Ice cream vans are out, ice cream makers are in – the GHI got testing to find the best
Sometimes you don’t want to wait for the ice cream van to appear so you can enjoy a delicious chilled treat, and you can't always find your dream combination at the supermarket. But, with an ice cream maker, home-made sorbets, gelatos and bespoke ice cream flavours are at your fingertips.
They may not be one of the more essential small appliances (hello, air fryer), but if you’ve got a sweet tooth and like to get creative in the kitchen, it's probably worth considering. Think of it as a payday treat that will give back all summer long.
And ice cream makers are definitely having a moment, thanks to the new wave of innovative gadgets. Last summer, the Ninja Creami Ice Cream Maker went viral on TikTok, sparking an obsession with these clever dessert makers that hasn't gone away.
And this year, Ninja has done it again, launching a second iteration, the Creami Deluxe. This one has ten functions and can make up to 50 per cent more ice cream than the original. Now, the hashtag #NinjaCreami has over 63.9 million posts and counting.
But are the Ninja Creami ice cream makers actually the best on the market? The GHI decided to test them alongside their biggest competitors to find out. Scroll on for our full reviews, but you can take a sneak peek at our top performers below.
How does an ice cream maker work?
Typically, there are two types of ice cream maker to choose between: freeze-first or self-freezing. Here's a breakdown of each.
Freeze-first ice cream makers
These are often smaller and come with a removable bowl that has walls filled with a gel coolant. The bowl needs to be placed in the freezer before you can start making ice cream – the timings for this vary but it can take up to 24 hours, so requires patience. Once frozen, you can begin adding your ingredients and the machine will churn the mixture into ice cream.
Self-freezing ice cream makers
These models are much larger as they contain an integrated freezer. This means the mixture freezes while the machine churns. We’ve only included two of this type on our list – the Magimix Gelato Expert and the ProCook Professional Ice Cream Maker – and they often come with a higher price tag. But if you want speed, it will deliver.
What type of ice cream maker is the Ninja Creami?
It’s most similar to a freeze-first ice cream maker, but the Ninja Creami doesn’t quite fall into either category – after all, rules are made for breaking, especially if the results are tasty, high-quality ice cream.
The Creami requires you to freeze a tub and a base ingredient like milk (which can be dairy or non-dairy) before it is churned. After 24 hours, you can add fresh ingredients or flavourings, and the machine then blends everything together using metal blades.
The Ninja Creami Deluxe works in a similar way, but boasts even more features (11 programmes versus the original seven) including a slushy function and an Italian ice mode. So, if frozen margaritas are your favourite, you're in luck!
What to consider when buying an ice cream maker
As mentioned, the biggest factor you’ll need to consider when investing in an ice cream maker is whether you want a freeze-first or self-freezing model, as these typically differ in size, price, and capacity. But these factors aside, here’s what else you need to think about.
Capacity: If you’re making ice cream for the whole family, you'll want something with a large capacity. The machine with the largest working capacity (the amount of ice cream you can make at a time) on our list is the Caso Design IceCreamer, but if you have space to store tubs of ice cream, opt for the Ninja Creami Deluxe, which comes with three 709ml tubs – perfect for freezing batches for balmy summer days.
Size: This comes down to how much storage you have. The Magimix self-freezing ice cream maker takes up a lot more cupboard space than the other models on this list, so if you’re looking for something compact, a smaller model like the Ninja Creami or the Cuisinart Solo Scoops might suit better.
Noise: While it’s probably not make or break for most, our testers preferred the ice cream makers that made less noise while churning.
Dishwasher-safe parts: Some ice cream makers come with dishwasher-safe paddles and accessories to help make cleaning easier. Thorough cleaning of your machine is important to prevent the build up of bacteria (a concern when you're dealing with dairy) and ice crystals that can spoil your gelato. So this is something to consider if you don’t want the faff of hand-washing.
Preset programmes: These appliances can whip up more than ice cream. Most also make gelato, sorbet and frozen yoghurt, while some even prepare milkshakes and smoothie bowls.
Affordability: Generally, self-freezing models are more expensive. However, the design, extra features, number of programmes and accessories can all put the price up as well. The ice cream makers in this list range from £39.99 to £536, so it’s worth being realistic about how often you think you’ll use one, so you don't spend more than you need.
How we test ice cream makers at the GHI
Whether your usual ice cream order is a classic vanilla or you're a fan of a fruity sorbet, the GHI tries a whole range of recipes when testing ice cream makers.
Our experts consider how easy the machine is to set up and use – including the length of time the whole process takes. They look at how well the appliance churns the ice cream and whether it combines all the ingredients together or leaves any stuck to the bowl. And every finished creation is tasted, with our testers looking for a smooth, light consistency and well integrated ingredients. Finally, when all the fun is over, they see how easy each model is to clean.
Taking all this into account, these are the ice cream makers we'll be turning to all year round.
CREAMi Deluxe 10-in-1 Ice Cream and Frozen Treat Maker
Score: 94/100
A round of applause please for the newest Ninja ice cream maker! Just like its viral older sibling below, it aced our tests, barely dropping a mark when making vanilla and chocolate chip ice cream, and gelato. Churning took between two and five minutes (after the 24 hours of pre-freezing), which is slightly quicker than the original Ninja Creami. Each scoop was smooth, creamy and well-mixed, rivalling shop-bought ice cream.
It has new functions including slushies (again requiring a 24-hour pre-frozen base), frozen yoghurt and two-in-one ice cream flavours.
It did make a considerable amount of noise when switched on, and the storage tubs must be kept upright on a flat surface, which may prove tricky if you’re tight on freezer space. However, we doubt any ice cream or refreshing frozen margaritas will last long in storage, so this may not be an issue.
CREAMi Ice Cream Maker & Frozen Dessert Maker
Score: 94/100
It turns out, there's a reason this ice cream maker went viral; it aced our testing. Prep is simple, but some patience is required as you do need to freeze the liquid base for 24 hours. (That said, you can bulk freeze in advance if you have space). Once that was done, though, it took us just two minutes to add our favourite extra ingredients (from chocolate chips to fudge pieces) and churn the frozen mixture into delicious ice cream.
If you’re in a hurry, you can also chop and churn ingredients like fruit without any prior freezing, so you can enjoy fresh sorbet at much shorter notice.
When making vanilla ice cream, the Creami barely dropped a mark, easily churning the ingredients into an airy, smooth consistency that was also free of any large ice crystals. Our testers liked using it for milkshakes and smoothie bowls too. Just note, it was fairly loud and vibrated a little when churning. However, given that it doesn’t take long, we wouldn’t let that put you off. It’s a stand-out gadget for summer.
Gelato Expert
Score: 92/100
If you’re serious about churning top-quality ice cream and enjoy it regularly, this premium design is worth considering. Because of its self-freezing design, you don’t have to worry about popping the bowl or its ingredients in the freezer ahead of time. Instead, you can make one batch after the next, and a handy storage mode keeps the ice cream at the right consistency for up to two hours, so you can (inevitably) go back for seconds.
Our testers appreciated the creamy texture of the machine's vanilla ice cream but found the manufacturer’s recipe made too much for the bowl, so suggest halving the ingredients before churning.
They noticed that a thin film of the mixture froze to the walls of the bowl, but this didn’t impact the finished quality of our ice cream, gelato or sorbet and it still has a larger capacity than any other model on our list. The price is eye-watering, but it's a worthy investment for larger households and ice cream fanatics.
Solo Scoops Ice Cream Maker
Score: 91/100
This compact ice cream maker is super affordable and perfect for one or two people, making it a fun and delicious gift for anyone who likes a sweet treat.
It’s a freeze-first model, so you’ll need to put a base in the freezer overnight. But after that, set-up is quick and simple with just one basic dial acting as the on/off switch. It took twenty minutes to churn a vanilla soft serve, but testers found it started to melt quickly – a great excuse to dig in right away if you ask us.
You can also add extras like chocolate chips via the funnel but be sure to do it slowly to prevent any blockages. And if you’re not a fan of ice cream, you can also make a refreshing sorbet with ease.
Mix It In Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker
Score: 89/100
Calling all Mr Whippy fans, this freeze-first model makes creamy soft serve ice cream you can customise with sauces and toppings for your perfect sunny day treat.
The machine is controlled with one dial and only makes ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt, so testers found it easy to use from the get-go. There’s no timer, so you’ll need to keep a keen eye on your mixture, but it churned without any issues. Our experts had to adjust the recipe to achieve the right texture for the dispenser though, as it was initially too thick to flow through easily. A few tweaks later, however, and it worked well, bringing the joy of an ice cream van to our test kitchen.
Our experts loved its topping dispenser too. The ‘keep warm’ function for sauces is smart (especially for chocolate), but adding sprinkles to our replica 99s was a little messy, so if you’re planning an ice cream party, be ready to wipe up some scattered hundreds and thousands. It’s also fairly bulky, and you need to pre-freeze the bowl for 12 hours (that’s quicker than the Ninja though). But if you love soft-serve, this one's for you.
Professional Ice Cream Maker 1.2L
Score: 87/100
Just like the Magimix, this is a self-freezing ice cream maker, meaning fresh scoops can be ready from scratch within 60 minutes. As a result, the machine is bigger and weightier (7.2kg) than most other ice cream makers we’ve tested, but it’s not too much of a compromise if you have the room and want something speedy.
Both the ProCook and GHI recipes for vanilla ice cream worked brilliantly, producing soft, creamy, and easily scoopable ice cream in just an hour. It mixed our sorbet ingredients perfectly too, with no graininess and a light, smooth texture.
Adding chocolate chips was less straightforward – while the ice cream tasted great, the chips weren’t evenly mixed throughout. But, that's not too much of a hardship and despite not being dishwasher-safe, the mixing bowl was easy to clean.
Design IceCreamer
Score: 85/100
This large self-freezing machine is a great all-rounder that delivers dessert in under an hour. Using the manufacturer’s recipe, testers enjoyed well-churned, easy-to-scoop vanilla ice cream within 50 minutes. The sorbet was flavoursome and smooth too.
It comes with plenty of recipes to get you started, so we tried making choc chip too. You add the chocolate via the ingredient hatch, and while the paddle didn’t quite reach the edges to fully distribute it, the ice cream was still delicious.
Testers also praised the machine’s stability, noting the lack of vibration and intuitive controls. Overall, it’s a great machine for large families.
The verdict
It’s not surprising that they went viral because both the Ninja Creami and its newest sibling the Creami Deluxe topped our ice cream maker tests. The updated model has three extra functions including slushies, frozen yoghurt and two-in-one flavours.
If you don’t want the faff of freezing a base for up to 24 hours before churning, opt for our best self-freezing machine – the Magimix Gelato Expert.
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
The Good Housekeeping Institute has been running for 100 years so is well-practiced in finding the best kitchen appliances. Our homes team has taken this expertise and created rigorous protocols to find the ice cream makers that stand up to their claims.
After noting down the results, our homes writer, Megan Geall, then transforms these into informative reviews so that you can shop with confidence.
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