
Rule of thumb: unless you’re an ice cream guru, don’t change the ingredients around if you want to maintain a scoopable, creamy result. There’s kind of a science to it. 😉
To make this ice cream lower calorie:
I know, I know, 2 cups of cream sounds like a lot. I also tested this ice cream using 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup half and half, and 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (instead of the 2 cups each of heavy cream and half and half listed in the recipe). It was a little more icy and not as creamy as the full fat version, but still delicious! And it was still scoopable after overnight freezing (albeit more icy due to the lower fat and using nut milk instead of all dairy).
For a creamier texture you could try increasing the glucomannan if using the lower fat option or use a recipe with a cooked custard base (like this Basic Vanilla Scoopable Ice Cream).
You could also try 2 cups heavy cream + 2 cups almond milk, or 1 cup cream + 2 cups half and half + 1 cup almond milk. Just keep in mind that the lower the fat and the higher the ratio of nut milk, the more icy your end result will be.
My other vanilla ice cream recipes:
Please note that these recipes are from many different points of my ice cream journey. You can use the principles in this post to improve on them if you like! A xylitol based sweetener like THM Gentle Sweet will improve scoopability, and vegetable glycerin also improves texture. Lower fat ice creams are best eaten fresh as a soft serve. Feel free to add more cream and swap out some half and half for some or all of the nut milk in these recipes for a creamier, less icy result. (But keep in mind that increasing the fat content may change the THM fuel type if the recipe is supposed to be a Fuel Pull.)
- Basic Vanilla Scoopable Ice Cream
- French Vanilla Ice Cream
- Basic Ice Cream
- Dairy Free Ice Cream
- Foundational Frozen Custard
- Low Fat Soft Serve
- Vanilla Ice Cream for a Traditional 6 Quart Ice Cream Freezer
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Ultimate Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Author: Briana Thomas Burkholder
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 half cup servings
Description
In a nutshell, this Ultimate Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is my go-to FULLY SCOOPABLE vanilla ice cream recipe. It might just be the best ice cream you’ve ever made. Created from years of sugar free ice cream trial and error, this recipe is where science meets utter deliciousness. Sound corny? Just try it. THM S, low carb, sugar free
Unless you’re an ice cream guru, don’t change the ingredients around if you want to maintain a scoopable, creamy result. There’s kind of a science to it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/2 cup THM Gentle Sweet with xylitol if you want the ice cream to be scoopable out of the freezer (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (must be the good stuff)
- 3/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon glucomannan
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder (or another 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract)
Instructions
Add all the ingredients except for the glucomannan and the vanilla bean powder to a blender. Add the glucomannan and then blend immediately to avoid lumps. Don’t blend long – just until everything is smooth and combined. Add the vanilla bean powder and pulse just to distribute the flecks.
(If using the powdered THM Gentle Sweet for your sweetener, you can skip the blender and just mix this up using a bowl and a whisk. Just make sure to add the glucomannan a little at a time while whisking to avoid lumps. Granulated sweeteners should be blended for best dissolving.)
Churn the ice cream base in a 1.5 quart ice cream churn according to manufacturer’s directions. Let it churn until it reaches a firm soft serve consistency. This recipe (as written) fluffs up to fill a 1.5 quart ice cream churn due to the high cream content (the cream expands as it churns).
Transfer the ice cream to a storage container (I like this Tupperware Rectangle Modular Mate) and freeze to firm up. Overnight is great.
This ice cream as written is scoopable right out of the freezer!
Notes
Sweetener: THM Gentle Sweet is my favorite sweetener to use for ice cream because it provides the best balanced sweetness and creamy, scoopable texture of any sweetener I have tried. It’s important to use a xylitol based sweetener (like Gentle Sweet) because xylitol keeps the ice cream scoopable after being in the freezer overnight. I also tested this recipe using 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of xylitol along with 1/8 teaspoon THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder. That works too but I do prefer the texture using all THM Gentle Sweet. (Blend the ice cream base in a blender before churning if using a granulated sweetener. Gentle Sweet is already in powdered form so a whisk works fine.) Xylitol is part of the key to the scoopability of this ice cream, so substituting other sweeteners could change that. Xylitol does cause digestive upset in some people and is poisonous to dogs so I understand that not everyone wants to use it, but you may sacrifice scoopability if you substitute other sweeteners.
Vegetable glycerin: I don’t recommend omitting the vegetable glycerin. It helps keep the ice cream from sticking to the ice cream maker and improves the creamy texture of the ice cream.
Glucomannan: Glucomannan is a natural thickening agent. In this recipe it acts as an emulsifier that makes the ice cream creamy and adds a bit more body. If you don’t have it you could try substituting xanthan gum in its place.
Vanilla bean powder: The vanilla bean powder adds vanilla bean flecks and great flavor. Use an additional ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract instead if you prefer.
To make this ice cream lower calorie: I tested this ice cream using 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup half and half, and 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (instead of the 2 cups each of heavy cream and half and half listed above). It was a little more icy and not as creamy as the full fat version, but still delicious! And it was still scoopable after overnight freezing (albeit more icy due to the lower fat and using nut milk instead of all dairy). For a creamier texture you could try increasing the glucomannan if using the lower fat option or use a recipe with a cooked custard base (like this Basic Vanilla Scoopable Ice Cream). You could also try 2 cups heavy cream + 2 cups almond milk, or 1 cup cream + 2 cups half and half + 1 cup almond milk. Just keep in mind that the lower the fat and the higher the ratio of nut milk, the more icy your end result will be.
Allergy info: gluten free, egg free, nut free
This recipe is an update of the Special Occasion Ice Cream recipe that used to be on my website. You can still find that one on page 237 of Necessary Food. This one has better texture and scoopability. Updated March 2022.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 0 mins
- Category: Ice Cream
- Method: Churn
- Cuisine: THM S, low carb, sugar free
Keywords: thm, trim healthy mama, low carb vanilla bean ice cream, sugar free vanilla bean ice cream, thm vanilla ice cream, best thm ice cream recipe, scoopable ice cream
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