Do you love ice cream more than other people, but you find it hard to pay the $8+ for a pint of the mainstream brands at the store? If so, you may want to learn to make your own ice cream at home using the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker that was made famous by Costco and current TikTok stars.
This is a revolutionary device that allows you to make incredible ice cream, shakes, smoothies, gelato, and more using frozen fruit and other ingredients you already have in your freezer. It’s pretty revolutionary, but do you need to have one in your own kitchen? Let's look at the ins and outs of this device so you can make the best decision for yourself.
What is the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker?
- Makes delicious ice cream with easy 3-step process.
- Worth the money for dessert lovers.
- You can make treats out of almost any ingredients.
The standard Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker is a device that allows you to make seven tasty frozen treats with a few buttons and a little bit of time. With it, you can make sorbet, ice cream, milkshakes, gelato, lite ice cream, smoothie bowls, and mix-in treats.
The traditional method of making ice cream requires you to mix your own ingredients, cook the milk, cream, and sugar until it dissolves, pour a mixture into an old school ice cream maker, churn it, and then try it and hope for the best. The Ninja CREAMi does that all for you. Granted, you do have to do a few minutes of leg work on your own, but it’s a snap compared to the methods of the old days.
When you buy the device, you get the motor base (the primary machine), a creamerizer (the paddles that churn the mixture), two 16-oz pint containers (more on that later), and an outer bowl and lid. The current price for the Creami is $199, but you can often find it for as low as $169 on sale.
How Does the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker Work?
A major selling point of this device is how easy it is to use. In essence, there’s a simple three-step process. This includes (1) prepping your solid base, (2) freezing it overnight in one of the pint containers, and (3) processing the mixture in the device until it makes delicious ice cream.
Most of the legwork is involved in the first step. You know the flavor of ice cream that you like the most, so find those ingredients and put them into one of the 16-oz pint containers. We will show you some awesome recipes below, but let’s say you like peanut butter and banana ice cream. You could use peanut butter, whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla, banana, and maple syrup. Take all of that and blend it all together first to make a smooth consistency. Then, you pour the mixture into one of the pint containers. Finally, put it in your freezer and let it sit there for 24 hours with the lid on top.
Once 24 hours have passed, remove it from the freezer and take off the lid. Place it into the CREAMi machine and press the ice cream button or the milkshake button, or one of the other five options. Within minutes, your treat will be ready, and you and your family can enjoy it together.
What Reviewers Say About the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker
This may sound like the dream machine, but does it really live up to the hype? Customer reviews on websites like Temecula Blogs say things like “it’s a great appliance,” and that “it’s fabulous and the ice creams are great and delicious.”
Head over to Amazon, and you’ll hear raving reviews. There are currently 3,362 reviews, and 77% of them are 5-star reviews. Read through the reviews, and you’ll see comments like…
“Finally I can have ice cream as I like it!”
“Best ice cream maker.”
“Best purchase of the year.”
“Such a fun kitchen appliance.”
“Sooooo good.”
The experts are also very excited about the Ninja CREAMi ice cream maker. The Food Network reviewed the machine and said that the “smoothie bowls were the standout.” On the website Epicurious, they said that the machine works so well in some cases that they wondered why the ice creams in stores didn’t taste better.
Over at The New York Times, they said that the machine makes “pretty good ice cream,” and that each pint of the ice cream came out “smooth and mostly iceless.” Finally, at CNET, the reviewer said that he had a high standard when it comes to ice cream and that he was impressed by some of the recipes.
Of course, everyone is different, so if you love ice cream, you may consider shelling out the money to get one in your kitchen.
Tips for Using the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker
If you are going to invest in this machine, you will probably want to know a bit about the best methods for using it so you can achieve delicious success. Here are a few tips to consider once you get it in your kitchen.
Don’t try to rush the process – You may be excited to enjoy your ice cream, but don’t try to skip the 24-hour freezing period, or your ice cream won’t turn out well. Some say that you only have to wait 12 hours, but don’t try to rush the process, or it won’t be worth it.
Own a blender – Don’t just put your ingredients in the pint container and throw it in the freezer. Instead, for the best consistency, spend a few minutes and blend all of the ingredients together as smoothly as possible.
Put the pint on a level surface – Once you fill your pint container with your blended mix, be sure to put it on a level surface in your freezer. There’s even a line on the pint that says where it should be filled to. If you don’t put it on an even surface, then it will freeze on an uneven level and it won’t process correctly in the CREAMi.
Have fun – This machine is great for experimenting. The reason to buy the CREAMi is because it can turn almost any combination of ingredients into ice cream. Go crazy. Add bananas, yogurt, cherries, apples, or anything that you like, try to blend it and turn it into a fantastic new ice cream flavor.
Clean it properly – After every use, clean out the machine. It may take a few minutes, but it’s worth it if you want the device to work properly time after time. Clean the lid, the straw cleaners, and the blade to ensure that your machine lasts for years to come.
Recipes to Try
©Alexandra Anschiz/Shutterstock.com
If you do decide to buy the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker, we have some recipes you can try to get started.
Coconut Coffee Ice Cream
This is a great recipe that combines coffee with island living. To make it, combine the following ingredients:
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- 1 cup hemp milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Sprinkle in some coffee
Coconut Pumpkin Ice Cream
Everyone loves pumpkin flavors, so why not turn it into a delicious ice cream?
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
You can make all of the classic ice cream flavors in your personal kitchen, including this minty favorite.
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup for mint extraction
- Handful of fresh mint
- Handful of dark chocolate chips
Is Costco's Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker A Must Add to Every Kitchen?
So, do you need to purchase the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker? The decision is ultimately up to you. If you love ice cream, you typically buy it every time you’re at the supermarket, and you eat it on a weekly basis, then yes. This would be a good investment because you can make your own treats the way you like them. It’s a bit costly, but if you’re going to use it regularly then we say you must add it to your kitchen. If you fall in love and you want more, there’s also an updated 11-in-1 model that provides even more frozen goodness.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©MaraZe/Shutterstock.com.