Having an ice cream machine in your house is a sign that you’ve made it. You may get by with a bar of Hershey’s Birthday Cake ice cream or a pint of Kroger’s Lemon Cheesecake ice cream, but nothing beats making your own dairy fantasy (or the “oatly grail” of ice cream) from scratch. It’s entertaining, saves money, and is easy enough to use that even a beginner chef can master it. No matter whether you’re a strawberry ice cream fanatic or a chocoholic with a sweet tooth, we have the perfect ice cream machine for you.
Things to Think About
Are you ready to skip the long wait times at the ice cream parlor? Have you ever fantasized about creating your own unique pint (and could you kindly pass the peanut butter cups)? Need something fun to do with the kids on a scorching day? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you probably don’t need convincing that you need an ice cream machine, but we’ll say it anyway.
Budget, available space on your kitchen counter, and desired features are the primary considerations while shopping for an ice cream machine. A typical ice cream maker weighs between ten and thirty pounds, and it makes one to two quarts of ice cream (a half gallon of store-bought ice cream is two quarts). Think about whether or not you’d use the machine’s automatic programming functions, and what kinds of treats it can produce (traditional ice cream, soft serve, gelato).
It’s also worth keeping in mind that producing ice cream, no matter what ingredients you use, is going to take some time. Some machines, for instance, need that a mixing bowl be frozen the night before use, while others only have longer churning durations. Therefore, if having quick access to ice cream is important to you, it is recommended that you get an ice cream maker that has a built-in compressor. Likewise, ice cream machines are notoriously loud, much like the rest of the kitchen gadgets. You may have faith that any of these shops can fulfill your ice cream cravings with a deliciously creamy and smooth serving.
1. Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker with Gelato Maker
Want to learn how to make ice cream like the pros? We highly recommend this 32-pound machine for producing delicious ice cream and gelato without leaving your house.
With its 1.5-quart capacity, fully automated operation with a 60-minute countdown timer, and dedicated paddles for gelato and ice cream, the Cuisinart ICE-100 has yet to produce a frozen dessert that we didn’t like. (As an added bonus, the commercial-grade compressor-freezer will allow you to whip up a batch of ice cream anytime you choose with no need to wait.)
Since the cover is see-through, experimenting with different flavor combinations during the churning process is more exciting. In addition, the “Preserve Cool” feature will help keep your ice cream or gelato at the ideal consistency, so making homemade ice cream every week might become a family favorite.
2. Whynter Automatic Ice Cream Maker
We agree, and we especially like that it has a built-in compressor, so there’s no need to pre-freeze the mixing bowl every time an ice cream desire strikes. This ice cream maker has a 2-quart capacity and is made with a BPA-free stainless steel detachable mixing bowl and churn blade. It also has an LCD timer control. We also like that you can stop the process to see whether it’s the right consistency, or to add more fruit or other ingredients if necessary.
The Whynter ICM-201SB has another feature that we really like: once an ice cream-making cycle is complete, it maintains the proper temperature to prevent the mixture from melting.
Although it is one of the more expensive versions to make our list, a black and pink version of this ice cream maker may be had for less money if those colors don’t bother you or if your kitchen doesn’t already have them.
Although this machine’s vertical form factor means it occupies less space on your counter, the approximately 25 pounds it weighs make it a pain to relocate.
3. KitchenAid 6 Quart Brands
If you already possess a KitchenAid stand mixer, you can’t go wrong with this useful attachment that has received more than 4,500 five-star ratings on Amazon.
In less than 30 minutes, those with a sweet craving may indulge in their choice of ice cream, frozen yoghurt, gelato, or sorbet thanks to this compact 6-pound attachment. The dasher, which spins within the bowl, makes quick work of spreading, scraping, and mixing all of the ingredients for your favorite frozen dessert, and we like how the freeze bowl’s ingenious design ensures consistent freezing throughout the mixing process. The maximum capacity of this attachment is 2 quarts of ice cream.
(We’ve got you covered for more helpful KitchenAid accessories.)
Good Housekeeping found that this attachment produced the smoothest ice cream of any they tried (but it had trouble with sorbet, if that’s a dealbreaker for you). Warm soapy water makes quick work of cleaning. Note that you may need to purchase an adaptor ring to ensure the appropriate connection.
4. hand2mind Ice Cream Maker with Ball Shape
If you’re looking for an ice cream maker with manual controls, go no further than Amazon’s Choice (no electricity needed). To make ice cream, fill the 2.15-pound ball with your base mixture, add ice and rock salt, and shake vigorously. To make ice cream from scratch takes roughly 30 minutes.
Another benefit is that it piques the attention of children in learning about and participating in the process. Though it has been hailed by some as a useful resource for teaching STEM subjects, most of us just see it as good clean fun.
The fun of producing your own ice cream is the nicest aspect of hand2mind’s offering, in our opinion. Also, another perk? The simple maintenance is a big hit with customers. The biggest issue is that you can only manufacture one pint of ice cream at a time with this device.
5. Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker with Double Insulated Freezer Bowl
This ice cream maker has a 4.7-star rating on Amazon and comes in red, white, and pink. With only 20 minutes, you may have delicious frozen treats like ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet made in this automated machine. It’s a compact and powerful machine weighing in at just over 10 pounds, with a capacity to create up to 1.5 quarts. All you have to do is add your ingredients to the bowl, hit “on,” and find something entertaining to do for the next 20 minutes, like meditate to get yourself in peak mental shape for all the fro-yo you’re about to consume.
The large spout prevents spills as you prepare your frozen treat, and the lid is easy to secure when you’re ready to go. While ice isn’t required, the sorbet’s freezer bowl will need to be frozen for at least 16 hours before it’s ready to serve.
We saw that the most often occurring phrases in the reviews were “simple to use” and “highly suggest,” while several consumers offered warnings regarding the machine’s noise level, which is, unfortunately, quite inevitable when creating ice cream.
6. Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker
The transparent sprinkles jar was the selling point. But really, if soft serve is your thing, you’ll adore using this automated ice cream machine to create soft ice cream, yogurt, sorbet, and sherbet. This 15-pound machine churns out soft-serve ice cream in about 20 minutes, and you can customize it with whatever toppings you choose as you fill your cone or bowl. The purchase also comes with a delightful cookbook.
The pull-down handle makes it simple to fill your cone or bowl, and when it’s time for cleaning, you can disassemble it and wash the individual pieces in the sink. The three toppings dispensers and the convenient cone holder are other notable additions. Please remind us why we were spending $11 per week on weekly soft-serve adventures.
Checking the consistency at the 10-minute point is a good place to start when using an ice cream machine since timing is a little challenging at first.
7. Breville Stainless Steel Ice Cream Maker
All right, savvy users of modern technology: listen up! Featuring a high-quality self-refrigerating compressor and a capacity of up to 1.5 quarts, this ice cream maker is a favorite of Good Housekeeping and allows you to make your next ideal batch of ice cream, sorbet, and the like in one of 12 hardness levels (yes, that’s a thing).
This 30-pound machine is lauded by Good Housekeeping for its backlit LED display, keep-cool feature, and compressor. It’s so simple to operate that even a first-time ice cream maker will feel like a pro after a few tries.
This brushed stainless steel machine will set you back close to $500, which is a lot of money unless your family has an insatiable need for sweets (i.e., your wife is always sending you to the neighborhood deli to pick up a pint of chocolate ice cream).
This investment is money well spent. This is an incredible amount of fun. One happy Amazon shopper said, “My favorite thing is you can create so many various varieties of ice cream.” The shopper went on to use the ice cream maker to make standard ice cream and gelato before becoming obsessed with producing vegan gelato using almond and coconut milks.
Some users have noted that leakage is an issue, which is a drawback (always make sure you measure ingredients as accurately as possible to help prevent such overflow).
8. Cuisinart Electronic Ice Cream Maker
This smart appliance can churn out ice cream, gelato, and sorbet automatically, and it can hold enough ingredients to fill two quarts of storage containers. Both models with and without a timer are accessible, and the freezer bowl is an available accessory. (Because this particular model lacks a compressor, it’s recommended that you store the 2-quart freezer dish in the fridge overnight for optimal results.)
We found a lot to adore. It weighs only 13.5 pounds, has a user-friendly interface, is simple to set up, and produces delicious results every time. The brushed metal finishes provide a stylish look for your kitchen.
Let’s discuss the clamor in the room right now. You may want to go to another room while it’s running because of how loud it is. Another convenient feature is that it turns off by itself when the cycle is finished.
