Ninja Creami cottage cheese ice cream

Basic cottage cheese base

Full-fat cottage cheese gives the smoothest, least icy result. Nonfat cottage cheese works and has the most protein per calorie, but it freezes harder and is more likely to come out crumbly. Use a blender or food processor; a whisk will not smooth the curds.

Sweetener choice changes texture as well as taste. Liquid sweeteners like maple syrup and honey keep the pint a little softer and blend in easily. Granulated sugar works if you blend long enough to dissolve it. Zero-calorie sweeteners keep calories down but make a harder block, so plan on a Re-spin. Small-curd and large-curd cottage cheese both work, since everything gets blended; whipped or already smooth cottage cheese saves a little blending time.

• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cottage cheese, full-fat or 2 percent for the creamiest result
• 2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup, honey or sugar, or sweetener to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Optional: 2 to 4 tablespoons milk if the blended base is very thick

Method

1. 1

   Add the cottage cheese, sweetener, vanilla and salt to a blender.

2. 2

   Blend until completely smooth with no visible curds, usually about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and blend again if needed.

3. 3

   Taste and adjust sweetness. The base tastes less sweet once frozen, so make it slightly sweeter than you want.

4. 4

   Pour into a Creami pint up to the MAX line. If you are short, add a little milk.

5. 5

   Lid the pint and freeze level for 24 hours.

6. 6

   Process on Lite Ice Cream for low-fat or low-sugar versions, or Ice Cream for full-fat cottage cheese sweetened with real sugar.

7. 7

   If crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons milk and Re-spin.

Note.Cottage cheese is a fresh dairy product. Keep the base refrigerated until it goes in the freezer and do not leave it at room temperature more than 2 hours.

Why blend time matters

The most common complaint about cottage cheese ice cream is a grainy texture. That almost always comes from curds that were not fully blended. The Creami blade breaks up ice crystals, but it does not reliably smooth out curds that were frozen whole. Blend until the base looks like thick, glossy yogurt with no specks, then a few seconds more.

The second cause is a very lean base. Nonfat cottage cheese with zero-calorie sweetener freezes into a hard, crumbly block. A Re-spin with a little milk usually fixes it. A spoon of sugar-free instant pudding mix or a small amount of a stabilizer before freezing also helps; see Creami stabilizers.

Flavor ideas

Wet additions like fruit and pumpkin add water, which can make the pint icier. Keep them to the amounts above or reduce the cottage cheese slightly so the base still fits under the MAX line. Chunky additions go in after spinning using the method in the Creami mix-ins guide.

Choosing the program and storing leftovers

Ninja maps low-fat, low-sugar and protein-heavy bases to Lite Ice Cream, and most cottage cheese recipes fit that. If you used full-fat cottage cheese and real sugar or maple syrup, Ice Cream works too. The Creami program picker can confirm which program fits your exact base and model. For other high-protein pints, see Creami protein ice cream and the lite ice cream recipes.

Leftovers freeze hard. Smooth the top, lid the pint and refreeze. Before eating, run the same program again or a Re-spin, adding a splash of milk if needed. The storing and refreezing guide has more detail. If you are shopping for a machine for protein pints, see the best ice cream makers for protein ice cream guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does cottage cheese ice cream taste like cottage cheese? When it is blended completely smooth and sweetened, most people describe it as tasting like cheesecake or tangy frozen yogurt rather than cottage cheese.

Can I use the Ice Cream program instead of Lite? Yes, especially with full-fat cottage cheese and real sugar. Lean versions usually do better on Lite Ice Cream.

Why is my cottage cheese ice cream grainy? The curds were not blended smooth before freezing. Blend for about a minute, until no specks remain.

Can I skip the blender and mash the cottage cheese? Not if you want a smooth result. Mashing leaves curds that freeze into hard bits the blade does not smooth out.