Sip it, slurp it, just enjoy it; here is my take on a no-added-sugar thick chocolate shake, just like a thick chocolate ice cream shake!
Comparing my thick strawberry shake to McDonalds
A McDonalds medium chocolate milkshake contains 61 grams of carbs! That’s the equivalent to 15.5 teaspoons of sugar!! My version contains just 15 grams of carbs in comparison, or 3.75 teaspoons of sugar which is well-paired.
Vanilla Ice Cream Comparison
This recipe uses vanilla ice cream. I have not used chocolate-flavoured ice cream in this shake as flavoured ice creams often contain higher amounts of carbs (sugar), and vanilla ice cream works as a base just fine.
I’m sure you know I usually recommend OPPO ice cream as a top ice cream on the GD-diet, but this recipe calls for a vanilla ice cream, and I also wanted one that’s easy to find across the UK and at a reasonable price.
In order to find the better ice cream to use, I compared as many vanilla ice creams as possible. This isn’t easy as not all ice creams state nutritional info for grams. Some only give information in millilitres which are different, so I have only compared ice creams where the information per 100 grams was available.
The vanilla ice cream in this recipe is paired with the double cream and whole milk in the milkshake, but opting for a vanilla ice cream which is lower in carbs is beneficial.
Most vanilla ice creams contain around 20 grams of carbs per 100 grams, although some contain up to 29g per 100g, so I recommend opting for one that is around 20g carbs per 100g and a reasonable price.
I used Tesco Vanilla Ice Cream 900ml as it was one of the lower carb options (19.2g carbs per 100g) with a good amount of fat (9.3g per 100g), and it was on offer, too, which was a bonus!
| Vanilla Ice Cream | carbs (100g) | fat (100g) | protein (100g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✔️ Morrisons Free From Ice Cream Vanilla 480ml | 15.1 | 10.9 | 1.8 |
| ✔️ Tesco Finest Ice Cream Madagascan Vanilla 480ml | 17.2 | 16.0 | 4.2 |
| ✔️ Sainsbury’s Vanilla Ice Cream, Taste the Difference 480ml | 17.8 | 14.4 | 3.9 |
| ✔️ Aldi Specially Selected Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream 460ml | 18.0 | 19.0 | 3.2 |
| ✔️ Aldi Gianni’s Soft Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream 2l | 19.0 | 7.4 | 3.7 |
| ✔️ Tesco Vanilla Ice Cream 900ml | 19.2 | 9.3 | 2.8 |
| ✔️ Mackies Traditional Luxury Dairy Ice Cream 1 Litre | 19.2 | 11.0 | 4.0 |
| ✔️ Aldi Gianni’s Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream 1l | 19.8 | 7.9 | 4.4 |
| ✔️ Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream 460ml | 20.0 | 17.0 | 4.3 |
| ✔️ Tesco Cornish Ice Cream 2 Litres | 20.5 | 7.7 | 3.5 |
| ✔️ Carte D’or Madagascan Vanilla Light Ice Cream 900ml | 21.0 | 4.3 | 2.3 |
| ✔️ Aldi Scottish Specially Selected Deliciously Creamy Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream 500ml | 21.0 | 12.0 | 4.3 |
| ✔️ Kelly’s Cornish Clotted Cream Ice Cream 950ml | 21.5 | 14.8 | 3.0 |
| ✔️ Sainsbury’s Lovett’s Family Favourites Soft Scoop Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream 2L | 21.6 | 5.3 | 2.5 |
| ✔️ Kelly’s Cornish Vanilla Dairy Ice Cream 2 Litres | 22.0 | 11.9 | 3.9 |
| ✔️ Aldi Strachan’s Scottish Traditional Dairy Ice Cream 2l | 22.0 | 7.5 | 3.5 |
| ✔️ ASDA Vanilla Soft Scoop Ice Cream 2 Litres | 22.75 | 7.75 | 2.5 |
| ✔️ Aldi Gianni’s Soft Scoop Cornish Clotted Cream Ice Cream 2l | 23.0 | 12.0 | 3.6 |
| ❌ Tesco Ms Molly’s Vanilla Ice Cream 2Ltr | 23.1 | 4.7 | 2.5 |
| ❌ Sainsbury’s Vanilla Ice Cream 900ml | 23.3 | 5.2 | 2.1 |
| ❌ Aldi Gianni’s Scottish Dairy Ice Cream Traditional 1l | 25.0 | 6.4 | 3.7 |
| ❌ Aldi Gianni’s Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream 900ml | 26.0 | 9.6 | 1.7 |
| ❌ Wall’s Soft Scoop Vanilla | 27.0 | 7.5 | 2.5 |
| ❌ Walls Soft Scoop Vanilla Light Ice Cream | 27.0 | 5.0 | 2.5 |
| ❌ Carte D’or Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream 900Ml | 27.0 | 7.5 | 2.1 |
| ❌ Swedish Glace Vanilla Soy Ice Cream Alternative | 29.0 | 5.8 | 1.0 |
Real Cream
This recipe uses double cream and optional whipped (spray) cream on top for serving. Double cream is real dairy cream, not to be confused with Elmlea, which is artificial cream containing transfats. Most shops stock their own double cream brand, usually in blue packaging, as shown below.
Xanthan gum
This recipe uses xanthan gum to help thicken the milkshake. Omitting this ingredient can result in a runny milkshake rather than the thick ice cream shake that we are aiming for. Xanthan gum has no flavour.
Xanthan gum powder can be bought in most large stores and can usually be found in the ‘free from’ section. The brand I use is Dove’s Farm and costs around £3.00 a tub.
Thick Chocolate Shake
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- saucepan
Ingredients
For the sugar-free chocolate syrup
- 2 tablespoons xylitol or erythritol sweetener
- 1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the shake
- 100 grams vanilla ice cream
- 125 ml double cream
- 100 ml whole milk
- 6 large ice cubes
- ⅛ tsp xanthan gum (optional)
- M&S spray cream to garnish
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the sugar-free chocolate syrup into a saucepan and heat on low to medium, stirring until fully melted, then set aside to cool to room temp Note: if using erythritol, after cooling the syrup will crystalise on top, forming a slight shell/crust. This is fine and will break up when mixing before use
- Add the milkshake ingredients to a food processor or blender, and blitz until smooth
- Add the sugar-free chocolate syrup (reserve some for coating the glass or to garnish if you wish) and blend
- Pour into a large chilled glass and serve with whipped cream and dusting of cocoa, cinnamon, desiccated coconut, or a small amount of grated chocolate to garnish. Serve and enjoy immediately!
Notes
Nutrition
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