Keto butter pecan ice cream is a rich and creamy indulgence that is easier than you think to create at home! Vanilla ice cream with a brown sugar taste is combined with lightly toasted buttered pecans. Whether you use the ice cream maker instructions or the no churn method, you’ll be in low carb ice cream heaven in no time! 

With only 3 carbs per serving, this is a no-guilt keto ice cream treat! 

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Butter Pecan Keto Ice Cream That Won’t Crystallize

Have you had issues with keto sweeteners crystallizing in your supposed-to-be-creamy low carb dessert recipes? Me too. So what’s a dessert lover to do?

The best solution I’ve come up with so far is an ingredient well-known in the gluten-free world: xanthan gum.

Xanthan gum is a baking ingredient with a purpose, much like baking soda or cream of tartar. It has properties that help in lots of different ways depending on the recipe and your needs, but in this ice cream, it does two things.

Butter Pecan Keto Ice Cream Cone

Most importantly, xanthan gum counteracts the tendency that keto sweeteners have to crystallize (especially erythritol!). This was what I was looking for! If you’ve tried making low carb ice cream with erythritol, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s gritty, hard, and not the smooth and creamy texture you expect and crave in ice cream.

As an added bonus, xanthan gum also helps the ice cream to have a creamier consistency.

When you add your xanthan gum, be aware of its clumping tendency. You don’t want to just dump it into the cream mixture. Sprinkle it as thinly on the mixture as possible so that it will dissolve and not clump.

Related: Find more keto dessert recipes!

More Keto Ice Cream Recipes

Strawberries and Cream Keto Ice Cream

Keto Waffle Cones (like in the pic below!)

Keto Licorice Ice Cream

Keto Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce

Keto Chocolate Ice Cream

Low Carb Butter Pecan Ice Cream in Cones

Keto Butter Pecan Ice Cream

And now to the recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has. My kids (who are young and NOT on keto) were so shocked when I told them this was keto and they said, “Mom, you HAVE to put this on the blog! It’s so yummy!” I was happy to oblige. ;)

Keto Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

Keto Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Keto butter pecan ice cream is a rich and creamy indulgence that is easier than you think to create at home! Vanilla ice cream with a brown sugar taste is combined with lightly toasted buttered pecans. Whether you use the ice cream maker instructions or the no churn method, you'll be in low carb ice cream heaven in no time!

Instructions

Instructions for Ice Cream Machine

  1. Toast the pecans in a skillet in the butter and the pinch of salt for 4-6 minutes till lightly browned, stirring constantly so they don't burn. If you see smoke, your heat is too high or you're not stirring enough. Set aside to cool. Toast pecans in butter in skillet
  2. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk (or almond milk) and 1 cup of the cream. Very slowly, sprinkle the xanthan gum into the cream while whisking. DO NOT dump the xanthan gum in all at once--it will clump. Sprinkle it in very small amounts. Whisk xanthan gum into cream
  3. Stir occasionally and do not allow to simmer or boil. You should be getting very slight amounts of steam from the top of the milk/cream. Add the monkfruit sweetener and whisk till dissolved.
  4. Slowly drizzle 1 cup of the hot milk and cream mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly (this tempers the eggs so that they don't cook in the hot milk).
  5. Slowly drizzle all of the egg and milk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk mixture while whisking.
  6. Cook and stir on low heat till the mixture will coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining cream and vanilla. ice cream mixture coating back of spooncoating back of spoon
  7. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring from time to time to prevent a skin from forming on the custard. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  8. Stir in the toasted pecans and freeze according to your machine's directions (for my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, it's usually 25-30 minutes, sometimes less with keto ice cream because of the richness). Eat soft or transfer to freezer for at least 2 hours. low carb keto butter pecan ice cream in ice cream maker
  9. After freezing, allow ice cream to sit on counter at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping. Enjoy!

No Churn Instructions

  1. You can make this NO CHURN ice cream by whipping the last cup of cream (in step 6) and vanilla till stiff peaks form and then gently folding it into the completely cooled egg/milk mixture. Spread evenly into an 8" x 8" glass pan (or other material is fine) and freeze at least 2 hours. Allow to sit on the counter for at least 5-10 minutes before scooping. Enjoy!

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 2/3 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 386Total Fat: 40gCholesterol: 182mgSodium: 86mgCarbohydrates: 3gNet Carbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g
Keto butter pecan ice cream - creamy vanilla brown "sugar" ice cream combined with lightly toasted buttered pecans. Ice cream maker AND no churn method! Keen for Keto | keto ice cream machine | keto dessert

About the Author: Jenn

10 Comments

  1. Billie March 5, 2021 at 6:55 am - Reply

    Why do you cook ingredients? All ingredients can be added and then straight to machine without cooking.

    • Jenn March 5, 2021 at 1:30 pm - Reply

      Great question! You can absolutely put everything in raw if you like. I’ve done it many times that way myself. For a creamier, more custardy texture, I make a custard as in the instructions first. It just levels up the ice cream. But if you’re in a hurry or you’re fine with the texture, there’s no need to cook. I would just be sure you’re aware of the risks of eating raw eggs, or you can even leave those out, too, if that worries you. Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Lasheba March 25, 2021 at 9:23 pm - Reply

    Can you use the sweetner Allulose instead?

    • Jenn March 26, 2021 at 4:01 pm - Reply

      I haven’t actually used allulose in this recipe. Allulose is supposed to make ice cream softer, so you could try it! Let me know if you do! Thanks for stopping by.

  3. KRIS September 14, 2021 at 12:04 pm - Reply

    I might have missed it, but what size is the serving for the nutritional information posted? By the way….just had my first few bites and had to stop myself. This is incredible!!!

    • Jenn October 7, 2021 at 9:39 am - Reply

      Haha! It’s so good, right?? This is one of my very favorite desserts on Keen for Keto. The serving size shows up at the bottom of the recipes on my site for some strange reason. For this one it’s 2/3 cup.

  4. Ralph June 9, 2022 at 7:07 pm - Reply

    Absolute best recipe ever!!! I’ve actually been using a Monkfruit allulose blend and it is TOMDIE FOR… THANK YOU!!!

    • Jenn June 27, 2022 at 10:09 am - Reply

      I’m glad the recipe was helpful! And thanks for sharing your changes.

  5. Sheila McDonough June 18, 2023 at 6:56 am - Reply

    Wondering if I could double the recipe. I have a 2 quart cuisinart. Doesn’t say total amount it makes. Guess I do the math (6×2/3 =4 cups) yup!
    Also, I have regular monk fruit not golden.

    • Jenn January 28, 2024 at 12:12 pm - Reply

      It really just depends on your machine. I would read your machine’s manual and find out what the capacity is. If it says that it will fit, then there’s no other reason you can’t double it. Twice as much ice cream is always a good thing! :)

      Regular monkfruit is just fine. The golden monkfruit just gives it a deeper, slightly molasses-y taste that goes so well with pecans.

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Hi! I’m Jenn and this is your safe place from the naysayers and keto police. My journey to the ketogenic diet has been an enormously healing one, and I hope yours can be, too! Read More Here