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Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

4.4 stars, average of 25 ratings

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The famous Cherry Garcia Ice Cream recipe made low-carb using my Soft & Creamy Keto Vanilla Ice Cream as the base — it's better than Ben & Jerry's! I shared this recipe on Instagram but wanted to test it a bit more before sharing in the KetoDiet App.

How To Make Low-Carb Cherry & Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

In this Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream I use real cherries in the form of my Sugar-Free Amarenata Cherry Sauce. Although compared to most berries, cherries are not the most suitable fruit for a low-carb diet, you can enjoy them in moderation. If you want to reduce the carb count, halve the Amarenata, double the sweetener and add 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar-free cherry extract.

This recipe uses an egg yolk custard as the base for creamy keto ice cream. If you can't eat eggs, swap the egg yolks with gelatin. This will also remove some of the yellow hue and will make the ice cream more pink once you add the cherries. To do that you can follow the tips in this Blackberry & Lavender Ice Cream. In this Cherry Garcia Ice Cream recipe you will need 2 1/2 teaspoons of gelatin powder soaked in about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of cold water and then added to the hot cream.

For the chocolate chips I used 90% dark chocolate but any dark chocolate with at least 85% cacao is a good low-carb option. Although there is a small amount of sugar, the carb count is low and it's one of the ingredients that can be used in moderation when you follow a healthy low-carb diet. You can also use sugar-free chocolate sweetened with stevia or inulin.

For even more tips check out my Soft & Creamy Keto Vanilla Ice Cream — you'll find:

  • how to make super soft creamy ice cream if you don't have allulose by using vodka, MCT oil or vegetable glycerine
  • how to use the leftover egg whites in other low-carb recipes
  • how to make keto ice cream with no ice cream maker

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How To Make Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker

This recipe uses an ice cream maker but you can also make it using a simple no-churn method.

To do that, make the custard without the sweetener (only egg yolks and cream). Once cool, add the cherry sauce (reserving the whole cherries for later) and whip using an electric mixer. Fold in up to 1 cup (240 ml) of regular or dairy-free Keto Condensed Milk. For soft ice cream, you can also add some vodka, vegetable glycerine or MCT oil (see tips listed here). Add the whole cherries and chocolate chips, and place in the freezer to freeze until set, for about 4 hours.

Are Cherries Keto?

Let me start by saying that there is no such thing as a "keto" ingredient.

If your goal is to achieve ketosis (which is by no means necessary for weight loss), you simply need to restrict your carbohydrate intake to a low level. Achieving ketosis has nothing to do with eating "keto" foods. For some people the level that allows them to enter and maintain ketosis is at 20 to 30 grams of net carbs, for others it's less than 20 grams of total carbs.

Having said that, some ingredients are more suitable for a keto diet than other foods. A great example is avocado which contains 1.8 g net carbs per 100 grams (3.5 oz), while cherries have about the same amount of net carbs as blueberries (9 to 12 grams, depending on the type).

Hands-on Overall

Serving size 2 scoops, 140 g/ 5 oz

Allergy information for Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Nut free
✔  Nightshade free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free
✔  Beef free
Pescatarian
Vegetarian

Notes

  • Recipe can be made dairy-free or coconut-free.

Nutritional values (per serving, 2 scoops, 140 g/ 5 oz)

Net carbs8.5 grams
Protein4.5 grams
Fat42.9 grams
Calories441 kcal
Calories from carbs 8%, protein 4%, fat 88%
Total carbs9.8 gramsFiber1.2 gramsSugars6.7 gramsSaturated fat26 gramsSodium41 mg(2% RDA)Magnesium35 mg(9% RDA)Potassium210 mg(11% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 8 servings)

Instructions

  1. Make the Low-Carb Amarenata Cherry Sauce — this will take about 45 minutes.
  2. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Reserve the egg whites for another recipe — you will only need the yolks. Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
  3. In a sauce pan, whisk the egg yolks, cream and sweetener, and then gently heat up over a medium heat to cook the egg yolks. Do not boil, just enough to cook enough until the mixture starts thickening (this will take 5-10 minutes). Mix at all times to prevent the custard from sticking to the bottom.
  4. Pour into the container of your ice cream maker and let it cool down to room temperature. You can place the container in a bowl filled with ice water to cool it down quickly, in just 5-10 minutes. Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
  5. Pour the cherry amarenata through a sieve placed over the container and let the juices drip into the egg & cream mixture. Stir to combine. Reserve the cherries for later.
  6. Add to ice cream maker and churn until soft-serve consistency (this will take 45-60 minutes). Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
  7. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and stir in the reserved cherries and the chocolate chips. Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
  8. Freeze for 30 to 60 minutes before serving or until ready to eat.
  9. Soften out of the freezer for a few minutes before scooping. Store, covered, in the freezer for up to two months. Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
  10. Serve on its own or try with my Low-Carb Sugar Cones. Low-Carb Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, 2 scoops, 140 g/ 5 oz)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat)
2.3 g1.7 g34.2 g329 kcal
Egg yolk, fresh
0.3 g1.3 g2.3 g27 kcal
Allulose, natural low-carb sweetener
0.3 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Extra dark chocolate, 90% cocoa (cacao)
1.5 g1.1 g6.4 g64 kcal
Amarenata, homemade (KetoDiet blog)
4.1 g0.3 g0 g20 kcal
Total per serving, 2 scoops, 140 g/ 5 oz
8.5 g4.5 g42.9 g441 kcal

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

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Comments (10)

I really wish the recipe specified that the 90% chocolate was supposed to be sweetened (like lindt or ghiradelli) as I almost ruined the recipe with unsweetened cocoa chips. Otherwise very yummy!

Oh no, I'm glad it was still ok though! I actually like unsweetened chocolate but it takes time to get used to 😊 I believe that 90% chocolate is always sweetened - or at least I haven't seen one that was unsweetened. I'll need to check that out!

I’m so disappointed! I used Agar instead of gelatin and when I added mixture to ice cream maker bowl (which was just out of the freezer) I got chunks of gel when I started the ice cream maker!
What did I do wrong? 😕 If the ice cream maker bowl isn’t frozen, how would it make ice cream? I was so excited about this recipe.
I mashed the mix and made ice cream anyway because of all the ingredients that went into it. Weird consistency with globs of gel, but hoping it will be ok. In the freezer now.

Hi Robin, I'm sorry to hear that! I assume you were the recommendations in this recipe? Low-Carb Blackberry Lavender Ice Cream
I haven't used agar powder (or flakes?) in this Cherry Ice Cream recipe but it will work as long as it's the right amount. Agar flakes are different from powder and need to be used in a different ratio (1 tsp gelatin powder = 1 tsp agar powder = 1 tbsp agar flakes). It seems that either the agar was not fully dissolved or you may have used too much agar? Was the mixture cool (room temperature) before adding it to the ice cream maker?

Thank you for your quick response!
This was the first time I used Agar powder. The mixture was not cool as it seemed that you put yours in the container to cool and then went in the main machine. My great mistake. I’m thinking that you must have a compressor ice cream maker. If so, what brand is it please? I have a Cuisinart brand regular maker where there is a freezer bowl.
Good flavor nonetheless and the leftover Cherry mixture is delicious!

That could be the reason. I always chill mine as otherwise the ice cream is not smooth. Many times when there's a lot of fat (eg in chocolate ice cream where I use melted chocolate), the fat will stick to the sides. Bur if you have the mixture chilled this won't happen.
I do indeed have a compressor ice cream maker. It is easy to use but was pricey and more importantly it's huge and noisy. I don't use it more than a few times a year so I'd advice against it. The less expensive ice cream maker without the compressor is just fine. I too have Cuisinart!
Glad you enjoyed the flavour though 😊

Thank you so much for your response! I made the mistake of not using the mentioned recipe. I will look at it and make this ice cream again.
LOVE your site! Thank you so much for all the work you do! I’m so grateful and impressed!
Robin

Thank you so much! I hope the next batch comes out great!

Ben & Jerry's Cherry G is my mom's all-time favorite ice cream! She's low-carb now so hasn't had it in ages! This will make her week!

Mine too! Vanilla Caramel Brownie, Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia are my fave. So good! And it works with frozen cherries too so you could make it any time 😊