Check out my review of the new Ninja Creami! I received this product at no cost from Ninja Kitchen. but all of the opinions below are my own and not that of Ninja Kitchen.
Who else is super excited to see some new Ninja products coming out?! When Ninja reached out to me and asked me to test out their newest product, I was SO EXCITED!! Since I was a tester for the product, I've had several months to try it out and have made a ton of recipes in the new Ninja Creami!
Need more information or have questions about the Ninja Creami? Check out my post on frequently asked questions! There's a ton of super helpful information!
Ninja Creami FAQs
The Ninja Creami is a frozen treat maker. It has a blade that moves up and down in the middle of the pint of frozen treat. The different processes allow the blade to either "blend" the ingredients all together or "fold" them together. It is not a blender. I repeat...it is not a blender! Instead of evenly blending all ingredients like a blender, the Ninja Creami does one of two things. First, you can add all ingredients to the Ninja Creami and process it. Doing so will evenly incorporate all ingredients together, similar to a blender. For example, if you put chocolate chips into the mixture and process it, the chocolate chips will all be cut up into very small pieces and mixed throughout. But, if you want to have ice cream with whole chocolate chips, you would instead add them during the mix-in process. During this process, the mix-ins get "folded" into the base. If you were to blend everything together, you would not end up with whole chocolate chips at the end.
To make a frozen treat in the Ninja Creami, you first create your base. Once you have created a base, you will pour it into one of the pint containers that come with the machine. Freeze the base for 24 hours. Once fully frozen, remove from the freezer and place in the Ninja Creami, choose the process that you want. The Ninja Creami will mix the base together for about a minute or so. Now, the base is creamy and no longer frozen solid. Next, add in your mix-ins and choose the mix-ins process. The Ninja Creami will slowly mix the mix-ins into the frozen treat without changing the size or texture of the mix.
The Ninja Creami has 6 process settings. Ice Cream, Gelato, Sorbet, Lite Ice Cream, Smoothie Bowls, and Milkshakes. Each process is a little bit different and provides a different result.
To make a frozen treat in the Ninja Creami, it takes about 5 minutes of prep time, 24 hours of freezing time, and about 5 minutes of process/mix-in time.
The Ninja Creami makes 1-pint containers of frozen treats. The machine comes standard with 3 pint containers. You can buy additional pint containers from Ninja.
-In a regular ice cream maker, you can only make one flavor of ice cream at a time. The Ninja Creami allows you to make as many flavors as you would like since you will be making the base separately and freezing it in pint containers. When you are ready to eat the frozen treat, just mix it and add in your mix-ins.
-The Ninja Creami doesn't just make it ice cream. See above.
-The Ninja Creami takes a full 24 hours to freeze before mixing and eating, whereas some ice cream makes take substantially less time to make the ice cream.
-A regular ice cream maker does not have the ability to fully incorporate ingredients together. The Ninja Creami has a blade in it that makes this possible.
-The Ninja Creami allows you to remix leftover frozen treats when you are ready to eat them later.
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Ninja Creami Specifications:
What's in the box?
-Ninja Creami machine
-3 pint containers with lids
-Outer bowl lid
-Creamerizer paddle
-Outer bowl
-Recipe book
-Instruction manual
-QR code on the back of the unit to register with Ninja for warranty
-1 year warranty
Specifications:
Voltage-120V-, 60Hz
Power-800 Watts
One-Touch Programs:
Ice Cream- Traditional ice cream recipes using dairy products
Gelato-Creamier Italian style ice cream made with dairy products and usually eggs
Sorbet-Fruit based, high water content, usually dairy-free
Milkshakes- Thick, drinkable consistency containing dairy products
Smoothie Bowl- Thick smoothies made from fruits and vegetables, dairy, and non-dairy products
Lite Ice Cream-Low sugar and fat- sugar and dairy substitutes used, great for Keto and Paleo recipes
Mix-ins-Add in additional ingredients to your frozen treat, size, and texture remain the same as when added- example: chocolate chips
Re-spin- Great for re-spinning frozen treats that have already been processed (do not use on treats straight out of the freezer) to add additional creaminess
Ninja Creami Tips and Tricks:
-Be sure to let the base freeze for a full 24 hours, level and upright in a cold freezer. The freezer temperature should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit.
-If a recipe calls for dairy, substituting with non-dairy products may alter the texture or consistency.
-If using sugar substitutes, use the LITE ice cream process.
-If you have made a frozen treat and it just is not quite as creami as you would like, you can very easily get it super creami again using the re-spin function on the Ninja Creami. Simply place the pint back into the outer bowl and snap it into place. Choose the RE-SPIN function. Once the cycle completes, remove the pint, and enjoy! Your frozen treat should be nice and creamy again. If you have re-frozen a treat and then taken it out of the freezer, you cannot use the RE-SPIN function. Instead, put the treat into the Ninja Creami and re-process on the original function that you chose when initially processing it. If it's still not creami, then use the RE-SPIN function.
-If you are keeping the smoothie bowl 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 frozen treats will keep for several weeks, even months. However, if you transfer your frozen treats 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 frozen treats will decrease greatly to just a few days and you will likely end up with a freezer-burned frozen treat.
-Make any treat vegan or dairy-free by substituting dairy products with dairy substitutes. ***Due to a change in fat content, the texture might be a little different.
-You can add your favorite alcohol to frozen treats to make boozy treats!
Simply replace about an ounce of the dairy that is in the recipe and follow all other instructions. DO NOT add more than about an ounce of alcohol or the frozen treat will not freeze to the desired temperature.
-Add in protein powders, matcha powder, collagen, etc. to any recipe for additional health benefits.
Basic Steps on How to Use the Ninaj Creami:
-Make the base for your frozen treat.
-Place base in the freezer for 24 hours.
-Insert the pint container into the outer bowl. Put the lid on the outer bowl.
-Insert the outer bowl into the machine and lock it into place.
-Push the button for the program that you would like to use.
-Once the program has ended, remove the outer bowl from the Ninja Creami.
-Remove lid and eat!
-To add mix-ins:
-If there isn't already a tunnel in the center of the frozen treat, use a spoon to scoop out the very center to make room for the mix-ins.
-Pour mix-ins into the tunnel.
-Put the outer bowl lid on the outer bowl.
-Insert the outer bowl into the machine and lock it into place.
-Push the MIX-IN button.
-Once the program has ended, remove the outer Bowl from the Ninja Creami.
-Remove lid and eat!
The results are so rich and creamy that you can literally hold the pint upside down without fearing that it's going to be a melty or chunky mess that does not stay together!
Ninja Creami Pros and Cons:
Pros:
-You can make literally any flavor of frozen treat that you can come up with! The options are endless!
-Make several different flavors at the same time.
-1 pint containers do not take up a lot of room in the freezer.
-Many different functions allow for different textures and consistencies.
-Creami, not icy in texture.
-The ability to fully incorporate mix-ins or to just fold them in.
-Small enough to keep on the counter when not in use.
-Easy clean up- pints, lid, and blade come apart and can be hand washed or washed on the top shelf of the dishwasher.
Cons:
-You can only make 1 pint at a time (or 3 if you use all 3 pint containers). This could be an issue if you are trying to make a lot of ice cream all at once.
-It is noisy when mixing.
-The outer bowl is tricky to get into the machine. It takes some getting used to.
-It takes 24 hours to freeze the base before making it into a frozen treat.
-It usually takes a re-spin to achieve the desired creaminess.
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Betty
When making a base do you leave out the vanilla if you don’t no what flavor you want and then add flavor to mix in
Lauren Cardona
Hi Betty- If you would like to use the same base recipe and just change the flavor, you can omit the vanilla and add in a different flavoring.
Kim
Can I use 2% milk instead of the whole milk? If so, so I have to use the lite setting for ice cream?
TheTastyTravelers
Hi Kim- What recipe are you referring to? Generally speaking, yes you can use 2% milk instead of whole milk. Since it's a lower fat content, the results might be a little less creamy. For 2% milk, I would still use the regular ice cream setting. I usually use lite ice cream for recipes that are using very small amounts of dairy and/or sugar or are using sugar/dairy substitutes.
Patricia L Jeffries
Hi, wondering why the frozen treat leaves a film feeling on th roof of the mouth
TheTastyTravelers
Sometimes you will get that almost greasy film on your spoon or in your mouth. It’s usually due to the heavy cream and/or the cream cheese. Try reducing the amount and adding a lower fat content dairy product instead.
Jan
Hi- I'm wondering if you've tried making ice cream using Swerve or monk fruit and if that changed the consistency of the final product.
Thanks.
TheTastyTravelers
Hi Jan- I have not used swerve or monk fruit yet. So, unfortunately, I can't advise on how it would turn out.
Jan
I have used Swerve sweetener and allulose and it works just fine. I used the regular ice cream setting.