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The Best Keto Ice Cream Reviewed: Top Brands and Homemade Recipes

Keto is a high-fat low-carb way of eating. Most ice creams have high fat going for them, yet they’re generally high in added sugars. However, with keto’s rising popularity, a number of low-carb ‘keto friendly’ ice creams have recently hit the market. In this article, we’ll review the best keto ice creams in stores, and offer a simple keto ice cream recipe you can make at home. 

How we Made Our Choices

Our first criteria for choosing the best keto ice cream is how well it fits within standard ketogenic diet macronutrient ratios. 

Our second criterion is the simplicity of ingredients: We’re looking for unprocessed whole foods and the fewest possible additives. As you’ll see, this isn’t easy to find. 

Does it Meet Keto Macronutrient Ratios? 

These ratios are roughly: 

• 80% calories from fat
• 15% calories from carbs
• 5% calories from fat

If you consume around 2000 calories per day, these ratios amount to around: 

• 190 grams of fat (1600 calories)
• 75 grams of protein (300 calories)
• 25 grams of carbs (100 calories)

As you become keto-adapted it’s possible to moderately increase your carb intake to around 

40-60 grams per day and still remain in ketosis. The exact amount of carbs depends on your individual metabolism and activity level. 

Simple Whole Food Ingredients? 

The health benefits of keto have nearly as much to do with cutting out processed foods as it does with putting your body into ketosis. 

Yet most keto treats–ice cream included–are loaded with highly processed ingredients. These commonly include: 

• Indigestible gums: guar gum, xanthan gum, etc
• Indigestible fillers: chicory root fiber
• Sugar alcohols: Xylitol, Erythritol, Sorbitol, Maltitol
• Industrial emulsifiers: soy and sunflower lecithin
• Industrial vegetable glycerine

To avoid these processed ingredients the only truly guilt-free keto ice cream is the kind you make at home with just a few ingredients.

This is why Dr. Kiltz’s keto ice cream features at number 1 on our list. 

1. Dr. Kiltz’s Keto Ice Cream

Dr. Kiltz’s keto vanilla ice cream maker recipe has 5 simple, pronounceable ingredients. 

It’s free of fillers, gums, and emulsifiers, and you can make it in 20-45 minutes depending on your ice cream maker. 

Yes, there’s a little bit of sugar in there, but that small amount of pure cane sugar only contributes 4.5 to 9 grams of carbs to ⅓ pint serving. 

This is the most delicious ice cream you can imagine and it’s packed with all of that healthy fat your body needs.

Ingredients: 

• 1 Pint of High-quality heavy cream (preferably grass-fed)
• 1-2 TBSP of granulated pure cane sugar (13 grams sugar per tablespoon) 
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (can use vanilla bean scraped as well)
• 1 egg (organic preferred)
• 1 tsp sea/Himalayan salt (optional but highly recommended) 

Follow the directions of your specific ice cream maker. 

Following along with Dr. Kiltz below:

2. Killer Creamery: Salted Caramel

Another cream-forward keto treat, Killer Creamery ice cream has a great texture, and if you stick with the simple flavors, relatively few ingredients. 

Where other brands bulk with chicory root which is known to cause bloating, Killer Creamery uses soluble corn fiber, which they claim has “double the stomach tolerance” as other prebiotic fiber.1

Their primary sweetener is Allulose. This is a relatively new sweetener that is actually a “rare sugar” that does not impact your blood sugar levels. 

Though Killer Creamery correctly states that allulose is found in small amounts in figs, maple syrup, and raisins, industrial allulose like they use is not extracted from these sources. Rather, it is synthesized from corn starch.

They also add the popular keto fat MCT oil, which, when consumed, is sent directly to the liver to be converted into ketones. This makes it easier to get into ketosis. 

Ingredients: 

Cream, water, Allulose, Soluble Corn Fiber, Milk Protein Isolate, Egg Yolks, MCT Oil, Erythritol, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Natural Flavor, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Monk Fruit Extract, Poppyseed

Nutrition Facts

3. Keto Foods: Strawberry

Made with fresh-picked Oregon strawberries, Keto Foods is creamy, delicious, and easy to find. 

Surprisingly, strawberries are one of the few low carb fruits you can enjoy in moderation on a keto diet.

If you want to ditch all the processed ingredients listed below, you can always douse a few sliced strawberries in heavy cream.

Ingredients

Cream, Water, Egg Yolk, Erythritol, Strawberries, Non-GMO Chicory Root Fiber, Milk Protein Concentrate, Non-GMO Tapioca Fiber, Fruit Juice (for color), Vegetable Glycerin, Sea Salt, Non-GMO Guar Gum, Stevia Extract, Monk Fruit Extract, Citric Acid, Non-GMO Gum Acacia. *Contains Milk, Egg.

4. Rebel: Butter Pecan

Rebel keto ice cream is creamy and delicious. With only 4 grams of net carbs per pint compared to 24 grams of dairy fat, it certainly meets ideal keto macro ratios. 

Rebel achieves these ratios with cream as the first ingredient and sweetening through a combination of erythritol and monk fruit. See below for warnings about alternative sweeteners. Rebel is also easy to find at most grocery stores. 

However it does contain questionable fillers and emulsifiers–see ingredients below.

Ingredients: 

Cream, Water, Roasted Pecans (Pecans, Butter, Coconut Oil, Salt), Erythritol, Chicory Root Fiber, Egg Yolks, Vegetable Glycerin, Milk Protein Isolate, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Salt, Peruvian Carob Gum, Guar Gum, Monk Fruit. 

Nutrition facts

5. Halo Top: Chocolate Caramel Lava Cake

Halo Top’s creative flavors often require very long ingredient lists that include some very un-keto ingredients like wheat flour. 

As with the other brands on this list, we chose one of their simplest flavors. 

With the first ingredient being skim milk, this means the ‘creamy’ texture will have to be constructed from a complex blend of processed plant fibers and plant-derived emulsifiers. 

Halo Top made our list primarily due to its convenience. You can find it at most supermarkets. So if it’s a choice between indulging an ice cream craving that kicks you out of keto and Halo Top, well, at least you know you have a choice. 

Ingredients

Ultrafiltered Skim Milk, Cream, Erythritol, Peanut Oil, Inulin, Eggs, Vegetable Glycerine, Cocoa Powder, Water, Soluble Corn Fiber, Skim Milk, Contains 1% or less of Natural Flavors, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa, Milk Protein Isolate, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Monk Fruit Extract, Sunflower Lecithin, Salt, Stevia Leaf Extract (Reb M), Carob Bean Gum, Cellulose Gel, Cellulose Gum, Annatto Extract for Color.

6. Homemade Coconut “Get Some” Keto Ice Cream

This recipe from high-fat diet pioneer and Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey, is billed as fertility-boosting food, and even an aphrodisiac. 

At the very least, it’s a great alternative for folks who don’t want milk. And if you’re avoiding all lactose, you can substitute butter for ghee. 

Ingredients

• 4 Egg
• 4 Egg yolks
• 2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 gram Vitamin C
• 100 grams Butter ; Grass-fed
• 80 grams Coconut oil
• 50 grams MCT oil
• 80 grams Xylitol
• 100 grams Water

Directions

• Put everything but water and ice in a blender. 
• Blend until you achieve perfect creaminess–may take a few minutes. 
• Add in water and ice until you achieve your desired consistency. 
• Put mixture into ice cream maker and follow directions specific to your appliance. 

Keto Ice Cream The bottom line

Though there are plenty of low-carb keto-friendly ice creams out there, most contain numerous highly processed additives.

Therefore, most keto ice creams should be considered an occasional treat that you enjoy in moderation. 

But who doesn’t crave cold creamy fat from time to time? There’s nothing to feel guilty about. Especially if you’re making it at home with the fewest and least processed ingredients possible like you find in Dr. Kiltz’s recipe above.