A machine that lives up to the hype. Sweet. Creamy. Treats.
The Ninja CREAMi serves up fast homemade ice cream, if you can just wait to freeze the base.
Our house has got a sweet tooth. This gives us what we need!
I'll admit - I was a skeptic.
I thought to myself, why would I basically buy a "blender" to make ice cream from an already frozen base? I watched all the videos myself and read some of the reviews just like you're doing now. I just didn't know if I could justify buying an expensive machine for it to just to "blend" the frozen base.
I've now said that twice, so I'll explain what that means. To get started, you won't be eating ice cream the first day. At least, not if you want ice cream. The Ninja® CREAMi® Deluxe requires that you whip up a batch of your ice cream base. In my case, that was a vanilla and a chocolate base. Per the booklet of recipes that it comes with, you'll take a recipe (or two - it does come with two of the XL pints that hold 24 oz. of ice cream) and mix that up, pour it into the sturdy plastic XL pint container, pop the lid on carefully and then freeze it for 24 hours.
*A note about the lid: it will appear that it does not fit and will even come off very easily before placing in the freezer. The next day, the container will have expanded when it's frozen and the lid will fit snugly onto the container. But be careful! If your freezer environment is prone to knocking stuff over, you might wind up with a spilled ice cream base. I have one of the bottom drawer freezers so I cleared a little space on the pull out rack so that I wouldn't have to set the containers in the base of the freezer drawer, making it harder to get to.
There are several versions so pay attention to the different models.
The CREAMi is capable of many different kinds of treats, from ice cream to Italian ice to margaritas!
A newbie like me had to learn quickly that there are different kinds of models of theNinja® CREAMi® Deluxe. The one being reviewed here is the Deluxe edition that comes with the larger pint containers. This 11-in-1 maker creates treats like ice cream, lite ice cream, sorbet, gelato, mix-in creations from cookies and cream to butter pecan, Italian ice, slushes, frozen yogurts, frozen drinks like margaritas and even frozen coffee treats that Ninja termed Creamiccino.
Other similar models do the same things, with the exception of fewer one-touch buttons and smaller pint containers. The Ninja line also makes specific frozen drink machines, as well as a host of other products from air fryers to grills.
This review comes without any endorsement whatsoever from the Ninja company.
Product Details
With the Ninja® CREAMi® XL Deluxe, you can turn almost anything into ice cream and so much more. Make classic CREAMi® treats like ice cream, sorbet, gelato, and mix-in masterpieces. And now, make CREAMi® scoopable and drinkable treats like Italian ice, Slushi, Creamiccino™, frozen yogurt, and frozen drinks right at home.• ADDED PROGRAMS: Unlock a variety of frozen treats with 5 added programs.
• XL CAPACITY: Make more treats for the whole family to enjoy. Larger CREAMi® XL tubs hold 50% more ice cream than the original Ninja® CREAMi®
• FLEXIBILITY: Turn one frozen base into two finished flavors – one in the top half of the XL tub and the other on the bottom. You can even process the top half to enjoy now and save the rest for later.
• CUSTOMIZATION: Create completely customizable treats. With the Ninja® CREAMi® XL Deluxe, you can have total control of your ingredients for low sugar, keto, dairy-free, and vegan options.
• ADVANCED CREAMIFY TECHNOLOGY™: The Dual-Drive Motors apply downward pressure and spin the Deluxe Creamerizer™ Paddle that finely shaves and transforms ice particles into delicious treats like slushies, Italian ice, frozen drinks, Creamiccinos™, and more.
Probably the coolest part is the ADVANCED CREAMIFY TECHNOLOGY™ which Ninja describes as dual-drive motors that apply downward pressure and "spin the Deluxe Creamerizer™ Paddle that finely shaves and transforms ice particles into delicious treats like slushies, Italian ice, frozen drinks, Creamiccinos™, and more."
Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
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Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe from Budget Delicious
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Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe from the Ninja Test Kitchen
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Easy Frozen Yogurt from the Balanced Nutritionist
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Cookies and Cream Recipe from Give a Girl a Spoon
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Coconut Ice Cream Recipe
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Orange Sorbet from Healthy Food Fast
You might find me inside all summer making slushies and ice cream.
Oh, and also margaritas! I think that it's the perfect summer buy for the whole family. If you're in a warm climate like me, then you understand the need to hunker down inside with the AC on full blast and plenty pint containers freezing in the freezer so you can make sure you never run out of these sweet treats!
I'm actually planning to make this in a day or so, so I thought I'd post the recipe to get a head start on the process!
Ingredients
For the ice cream base
1 cup (237ml) whole milk
⅔ cup (158ml) heavy cream
1 tablespoon cream cheese you may need another tablespoon
½ cup (100g) brown sugar
Mix-ins
⅔ cup (85g) toasted chopped pecans
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
Toast pecans in a small skillet over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes.
Add the butter and keep tossing for another minute. Remove from the heat, let cool, and then roughly chop the pecans.
Combine the ice cream base ingredients in the Ninja Creami pint container using a whisk until well blended. Make sure the cream cheese is well mixed in.
Cover and freeze on a level surface in the freezer for 24 hours.
The next day
Remove the container from the freezer, take the lid off, and place it in the Ninja Creami machine, as stated in the manufacturer’s instructions
Select the ice cream setting and let it process.
When done, remove the bowl, form a hole in the middle of the ice cream, and add most of the buttered pecans (leave a few for garnish), making sure to also add the butter. Place back in the Ninja Creami machine, select the mix-ins function, and process.
Remove the ice cream, garnish with the remaining pecan pieces, and serve.
What will they think of next?
The truth is I never thought I'd be a Ninja CREAMi owner. I do love Ninja. I have one of the early editions of the Foodi Grill, and I recently got a Ninja food processor. Both are fabulous. I'm not sure why I never doubted that the CREAMi would be every bit as good as everyone said.
Granted, I still am very early in the process and I've yet to make a lot of things. I'm really looking forward to the frozen yogurts, slushes and the margaritas! I'll let you know how those turn out ;)
Cheers!
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