Lemon Bar Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Blend 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese with 1/2 cup milk, lemon juice and zest, sweetener, vanilla and salt for 60 to 90 seconds until smooth, freeze the pint for a full 24 hours, then spin on Ice Cream, re-spin once with a tablespoon of milk if crumbly, and serve scoops with crumbled shortbread over the top. The pint carries roughly 41 g of protein, about 10 g per serving across 4 servings.
Lemon Bar Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream is the bright, sharp pint that tastes like the middle of a lemon bar. It is cottage cheese, milk, lemon juice and zest, sweetener, vanilla and salt, blended smooth, frozen solid, spun creamy and finished with shortbread crumbled over the top. Citrusy, creamy and properly high protein at the same time.
Why you’ll love it
- Tastes like a real lemon bar filling, not like a protein shake that got frozen.
- About 10 g of protein per serving from label values, about 41 g per pint.
- Five minutes of hands-on work, then the freezer and the machine do the rest.
- No protein powder needed, since cottage cheese carries the protein here.
- Shortbread on top stays crisp and gives the crust note in every spoonful.
Ingredient notes
Lemon: one large lemon, juice and zest both. The zest carries the clean lemon flavor, while the juice brings the sharpness. Only take the yellow part of the peel, since the white pith is where bitterness hides.
Cottage cheese: full-fat gives the creamiest result. Low-fat works too and keeps the protein high, but the pint freezes a little firmer. Small curd or large curd does not matter, since everything gets blended smooth for a full 60 to 90 seconds.
Sweetener: four tablespoons, a touch more than most pints here, because lemon needs sweetness to balance its sharpness. Granulated sweetener or sugar both work at the same amount.
Vanilla: half a teaspoon rounds the citrus edge without turning the pint into vanilla. It keeps the lemon bright instead of harsh.
Shortbread: one crumbled cookie over the top, not mixed in. On top it stays crisp, which is the whole lemon bar crust effect. Use a gluten-free shortbread if gluten matters to you.
The freeze and spin rule that makes or breaks it
Two rules decide this pint, and both are about patience. First, freeze for a full 24 hours on a level surface, with the top smoothed flat. A pint frozen for only a few hours, or frozen at a slant, spins soft and uneven. Second, do not judge the first spin. Cottage cheese bases often look crumbly after the first cycle, and that crumbly look sends a lot of people to the conclusion that the recipe failed. It did not. One tablespoon of milk and one re-spin turns it thick, creamy and scoopable. The shortbread goes on at serving time, never before freezing, so it stays crisp.
Variations
- Lime bar: swap the lemon for 2 limes, keeping zest and juice amounts the same, for a tarter lime bar pint.
- Lemon blueberry: fold a spoonful of mashed fresh blueberries through the spun pint for a lemon blueberry swirl.
- Lemon meringue: finish each bowl with a spoonful of whipped cream and extra lemon zest for a lemon meringue style serving.
- Graham lemon: swap the shortbread topping for crushed graham cracker for a graham crust note instead.
What we learned testing it
- Lemon amount decided the result. One large lemon gave a bright, sharp pint, while half a lemon tasted muted after freezing, which confirmed that citrus needs a firm hand here.
- Zest quality mattered more than juice amount. Yellow zest only gave a clean lemon note, while zest with pith turned the test pint bitter.
- The re-spin mattered as usual. The first spin looked crumbly, and one re-spin with a tablespoon of milk turned the pint thick and scoopable.
Read how we test recipes.
Lemon Bar Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream
Makes 1 pint (about 4 servings) · 24 hr 10 min total · Easy
Ingredients
Equipment
Blender · Ninja Creami machine · Ninja Creami pint container with lid
Instructions
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Blend the lemon base until completely smooth
Add the cottage cheese, milk, lemon juice and zest, sweetener, vanilla and salt to a blender, leaving the shortbread aside for serving. Blend for 60 to 90 seconds until completely smooth, scraping down once, with no curd texture left. Taste the base: it should be firmly lemony, since freezing dulls citrus.
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Pour into the pint and freeze for 24 hours
Pour the base into your Ninja Creami pint container, staying below the max fill line. Smooth the top with a spoon so it freezes level, which helps the machine spin evenly. Snap on the lid and freeze the pint on a level surface for a full 24 hours. A shorter freeze gives a soft, slushy spin.
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Spin on Ice Cream, then re-spin if crumbly
Take the pint straight from the freezer, remove the lid and load it into the machine. Select the Ice Cream setting and let it run the full cycle. If the pint looks powdery or crumbly after the first spin, add 1 tablespoon of milk and press Re-spin. That one re-spin is what turns this base from crumbly to creamy.
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Serve with shortbread crumbled over the top
Scoop into bowls right away, while the texture is at its best, and crumble the shortbread over the top instead of mixing it in. Served on top, the shortbread stays crisp and gives the lemon bar crust note in every spoonful.
Notes
- Zest the lemon before juicing, and only take the yellow part. The white pith is where the bitterness hides, and pith in the base makes the whole pint sharp in the wrong way.
- Make the base firmly lemony. Freezing dulls citrus, so a base that tastes just right liquid will taste muted once spun. It should taste a touch too lemony before freezing.
- Serve the shortbread on top, not mixed in. Mixed in, it goes soft within minutes, while on top it stays crisp to the last spoonful.
- Use a gluten-free shortbread if gluten matters to you. The rest of the pint is naturally gluten-free, so the cookie is the only swap needed.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- Lemon
- Use 2 limes instead for a lime bar pint. Keep the zest and juice amounts the same, and expect a slightly tarter finish.
- Shortbread
- Use crushed graham cracker or vanilla wafers instead for a different crust note, or skip the topping entirely for a smooth lemon pint.
- Granulated sweetener or sugar
- Use 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey instead. The pint will be a little softer and sweeter, so freeze it the full 24 hours.
Storage and make-ahead
The texture is at its best in the first few minutes after spinning. If you have leftovers, smooth the surface flat, put the lid back on and refreeze. Re-spin leftovers straight from the freezer on Ice Cream, adding a tablespoon of milk if they look crumbly. Eat refrozen leftovers within 3 days for the best texture.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my lemon pint taste muted after freezing?
Freezing dulls citrus. The base needs to taste firmly lemony, even a touch too lemony, before it goes into the freezer. Half a lemon is not enough for a full pint.
Why is my lemon pint bitter?
Usually pith in the zest. Only take the yellow part of the lemon peel, since the white pith underneath is where the bitterness hides.
Can I mix the shortbread into the pint?
You can, but it goes soft within minutes. Served crumbled over the top, the shortbread stays crisp to the last spoonful, which is the lemon bar crust effect.
How much protein is in this ice cream?
These are label-based estimates, not lab tested numbers, and they vary by brand. The pint carries roughly 41 g of protein in total, about 10 g per serving across 4 servings. Check your cottage cheese labels for your exact numbers.
Can I refreeze and re-spin the leftovers?
Yes. Smooth the surface flat, lid the pint and refreeze it. Spin leftovers straight from the freezer on Ice Cream, with a tablespoon of milk if they look crumbly. The texture is best within 3 days.
