Ice cream is for many of us a sweet treat saved for special occasions, hot summer days, or curling up on the couch with a good book or TV show.
But ice cream can also put a serious dent in the carb budget and make your blood sugar skyrocket if you aren’t careful.
Ice cream is especially tricky if you live with diabetes because the combination of fat and sugar means that it can impact your blood sugar not just when you eat the ice cream, but also for hours afterward (because fat delays the digestion of the carbohydrates).
Luckily, a lot of low-carb ice cream options can now be found in most supermarkets (at least here in the U.S.). Some are truly great while others fall flat.
In this review, we’ll look at some of the low-carb iced creams available both in stores and online. I tried all of them and the review is based entirely on my personal experience.
How low-carb Ice Cream is made
The ice creams included in this review have either a dairy or a non-dairy base. The base of the non-dairy ice creams (technically not “creams” but we’ll stick to that wording for simplicity) included here are water (Artic Zero), and coconut (So Delicious).
To reduce the carbs in the ice cream, most of the brands have chosen to increase the fat and/or reduce the amount of high glycemic sweeteners. That means that some of the brands are fairly high in calories and many are sweetened with natural sweeteners (such as Stevia or Monk fruit) or sugar alcohols (such as Erythritol, Sorbitol, Lactitol, Maltitol, and Xylitol)
Some people find that sugar alcohols make them bloated and/or constipated. If that’s the case, choose a brand with fewer or no sugar alcohols.
How I ranked the different brands
The brands included all have less than 23 grams of total carbs per serving and less than 16 grams of net carbs per serving.
Net carbs are calculated as the total carb amount minus fibers and sugar alcohols. We look at net carbs and not total carbs since fibers and most sugar alcohols won’t get converted into glucose and therefore don’t impact blood sugars.
For reference, a serving of Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream has 28 grams of net carbs, Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream has 19 grams and Breyers Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream has 32 grams.
I have given each ice cream a score from 1-5 based on:
- Taste
- Texture
- Serving size (serving sizes varied from 58-100 grams (2-3.5 ounces))
- How does it impact my blood sugar? (this can differ from person to person)
These are of course subjective measures, but I hope this review will still give you get a good idea of which brands are good and which have room for improvement.
I have listed the ice creams based on the net carbs per serving, from lowest to highest.
Keto Pint Ice cream
Net carbs: Pints 3 g, Bars 2 g
Calories per serving: averages around 200
Review score: 4 stars
The concept behind Keto pint is high-fat low-carb ice cream (which shouldn’t be a surprise given the name). And they definitely deliver on that. These are high fat (very high calorie) ice creams with very minimal net carbs.
I tried the Sea salt caramel, peanut butter cup, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate, and black raspberry pints, as well as the mint chip, peanut butter cup, and sea salt caramel bars.
Like many of the other ice creams I’ve tried, this needs to thaw to become scoopable. The overall taste of the pints is fairly subdued and I found it to be a bit too fatty for my taste.
I did really enjoy the sea salt caramel bar which is coated in dark chocolate and the black raspberry pint. Probably because the heaviness of the ice cream goes well with the acidity of the black raspberry or coat of chocolate.
From a blood sugar perspective, this ice cream is a dream. The ice cream is sweetened with Monk fruit, Stevia, and Erythritol and I hardly saw any immediate blood sugar impact. But due to the high fat content, I’d see a small increase overnight if I enjoyed a bowl after dinner.
Mammoth Creameries – Keto Chocolate
Net carbs: 2 g
Calories per serving: 270
Review score: 2.5 stars
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this ice cream very much. As with other high-fat ice creams, it was very crumbly and the texture never got close to what I’d expect from ice cream.
If you care about calories, it’s also worth noting that this was the most calorie-heavy ice cream I tried, coming in at 270 calories per serving.
The calories predominantly come from butter and heavy cream, which should have been the perfect base for good ice cream, but it didn’t really work for me.
From a blood sugar perspective, it’s a great choice. It’s sweetened with Xylitol and has little to no initial impact on blood sugars, but the high fat content can mean a bit of an increase in the hours after for some people.
Enlightened, Brownies & Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Net carbs: 2 g
Calories per serving: 100
Review score: 4 stars
This is a pretty awesome tasting ice cream. They recommend that you leave it out for 5-15 minutes before eating but I found it scoopable and really good already after 5 minutes (couldn’t wait).
The Brownies & Cookie Dough Ice Cream packs a punch when it comes to both flavor and texture. It’s a white chocolate ice cream base with chunks of cookie dough, brownie, and chocolate chunks. Yummy.
The only reason I don’t give this ice cream a higher score is that a serving size is relatively small and I did find that it had a minor blood sugar impact despite only listing 2 grams of net carbs.
The ice cream is sweetened with Erythritol and has traces of brown sugar, but I didn’t see a spike in my blood sugar right away, so I expect the slight blood sugar increase comes mostly from the lactose since the ice cream is based on skim milk.
Rebel Ice Cream, Cookie Dough
Net carbs: 2 g
Calories per serving: 220
Review score: 3.5 stars
This is another high-fat ice cream and the consistency is thereafter. It never really becomes creamy but the taste is good and I really enjoyed the generous chunks of cookie dough and chocolate flakes.
Compared to many of the other ice creams I tried, this is fairly high in calories because of the fat content. It’s sweetened with Erythritol and Monk Fruit only, and I found that it had a very limited impact on my blood sugar, even hours after I ate it.
Simple Truth, Keto French Ice cream, Black Raspberry Chip
Net carbs: 3 g
Calories per serving: 190
Review score: 4 stars
This ice cream tastes amazing and hardly impacted my blood sugars, but unfortunately, the consistency is beyond odd.
A lot of the keto ice creams you have to leave out for 10-15 minutes before they soften up and assume the texture of regular ice cream. I did leave this one out but it only had two consistencies, rock-solid or melted, no in between, making it an interesting experience to eat.
The funky consistency aside, the taste was much like Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, which just happens to be one of my favorite “regular carb” ice creams. Because of the great taste and because it hardly had an impact on my blood sugars, I gave it such a high score.
It’s high in fat and calories (190 calories per serving and 17 grams of fat) and is sweetened with erythritol and monk fruit.
Breyers CarbSmart Frozen Dairy Dessert
Net carbs: 4 g
Calories per serving: 110
Review score: 4 stars
This is a basic vanilla ice cream. It’s scoopable directly out of the freezer and if you’re into vanilla ice cream, I think you’d like this one. Of all of the ice cream I’ve tried, this is probably the one that most resembles the consistency of regular ice cream.
I would have liked it to have a bit more flavor, but I would probably have said that about any vanilla ice cream.
It’s milk-based ice cream and it’s sweetened with Maltitol and syrup. I found it to have a very limited impact on my blood sugar
Halo Top Creamery, Peanut Butter Cup
Net carbs: 7 g
Calories per serving: 110
Review score: 4.5 stars
This is the low-carb ice cream I buy most often. I can find it in any of the grocery stores near me and I enjoy the overall flavor along with the rich peanut butter swirl.
I prefer the taste of this brand to the heavier high-fat ice creams. My husband, who doesn’t think about his carb intake, actually prefers this brand to regular full-fat, full-carb ice creams which says a lot (he’s a fan of the caramel swirl).
The consistency is good and it’s fairly scoopable directly out of the freezer. The only real downside to this ice cream is that it has a blood sugar impact more consistent with the total carbs rather than the net carbs. It might be due to the ice cream being sweetened with Erythritol as well as cane sugar.
But having to bolus for the full amount of carbs (21 grams) is worth it to me.
Re:THINK Ice Cream
Net carbs: 11 g
Calories per serving: Averages around 140
Review score: 4 stars
I tried 7 different flavors of the Re:THINK ice cream and my favorites are Black Cherry Vanilla, Strawberry with Chia Seeds, and Chocolate Majesty. But the Coffee Hazelnut and Lemon with Poppy Seed quickly grew on me as well.
What I like about this low-carb ice cream brand is the many different funky flavors, and that while most low-carb ice creams are heavy on fat and artificial sweeteners, Re:THINK Ice Cream chose a different route.
The ice cream is made with collagen protein and lactose-free A2/A2 dairy, so it’s a good option for anyone who has a hard time digesting lactose.
It’s a low glycemic ice cream, but since they use natural sweeteners such as agave nectar, sugar, and fruit juice, I did see a small blood sugar impact. I didn’t pre-bolus for the 10 grams of carbs, and I didn’t see a sharp increase in my blood sugar.
Arctic Zero Cookie Dough Chunk
Net carbs: 11 g
Calories per serving: 80
Review score: 3 stars
This ice cream is non-dairy which might be why the consistency was a little icy and never became the smooth consistency I’d expect from good ice cream. When you look at the ingredients, the first one is water, which could explain the ice-crystal feel of the ice cream.
I do enjoy a good cookie dough ice cream, and it’s hard to mess up cookie dough. And the Artic zero cookie dough chunks are good but unfortunately, the ice cream base is somewhat bland and has a bit of a weird aftertaste I can’t really put my finger on.
The ice cream is sweetened with both cane sugar, brown sugar, and molasses, which means it will have a blood sugar impact. For some reason, they’ve also chosen to add monk fruit sweetener so it’s not all high glycemic sweeteners.
The fat content is fairly low and so is the protein which makes it a relatively low-calorie low-carb ice cream option (80 calories per serving) so it might be a good option for people looking for a lower calorie non-dairy option who don’t mind a small blood sugar impact.
So Delicious, Dairy-Free Salted caramel
Net carbs: 16 g
Calories per serving: 110
Review score: 3.5 stars
This ice cream or frozen dessert (since it’s completely non-dairy and gluten-free) had a little bit of a fatty taste to it which probably comes from the coconut oil. It has a great texture though. It’s very fluffy and I enjoyed the caramel swirls and chocolate bites.
It’s scoopable directly out of the freezer, which is awesome since I’m not a fan of having to wait for my ice cream.
It’s sweetened with both sugar alcohols (erythritol) and natural sweeteners (tapioca Syrup and cane sugar) so you get a bit of everything.
A serving is only 2/3 cup (63 grams) and I found the 16 grams of net carbs to be fairly accurate in terms of blood sugar impact.
BUY ON SODELICIOUSDAIRYFREE.COM
Before you leave to shop for low-carb ice cream, you should also take a look at my other low-carb product reviews:
Let me know if you don’t see your favorite low-carb ice cream on the list and I’ll add it (after trying it myself). I am always looking for great low-carb and diabetes-friendly products.
Thank you for your review on ice cream. I have found a buying and trying several and always being disappointed, when I do have a serving of the real stuff just cover. Graeter’s made a low carb Cinnamon for Diabetes Camp for the kids. It was the best ever ice cream. However, they did not put on the market.
Hi. I hope people start to
Alert others about the dangers of tapioca starch. Literally shut my body down after a few months of built up toxicity. Always remember folks. Tapioca comes from Cassava that can be toxic it’s used in many keto goods. My throat started closing off and after many thousands of dollars later, I’m told tapioca is latex and I was having a latex allergy. It built up in my system of 6 months and now I’m here. Beware! None of the products that contain tapioca starch or flour are labeled with a warning and that’s very wrong. I’m very ill. Also known to be cyanide poisoning if incorrectly milled or such as myself, a build up over time. Beware.
You should try Nick’s ice cream! It’s my favorite low carb (and low calorie) ice cream that really tastes like regular ice cream to me. I recommend their peanut butter flavors.
Sounds yummy, thank you for the recommendation
Hi Christel great article great work thank you for posting I’m a diagnosed type 2 diabetic for 24 years recently found out I’m Stage 4 lung cancer my sugar intake is minimal I read that you bolus isn’t that a feeding tube? I wasn’t sure I eat through feeding tube All except some snacks I hope by submitting my email fyhT I’m officially following your thx again Mike