Dairy Free Keto Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe - My PCOS Kitchen (2024)

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This keto pumpkin ice cream is so smooth, creamy and sweet. It’s the perfect fall dairy free ice cream to make right at home with an ice cream maker!

The BEST Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe

It's pumpkin season and I finally have an excuse to use all of those pumpkin cans stored in the pantry. My pumpkin ice cream recipe is so smooth, creamy and delicious, you'll want to make it all year long!

This keto pumpkin ice cream is made in an ice cream maker to ensure the smoothest and creamiest recipe ever. I highly recommend using one as it's a great investment to have on hand.

You can serve this ice cream as is or serve it over some low carb waffles, pancakes or over chocolate zucchini cake.

Carbs in Keto Pumpkin Ice Cream

You may think that the carbs in this keto ice cream recipe come from the pumpkin, but actually most come from the coconut milk. Two cans of coconut milk (800ml) have about 30g net carbs, whereas 800ml of heavy cream has about 22g of net carbs.

This healthy pumpkin ice cream makes 8 servings and each serving is about ½ cup (120ml). I think the portion size is quite generous, but you could definitely only eat ¼ cup if you want to save on some carbs. The nutritional information for ½ cup is as follows:

• 234 calories
• 20g fat
• 5.61g net carbs
• 3g protein

Keto Pumpkin Recipes

I have so many pumpkin recipes on the blog and I can't wait to make them all over again this year. I have many dairy and dairy free keto pumpkin recipes that you'll definitely want to check out!

Dairy Free Keto Pumpkin Desserts

• Paleo Pumpkin Pie: This pumpkin pie is made with a dairy free crust and filling.
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe: This super moist pumpkin bundt cake is covered in a dairy free coconut frosting.
• Keto Pumpkin Muffins: These flourless pumpkin muffins are made with almond butter and are super easy to whip up!
• Pumpkin Custard: These pumpkin custards are from my friend Lisa's. They are so creamy and delicious, you'll have to try them asap!
• Pumpkin Mug Cake: A delicious moist pumpkin cake ready in less than 2 minutes!

Keto Pumpkin Desserts made with dairy

• Low Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake: This is a super creamy no bake cheesecake full of homemade pumpkin spice.
• Healthy Pumpkin Bars: These pumpkin bars are filled with lots of nuts and seeds and topped with my sugar free cream cheese frosting.
• Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes: These pumpkin cupcakes are soft and crumbly and topped with my cream cheese frosting recipe too.
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars: These are from my friend Davinah. They're amazing bars filled with pumpkin pie and cheesecake!

How to make Pumpkin Ice Cream

It takes a little bit of time to make this pumpkin ice cream recipe, but it will totally be worth it in the end.

This recipe uses two whole coconut milk cans so you don't need to chill them in the fridge beforehand to get coconut cream. First, add the coconut milk, pumpkin puree, vodka, sweeteners and spices to a medium sized pot and put it to boil. Continue whisking vigorously. Once it starts to bubble, turn off the heat.

The next part you need to do is temper the egg yolks. Adding eggs to ice cream helps stabilize it and keep it smooth and creamy. I've tried this recipe without the eggs and it was much more icier so definitely recommend it!

Add ¼ cup of the hot liquid into the egg yolks and mix vigorously. This will slowly cook them. Add another ¼ cup and mix again. Once the eggs are tempered, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. This is the custard. Similarly, you can also make keto pudding this way.

Let the keto ice cream batter cool completely and then transfer it into the fridge to cool down for 2-3 hours. Why is this important?

Adding cold ingredients to the ice cream maker helps the maker make smooth ice cream instead of icy ice cream from hot ingredients. Using cold ingredients helps the ice cream maker freeze the ice cream perfectly.

Once the pumpkin ice cream batter is completely cool, add it to your ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your ice cream maker. I personally used the Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment for my stand mixer so I had to cool the bowl overnight in the freezer. Make sure it's completely frozen and you can't hear any water splashing sound or your ice cream won't freeze!

It took about 25 minutes for my ice cream to become frozen like soft serve ice cream. The ice cream won't get any harder than that, so you'll need to transfer it to the freezer for it to become more hard.

Pro tip: If you're not going to eat it all that same day, freeze it in small Tupperwares as whenever you want to eat some, you'll need to let it sit on the counter for 15ish minutes to defrost. Instead of defrosting the whole batch, if you separate it beforehand, you'll only need to defrost it the portion you want to eat.

Do I need an ice cream maker?

Honestly, I really recommend it. Without an ice cream maker, your ice cream runs the risk of getting icy while it freezes. Using an ice cream maker ensures your ice cream stays nice and smooth without creating those annoying ice shards.

What kind of ice cream maker is best?

Any brand should do, but I used the kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment for my stand mixer. You can also use an ice cream maker where you don't need to chill the bowl beforehand.

How to serve low carb ice cream?

For any homemade ice cream you make at home, you’ll always need to thaw it on the counter for 10-15 minutes before serving. Homemade ice cream tends to freeze rock solid unlike store bought brands. Store bought brands have stabilizers, sugars, dextrin and additives that all help it stay soft. We don't usually tend to add those kind of ingredients to homemade ice cream, so it tends to stay solid in the freezer.

I suggest freezing the ice cream in small Tupperware containers or individual containers so that you don’t need to thaw the whole batch each time. That way you can also portion control safely.

Why is my low carb ice cream icy?

If you use an ice cream maker, it shouldn’t turn icy. Ice cream usually turns icy when it was frozen slowly like without the use of an ice cream maker.

Why are homemade ice cream rock solid?

That’s because the ice cream maker that they sell on the market are just not as fast as the ones the big ice cream factories use. Unless you can afford a top notch ice cream maker that costs hundreds of dollars, you'll always need to leave the ice cream on the counter to soften before serving.

Is the vodka necessary?

If you can't drink alcohol, then you don't need to add it in. Adding vodka just helps with the consistency of the ice cream because vodka can't freeze.

Is the xanthan gum necessary?

I've made it without and it turns really icy so I really recommend using it. It helps stabilize the ice cream when it freezes.

Does this ice cream taste like coconut?

You know, surprisingly no. I personally hate the taste of coconut and because the pumpkin spice and pumpkin purée taste is so strong, you can’t really tell this was made with coconut milk.

What kind of coconut milk is best?

I suggest using coconut milk with the highest fat content you can find. Thai Kitchen is one I personally use all the time. The more fat the milk has, the less icy your ice cream will be.

I don't like coconut. Can I use something else?

You can definitely use heavy cream instead of coconut milk, just know it won't be dairy free anymore.

I don't have any pumpkin, can I use something else?

You can use puree or paste from any kind of squash instead. Kabocha squash paste is delicious in this pumpkin ice cream recipe. I use kabocha squash in my kabocha cheesecake recipe and it's absolutely amazing!

Toppings to add to homemade pumpkin ice cream

This homemade pumpkin ice cream recipe goest really well with some chocolate chips, chopped nuts, sliced almonds, desiccated coconut shreds, or chocolate drizzle.

Ice Cream Sweeteners

To make a keto ice cream, you have a few options to choose from. Your best best will be to use a combination of sweeteners like erythritol and stevia, or erythritol and monk fruit powder. You can also use xylitol as it freezes really well, but make sure you don't have any dogs or cats in the house as it's lethal to them. Or you can use a blend like Lakanto or Sukrin. But before adding any sweeteners to your keto ice cream, you need to make sure they are in their powdered forms.

To make a paleo pumpkin ice cream, you'll need to use a paleo friendly sweetener like maple syrup, maple sugar or coconut sugar. You could also use dates to make it even more creamy, but just know any of those paleo sweeteners will make the carb count go up really high.

Final Tips & Advice

Make sure to read the following tips and possible substitutions before making this recipe!

• Temper the eggs before mixing them in the ice cream batter. This will help them cook.
• Make sure to add the egg yolks in the ice cream as it helps to make it more smooth.
• Make sure to let the ice cream batter completely cool down in the fridge before adding to your ice cream maker.
• Make sure your ice cream maker is completely frozen. When you take it out of the freezer, you shouldn't hear any splashing sounds from it.
• Use powdered erythritol to keep the grainy nice and smooth. Granulated sweeteners tend to make low carb ice creams grainy.
• The vodka is optional, but helps with the consistency of the ice cream!
• Instead of erythritol, you can use xylitol, but don't use it if you have a dog in the house as it's lethal to them.
• Instead of coconut milk, you can use heavy cream for a dairy version.
• Instead of xanthan gum, you can use guar gum.
• Instead of pumpkin puree, you can use kabocha squash puree.
• Instead of stevia extract powder, you can use monk fruit extract powder.

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