Protein Packed, Low-Fat Chocolate Ice Cream

This low-fat chocolate protein ice cream is packed with protein and has a rich, decadent taste. A perfect treat to feed your sweet tooth.

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My daughter is an ice cream fanatic. The other night, she asked why I never make her favorite flavor – chocolate peanut butter.

After she asked, I realized that I’ve made fancy ice cream flavors – like pumpkin, maple walnut and mint chocolate chip – but I’ve never made plain chocolate or vanilla. I guess I like experimenting with challenging varieties. It was time to change that.

Before I dive straight into her favorite chocolate peanut butter flavor, I thought I should try making simple chocolate first. I wanted a rich chocolatey taste, and I got it.

Homemade Low-Fat, Protein-Packed Ice Cream

If you follow my recipes, you know I try to make healthy modifications to my recipes. My ice cream recipes are not different. All of my ice cream recipes incorporate protein powder and use lower-fat dairy creamer in place of fuller fat varieties. I’ve shared my reasoning for that in past posts. My body doesn’t tolerate super high-fat foods or high-sugar foods.

I realized long ago that adding protein to the ice cream mix, and using lower fat dairy products creates a creamy ice cream that I tolerate much better. Today, all of my homemade ice cream recipes are made this way.

That doesn’t mean I don’t eat the full-fat traditional ice cream varieties. I’m always up for a trip to the ice cream shop. When I go though, I have to watch my portion sizes, or I pay for it later.

How To Make Homemade Chocolate Protein Ice Cream

This ice cream is super simple to make. I used my ice cream maker to churn the ice cream. That gives it the smooth consistency of full-fat ice cream, without as much fat.

To make, you’ll need whole milk, fat-free creamer, vanilla extract, vanilla flavored whey protein powder, sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder. Measure the ingredients, then combine everything in a large bowl.  Use a whisk to combine everything together until the mixture is completely smooth. Then, put it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, pour the liquid mixture into an ice cream maker and allow to churn for ~20 minutes. Once done, transfer ice cream to an air-tight container, then store in the freezer to harden.

It took me a few tried to get this recipe right. My first attempt incorporated chocolate flavored whey protein powder, but I could totally taste the protein in the final product.  I don’t like the taste of any protein powder, and I especially don’t want to taste it in my ice cream. I also tried using less cocoa powder, but I like the rich chocolatey taste that using more gives the ice cream. My daughter loved this ice cream, so it got the approval to share!

Nutrition Information For Low-Fat Chocolate Protein Ice Cream

This low-fat chocolate protein ice cream turned out awesome with an incredibly rich flavor. The recipe makes ~5 ½ total cups of ice cream, or 11 –  ½ cup servings.

One serving has 130 calories, 8 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugars and 60 milligrams of sodium. It also supplies 6% of the daily value for calcium.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?  Tag @heathermangieri  on Instagram and hashtag it #HeatherMangieriNutrition to all recipes. Or, Pin it on Pinterest for later!