Perfecting the Vanilla Base
plus a recipe to get you ready for summer
I loooove Blue Bell ice cream. There is just something different about it that is hard to put a finger on. The taste is perfectly sweet and buttery.
The only issue… there are 180 calories & 28g of sugar in a 2/3 cup serving!
It has been my mission to figure out a way to mimic this taste in the Ninja Creami, and I think I may have just figured it out!
The recipe I have come up with copies this rich taste but for 50% less calories & 80% less sugar!!
Now I am not going to sit here and say it is an identical taste, but it is pretty damn close! And it is a taste I have not gotten tired of (I have eaten this every day this week).
I hope you enjoy the recipes today! If you want to skip directly to the Blue Bell copycat recipe, scroll to the bottom of this page!
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Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream
Nutrition Facts:
280 Calories
16g Protein (no protein powder used)
Ingredients:
1 Cup Milk (or fill to just below max fill line… I use 2% fairlife milk)
1 Cup Strawberries (frozen or fresh)
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk
1 TBSP Honey
1 TBSP Sugar Free/Fat Free Jello Vanilla Pudding Mix (about a tablespoon)
1 TBSP Zero Calorie Sweetener (replace with sugar if that suits you best)
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
Protein of Choice (optional… if you do this, see below “tips” section)
Directions:
Add all ingredients listed above to a Creami cup and mix well
Freeze overnight (at least 8 hours!)
Run frozen cup under lukewarm water so that ice does not stick to the sides
Insert into Ninja Creami and run it under the “Ice Cream” or “Light Ice Cream” function
Note: “Light Ice Cream” function will give it a soft serve type of consistency
Re-spin as many times to get the consistency you want
Note: If you like a softer consistency, add splashes of milk before re-spinning until you reach your desired consistency
Add any mix-ins you want, and it will taste oh-so-good! I sometimes use graham crackers or chocolate chips with this recipe!
Enjoy!
Tips:
If you are adding protein, Clean Simple Eats Vanilla Protein is your best friend. This is the only one I use as it doesn’t give off the chalky aftertaste that most proteins do! I usually do half of a serving here as a lot of protein comes from the Fairlife milk I use too!
After your first spin, scrape the sides of the cups down before respinning to avoid an icy texture.
Copycat Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream
Nutrition Facts:
260 Calories
20g Protein (no protein powder used)
Ingredients:
1.5 Cups Milk (or fill to just below max fill line… I use 2% fairlife milk)
1.5 TBSP Sugar Free/Fat Free Jello Vanilla Pudding Mix (about a tablespoon)
1 TBSP Zero Calorie Sweetener (replace with sugar if that suits you best)
1-2 TBSP Butter Rich Syrup (I use Aunt Jamima’s brand… play around with this a little. I use 2 TBSPs but the taste gets pretty buttery. So, if you want less of a “buttery” taste, then use 1 or 1.5 TBSPs)
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
Protein of Choice (optional… if you do this, see below “tips” section)
Directions:
Add all ingredients listed above to a Creami cup and mix well
Freeze overnight (at least 8 hours!)
Run frozen cup under lukewarm water so that ice does not stick to the sides
Insert into Ninja Creami and run it under the “Ice Cream” or “Light Ice Cream” function
Note: “Light Ice Cream” function will give it a soft serve type of consistency
Re-spin as many times to get the consistency you want
Note: If you like a softer consistency, add splashes of milk before re-spinning until you reach your desired consistency
Enjoy!
Tips:
If you are adding protein, Clean Simple Eats Vanilla Protein is your best friend. This is the only one I use as it doesn’t give off the chalky aftertaste that most proteins do! I usually do half of a serving here as a lot of protein comes from the Fairlife milk I use too!
Use vanilla extract if you want a richer vanilla taste… but not too much! A few drops should do but is not necessary.
After your first spin, scrape the sides of the cups down before respinning to avoid an icy texture.