These low carb, THM and Keto chocolate covered peanut butter ice cream bars look quite frankly AMAZING! Please welcome the very talented Briana Thomas with this week’s IBIH guest post! At only 21 years of age, Briana already has a thriving blog and a beautiful published cookbook – she clearly knows her way around a kitchen and we’re grateful that she chose to share these incredible keto ice cream bars with us today!!!
Summer is here, and summer means ice cream – and what better vehicle for ice cream than a convenient keto ice cream bar that you can pull out of your freezer when you’ve just come inside from a nice warm run? (Or when you just plain need ice cream…because those moments are real.) Chocolate and peanut butter are the classic flavors represented in this Klondike-esque bar, and the satisfying crunch of chocolate pairs beautifully with creamy peanut butter.
Perhaps I should introduce myself. I’m Briana: lover of music, chocoholic, and maker of healthy keto ice cream. (Some of my readers even call me the “Ice Cream Queen,” but I think that sounds a bit pretentious, don’t you? Haha….) I specialize in recipes that are un) low glycemic, deux) easy, trois) budget friendly, and quatre) calorie smart.
For example: you could go all out and make these Keto chocolate covered peanut butter ice cream bars with 3 cups of cream instead of half cream and half almond milk, cook the mixture, then cool it before churning it; but I went the only slightly indulgent route – instead of over-the-top calories and merely buzzed all the ingredients together in my blender before pouring them into the ice cream maker.
Could I make better keto ice cream bars by following all the rules? More than likely. But I wouldn’t know because I’ve never tried it! If I had to do things the conventional way, I’d probably never make low carb ice cream – and that would be a crying shame.
Something must have worked in this Keto chocolate covered peanut butter ice cream bar recipe, because my picky (or constructively critical, take your pick) little sister told me that they taste exactly like a Reese’s Cup Blizzard from Dairy Queen.
I used cocoa butter in the chocolate coating because it adds stability to the coconut oil (so it doesn’t melt so fast at room temperature) while making it more of a milk chocolate darkness. I love dark chocolate but I know that not everybody does. If you don’t have cocoa butter and don’t want to buy any, you could try just leaving it out or adding a little extra coconut oil and unsweetened baker’s chocolate in its place.
I chose these sweeteners for my favorite sweetness balance, but a lot of people think I under-sweeten my low carb dessert recipes so feel free to add more sweetener to your own personal taste. Over my years of blogging I’ve come to see that not everyone has the same taste buds, especially when it comes to alternative sweeteners!
As I noted in the recipe, I don’t recommend replacing the xylitol with a less concentrated sweetener because I’ve found that the sugar alcohols help keep these Keto chocolate covered peanut butter ice cream bars from freezing so hard. This sweetener conversion chart may be helpful as you convert to your favorite sweeteners from the ones I have listed in the recipe.
If easy and calorie-smart Keto ice cream recipes are your thing, you can find lots of them in the low carb ice cream index on my website!
Thanks so much Briana, I can’t wait to give these Keto chocolate covered peanut butter ice cream bars a try!
Keto Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Ice Cream Bars
- Yield: 15 ice cream bars 1x
Description
A low carb, keto, and THM friendly chocolate covered peanut butter ice cream bar that is perfect for summer – or anytime you need a chocolate, peanut butter, and/or ice cream fix!!!
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream:
- 1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ c. unsweetened almond milk
- 1 c. half and half
- 2/3 c. natural peanut butter*
- 3 T. xylitol (or more, to taste)**
- 1 T. vegetable glycerin (optional)***
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/16 tsp. THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (or any concentrated stevia powder)
- ¾ tsp. xanthan gum
For the Dipping Chocolate:
- ¾ c. refined coconut oil
- 2 oz. unsweetened baker’s chocolate
- ¼ c. chopped cocoa butter pieces
- 3 ½ tsp. THM Super Sweet Blend (or more, to taste) (Or figure out how much of your preferred sweetener here)
- Dash salt
Instructions
For the Ice Cream:
- Blend the ice cream ingredients together for 30 seconds, adding the xanthan gum last, right before blending so it doesn’t clump.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in a 1 ½ – qt. ice cream churn according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Spread the finished ice cream into a foil-lined 9”x13” pan, cover, and freeze.
- Score the ice cream into 15 bars with a knife when it is partially frozen, then continue freezing until firm.
For the Dipping Chocolate:
- Melt all the ingredients together in the microwave or in a double boiler, stirring frequently so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
- Let the melted mixture cool a bit before dipping your ice cream bars so it doesn’t melt the ice cream.
- I like to take the ice cream bars out of their pan (the foil helps with this) and dip them in the chocolate mixture one at a time, dipping on one side, flipping to dip on the other side, then flipping again to catch the top with an extra coat.
- Store the ice cream bars in a sealed freezer container.
- The ice cream bars are bitable straight out of the freezer, but I like to let them thaw for 5-10 minutes before eating for a creamier texture.
Notes
*I like Smucker’s brand natural peanut butter. The only ingredients are peanuts and salt and it has a strong peanut flavor.
**I do not recommend replacing the xylitol with a less concentrated sweetener. The volume of sugar alcohols help keep the ice cream bars bitable straight out of the freezer. You could replace the xylitol with erythritol or another sweetener that measures like sugar if you prefer. I like to use a combination of xylitol and pure stevia powder, a super-concentrated sweetener, for the best sweetness balance.
***The vegetable glycerin keeps the ice cream creamier and less icy after freezing. You can omit it if you don’t have it.
- Category: keto ice cream desserts
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 345
- Fat: 32g
- Carbohydrates: 5g net
- Protein: 4g
More about Briana!
Briana Thomas is the 21-year-old entrepreneur behind www.briana-thomas.com, a website dedicated to making low-glycemic recipes accessible to the common (wo)man. All of her recipes are free of refined sugar and flour and fit into the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle. Focusing on easy, budget-friendly, and ice cream, Briana tries to publish recipes that fill a void in the world of healthy eating. At the age of 20, she published her first cookbook, a full color masterpiece called Necessary Food that contains 400 original recipes and features chocolate cake and ice cream on the front cover.
Hang out with Briana on Social Media!
Check out Briana’s low-glycemic cookbook – Necessary Food!
AND some of Briana’s most popular recipes…
Horsetracks Ice Cream – a healthy version of my favorite Moosetracks ice cream
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Whiteout – a healthy version of the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Blizzard from Dairy Queen
Chocolate Dreamy – a creamy chocolate milkshake with a superfoody secret ingredient…and it just so happens to taste like a Wendy’s Frosty!
Had a little too much fun and need to drop some pounds? Get started today with my FREE low carb and keto menu plans and lose the weight for good!
Can’t get enough delicious low carb recipes? Download all five of my e-cookbooks (over 150 delicious low carb recipes) for just $19.99 for a limited time!
Austin says
on the top of the page you said, “you could go all out and make these Keto chocolate covered peanut butter ice cream bars with 3 cups of cream instead of half cream and half almond milk,”
however, the ingredients call for total 4 cups of cream and milk
1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream
1 ½ c. unsweetened almond milk
1 c. half and half
What you said in the description “3 cups” is correct when use all cream? Or I need more liquid if I use combination of cram and milk?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Austin, this was a guest post by another blogger and isn’t my recipe creation. I know that’s not helpful since it exists on my website, but unfortunately not having tested this one myself, I’m not exactly sure what she meant. My best guess is that she means 3 cups of cream and 1 cup of half and half, since she specifically refers to replacing only the HWC and almond milk – and the 1 1/2 cup of each would equal 3 cups total.
PDXBx says
I solemnly swear that from this day forward, I will never not have these in my freezer. Absolutely amazing! Thank you both IBIH and Briana Thomas for sharing this recipe! I added popsicle sticks to these right before dipping to help keep hands clean while eating. So delicious!! Thanks again!
★★★★★
Brenda says
I thought 1/2 and 1/2 was not Keto friendly
Marsha says
Can the ice cream bar recipe be made without using an ice cream churner?
Lisa Price says
I finally got around to making these ice cream bars….YUM! They are so good and really no trouble at all to make. I will be making this recipe again!
Andi Passaro says
Better yet; through you favorite nuts in the food processor and make your own nut butter. I love making homemade almond butter. I will definitely try this recipe. Thanks for sharing! :-)
★★★★★
Rachel says
We don’t have half and half in NZ – what can I use as a substitute?
Looking forward to making these soon :)
Thanks
Jessica says
What I do all the time is mix 3/4 cup whole milk and 1/4 cup heavy cream to make 1 cup of half and half. If you don’t use whole milk you can use equal parts cream and milk