Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream With No Pudding Mix
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Blend 1 1/4 cups of ultra-filtered milk with 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, 2 tablespoons of softened cream cheese, sweetener, vanilla and salt, freeze the pint for a full 24 hours, then spin on Lite Ice Cream. The cream cheese does the thickening job pudding mix usually does, and the pint lands at about 40 g of protein.
This protein ice cream no pudding mix recipe exists because of one complaint I hear constantly: pudding mix makes protein pints taste artificial, and some people just do not want it in their food. Fair enough. This vanilla pint swaps the pudding mix for two tablespoons of ordinary cream cheese, and it spins up smooth, rich and scoopable, with about 40 grams of protein in the whole pint.
Why you’ll love it
- No pudding mix, no gums required, just a short list of normal ingredients.
- About 40 g of protein per pint from the milk and a scoop of whey.
- Cream cheese adds body without turning the pint into cheesecake.
- Same simple workflow as every good Creami pint: blend, freeze 24 hours, spin, re-spin.
Ingredient notes
Cream cheese: this is the thickener, and it is doing the exact job pudding mix does in other recipes. Its fat and protein give the frozen base structure, so the spun pint holds clean scoops. Use the block or tub kind, low-fat or regular, and let it soften before blending.
Protein powder: pick a vanilla whey you already like drinking. The pint will taste like it, only colder and less sweet. A whey and casein blend also works and sets a touch firmer.
Ultra-filtered milk: at about 13 g of protein per cup, it quietly adds a third of this pint’s protein before the powder even goes in. Regular milk works too, with a slightly lower total (see the substitutions below the recipe).
What replaces the pudding mix
Pudding mix thickens a Creami base with starch, and starch is what keeps a lean pint from melting the second it is scooped. Cream cheese gets you most of the same structure through fat and casein instead, and it brings a mild richness that suits vanilla. One honest difference: a pudding mix pint sets a little firmer and melts a little slower. This pint is at its best in the first few minutes after spinning, which is exactly when a Creami pint should be eaten anyway. Guar gum and cornstarch also work as thickeners here, and both are covered in the substitutions.
Variations
- Chocolate, no pudding mix: add 2 tablespoons (10 g) of cocoa powder and use a chocolate protein powder. You get the fudgy pint from our chocolate recipe, minus the pudding mix it calls for.
- Strawberry vanilla: blend 1/2 cup (75 g) of fresh or thawed strawberries into the base before freezing. The pint turns pale pink and tastes like a strawberry shake.
- Cookie crumb: keep the vanilla base, then fold 2 tablespoons of crushed chocolate sandwich cookies in with the Mix-in cycle.
What we learned testing it
- Two tablespoons of cream cheese was the sweet spot. One tablespoon left the pint thin, and three made the vanilla taste like cheesecake filling, which is lovely but a different dessert.
- A quarter teaspoon of guar gum is a workable backup thickener, but it turned slightly slick in two of three tests. Cream cheese won on flavor and texture.
- Blending for the full 30 seconds mattered. Shorter blends left tiny cream cheese flecks that froze into white specks in the finished pint.
Read how we test recipes.
Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream With No Pudding Mix
Makes 1 pint (16 oz) · 24 hr 5 min total · Easy
Ingredients
Equipment
Blender · Ninja Creami machine · Ninja Creami pint container with lid
Instructions
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Blend the base
Pour the milk into a blender. Add the protein powder, softened cream cheese, sweetener, vanilla and salt. Blend for a full 30 seconds until the cream cheese has completely disappeared into the base and there are no dry pockets of powder left.
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Taste and adjust
Taste the base before it goes into the pint. Frozen desserts taste less sweet, so the liquid base should taste a touch too sweet and strongly vanilla. The cream cheese tang should be barely noticeable at this stage.
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Fill the pint
Pour the base into your Ninja Creami pint container, staying below the max fill line. If blending whipped up foam, let the base settle for a minute and then top up to just under the line.
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Freeze for 24 hours
Snap on the lid and freeze the pint on a level surface for a full 24 hours. Without pudding mix in the base, the full freeze matters even more, because a short freeze gives a soft, uneven spin.
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Spin on Lite Ice Cream
Take the pint straight from the freezer, remove the lid and load it into the machine. Select the Lite Ice Cream setting and let it run the full cycle.
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Re-spin if crumbly
Expect a powdery first spin. This base is lean, and lean bases shave into crumbs before they pack into ice cream. Add 1 tablespoon of milk, poke it down the center with a spoon, then press Re-spin until the pint turns smooth and glossy.
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Add mix-ins if you like
Make a small well in the center of the pint with a spoon, add your mix-in and run the Mix-in cycle. Fresh berries, a tablespoon of mini chocolate chips or a crumbled protein cookie all work well here.
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Serve right away
Scoop and enjoy straight from the pint, or serve it in a bowl. The texture is creamiest in the first few minutes after spinning.
Notes
- Gritty pint: the cream cheese was too cold to blend in. Let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes first, or microwave it for 10 seconds so it melts into the base.
- Icy pint: it almost always needs the re-spin. Add the tablespoon of milk before you judge it, and check that your freezer sits at 0 F (-18 C) or colder.
- Softer set than pudding mix pints: that is the honest trade here. This pint scoops beautifully right after spinning but melts a little faster, so serve it straight away.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- Cream cheese
- Use 1/4 teaspoon of guar gum whisked into the base, or 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Both thicken without pudding mix, though the cream cheese version has the best flavor.
- Protein powder
- Skip it entirely and make our Ninja Creami Cottage Cheese Ice Cream instead. It gets about 30 g of protein per pint from blended cottage cheese, with no powder and no pudding mix at all.
- Ultra-filtered milk
- Use regular whole milk. The pint drops to roughly 34 g of protein and freezes a touch icier, and the re-spin brings the texture back.
Storage and make-ahead
Smooth the top flat with a spoon, put the lid back on and return the pint to the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Leftover protein pints freeze very hard, so re-spin on Lite Ice Cream before serving and add a tablespoon of milk if it looks crumbly. Avoid refreezing more than twice, since each cycle makes it a little icier.
Frequently asked questions
Why do so many Creami recipes use pudding mix?
Pudding mix is a shortcut thickener. Its starches give a lean protein base a firmer, slower melting set, and the flavored versions add sweetness too. The downside is the ingredient list and the slightly artificial taste some people notice. This recipe gets the same body from cream cheese instead.
What can I use instead of pudding mix in a Ninja Creami?
Cream cheese is the best swap, at 2 tablespoons per pint. Guar gum at 1/4 teaspoon and cornstarch at 1 teaspoon also work. All three thicken the base so it spins into clean scoops instead of a soft, fast melting pint.
Does this pint taste like cream cheese?
No. Two tablespoons across a whole pint adds body and a faint richness, not a cheesecake flavor. The vanilla stays in front. If you want the cheesecake flavor on purpose, the cottage cheese pint leans into it.
How much protein is in the whole pint?
About 40 grams, based on standard labels: roughly 16 g from the ultra-filtered milk, 24 g from a typical scoop of whey and a couple of grams from the cream cheese. Your powder brand decides the exact number, so treat it as a solid estimate.
Can I make this recipe with no protein powder and no pudding mix?
Yes, but not with this exact base, since the powder carries most of the protein here. For a pint with neither, make the Ninja Creami Cottage Cheese Ice Cream. It gets about 30 g of protein per pint from blended cottage cheese alone.
