No-Churn Low Carb Lemon Ice Cream

4.7 stars, average of 172 ratings

By Jo Harding, updated August 11 202014

Calling all lemon lovers, this one’s for you.

This keto no-churn lemon ice cream is based on Martina’s popular No- Churn Vanilla Ice Cream recipe. It’s so creamy and loaded with lemon juice and zest. I used zest of just one lemon for a slightly milder citrus flavour but if you love lemon, feel free to add one or two. Nothing is more refreshing for summer than this.

If you leave it in the freezer for longer than 4 hours it will set hard, either add glycerine to prevent it crystallising or remove from the freezer when ready to eat and allow to thaw slowly in the fridge.

Sweetened with erythritol rather than sugar it won’t spike your blood sugar levels like other lemon ice creams and at just 3.6 g net carbs per serving, it’s a keto classic you will make time and time again.

I hope you enjoy it!

Note: Based on feedback from those who have tried this recipe, the lemon juice will make this ice cream a little more icy. You could try skipping the lemon juice and increasing the amount of lemon zest and heavy whipping cream (using less egg whites). This will keep the ice cream creamy with enough flavour.

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Using Raw Eggs?

If a recipe calls for raw eggs and you are concerned about the potential risk of Salmonella, you can make it safe by using pasteurized eggs. To pasteurize eggs at home, simply pour enough water in a saucepan to cover the eggs. Heat to about 60 °C/ 140 °F. Using a spoon, slowly place the eggs into the saucepan. Keep the eggs in the water for about 3 minutes. This should be enough to pasteurize the eggs and kill any potential bacteria. Let the eggs cool down before using in any recipe, or store in the fridge for 6-8 weeks.

Tips for Super Soft Ice Cream

This recipe produces soft and creamy ice-cream. However, once left in the freezer for more than 4 hours, it will get hard. Below are some tips to help you keep it soft:

Vodka or other similar alcoholic drink - about ¹/₄ cup. Vodka is best as it's neutral and leaves no aftertaste.
Vegetable glycerin - 1-2 tablespoons. This ingredient will prevent crystallisation. It has a minimum effect on blood sugar but I personally count all the carbs in it because it has more calories than sugar.
MCT oil - about ¹/₄ cup. I use it in other ice-cream recipes but I'm not sure how that would work in this one. It may "deflate" the fluffy texture.
Also, put the ice-cream in single-serving containers so you don't have to wait for too long until it softens when taken out of the freezer.

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0 days, 3 hours, 50 minutes

Hands-on 10 minutes Overall 3-4 hours

Serving size ~ 1 cup, 2 large scoops

Allergy information for No-Churn Low Carb Lemon Ice Cream

✔ Gluten free

✔ Dairy free

✔ Nut free

✔ Nightshade free

✔ Pork free

✔ Avocado free

✔ Coconut free

✔ Fish free

✔ Shellfish free

Pescatarian

Vegetarian

Notes

Recipe can be made dairy-free or coconut-free.

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Nutritional values (per serving, ~ 1 cup, 2 large scoops)

Net carbs3.6 grams

Protein5.2 grams

Fat22.2 grams

Calories238 kcal

Calories from carbs 6%, protein 9%, fat 85%

Total carbs3.8 gramsFiber0.2 gramsSugars2.6 gramsSaturated fat13.2 gramsSodium67 mg(3% RDA)Magnesium9 mg(2% RDA)Potassium113 mg(6% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 6 servings)

4 large eggs, separated
¹/₄ tsp cream of tartar or apple cider vinegar
¹/₂ cup powdered Erythritol or Swerve (80 g/ 2.8 oz)
1 ¹/₄ cups heavy whipping cream or coconut cream (300 ml)
juice of 2 lemons (about ¹/₂ cup)
zest of 1 organic lemon

Instructions

Place your loaf pan in the freezer to chill. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.
Start whisking the egg whites and add the apple cider vinegar or cream of tartar. As the egg whites thicken, slowly add the powdered erythritol.
Whisk until the eg whites create stiff peaks.
In another bowl, whisk the cream until thick and you have stiff peaks. Make sure you don’t over whip it though (the cream would split). If you prefer diary free, you can use whipped coconut milk.
In a clean bowl, mix the egg yolks with the lemon juice and zest.
Slowly fold the whisked egg whites into the whipped cream.
Then add the egg yolk mixture and gently fold in using a spatula until well combined.
Place the mixture in a loaf pan or a freezer-friendly container and freeze for at least 2 hours (I froze mine for 4 hours).
If the ice cream is too hard (if frozen overnight), either leave it in the fridge for 30-45 minutes, or on the kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Optionally, serve with Low-Carb Ice Cream Sugar Cones!
Store it in freezer for up to 3 months.

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, ~ 1 cup, 2 large scoops)

Net carbs	Protein	Fat	Calories
Eggs, free-range or organic
0.2 g	4.2 g	3.2 g	48 kcal
Cream of tartar, raising agent
0 g	0 g	0 g	0 kcal
Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener)
0.7 g	0 g	0 g	3 kcal
Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat)
1.3 g	1 g	19 g	183 kcal
Lemon juice, fresh
1.3 g	0.1 g	0 g	4 kcal
Lemon zest (peel), fresh
0.1 g	0 g	0 g	0 kcal
Total per serving, ~ 1 cup, 2 large scoops
3.6 g	5.2 g	22.2 g	238 kcal

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Anu 5 months ago #

As some other reviewers have noted, this was delicious but a bit more like a sorbet than an ice cream, definitely had an icy feel to it, and I even used allulose instead of erythritol as that works so much better for keto ice creams, usually, and has always given me a creamy texture. Having said that, the flavour really is amazing and my husband, who is a lemon fiend, loved this! I used the zest of two lemons for extra zing but only the juice of one lemon, as described. I also used double cream instead of whipping cream. Next time I might try adding the zest of two lemons and one lime but no juice and see if that helps prevent iciness. Other than that, this recipe is certainly a delightful summer treat, thank you 😊

Martina @ KetoDiet 5 months ago #

Thank you for your feedback Anu! This is generally the issue with no-churn ice cream as there will always be some levels of iciness. The vanilla version of this ice cream is less icy as this one additionally includes lemon juice which tends to add crystals. So I think give it a go, try skipping the lemon juice and I think you'll have less of that icy feel 😊
Now back to making ice cream! Today I'll re-test the cherry ice cream to try and see if I can drop some of the carb count. Tank you so much for keeping me posted on Instagram ❤

Just a follow up to add that I made this ice cream again, skipping the lemon juice but adding more lemon zest plus the zest of a lime and some lemon extract (Foodie Flavours) and the texture was much better... Yay! 😊 Next time I might add even more lemon and lime zest and only use egg yolks, increasing the double cream to replace the egg whites... I think that will work, with or without an ice cream maker. Perhaps this is changing the recipe entirely, though! Oops...

Thank you so much for sharing this, I'll add it to the notes ❤

April one year ago #

I made mine yesterday and set in the freezer for a little over 4 hours. The top layer was definitely hard but the bottom was more like iced lemon whipped cream if that makes sense.
Could it be because I didn’t transfer to a loaf pan and left it on the glass bowl instead?

Martina @ KetoDiet one year ago #

Hi Aril, I think you need to leave it in for longer. It definitely depends on the shape so if it's a round bowl, it will likely be soft in the middle. Or it could be the freezer. The only time this happened to me is when there was a layer of ice and needed defrosting. I hope this helps!

Rose one year ago #

I made this. Unfortunately it didn't set well. It turned out more like a sherbert than a creamy ice cream. What did I do wrong? I whipped everything to stiff peaks and mixed it all together. I've tried leaving it on the counter to thaw a bit before serving. Taste is delicious, but texture leaves something to be desired.

Could it be that the ingredients were not combined and the lemon juice was separated? Was it "icy"? I've made many variations of this recipe (even a lavender one!) and they always turned out great. The only time it was icy is when I used too much of water-based ingredients like raspberry puree. The creamiest I've made is definitely this one: No-Churn Keto Chocolate Ice Cream but that is because this recipe uses chocolate and makes it very creamy.

Bern 2 years ago #

Is it dangerous to use the raw eggs?

Martina @ KetoDiet 2 years ago #

Please see my note below the list of ingredients.

Sara Cobb 2 years ago #

I can't wait to make this! Do your have a chocolate version?

elena 2 years ago #

This ice cream is sooo good!! I haven't tried the lemon version (yet!) but I've been making your vanilla ice cream ever since I found it. Thank you for sharing yet another amazing recipe!!

Lynn chamberlain 2 years ago #

Looks good but can you make this in icream maker? As have one and would like to use it if possible!
Thanks

Hi Lynn, if you do want to use an ice cream maker, then I'd completely change the recipe - avoid the whipped egg whites and use pouring (instead of whipped) cream. The only reason I whipped the egg whipped and cream was to keep the ice cream fluffy when I don't use an ice cream maker. You can find a few examples here: Keto Eggnog Ice-Cream
Super Creamy Keto Chocolate Ice-Cream
I hope you like it! 😊