Healthier Homemade Ice Cream Bars Recipe

Healthier Homemade Ice Cream Bars Recipe

With just 130 calories per bar, a creamy cheesecake base, and a rich dark chocolate coating, these mini ice cream bars are a healthier dessert option that still tastes decadent! If you're a fan of Magnum mini ice cream bars, you'll love this easy homemade treat.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Homemade Ice Cream Bars, How to Make Ice Cream Bars, Ice Cream Bars, Ice Cream Bars Recipe, Mini Ice Cream Bars

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 0

Other Time: 2

Servings servings

Calories 127.8kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Equipment

Small silicone popsicle molds see Notes

Ingredients

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Base:

3/4 cup 2% cottage cheese such as Good Culture
3/4 cup skim milk such as Fairlife Non-Fat Ultra-Filtered Milk
1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt such as Fage Total 0%
1 ounce box sugar free instant cheesecake pudding mix see Notes for substitutes
3 ounces keto chocolate vanilla sandwich cookies this is about 7 cookies; divided; see Notes

Chocolate Coating:

200 grams 70% dark chocolate broken into pieces
2 tablespoons coconut oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the ice cream bar base. Add the cottage cheese, milk, and yogurt to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, add the instant pudding mix, and whisk until it starts to thicken. Whisk in 5 crushed cookies.
Freeze the ice cream bars. Fill your popsicle mold and freeze the popsicles according to the manufacturer’s directions (at least 2 hours, but up to 6 hours).
Dip in chocolate. Melt together the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave or on a double boiler. Cool until it’s just lukewarm, and then stir in 2 crushed cookies. Unmold the popsicles, dip each into the melted chocolate mixture, letting the excess run off. Place the dipped popsicles onto a parchment paper-lined tray and pop into the freezer if needed to help the chocolate set (it should set fast because of the coconut oil though).
Wrap and pop into the freezer. Once the chocolate is set, you can wrap each ice cream bar and pop them into a freezer-safe plastic bag, or layer them in a freezer-safe container between pieces of parchment paper. PRO TIP: For best texture, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature to soften slightly before serving.

Notes

Small Silicone Popsicle Molds: For ice cream bars that are about the size of Magnum minis, I use a silicone popsicle mold with a 3-tablespoon (about 45 mL) capacity. You can use any popsicle molds you like.
Storage: Wrap each bar in parchment paper or plastic wrap and pop them into a freezer-safe plastic bag. Or store them in a freezer-safe container layered between parchment paper to prevent sticking. Stored this way, they will stay good for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Sugar Free Cheesecake Instant Pudding Mix: This ingredient works well for a couple reasons: 1) it creates a fluffy mousse-like texture, and 2) it adds cheesecake flavor. However, you don't have to use this ingredient; there are a ton of different options. Instead, you can use: 1) regular cheesecake instant pudding mix (not the sugar free kind), 2) 1 scoop of your favorite flavor of protein powder and 2 tablespoons sweetener (or sweetener to taste), 3) 1/4 cup of nut butter and 1/4 cup sweetener (or sweetener to taste), or 4) 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1/4 cup sweetener (or sweetener to taste). You can use whatever sweetener you like, such as honey, maple syrup, powdered sugar, or powdered keto sweetener.
Keto Chocolate Vanilla Sandwich Cookies: I like Catalina Crunch Chocolate Vanilla Sandwich Cookies, but you can use any brand you like; and if you prefer, go ahead and use regular Oreo cookies. You'll need 3 ounces for this recipe, which is about 7 cookies (5 cookies for the ice cream base, and 2 cookies for the chocolate coating).
Blend Well and Trust the Process: I use a high-speed blender to combine the cottage cheese, milk, and Greek yogurt. When it's done blending, it's a smooth and creamy texture, but then after whisking in the instant pudding mix, the texture becomes clumpy again. I promise you won't notice this in the final result though; after freezing, these bars have a regular creamy ice cream bar consistency.
Nutrition Information: The nutritional information for this recipe was calculated using the brands specified in the recipe. Note that if you use different brands, the nutrition information will likely change.

Nutrition