Moose Tracks Ninja Creami
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Blend 1 1/4 cups milk with chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt, sweetener, vanilla and a pinch of salt until smooth, freeze the pint for 24 hours, then spin on Ice Cream. Add chopped mini peanut butter cups and a spoonful of fudge sauce, then run the Mix in cycle. The pint carries roughly 36 g of protein from label values, about 9 g per serving across 4 servings.
Moose Tracks Ninja Creami is the high protein version of the classic ice cream shop flavor. It starts with a deep chocolate base, just milk, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt, sweetener, vanilla and salt, blended smooth, frozen solid and spun thick. Then chopped mini peanut butter cups and a fudge swirl go in through the Mix in cycle, so every scoop has chocolate, peanut butter and a fudge ripple. All that flavor, with about 9 g of protein per serving from label values.
Why you’ll love it
- Classic moose tracks flavor in a high protein homemade pint.
- About 9 g of protein per serving from label values, about 36 g per pint.
- Real peanut butter cup chunks and a fudge swirl, not just flavoring.
- Ten minutes of hands on work, then the freezer and the machine do the rest.
- Spins thick and scoopable, with one re spin fixing the crumbly first spin.
Ingredient notes
Chocolate protein powder: the base of the pint and about 20 g of the protein on most brand labels. Chocolate is the only right choice here, since it builds the moose tracks flavor instead of fighting it. Check your label, since scoops vary.
Cocoa powder: what the powder alone cannot do. Two tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa give the deep, real chocolate flavor that carries the mix ins, because a plain chocolate powder pint tastes like a frozen shake without it.
Milk: whole milk gives the creamiest pint, and 2% is a close second. The milk adds about 8 g of protein per 1 1/4 cups from standard labels and keeps the base from freezing rock hard. Skim milk is the one version I would skip, since it made the test pint icy.
Greek yogurt: the quiet texture ingredient. It adds tang and body, about 6 g of protein per 1/4 cup from standard labels, and it is what keeps this pint thick instead of thin and icy.
Peanut butter cups and fudge: the moose tracks part. Chop the minis small so they spread through the pint, and use a thick fudge sauce so it ripples instead of soaking in. The cups add roughly 2 g of protein to the pint, so the honest total is about 36 g.
The freeze, spin and mix in rhythm that makes it work
Three moves decide this pint. 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. Chocolate protein 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. Third, make the well deep when you add the mix ins. A shallow well leaves the cups and fudge sitting on top, while a deep well, almost to the bottom, lets the Mix in cycle pull them through the whole pint.
Variations
- Double peanut butter: add 2 tablespoons of chopped peanuts with the peanut butter cups through the Mix in cycle for extra crunch.
- White chocolate ripple: swap the fudge sauce for a spoonful of melted white chocolate chips, drizzled over the cups before the Mix in cycle.
- Brownie chunks: fold in 2 tablespoons of chopped fudge brownies instead of the peanut butter cups, keeping the fudge swirl, for a brownie moose tracks pint.
- Mint chocolate: add 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the base and keep the cups and fudge the same, for a mint moose tracks twist.
What we learned testing it
- The re spin made this pint. The first spin came out crumbly and dry, but one tablespoon of milk and a re spin turned it thick and scoopable. A second re spin pushed it toward soft serve.
- Chocolate protein powder plus cocoa powder was the winner. The powder alone tasted like a frozen shake, but two tablespoons of cocoa gave the deep chocolate flavor that carries the mix ins.
- Mini peanut butter cups beat regular pieces. The minis stayed suspended through the Mix in cycle, while bigger chunks sank to the bottom of the pint.
Read how we test recipes.
Moose Tracks Ninja Creami
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
-
Blend the chocolate base until completely smooth
Add the milk, protein powder, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt, sweetener, vanilla and salt to a blender. Blend for 30 to 45 seconds until completely smooth, with no protein powder lumps left. The base should look like a thick chocolate shake, deep brown and glossy.
-
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.
-
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 the Re spin button. That one re spin is what turns this base from crumbly to creamy.
-
Add the peanut butter cups and fudge, then run Mix in
Use a spoon to make a deep well in the center of the spun ice cream, going almost to the bottom. Drop the chopped mini peanut butter cups into the well and drizzle the fudge sauce over them. Press the Mix in button and let the machine work the chunks and the fudge ripple through the pint. Scoop into bowls right away, while the texture is at its best.
Notes
- Taste the base before freezing. A frozen pint always tastes a little less sweet than the liquid base, so the base should taste just slightly sweeter than you want the finished ice cream.
- Blend until no lumps remain. Protein powder lumps do not break down in the freezer, and they show up as chalky pockets after spinning.
- Chop the peanut butter cups small. Big chunks sink or jam the Mix in cycle, while small pieces spread through the whole pint.
- Use a thick fudge sauce, not a thin syrup. A thick sauce ripples through the ice cream instead of soaking in.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- Chocolate protein powder
- Use a vanilla or peanut butter protein powder instead. The pint will taste more like a milk chocolate swirl, so add an extra tablespoon of cocoa to keep the chocolate flavor strong.
- Whole milk
- Use 2% milk instead. The pint is a little less rich but still creamy, and the protein stays close to the label values used here. I would skip skim milk since it made the test pint icy.
- Mini peanut butter cups
- Use 2 tablespoons of chopped dark chocolate plus a spoonful of peanut butter. You get the same chocolate peanut flavor with a softer texture, though the protein drops a little.
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
What is moose tracks ninja creami?
It is the classic moose tracks ice cream flavor made for the Ninja Creami: a chocolate protein ice cream base with chopped peanut butter cup pieces and a fudge swirl mixed in through the Mix in cycle.
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 36 g of protein in total, about 9 g per serving across 4 servings. Check your milk, yogurt, powder and peanut butter cup labels for your exact numbers.
Why is my chocolate pint crumbly after the first spin?
That is normal, not a failure. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and press the Re spin button. One re spin fixes almost every pint, and a second makes it softer, almost like soft serve.
Can I use regular peanut butter cups instead of minis?
You can, but chop them small first. Big chunks sink to the bottom of the pint and can jam the Mix in cycle, while small minis spread through the whole pint.
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.
