Tiramisu Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Blend 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese with 1/4 cup milk, strong coffee, mascarpone, sweetener and vanilla 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 in small glasses with a heavy dusting of cocoa. The pint carries roughly 42 g of protein, about 10 to 11 g per serving across 4 servings.
Tiramisu Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream is the dinner-party pint that tastes like the real dessert. It is cottage cheese, milk, strong coffee, mascarpone, sweetener and vanilla, blended smooth, frozen solid, spun creamy and finished with a heavy cocoa dusting. Coffee-soaked, rich and properly high protein at the same time.
Why you’ll love it
- Tastes like real tiramisu, not like a protein shake that got frozen.
- About 10 to 11 g of protein per serving from label values, about 42 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.
- Cocoa dusted through a tea strainer gives the classic tiramisu finish.
Ingredient notes
Coffee: double-strength and cooled. Single-strength coffee disappears after freezing and dilution against the creamy base, so brew it strong. Cool it before blending, since hot coffee thins the base and melts the mascarpone unevenly.
Mascarpone: two tablespoons is the richness. It gives the authentic tiramisu creaminess, while soft cream cheese works too with a slightly tangier, cheesecake-like edge.
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.
Cocoa dusting: unsweetened cocoa shaken through a tea strainer over each serving. The dusting is the tiramisu finish, so be generous with it, and dust at serving time so it stays dry and dark.
Sweetener and vanilla: three tablespoons of sweetener and a teaspoon of vanilla round the coffee edge without turning the pint sweet. The coffee stays the lead flavor.
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 cocoa goes on at serving time, never before freezing, so it stays dry and dark.
Variations
- Chocolate tiramisu: add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the base for a deeper chocolate coffee pint, keeping the cocoa dusting.
- Amaretto style: add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to the base for an amaretto note without any alcohol.
- Ladyfinger crumble: finish each glass with a spoonful of crushed ladyfinger biscuits for a true tiramisu crunch.
- Espresso shot: serve each glass with a small shot of extra espresso poured over the top for an affogato style finish.
What we learned testing it
- Coffee strength decided the result. Double-strength coffee survived freezing and tasted like tiramisu, while single-strength coffee disappeared into the creamy base.
- Mascarpone beat cream cheese slightly for richness. Cream cheese still worked well, but the pint tasted a touch tangier and less like classic tiramisu.
- 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.
Tiramisu 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 tiramisu base until completely smooth
Add the cottage cheese, milk, coffee, mascarpone, sweetener and vanilla to a blender, leaving the cocoa aside for dusting. Blend for 60 to 90 seconds until completely smooth, scraping down once, with no curd texture left. The base should look like a smooth coffee cream shake.
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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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Dust with cocoa and serve in small glasses
Scoop into small glasses right away, while the texture is at its best, and shake a heavy dusting of cocoa over each serving through a tea strainer. The cocoa dusting is the tiramisu finish, so be generous with it.
Notes
- Make the coffee double-strength. After freezing and dilution against the creamy base, single-strength coffee disappears and the pint tastes like plain sweet cream.
- Cool the coffee before blending. Hot coffee thins the base and melts the mascarpone unevenly, which changes the spin.
- Mascarpone or soft cream cheese both work. Mascarpone is richer and more authentic, while cream cheese gives a slightly tangier, cheesecake-like edge.
- This pint contains coffee, so it is not a kid-friendly pint. Serve it as the dinner-party dessert it is.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- Mascarpone
- Use soft cream cheese at the same amount. The pint stays rich but tastes slightly tangier, more like a coffee cheesecake pint.
- Strong coffee
- Use 2 teaspoons of instant espresso dissolved in 1/4 cup of cool water instead. It gives the same double-strength coffee note without brewing.
- 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 tiramisu pint taste like plain cream?
Usually the coffee was too weak. Make it double-strength, since freezing and dilution against the creamy base mute single-strength coffee until it disappears.
Can I use decaf coffee?
Yes. Brew it double-strength the same way and cool it before blending. The flavor is the same, just without the caffeine.
Can I use cream cheese instead of mascarpone?
Yes, at the same amount. The pint stays rich but tastes slightly tangier, more like a coffee cheesecake pint than classic tiramisu.
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 42 g of protein in total, about 10 to 11 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.
