There's nothing quite as refreshing as a sugar free sorbet! My lemon sorbet is perfectly sweet, zingy and wonderfully refreshing, but without all the sugar of a regular sorbet. A great Keto dessert for a hot day.
I do love a portion of creamy sugar free ice cream, be it fruity or chocolatey. But sometimes only a sorbet will hit the spot.
My all time favourite sorbet flavour has got to be LEMON. I enjoy the zingy, fresh taste and I LOOOOVE the idea that I'm getting a super-sized dose of vitamin C while eating dessert!
This sugar free sorbet recipe is simple to make and a wonderful treat for hot days.
Also try my sugar free frozen yogurt.
Jump to:
Ingredients
You only need 3 ingredients for a low carb sorbet:
- Water
- Lemon
- Sweetener
Best Sweeteners For Keto Sorbet
When I first posted this recipe in 2021, I used Swerve as a sugar substitute. The sorbet in the images is made with Swerve. Erythritol monk fruit sweetener blends give a similar result.
I am revisiting this post in 2025 and have tried more sweeteners now. Xylitol and Bocha Sweet both don't set as hard as erythritol-based sweeteners. This means softer sorbet!
The best sweetener for keto sorbet is allulose. The benefit of allulose is that it melts completely just like sugar, and it does not recrystallise like erythritol. Note that you need to use a little more to get the same sweetness (probably 1 cup). Pure allulose has only 70% of the sweetness of sugar.
Instructions
It is simple to make a sugar free lemon sorbet. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Add the water, sweetener and lemon peel to a pan. Heat on a low heat until the sweetener dissolves and thickens slightly to a syrup, about 7 minutes. Leave to cool. Discard the lemon peel.
TIP: When removing the peel from the lemon ensure you don't get any white pith. This can make the syrup bitter.
STEP 2
Juice the lemons. Add the lemon juice to the cooled syrup and stir.
STEP 3
Pour the lemon mix into a non-stick loaf tin (or ice cube trays), cover with cling film and freeze for 3 hours or until solid.
I left mine overnight.
STEP 4
When frozen, run the sides of the loaf tin under hot water to loosen the frozen sorbet. Tip onto a chopping board and chop into chunks with a knife.
If you've left it overnight you'll need to give it a good smash.
STEP 5
Place the chunks in a high speed food processor and blend until smooth. The smaller you have cut the cubes the easier it is.
You may need to scrape and blitz several times until it all combines, depending on how long you left it in the freezer.
STEP 6
Once combined, pour the sorbet back into your loaf tin and freeze for about 1.5 - 2 hours until just scoopable.
Serve scoops of sorbet decorated with a few curls of lemon zest.
Katrin's Top Tips
#1 Choose a white low-carb sweetener or else you may end up with a murky colour!
#2 Taste the syrup! Adjust the sweetner and use more if needed. We all have a different idea of the perfect amount of sweetness.
#3 Go again. If you leave your sugar free sorbet to set too much by mistake, simply repeat the step of chopping into chunks and blitzing. You can repeat this step if you don't eat all your sorbet in one go and leave in the freezer for several weeks.
Ice Cream Maker Instructions
You can also make sugar free sorbet in an ice cream maker. Simply prepare the syrup and chill it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then pour the mix into an ice cream maker and churn as per manufacturers instructions.
When the sorbet is nice and slushy, transfer it to a nonstick loaf pan, cover with cling film and freeze for about 2 hours until scoopable.
Variations
- Sugar-free lime sorbet - Just use lime instead of the lemon.
- Add flavor: Basil, mint and ginger are delicious additions. Add a few basil or mint leaves leaves or grate fresh ginger into the syrup.
Recipe FAQs
A ½ cup serving of this keto lemon sorbet contains just 4g net carbs. This is lower than any other natural fruit sorbet.
Yes. A super easy way to make homemade sorbet recipes is to simply blitz frozen fruit in a food processor until smooth. I make sugar free raspberry sorbet this way - it only needs a little sweetener.
If you're watching your sugar and carb intake, you have to be mindful about which fruit to choose. Especially tropical fruits such as mangos and pineapple are high in natural sugars and generally avoided by people on low carb or Keto diets. For tropical fruit sorbets, keep the portion size small. For a pure-fruit sorbet, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries or watermelon are better choices. Here's a handy infographic about carbs in fruit.
Storage
Store low carb sorbet just like a regular sorbet - in the freezer. It stays fresh for up to 3 months.
More Sugar Free Ice Cream Recipes
- Almond Milk Ice Cream2 Hours 10 Minutes
- Sugar Free Ice Cream Recipe4 Hours 20 Minutes
- Keto Strawberry Ice Cream5 Hours 35 Minutes
- Keto Chocolate Ice Cream4 Hours 20 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below! View all my keto dessert recipes.
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★
Recipe
Sugar Free Lemon Sorbet
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup water 300 ml
- ¾ cup granulated sweetener 150g, or 1 cup allulose
- 1 strip of lemon peel
- Juice of 7 - 8 lemons about 300ml
- Zest of 1 lemon to decorate 1 tbsp
Instructions
- Add the water, keto-friendly sweetener and lemon peel to a pan. When removing the peel from the lemon ensure you don't get any white pith or this can make the syrup bitter. Heat on a low heat until the sweetener dissolves and thickens slightly to a syrup, about 7 minutes. Leave to cool. Discard the lemon peel.
- Juice the lemons. Add the lemon juice to the cooled syrup and stir.
- Pour the lemon mix into ice cube trays or a non-stick loaf tin, cover with cling film and freeze for 3 hours or until solid. Option to leave overnight. (I did.)
- When frozen, release the ice cubes or run the sides of the loaf tin under hot water to loosen the frozen sorbet. Tip onto a chopping board and chop into chunks. If you've left it overnight you'll need to give it a good smash.
- Place the chunks in a high speed food processor and blitz until smooth. The smaller you cut the cubes the easier it is. You may need to scrape and blitz several times until it all combines, depending on how long you left it in the freezer.
- Once combined, pour the sorbet back into your loaf tin and freeze for about 1.5 - 2 hours until just scoop-able. If you leave it to set to much by mistake, simply repeat the step of chopping into chunks and blitzing. You can repeat this step if you don't eat all your sorbet in one go and leave in the freezer for several weeks.
- Serve scoops of sorbet decorated with a few curls of lemon zest.
- Option to make the sorbet in an ice cream maker. To do this, simply make the syrup as per the instructions above. Chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn as per manufacturers instructions. When nice and slushy transfer to a non stick loaf pan, cover with cling film and freeze for about 2 hrs until scoop-able.
Ilektra
How would you make a strawberry sorbet and what amounts of the ingredients would you use? In original italian sorbetto they also use egg whites to make it smoother, would you use that?
Katrin Nürnberger
I have never tried that! I would use the same amount of mashed strawberries. You will probably need less sweetener as strawberries are naturally sweet.
Becky
Hi, how big a piece of lemon peel do you use?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Becky, you can see the size of the lemon peel I use in one of the images in the post.
Cassie
I used 300ml of lemon juice and followed the recipe but got a watery sour slushy
Help!!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Cassie, you can add more sweetener if you prefer a sweeter sorbet. If it's too slushy, just put it back in the freezer for a bit so it can harden 🙂
ivone
may I know if we use the erythritol instead ? how much should I use?
Katrin Nürnberger
I would use the same amount.
Cheryl Cavey
Does the sweetener have to be "keto friendly" ? I love sorbet but it's hard to find it sugar free, or in the flavor you love best. TIA
Cheryl
Katrin Nürnberger
No, not at all. Anything that provides sweetness will work 🙂
Sarah l
Can you use pure lemon or lime juice instead ?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that should work.
Bev B
This sorbet sounds lovely! I was wondering if I could substitute black raspberries or other fruit in this recipe to make more variety for my family? Do you think other than carbs would I need to do anything different?
Thank you so much for all your recipes, they are always delicious!
Katrin Nürnberger
No, I think that's a wonderful idea. I bet it would taste amazing with blackberries!
Bev B
I will certainly let you know. Thank you very much for your quick response.
fady abboud
It just perfect and tastes the best.
Also it more than 5 stars
Katrin
Haha, sounds like this one is a keeper for you 😉
Kim
Try using 1 cup water and 1/4 cup food grade rose water when making your syrup. You can use less rose water, just be sure to adjust your proportions.
Katrin
Love that idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ruth
Hi Katrin, what a beautiful photo! I love the cups.
I tried your recipe out - so easy to prepare, tastes delicious and refreshing!
Thanks for the idea of only repeating the steps to get the sorbet nice and slushy again after storing it in the freezer.
Katrin
Glad you liked the sorbet Ruth!