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What if I told you that you could make creamy, custom frozen desserts in under two minutes? All it takes is investing in the Ninja Creami, a handy countertop gadget that churns out ice cream one pint at a time.
Okay, like most things that sound too good to be true, the Ninja Creami actually requires a bit more than a couple of minutes to produce soft ice cream–esque treats—but it comes pretty close. And as someone who’s made ice cream the hard way, I get the hype. But is it worth the counter space? And is it worth buying into the full Creami lifestyle?
Below, my honest Ninja Creami review after a week of spinning, scooping, and experimenting with this ice cream maker.
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What is the Ninja Creami and how does it work?
The Ninja Creami can best be described as a mix between a blender, a food processor, and an ice cream maker. Though, technically, it’s none of these things. It’s a unique countertop appliance with a single purpose: shaving down frozen pints into smooth scoopable (or sippable) frozen treats.
Before you do any spinning, your dessert base—whether it’s ice cream, sorbet, or something else—needs to freeze for at least 24 hours in the included pint containers. These pints are designed not just for storage but to lock securely into the machine as it runs. Once frozen solid (but not so hard that the blade can’t cut through them), they’re ready to be Creami-fied.
Without getting too technical, the Creami is kind of like a mechanical immersion blender. You load the frozen pint into the outer bowl, attach the lid, and twist the whole thing onto the base until it clicks into place. Inside, a motor spins a horizontal four-blade paddle downward into the frozen block, shaving and whipping it into a creamy texture. Unlike traditional ice cream makers, which churn a liquid base as it slowly freezes, the Creami works in reverse: It starts with a solid block and turns it creamy through mechanical force. The whole process takes about 1 minute 45 seconds.
If the texture isn’t smooth enough, Ninja recommends using the Re-Spin function, which often helps bring crumbly or powdery results to the right consistency. Once the Creami has Creami-ed your pint to a smooth consistency, your ice cream is ready to serve immediately.
Ninja CREAMi 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker
Is the Ninja Creami an ice cream maker?
Not in the traditional sense. Most conventional countertop ice cream machines, or the popular KitchenAid mixer ice cream attachment, work by stirring or spinning a chilled liquid ice cream base (usually a custard) inside a pre-frozen bowl or in the well of a machine that, itself, uses a compressor to produce ambient freezing temperatures. As the mixture chills, churns, and stirs, ice crystals slowly form, turning it into soft ice cream that can then be frozen further to firm up.
The Ninja Creami works in reverse: You freeze your base solid first, then the machine pulverizes it into ice cream. Once the pint is locked in, a spinning blade (called the Creamerizer paddle) moves downward, shaving and whipping the frozen block into a creamy consistency. It’s a bit like a shaved ice machine, although Ninja is clear that it does not shave ice, and we don’t want to give you any ideas.
What can you make in a Ninja Creami?
If you disassociate the typical way ice cream is made from the term “ice cream,” then the Ninja Creami Ice Cream Maker can be used to make ice cream, gelato, sorbet, milkshakes, and smoothie bowls. That includes simple, single-flavor bases plus the ability to add some chunky mix-ins to the party (with a dedicated button/cycle for that purpose).
The “ice cream” in question, when starting with the basic ice cream base provided in the accompanying cookbook of Ninja Creami recipes, comes out, texturally, between a soft serve and scoopable ice cream. I’ve seen many comparisons to a Dairy Queen Blizzard, and that description is apt. However, I found that storing the spun ice cream back in the freezer for a few hours or even overnight got me closer to purely scooping consistency. There’s also a basic gelato recipe using egg yolks and little cooking of the base beforehand, which results in a denser, creamier finish.
