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The Ninja Creami NC301, available from amazon*, is an ice cream maker for home cooks that is largely based on the Pacojet, a $7,000 commercial machine usually found in restaurants and hotel kitchens. I’ve been testing it in my kitchen now for 10 weeks and my overall impression is positive. Its convenience, both in terms of production and cleaning, is its biggest asset and I also like its relatively small footprint and light weight.

There are, however, two things about it that I dislike: 1. the recipes in the included recipe booklet are extremely poor and produce ice cream and gelato that has a powdery, crumbly, and dry texture that is uncomfortably cold and leaves an unpleasant layer of fat in the mouth; and 2. the two small holes in the bowl lid that let in diluted ice cream mix during cleaning.

At the time of writing (January 2024), the Ninja Creami NC301 is number 1 on amazon US’ ice cream makers best sellers list, which you can view here*.

KEY POINTS

My overall impression is positive and this is a machine that I’d be happy to recommend, especially to home cooks who value convenience.
Convenience, both in terms of production and cleaning, is the aspect I like most about this machine. I also like its relatively small footprint and light weight.
The recipes in the included recipe booklet are extremely poor and produce ice cream and gelato that is uncomfortably cold, dry, and crumbly, and leaves an unpleasant layer of fat in the mouth.
Recipes churned using this machine need to be slightly, although not excessively, sweeter than those churned in conventional ice cream makers, unless you’re happy to include a little bit of dextrose, a naturally-occurring sugar, in your recipe.

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1. How does the Ninja Creami NC301 differ from conventional ice cream makers?

1.1 Ice crystal size

In conventional ice cream makers, chilled liquid ice cream mix is poured into a bowl, which can be either removable or non-removable, where it is frozen whilst being agitated by the rotating dasher (a mixing device that usually has sharp scraper blades attached) to incorporate air, destabilise the fat, and form, or nucleate, ice crystals. Ice crystals range in size from about 1 to over 150 μm in diameter, with an average size of about 25 μm in commercial ice cream (¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶). Small ice crystals, around 10 to 20 µm in size, give ice cream its smooth and creamy texture, whereas larger ice crystals, greater than 50 μm, impart grainy texture (⁵ ⁷ ⁸).

The Ninja Creami NC301 takes a very different approach. Here, the liquid mix is poured into a tub (Ninja calls this a pint) that is frozen to a temperature between -12°C and -25°C (10.4°F and -13°F) over 24 hours. The pint is then loaded into the Creami where the metal paddle spins at high speeds to grind the frozen mix whilst simultaneously incorporating air. This grinding process produces extremely small ice crystals, smaller than those produced in conventional domestic machines, by grinding up large ice crystals into much smaller ones, resulting in extremely smooth texture.

1.2 Freezing Time

The freezing process, known as dynamic freezing, is significantly shorter with the Creami than with a conventional domestic, and even commercial, ice cream maker. The dynamic freezing process can take anywhere from 6 minutes in a commercial batch ice cream machine (my Emery Thompson CB-200 commercial batch ice cream maker takes 6-8 minutes) to around 40 minutes in a domestic machine.

One of the aspects that I like about the Creami is its relatively short production time: using the ice cream setting, I’ve found that it takes just 1 minute and 46 seconds to churn a pint.

1.3 Fat Content

Another fundamental difference between the Ninja Creami NC301 and conventional domestic ice cream makers is the recipe's fat content. Generally speaking, a high fat recipe will be smoother, richer, have a slower release of flavour that isn't as strong but lasts longer in the mouth, stays smooth longer once stored in the freezer, and melts slower compared to a lower fat recipe.

For all conventional domestic ice cream makers I've tested (the Lello 4080 Musso Lussino, the Cuisinart ICE-100, and the Cuisinart ICE-70P1 being three examples), I’ve found the optimum fat content of a recipe to be nearly 25% of the total mix weight (this is the fat content of my Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe, which you can read here). This high fat content produces ice cream that is rich, smooth, creamy, melts slowly, has a slow release of flavour that lasts in the mouth, and has a good shelf-life when stored in the freezer.

For the Ninja Creami NC301, however, I’ve found that a recipe’s fat content cannot exceed roughly 16%. Above roughly 16%, the significantly higher speed of the rotating paddle causes the fat in the mix coalesces, or clump, resulting in large lumps of fat and an unpleasant fatty layer that lingers in the mouth. This relatively lower fat content doesn’t, however, mean that a recipe churned with the Creami isn’t going to be rich, smooth, and creamy; my no-heat Tres Leches recipe, which has a fat content of 16% and you can read here, is very thick, smooth, and creamy. It just means that in a side-by-side comparison (I doubt there will be many people running this) a 25% fat recipe, with all other variables being equal, churned in a conventional domestic ice cream maker will very likely be perceived as being richer and creamier and having a flavour profile that develops slower, is less intense but lasts longer, than a 16% fat recipe churned in the Creami.

I’ll also add that a smooth and creami 16% fat recipe, again assuming all other variables are equal, will have significantly fewer calories than a smooth and creamy 25% fat recipe.

As I’m writing this, I’m actually wondering to myself whether by using the gelato setting, which I presume spins the paddle at a slower rate than the ice cream setting in order to whip less air into the mix, I’ll be able to increase the fat content of a recipe above 16%. I’ll update this review once I’ve had a chance to test this.

I’ll finish this part there for now.

2. General Questions & Answers

2.1 Is it noisy?

I’ve read several user reviews on amazon where people have complained about the noise this machine makes. I really haven’t found this to be an issue, especially for just 1 minute and 45 seconds.

2.2 Is it easy to clean?

Yes another aspect of this machine that I like, and one that falls under the general convenience umbrella, is how easy it is to clean. You just have to wash the outer bowl lid, paddle, pint, pint lid, and wipe the rotating pin on the motor base that connects to the paddle. I hand-wash these parts in warm soapy water but the instruction manual does say that all attachments are BPA free and top-rack dishwasher safe.

I don’t, however, like the two holes in the outer bowl lid because these let in diluted ice cream mix during cleaning, I’ll expand on this in section 3.1 below.

2.3 Can you make several batches back-to-back?

Yes. You can prepare a 2kg batch, split it into several pints, freeze these for 24 hours, and then churn them all back-to-back if, say, you are hosting a large party, or churn them individually over several weeks or months.

2.4 Can you buy extra pints?

I received 5 pints with my Creami, which I think is enough for me, but you can buy additional pints from amazon*. Just make sure that you have enough space in your freezer for additional pints.

2.5 How much mix can each pint hold?

The maximum each pint can hold is roughly 567g, or 550ml (0.58 quart).

2.6 Can it churn just half of the pint?

Unlike the more expensive Creami Deluxe that lets you process just half of the pint and then put the remaining frozen half back in the freezer, the Creami NC301 only gives you the option of churning the entire pint. If you don’t think that you’ll be able to finish an entire 550ml (0.58 quart) pint in one sitting or over a few days, one work around is to fill the pint only half way, freeze it for 24 hours, and then churn.

2.7 How long does the ice cream last in the freezer once churned?

Ice cream is frozen in two stages, the first being dynamic and the second static. In conventional machines, ice crystals are formed during dynamic freezing, where the ice cream mix is frozen and agitated, and grow during static freezing, where the partially frozen ice cream mix is hardened in a freezer without agitation. As I mentioned above in section 1.1, small ice crystals, around 10 to 20 µm in size, give ice cream its smooth and creamy texture, whereas larger ice crystals, greater than 50 μm, impart grainy texture.

Ice recrystallisation (the general increase in ice crystal size) during storage is considered to have the most significant effect on the shelf life of ice cream because of the adverse effect on texture. Because ice crystals will be at their smallest size and, therefore, texture at its creamiest, as soon as the frozen mix is processed in the Creami, it is ideal to to finish a pint as soon as it’s been churned and not store it in the freezer. The longer you store a half-eaten pint in the freezer, the larger the ice crystals grow and the grainer the texture becomes.

With my no-heat Tres Leches recipe, I’ve found that the texture is still smooth and creamy after 5 days’ storage in my standard freezer at -21°C (5.8°F). I suspect that the texture will remain smooth and creamy for longer but a power cut in my kitchen has put a premature end to my shelf-life test.

2.8 Air content

The amount of air incorporated into a mix during dynamic freezing (referred to as the overrun) affects the size of the ice crystals, with slightly larger ice crystals observed at a lower overrun (¹⁴ ¹⁵). Flores and Goff¹⁶ suggested that overrun below 50% does not influence ice crystal size, but the amount of air cells at 70% overrun is just enough to prevent collisions among ice crystals, which can result in an increase in crystal size. Sofjan & Hartel⁶ found that increasing the overrun in ice cream (from 80% to 100% or 120%) led to the formation of smaller ice crystals, although the effect was relatively small.

I’ve found that using the ice cream setting, the Ninja Creami incorporates about 20% air into the ice cream mix, which is roughly comparable to all of the conventional ice cream makers that I’ve tested. This produces thick dense ice cream that I prefer to the lighter, airier texture that I get in my commercial Emery Thompson CB-200 that whips in around 60% air.

3. What I don’t like about this machine

There are two things that I don’t like about this machine: 1. the two holes in the bowl lid that allow in diluted mix during cleaning; and 2. just how poor the recipes in the included recipe booklet are.

3.1 The two holes in the outer bowl lid

The first, albeit minor, thing that I don’t like about this machine is the two small holes in the top of the outer bowl lid that let diluted ice cream mix in during cleaning. If the inside of the lid isn’t thoroughly rinsed, diluted mix will either harden inside the lid and likely give off a not-so-pleasant cheesy smell over time, or seep out onto your drying rack.

I encountered this issue the first two times I used this machine but it wasn’t until the second time that I discovered that the streak of diluted mix on my drying rack was seeping out of one of the holes in the outer lid.

This isn’t a huge headache, it just means that you need to be a bit more attentive during cleaning. I now first rinse my lid with warm water, making sure that plenty gets in through both of the holes in the top. I then give it a good clean with warm soapy water before a nice, long rinse under the tap to get plenty of clean running water in through the two holes. I then place it in the top shelf of my dishwasher.

3.2 The recipes in the included recipe booklet

The second, and most important, aspect that I really dislike about this machine is just how poor the recipes in the included recipe booklet are; the cynic in me can’t help but think that Ninja deliberately made these recipes extremely poor to encourage people to buy their recipe book 😒

The recipes that I’ve tested so far are the Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chip, the Chocolate Ice Cream, and the Vanilla Bean Gelato. I’ve found that all three produce ice cream and gelato that is dry, crumbly, fatty, and uncomfortably cold, albeit to varying degrees. We’ll take a deep dive into the Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chip recipe in the following section and discuss why it is so poor.

3.2.1 My analysis of the Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips recipe

3.2.1.1 The mix composition

The US recipe (the UK recipe, recipe booklet available from Ninja here, is a little different) of the Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips recipe on page 8 of the recipe booklet, available from Ninja here, is as follows:

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) PHILADELPHIA cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, for mix in

Using Horizon Organic Heavy Whipping Cream at 32.4% fat and Organic Valley Organic Whole Milk Grass-fed at 3.6% fat, both from Walmart, I’ve laid out the composition of the recipe in the table below.

3.2.1.2 My review

I followed the directions and froze the mix for 24 hours. After 24 hours, with the mix inside the pint at -19.8°C (-3.6°F), I loaded the pint into the Creami and churned it using the ice cream setting. Immediately after churning and at a temperature of -9.7°C (14.5°F), I found the ice cream had an almost dry breadcrumb-like consistency, was uncomfortably cold, and left an unpleasant layer of fat in my mouth. When I re-span (churned a second time) the pint using the respin setting, the texture at -7.4°C (18.7°F) improved slightly with fewer dry crumbly chunks but the unpleasant lingering layer of fat in my mouth was more pronounced.

These textural issues are the result of a fundamental problem with this recipe: a high freezing point.

The dry, crumbly, breadcrumb-like texture of Ninja’s Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips recipe after the first churn

The Vanilla Ice Cream recipe with Chocolate Chips after the respin with clear signs of the coalescence of fat into large fatty clumps

3.2.1.3 Freezing point

The freezing point of pure water is 0°C (32°F) (you're welcome). When a substance is dissolved in water, however, the temperature at which the water freezes is lowered. This lowering of the freezing point is referred to as the ‘Freezing Point Depression’ and is defined as the difference between 0°C (32°F) and the temperature at which water in an ice cream mix first begins to freeze (¹²).

A low freezing point produces ice cream that is softer to scoop, has smoother texture, feels warmer in the mouth, and melts faster, whereas a high freezing point produces ice cream that feels colder, is harder to scoop, isn’t as smooth, melts slower, and is more prone to the full coalescence of the fat globules, resulting in large clumps of fat that are detectable in the mouth.

The problem with all three recipes that I’ve tested is that primarily due to the low sugar content, and to a lesser extent the low total solids content, their freezing points are way too high and this high freezing points produces ice cream that is uncomfortably cold, dry, and crumbly and leaves an unpleasant layer of fat in the mouth.

I’ve put together a Tres Leches with a higher sugar content, which you can read here, to address the high freezing point issue. The trade off, unless you’re willing to use a little bit of dextrose, a naturally-occurring sugar with nearly twice the freezing point depression effect of table sugar, is ice cream that is just ever so slightly, although not excessively, sweeter than that produced in a conventional domestic ice cream maker.

Ninja’s Chocolate Ice Cream recipe after the first churn

The Chocolate Ice Cream recipe after a re-spin: significantly better texture than the Vanilla recipe but still uncomfortably cold in the mouth and with pronounced coalescing of fat

4. Summary

In summary, I’ve found the Ninja Creami NC301, available from amazon*, to be a great little machine that can conveniently make great ice cream, just as long as a recipe with a sufficiently low freezing point is used. Its biggest asset is convenience: preparing, freezing, and churning a no-heat recipe is relatively quick and easy, as is cleaning; just make sure to thoroughly rinse the inside of the bowl lid after use. The recipes in the included recipe booklet are extremely poor and produce ice cream and gelato that is dry, crumbly, uncomfortably cold, and that leaves an unpleasant layer of fat in the mouth.

5. Declaration of competing interest

I have previously worked with Shark Ninja as an ice cream consultant: I trained some of their research chefs in 2019 both here in my kitchen in the UK and also at their headquarters in Boston, US. I don’t, however, have an ongoing relationship with Shark Ninja, nor have I been paid to write this review or received this machine for free. I paid for this bad boy with my own money and have written this review in my own time. Everything written on this blog is entirely my own work and my own opinion.

6. What the * means

Transparency is key. On that note, I haven't been paid to write this review, nor was I given this machine for free. I paid for this bad boy with my own money and have written this review in my own time. If there is a * after a link, it means that I will earn a payment if you go through it and make a purchase on amazon. This doesn't increase the cost of what you purchase, nor do these links influence what I write.

7. References

Donhowe, D. P., and Hartel, R. W., 1996. Recrystallization of ice during bulk storage of ice cream. Int Dairy J. 6(11–12):1209–21.
Hagiwara, T., and Hartel, R. W. 1996. Effect of sweetener, stabilizer, and storage temperature on ice recrystallization in ice cream. J Dairy Sci. 79(5):735–44.
Hartel, R. W., 1996. Ice crystallisation during the manufacture of ice cream. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 7(10).
Koxholt, M., Eisenmann, B., and Hinrichs, J., 2000. Effect of process parameters on the structure of ice cream. Bur Dairy Mag. 1:27-30.
Marshall, R. T., Goff, H. D., and Hartel R. W., 2003. Ice cream (6th ed). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Sofjan, R., P., and Hartel, R. W., 2004. Effects of overrun on structural and physical characteristics of ice cream. International Dairy Journal. 14, 255-262.
Eisner, M. D., Wildmoser, H., and Windhab, E. J., 2005. Air cell microstructuring in a high-viscous ice cream matrix. Colloids Surf A. 263(1–3). 390–9.
Drewett, E. M., and Hartel, R. W., 2007. Ice crystallisation in a scraped surface freezer. Journal of Food Engineering. 78(3).
Bolliger, S., Goff, D., and Tharp, W., 2000. Correlation between colloidal properties of ice cream mix and ice cream. International Dairy Journal. 10: 303–309.
Goff, H. D., 1997. Colloidal aspects of ice cream. International Dairy Journal. 7: 363–373.
Granger, C., Leger, A., Barey, P., Langendorff, V., and Cansell, M., 2005. Influence of formulation on the structural networks in ice cream. International Dairy Journal. 15:255–262.
Goff, H. D., and Hartel, R., W., 2013. Ice Cream. 7th ed. New York: Springer
Prindiville, E. A., Marshall, R. T., and Heymann, H., 1999. Effect of milk fat on the sensory properties of chocolate ice cream. Journal of Dairy Science. 82:1425-1432.
Arbuckle, W. S., 1977. Ice cream (3rd ed.). Connecticut: Avi Publisher Company.
Flores, A. A., and Goff, H. D., 1999. Recrystallization in ice cream after constant and cycling temperature storage conditions as affected by stabilizers. Journal of Dairy Science.82, 1408–1415.
Flores, A. A., and Goff, H. D., 1999. Ice crystal size distributions in dynamically frozen model solutions and ice cream as affected by stabilizers. Journal of Dairy Science. 82. 1399–1407.

Ninja Creami NC301 Ice Cream Maker - A Comprehensive Review