Low Carb Blueberry Pie a la mode Ice Cream

“I scream! You scream! We all scream for ice cream!” Every since I learned the right combination of sweeteners to create the best scoopable, sugar free ice cream right from the freezer, I’ve been having a wonderful time experimenting in my kitchen. Wild Maine blueberries are just hitting the Farmer’s Markets so, of course, I had to make my own version of Blueberry Ice Cream! It includes those juicy, little berries and chunks of keto ‘pie crust’ all swirled into creamy vanilla ice cream. The sauce is optional, but it really makes a wonderful ice cream sundae topping. This ice cream flavor just screams SUMMER where I live!

Low Carb Blueberry Pie a la mode Ice Cream

Makes 8 servings

Ice Cream Base:

1 cup whole milk* (I suggest Fairlife, see note)

3 tablespoons powdered erythritol-based sweetener

6 tablespoons allulose

A pinch of salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

The beans scraped from a vanilla bean (or 1/8 teaspoon vanilla seed powder), optional

Pie Crust Stir In:

1/3 cup almond flour (or sunflower seed flour for low oxalate)

2 teaspoons powdered erythritol sweetener

A pinch of salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Other Stir In:

3/4 cup Wild Maine blueberries (small berries), fresh or frozen

Blueberry Sauce (optional):

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

2 tablespoons water

6-8 drops monkfruit extract or stevia, to taste

1. Make the ice cream base: In a medium bowl, use a whisk to combine the milk, sweeteners and salt. Whisk until the sweeteners are dissolved. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight, until well chilled. Whisk together again and add the vanilla beans, if using, just before churning.

2. While the ice cream base is chilling, make the Pie Crust Stir In: Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until it resembles coarse crumbs. 

3. Pour the mixture in a mound onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Press down with your fingers to flatten into a circle or oval (the shape really doesn’t matter) until it is between 1/8” to 1/4” in thickness. Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Watch carefully because once it starts to turn golden, it can brown quickly and you don’t want the edges to burn.

4. Allow the crust to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove the parchment paper or silicone mat to a wire rack to finish cooling completely (keep crust on paper to prevent crumbling). The crust will firm up and crisp as it cools. Once cool, carefully break the crust into small pieces and set aside until it’s time to add them to the ice cream at the end of the churning process.

5. Churn the Ice Cream: Following the manufacturer’s instructions for your machine, churn the ice cream base. When it has thickened sufficiently, slowly add the pie crust pieces and blueberries. Continue churning until quite thick. Serve immediately as a soft-serve ice cream or spoon into an air-tight container and place in the freezer for 4 hours or more until set.

6. To make the Blueberry Sauce (optional): Place 2 cups of blueberries and water into a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until the berries burst. Mash with a potato masher or the tines of a fork to break up the berries. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken slightly. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Taste and add monkfruit extract or stevia if desired. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Spoon over ice cream to serve. Makes about 1 cup.

*Note: I recommend Fairlife brand Whole Milk, which is lactose free and has half the carbs of regular milk. If using regular whole milk, add 1-1/2 carbs per serving.

Nutritional Information per 1/2 cup ice cream (no sauce): 210 calories, 3.7 g carbohydrate (0.5 g dietary fiber, 1.9 g sugars, 0.8 g sugar alcohols), 22.7 g total fat (12.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 70 mg cholesterol, 54 mg sodium, 42.8 mg calcium, 19 mg potassium, 206 IU Vit A, 1.6 g protein.  Net carbs per serving: 2.4 grams

Blueberry Sauce per 1 tablespoon: 11 calories, 2.7 g carbohydrate (0.4 g dietary fiber, 1.8 g sugars), 0.1 g total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 1.1 mg calcium, 14 mg potassium, 3 IU Vit A, 2 mg Vit C, 0.1 g protein. Net carbs per serving: 2.3 grams

Photos and recipe by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2021

All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.