Check out our recipe for Ninja Creami Italian Ice!
Italian Ice could not be any easier to make using the Ninja Creami! And..it’s super easy to customize and change up the flavors!
This recipe calls for 1 ingredient…lemonade. You probably already have it in your refrigerator! But, not all lemonade is treated equally when using the Ninja Creami. If you would like, you can use fancy flavored lemonades or add additional flavors to the lemonade on your own to create your favorite flavor of Italian Ice! Since there is no fat in lemonade and it is basically made up of water and lemon, it is imperative that you add something else to the lemonade mixture (or buy lemonade that contains it), like sugar or some form of dairy, before freezing it. Freezing only water and lemon juice will be basically the same as freezing only water and this is not good for the machine and may cause it to break.
DO NOT FREEZE LEMON WATER- the Ninja Creami cannot handle processing water with only lemon juice in it.
Be careful to keep an eye on the sugar content of the lemonade that you are using. If the lemonade is very tart, the Italian ice will also be very tart. If the lemonade is overly sweet, the Italian Ice will be just as sweet.

Because there is no added fat or dairy in this recipe, you will need to re-spin the Ninja Creami to accomplish a fully combined, Italian Ice texture. If you don’t re-spin, the result will be very icy and not consistent throughout. If desired, re-spin once or twice to achieve your preferred texture.

Tips for making Ninja Creami Italian Ice
If the Italian Ice is icy or has a grainy texture, (which it will likely have) put the pint back into the outer bowl and insert it back into the Ninja Creami machine. Select the RE-SPIN function and re-spin one or two times. Due to the Italian Ice not having any fat or dairy in it, it will need an extra spin or two to make it less icy and more consistent throughout.
Yes! You can. After the Italian Ice has completed the sorbet process, take the inner bowl out of the Ninja Creami and add whatever mix-ins you would like to the center of the pint of Italian Ice. If necessary, create a hole or tunnel down the center to make room for the mix-ins. Place the inner bowl with the pint in it, into the Ninja Creami machine and select the mix-ins process.
The thicker and denser the fruit, the creamier the sorbet will be. If the sorbet is made using peaches, pineapples, or bananas, the sorbet will be thick and creamy. If the sorbet is made using less dense fruits like watermelon, raspberries, or grapefruit, the result will be less creamy and icier in texture. For more details, check out this post from Serious Eats.
You sure can! But…you will need to use 2 pint containers instead of one. You always want to make sure that the pint containers are only filled up to the max fill line and not any more than that. In order for the sorbet to turn out creamy, it needs to be mixed by the machine after freezing. If you overfill the pint, the machine is going to have a hard time mixing it and the result will not be as expected.
It depends. If you are keeping the Italian Ice in the Ninja pint container with the lid sealed tightly and are freezing it in a cold freezer (between 9 degrees F and -7 degrees F), your Italian Ice will keep for several weeks, even months. However, if you transfer your Italian Ice to another container or freeze it in a freezer that is not quite as cold (or that is accessed a lot/door opened and closed often), the lifetime of your Italian Ice will decrease greatly to just a few days and you will likely end up with freezer-burned Italian Ice.


Ingredient substitutions and tips for making Ninja Creami Italian Ice:
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Lemonade- I used 16 ounces of store-bought lemonade. You can pick any flavor or brand of lemonade that you would like. Make sure that there is some sugar in the lemonade.
Optional:
Sugar and/or Dairy- Because lemonade is basically just water and lemon juice, the mixture needs either sugar and/or some sort of dairy added in. Add in enough sugar to sweeten the lemonade and/or if you would like to add in dairy, I would add a tablespoon or so of lemon-flavored yogurt.




Directions for making Ninja Creami Italian Ice:
1. Pour 16 ounces of lemonade and any additional sugar or dairy that you would like to add into a Ninja Creami pint container and freeze on a level surface in a cold freezer for a full 24 hours.
2. After 24 hours, remove the pint from the freezer. Remove the lid.
3. Place the Ninja Creami pint into the outer bowl. Place the outer bowl with the pint in it, into the Ninja Creami machine and turn until the outer bowl locks into place. Push the SORBET button. During the SORBET function, the sorbet will mix together and become very creamy. This should take approximately 2 minutes.
4. Once the SORBET function has ended, turn the outer bowl and release it from the Ninja Creami machine.
5. Place the outer bowl with the pint back into the Ninja Creami machine and lock it into place. Choose the RE-SPIN function. Once the Ninja Creami completes the RE-SPIN cycle, remove the outer bowl from the machine. (The machine will not allow you to re-spin without first removing the pint from the machine and then re-inserting it).
6. Your Italian Ice is ready to eat! Enjoy!
Pin recipe for later!!

Recipe

Ninja Creami Italian Ice
Rate this Recipe
Equipment
Add Food Grade Vegetable Glycerin To Make Leftover Ice Cream Scoopable Right Out of the Freezer
Per 16 ounce pint: *Add 1 Teaspoon to full fat/full sugar bases *Add 1.5 teaspoon to high protein bases *Add 2 teaspoons to low sugar/low fat lite bases. Freeze and process per the recipe. Take the leftovers out of the freezer and scoop without having to reprocess.
Original and Deluxe Ingredient Measurements
Use the multiplier below to adjust quantities based on the machine that you own. 1X=Original 16 ounce 1.5X=Deluxe 24 ounces
Ingredients
- 16 Ounces Lemonade (Lemonade must contain sugar or you can add dairy of some sort. )
Optional:
- Sugar or your preferred sweetener to taste. (Lemonade must contain sugar or you can add dairy of some sort. )
Instructions
- Pour 16 ounces of lemonade and any additional sugar or dairy that you would like to add into a Ninja Creami pint container and freeze on a level surface in a cold freezer for a full 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, remove the pint from the freezer. Remove the lid.
- Place the Ninja Creami pint into the outer bowl. Place the outer bowl with the pint in it, into the Ninja Creami machine and turn until the outer bowl locks into place. Push the SORBET button. During the SORBET function, the sorbet will mix together and become very creamy. This should take approximately 2 minutes.
- Once the SORBET function has ended, turn the outer bowl and release it from the Ninja Creami machine.
- Place the outer bowl with the pint back into the Ninja Creami machine and lock it into place. Choose the RE-SPIN function. Once the Ninja Creami completes the RE-SPIN cycle, remove the outer bowl from the machine. (The machine will not allow you to re-spin without first removing the pint from the machine and then re-inserting it).
- Your Italian Ice is ready to eat! Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. Optional ingredients are not included in the nutrition information.
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
Keep scrolling to see my newest recipes!

Ninja Creami Blueberry Sorbet
Oh, how I love blueberries! I’ve made a ton of Ninja Creami recipes with blueberries, but this is my first blueberry sorbet recipe. I’ll show you how to turn just a few ingredients into a super flavorful, dairy-free, healthy treat using the Ninja Creami ice cream maker! This recipe comes in at 130 calories, 2 gram of protein, 23 grams of sugar, 83 carbs, 33 grams of net carbs and 1 grams fat. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. I’m a sucker for just about anything that has blueberries in it. I seem […]

Ninja Creami Strawberry Shortcake Protein Ice Cream
Have you ever had one of those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars from the freezer section at the grocery store? You know the ones…they have those little pink and white crunchy bits on the outside of the ice cream! Well, if you have ever had one and loved it, then you’re in luck! This recipe is my take on those ice cream bars made with added protein and made in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker! This recipe comes in at 379 calories, 29 grams of protein, 14 grams of sugar, 12 grams of fat, and 42 carbs for the ENTIRE […]

New! Ninja Swirl by Creami (Ninja Creami Swirl)
There’s a new Ninja Creami that’s just been released! It’s the Ninja Swirl by Creami! Find out about all of the features, where to buy it, and how it compares to the Ninja Creami 7-1, Ninja Creami Deluxe, and the Ninja Creami Breeze. As the Ninja Swirl by Creami is brand new and not available for purchase yet, the information included in this post is not 100% complete and has been gathered from social media. As more information comes out about the machine, from Ninja, I will update the post. The Ninja Creami is the most popular frozen treat maker […]

Ninja Creami Blueberry Coconut Frozen Yogurt
I LOVE blueberry and coconut flavored things! They are each really good on their own, but together they are the perfect combination of flavors. My recipe for Ninja Creami blueberry coconut frozen yogurt is the perfect combination of flavors with just the right amount of blueberries and shredded coconut added in for texture. This is a super easy recipe to make, thanks to flavored yogurts! The number of yogurt flavors readily available at the grocery store has skyrocketed in the past few years. Blueberry and coconut flavored yogurts make this a super easy recipe to make. The Ninja Creami ice […]

Ninja Creami Cranberry Orange Sorbet-Low Calorie
Did you know that you can make sorbet out of cranberry sauce in the Ninja Creami ice cream machine? Well, you can and it’s super easy to do and tastes amazing. I used canned cranberry sauce, but you could very easily use homemade cranberry sauce leftover from the holidays. This recipe comes in at 278 calories, 1 gram of protein, 56 grams of sugar, 120 carbs, 70 grams of net carbs and 0.2 grams fat. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. You can’t have Thanksgiving dinner without cranberry sauce! Cranberry sauce is a […]

Ninja Creami Maple Bacon Protein Ice Cream
Bacon makes everything better! That goes for Ninja Creami ice cream too! If you love bacon as much as I do, you have to try my recipe for making Maple Bacon ice cream in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker! It’s sweet, it’s savory, it has a creamy texture, and it even has extra protein added in. This recipe comes in at 643 calories, 35 grams of protein, 61 grams of sugar, 21 grams of fat, 98 carbs, 88 net carbs (total carbs-allulose) for the ENTIRE pint. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. […]

Ninja Creami Butterfinger Ice Cream
If you like Butterfingers, you’re going to love my recipe for making Butterfinger ice cream in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker. It’s super creamy with the perfect amount of crunch. The rich vanilla base goes really well with the peanut butter and chocolate flavored flaky, crunch, candy pieces. Why does everyone love Butterfinger candy bars so much? Yes, Butterfingers taste great. They combine the flavors of peanut butter and chocolate. You can’t go wrong with that flavor combination! But, I think the texture sets them apart from just about every other candy bar on the market. The texture is […]

Ninja Creami White Chocolate Peppermint Low Calorie Ice Cream
White chocolate peppermint ice cream makes me think of the colder winter months….but it can be eaten all year round! To add to the peppermint flavor and provide a bunch of little crunchy bits, I used starlight mints. But, if you want to make it a little more festive, use candy canes during the winter holidays. This recipe comes in at 285 calories, 9 grams of protein, 29 grams of sugar, 96 carbs, 46 grams of net carbs and 7 grams fat. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. Making low calorie Ninja Creami […]

The BEST Ninja Creami LOW CALORIE Recipes
Check out my favorite LOW CALORIE Ninja Creami Ice Cream Recipes! If you’re new to the Ninja Creami ice cream maker, or craving something new, I’ve got you covered! Eating low calorie doesn’t have to be hard. The good news is you can still have delicious, creamy, thick ice cream, while sticking to a low calorie diet. I’ve perfected some basic recipes like vanilla and chocolate low calorie ice cream but have also created more complex recipes like chocolate brownie, birthday cake, pumpkin pecan, peanut banana crunch, blueberry cheesecake frozen yogurt, and cherry almond ice cream. Making low calorie ice […]

Ninja Creami Jamoca Almond Fudge Protein Ice Cream
Jamoca Almond Fudge is a really popular ice cream from Baskin Robbins. It’s basically a coffee flavored ice cream with ribbons of fudge and pieces of almonds, mixed throughout. Even though you can’t really make fudge ribbons, you can make something pretty similar at home, using your Ninja Creami ice cream machine. This recipe comes in at 340 calories, 32 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar, 37 carbs, and 18 fat. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream is the perfect combination of coffee, chocolate, and nut flavors. Thanks […]

Ninja Creami Blueberries and Sweet Cream Ice Cream
I absolutely LOVE all things blueberry! I can’t get enough of them. I find myself coming up with new Ninja Creami ice cream maker blueberry recipes all the time! My Ninja Creami blueberries and sweet cream recipe is super easy to make, doesn’t have a bunch of ingredients, and is so delicious! Blueberry ice cream isn’t super popular at the grocery store, but you can make it at home using the Ninja Creami. The flavor is great, and the texture is so so smooth and creamy! I make blueberry ice cream all the time. I have some recipes where I […]

Ninja Creami Chocolate Sorbet-Low Calorie
Have you ever had chocolate sorbet? It’s super thick, super creamy, and super chocolatey, dairy-free, sugar-free, and fantastic tasting! You can even make it in your Ninja Creami ice cream maker! With just 4 simple ingredients (plus water), you’ll be adding this recipe to your regular rotation in no time! This recipe comes in at 55 calories, 20 sugar, 117 carbs, and 17 net carbs (total carbs-allulose) for the ENTIRE pint. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. While I’d like to say that I created the idea for chocolate sorbet all on my […]

Ninja Creami Rocky Road Protein Ice Cream
I absolutely love rocky road ice cream! But, the chocolate ice cream has to be super chocolatey! I made the perfect, super chocolatey, rocky road protein ice cream using my Ninja Creami ice cream maker. It’s soooo good! This recipe comes in at 342 calories, 30 grams of protein, 18 grams of sugar, 64 carbs, and 12 fat. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. Adding protein to Ninja Creami ice cream isn’t hard. You can use protein powder (in this case, I used unflavored Whey protein powder) or protein shakes. The trickiest part […]

Ninja Creami Pumpkin Pecan Ice Cream-Low Calorie
If you love pumpkin spice flavored things, you’ve got to try my recipe for making a low calorie treat in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker! Since the recipe doesn’t actually use pumpkin pie, the ingredients are easy to find year round (not just during the Fall season), which means you can have pumpkin pecan ice cream anytime you want to! This recipe comes in at 265 calories, 12 protein, 20 sugar, 77 carbs, and 27 net carbs (total carbs-allulose). See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. This pumpkin pie ice cream recipe […]

Ninja Creami Espresso Sorbet-Low Calorie
Get ready to have the creamiest, smoothest, richest espresso sorbet with the best consistency ever! The Ninja Creami ice cream maker turns just 4 simple ingredients into a thick and creamy Espresso sorbet with only 2 calories in the ENTIRE pint! It’s even dairy-free! This recipe comes in at 2 calories, 67 carbs, and 0.0 net carbs (total carbs-allulose). See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. I made this recipe as an experiment and had low hopes that it would turn out anything but icy. Well, I was so wrong! When I processed […]

Ninja Creami Peaches and Cream Protein Frozen Yogurt
Use fresh peaches to make protein packed frozen yogurt in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker. The Ninja Creami is a game changer and lets you take ingredients like peaches and turn them into a high protein frozen treat with a creamy texture and a whopping 39 grams of protein for the entire pint! This recipe comes in at 356 calories, 39 grams of protein, 29 grams of sugar, 11 WW points, 57 carbs, and 5 fat. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. To help make your Ninja Creami treat creamy, you need […]

Ninja Creami Butter Pecan Protein Ice Cream
Butter pecan ice cream is one of the most popular ice cream flavors found at an ice cream shop. It really is the perfect dessert! Traditionally, butter pecan ice cream is a bit higher in fat and calories than some would like. But, don’t worry about that! With the Ninja Creami machine you can turn just about anything into ice cream! To help reduce the calories and fat content, while increasing the protein, this recipe uses unflavored protein powder. This recipe comes in at 345 calories, 27 grams of protein, 8 grams of sugar, 9 WW points, 64 carbs, and 19 […]

Ninja Creami Pistachio Protein Ice Cream
Pistachio ice cream has become very popular over the last several years and it’s really easy to make it at home with the Ninja Creami ice cream maker. To make homemade pistachio ice cream I’ve used instant pudding mix and almond extract to achieve the pistachio flavor for the ice cream. This recipe comes in at 323 calories, 33 grams of protein, 6 grams of sugar, 8 WW points, 22 carbs, and 11 fat. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all nutrition facts. Adding protein to your ice cream isn’t hard. But, it can be […]

Ninja Creami Peaches and Cream Oatmeal Frozen Yogurt
Did you know that you can use the Ninja Creami machine to make breakfast? Well, you can! I’ll show you how to turn simple ingredients like oatmeal and yogurt into the best, creamy, delicious breakfast sweet treat using your Ninja Creami ice cream maker! Yes…you read that right…it’s ice cream made out of yogurt and oatmeal! Usually when you think of making traditional ice cream, you don’t think of making breakfast ice cream. But, why not? Using oatmeal and yogurt in the recipe is a healthier alternative to regular ice cream made with a lot of cream and sugar. The […]

Ninja Creami Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Ninja Creami Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream combines all of the things that we love about cheesecake with creamy and delicious ice cream. I’ll show you how to make homemade ice cream that tastes like strawberry cheesecake using instant pudding powder and your Ninja Creami. The Ninja Creami ice cream maker does a great job of creating super smooth and creamy ice creams out of just about anything! There’s a couple of different ways you can create Ninja Creami cheesecake ice cream. One is by adding cottage cheese (don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like or have the texture of cottage cheese). […]

Ninja Foodi Possible Cooker Pro Spaghetti
Making spaghetti in the Ninja Foodi Possible Cooker Pro couldn’t be easier! And…you can make everything all in one pot! I’ll show you how to make delicious, super easy to make, one pot spaghetti (or any long pasta) using the Ninja Foodi Possible Cooker Pro. It only uses 3 ingredients!! Making spaghetti isn’t hard. It’s even easier to make if you use jarred sauce. That’s right…I used jarred spaghetti sauce for this recipe. You can take the extra steps to make your own sauce if you would like. This is more of a guide on how to use the Possible […]
Brenda says
If I am using a commercially prepared lemonade (we also LOVE the Simply versions!!!), do I still need to add sweetener? We love the way it tastes right out of the bottle and I think adding sweetener would make it not as good. What are your thoughts? Many thanks!!!
Lauren Cardona says
When you say “commercially prepared lemonade,” what do you mean? If the lemonade already has sugar in it, you don’t need to add more. You cannot use a mixture of water and lemon juice.
joe says
love this recipe……………….
Bonnie says
Hi, can you tell me what amount of sugar is needed to make sure it doesn’t break the Creami machine? I made the Lemon Sorbet recipe from the recipe book that came with the machine.. I made the lite version as my husband has diabetes. So I used Monk fruit and agave.. But it often seems problematic, once the machine even made a loud sound as if it would break! What is considered the safe amount of sugar to add to make sure everything goes well?
Lauren Cardona says
Hi Bonnie- That’s a tricky question. I don’t know that there’s a right answer for this as it will depend on the other ingredients that you are mixing with it. The goal is to not process a block of ice. Adding sugar, fat, and dairy can help with this. But, there isn’t a solid “use this much sugar” and the machine will work correctly answer here. I would recommend gradually decreasing the amount of sugar in a recipe and pay attention to how the machine reacts.
Michael Press says
My God! I am SO happy to have found this recipe, Lauren! I was looking, HOPING, that itโs possible to make something even resembling Italian Ices in the Ninja Creami, so I was hopeful when I found this recipe. I JUST made it and it turned out EXTREMELY well! Just a few weeks ago, I noticed a new Italian Ices place opening up near me, but my wife bought me the Creami for my birthday (she could tell I was eyeballing it when the television commercial came on) and now I donโt even have to leave my house! I muddled up some fresh raspberries as the mix-in and that added a nice flavor. I paid heed to your notes about the sugar level (I make my own fresh lemonade anyway, so I used fresh, which includes the syrup of sugar and water boiled). Iโd say, if anything, itโs just a tad on the tart side, but Iโm glad itโs not TOO sweet. Next time I might make it a touch sweeter but Iโm incredibly happy with how it turned out. Thank you so much for this upgrade to my life!!
Lauren Cardona says
This is one of my favorite comments ever! I’m so glad that everything turned out great! So happy to hear that my recipe helped upgrade your life! ๐