Both ice cream makers whip up delicious frozen desserts. But is the Ninja Creami worth the splurge, or should you opt for the more budget-friendly Cuisinart FastFreeze?
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Ice cream lovers have no shortage of options for keeping their freezers stocked with the flavors they crave. (Ice cream subscription, anyone?) But if you like experimenting with recipes and ingredients and don’t mind a bit of prep work, whipping up your own ice cream at home has its delectable benefits.
If you’re in the market for an ice cream maker, we tested the Ninja Creami Deluxe and the Cuisinart FastFreeze and found them both to be worthy contenders. But there is a wide gap in their price points. The Ninja Creami normally retails for $250, while the Cuisinart FastFreeze comes in at a cool $120. As much as we love scoring a great deal on kitchen gadgets, we love ice cream even more, so we asked Taste of Home prep kitchen manager Catherine Ward for some advice on what to consider when purchasing an ice cream maker.
Before letting price alone dictate your purchase, Catherine recommends prioritizing an ice cream maker’s capability. For example, both the Creami and the FastFreeze expand their frozen treat repertoires beyond ice cream to include sorbet, milkshakes, ices and more.
Then, you’ll want to consider capacity. Larger models will produce larger batches, but there are good reasons to go with an ice cream maker that whips up single-serve or small batches. Catherine says, “If you’re making it for a family where somebody can’t have dairy or somebody else is allergic to nuts, that’s a really nice thing about ice cream makers with small capacity.” And from a practical perspective, smaller ice cream makers are easier to store, she adds.
Our resident ice cream experts at Taste of Home can confirm that delicious frozen desserts await, no matter which one you purchase. So should you splurge on the Ninja Creami Deluxe or nab the Cuisinart FastFreeze for a steal? Let’s take a closer look at both.
The Ninja Creami XL Deluxe lives up to its name. It has a whopping 11 different functions (the original Ninja Creami, which is still available for purchase, has seven) to make a variety of frozen treats, including smoothies, milkshakes, sorbet, Italian ice and, of course, ice cream. Deputy Editor Katie Bandurski put the various functions through their paces, making not only ice cream, but frozen yogurt, Italian ice, and frozen drinks.
The Creami comes with 24-ounce containers so you can make large batches of your favorite flavors at home. You’ll need to freeze your base for 24 hours before making ice cream, but if you have a super-cold freezer like Taste of Home Product tester Annamarie Higley does, you’re in luck: She found that her ice cream base froze in a mere 15 hours as opposed to the suggested 24 hours. “So long as your base is frozen solid, I’d say you’re good to go,” she says.
Processing your frozen dessert might take a little trial and error to reach the right consistency the first time you use it, but that’s what the re-spin button on the appliance is for. Annamarie says, “I couldn’t get over the fact that there was a separate button for everything. It made the process so foolproof!”
The Creami is a bit loud while working, but once you see how much ice cream you can make in a single batch, you might not mind so much. Cleanup is also a breeze, thanks to the parts being top-rack dishwasher safe.
If you like frozen yogurt and soft-serve, you might want to instead consider the Creami Scoop & Swirl. It operates in a similar way to the Creami Deluxe and has options for frozen custard, fruit whip and creamifit, a setting that allows users to mix in protein powders to their frozen treats. But the real gem of this machine is the lever that dispenses swirls of creamy soft-serve, turning your kitchen into a veritable ice cream parlor.
If you’re new to making ice cream at home or worry about finding a spot to store another kitchen gadget, the Cuisinart FastFreeze is a great option that won’t break the bank. Taste of Home Shopping Editor Emily Way says, “When I saw the new Cuisinart FastFreeze, it felt too good to be true. An ice cream machine that fits in a drawer? And it offers settings for other frozen desserts? I had to get my hands on it—and I’m so glad I did.”
If you’re new to using an ice cream maker, you’ll get up to speed in no time with the FastFreeze. “The machine is almost goof-proof,” says Emily. She loves the small capacity, especially since it takes no time at all to mix up half-pints of ice cream any time she wants.
This ice cream maker might be smaller, but you can still mix in ingredients with the right technique. Emily says, “One thing that’s important to note is to be extra careful not to overfill the ice cream with mix-ins, especially when they’re larger or freeze quickly, like peanut butter cups, etc. This can cause the machine to overflow and strain the motor a bit.”
Ice cream expert that she is, Emily found a delicious workaround: “I like to take a few bites of my ice cream before adding any extras, but you can also measure a little less cream and milk than required, which works just as well!”
The blade’s design can make cleanup a bit tricky, but Emily found the right technique for that, too. “Cleaning the wand is a lot easier if you use your fingers to pop the blade down a bit. This allows you to get all of the nooks and crannies,” she says.
Emily’s been using her FastFreeze on the regular since last summer. “It’s held up remarkably well and still performs as expected,” she says. We’ll call that a steal for sure!
Choosing between the Ninja Creami XL Deluxe and the Cuisinart FastFreeze is a delicious dilemma. Both are solid appliances we’ve tested and recommend often to other ice cream lovers. But when it comes down to making your own decision between the two, the question shouldn’t be, “How much do I love ice cream?” but rather, “How much do I love making ice cream?”
If ice cream and other frozen treats are the go-to desserts in your household, then you might see the Ninja Creami as more of a necessity than a splurge. Believe us, it’s hard not to get excited by so many options for creating dreamy frozen treats! But if you’re short on storage space or find yourself reaching for store-bought pints more often than gathering ingredients for DIY desserts, then the more budget-friendly Cuisinart FastFreeze is the way to go.
We all scream for ice cream here at Taste of Home! We’ve had the distinct pleasure of reviewing some of the best ice cream brands and ice cream clubs over the years, plus we’ve tested many models of Ninja and Cuisinart ice cream makers.
Catherine Ward is Taste of Home’s prep kitchen manager and has tested many kitchen appliances over the years, so we tapped into her expertise for what to look for when shopping for ice cream makers.
Our other resident ice cream experts at Taste of Home include Deputy Editor Katie Bandurski, Shopping Editors Emily Way, Product Testing Manager Annamarie Higley and Product Tester Linda Cheung. For the inside scoop (sorry, had to!) on ice cream makers, check out their full reviews of the Ninja Creami, the Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl and the Cuisinart FastFreeze.
And as for me, I’ve never been known to turn down a scoop of butter pecan ice cream, and I’ve even made my own pints from scratch using the Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt – Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker.
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