Ice cream, a desirable frozen dairy product, has great potential for improving human health and nutrition. In this study, a dual strategy based on binary system, whey protein concentrate (WPC) and Opuntia fruit powder (OFP) hydrogle, was evaluted for reducing the health risks associated with excessive sugar consumption while enhancing the techno-functional properties of free added sugar (FAS) ice cream. The physico-chemical properties of WPC/OFP hydrogel at different ratios (100:0, 80:20, 60:40, and 50:50) were determined. The colored hydrogel (CH) with high viscosity (WPC/OFP 60:40) was chosen as a promising candidate for producing high-protein free added ice cream sugar (HPFAS) at varying concentrations (0, 8, 12, and 16%). Our results indicated that an increase in CH content correlated with a rise in apparent viscosity and overrun of ice cream. Moreover, the addition of CH significantly improved the hardness and melting resistance of HPFAS ice creams. Sensory evaluation revealed that FAS sample with 12% CH (S0-CH12) was similar to the control one. This study demonstrated that HPFAS ice cream containing 12% CH displayed a lower glycemic index (50.12 ± 10.13%) compared to the control sample with added sugar (S100-CH0) (85.12 ± 6.19%). Furthermore, the overall acceptance of ice cream significantly decreased with incorporating the highest content of CH (S0-CH16). Our finding confirmed that incorporating 12% CH has great potential in the reformulation in FAS to improved techno-functional properties while preserving palatability.
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