17+BEST Ninja Creami Pudding Recipes

Why add Pudding to ice cream?

Instant pudding is added to the base recipe for a lot of Ninja Creami recipes for 2 reasons; texture and flavor. Most instant pudding has a gum like xanthan gum or guar gum already added to the pudding powder. The gum acts as a stabilizer/thickener and helps create a thick and creamy texture, and you’ll have scoopable ice cream while reducing the iciness. Easy to scoop ice cream, every time!

Pudding powders also add flavor to the ice cream. If you use chocolate pudding, the ice cream will have a chocolate flavor. If you use pistachio flavor, the ice cream will have a pistachio flavor.

Do you have to add pudding to ninja creami ice cream?

No, you do not need to add instant pudding mix to ice cream with the Ninja Creami. Many do so because it’s quick and easy to do and helps with the texture and flavor and creates a creamy ice cream. But, if you don’t want to use pudding mix, you don’t need to. Instead, you can use about ¼ teaspoon of guar gum and flavor extracts, oils, or powders. The pudding powder is easy to use because it’s one ingredient instead of multiple.

How much pudding powder is used to make ninja creami ice cream?

I always use 2 tablespoons of instant pudding powder in my recipes. Regardless of the flavor or if it’s regular or sugar-free, 2 tablespoons does the trick. I do not use additional gums when using instant pudding mix. I recommend one or the other, but not both.

What type of pudding mix is used to make ninja creami pudding ice cream?

Always use instant pudding mix and not cook and serve pudding mix. You can use regular or sugar-free. Choose regular or sugar-free based on your own dietary preferences. The texture and flavor are the same regardless. However, some do not like the way that the sugar-free pudding mix tastes due to the artificial sweeteners used in the powder.

What do you add to the pudding mix to make ninja creami pudding ice cream?

If you want to make your own recipe, you will need dairy, sweetener, pudding mix, and additional flavoring. To make things easier, I would recommend that you start with one of the recipes I’ve included in this post. Once you’ve followed a few recipes, creating your own gets easier. Most recipes can be modified to fit your dietary needs.

You can switch up the dairy that is used in most of the recipes below. So, if I have used whole milk, you can use low fat milk, oat milk, coconut milk, unsweetened almond milk or even a protein shake instead. But, keep in mind that higher fat and sugar content help to create a creamier texture. I would not recommend substituting the dairy in my recipes with all heavy cream as heavy cream tends to turn to butter when processed in the Ninja Creami machine.

If the recipe calls for sugar, you can substitute your favorite sugar substitute that is a 1:1 ratio with sugar.

I almost always add extra flavor when using pudding mixes in ice cream because the pudding flavor just isn’t quite strong enough. Add in vanilla extract if you are using vanilla pudding mix or cocoa powder if you are using chocolate pudding mix. Since there are so many flavors of oils, extracts, and powders, there are unlimited flavor variations.

How to use the Ninja Creami to make Pudding ice cream

1. Add all of the ice cream base ingredients to a small blender and quickly blending it in a small blender. You can use a whisk, immersion blender, or a frother, but I have found that the small blender works the best. If you don’t blend it, the pudding mix may not fully dissolve or get fully mixed in with the liquids. Make sure that you don’t over blend the mixture. If you do, there will be a lot of extra air added and can overflow in the container. Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami container. Be sure not to fill the container past the fill line.
2. Freeze the mixture on a level surface for 24 hours. The freezer temperature should be between -7 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Based on the temperature of your freezer and the ingredients used, you may be able to freeze for a shorter period of time. Some like to freeze the container without the lid to help reduce the likelihood that a frozen bump will form on the top of the frozen treat.
3. Remove from the freezer and place into the Ninja Creami ice cream machine. Place the pint container into the outer bowl of the Ninja Creami and then process using the “ICE CREAM” function. If you are using non dairy milk and half and half along with sugar-free pudding mix then use “LITE ICE CREAM” instead of ice cream.
4. If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking (like sand), pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and then re-spin. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times. If the ice cream looks like little balls of ice cream and is not overly dry, re-spin without adding additional liquid. If you plan on adding mix-ins, it’s not recommended to re-spin more than once or twice as the ice cream will continue to be spun during the mix-ins process. Overspinning the ice cream or adding too much liquid during a re-spin can create a softer and less scoopable ice cream.
5. If you would like to add mix-ins to your Ninja Creami pudding ice cream, dig a hole down the center of the ice cream, if there is not already one there, and pour in your favorite mix-ins. Put the ice cream back into the machine and process using the mix-in function.

See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for an easy to make Ninja Creami Pudding base recipe that you can modify to make your own creations.

If you are looking for information on how to use the Ninja Creami, answers to the most commonly asked questions, be sure to check out my full post on Ninja Creami FAQs here!

Mix-in ideas for making Pudding ice cream

Fruit- You can add fruit like strawberries, peaches, blueberries, or raspberries during the mix-ins process. Be sure to cut the fruit into small pieces. I prefer to use fresh fruit as a mix-in, but you can use small pieces of frozen fruit that has been thawed out or freeze dried fruit as a mix-in.

Cookies and candy- Adding small pieces of chocolate chip or Oreo cookies and candy to a ice cream can add texture and additional flavor to any ice cream.

Chocolate Chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips etc. I like to chop the chips up into smaller pieces so they are easier to chew.

The flavor combinations are endless when you start adding mix-ins to pudding ice cream.

Ninja Creami Pudding Recipes

For my Ninja Creami Pudding ice cream recipes, I use a variety of pudding flavors and have added extracts, oils, powders, and mix-ins to them to create a variety of delicious flavors.

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