The Ninja Creami and the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment both let you create delicious frozen desserts at home, but they work in fundamentally different ways. The Ninja Creami freezes a solid block of ingredients and then finely shaves it into a creamy texture, offering incredible versatility for various treats. The KitchenAid attachment relies on the traditional method of churning a liquid base inside a frozen bowl, producing larger batches of classic ice cream.
Here's everything you need to know to decide which frozen dessert maker is the right one for your kitchen.
Ninja Creami
The Ninja Creami is a countertop appliance that transforms frozen solid bases into ice cream, gelato, sorbet, milkshakes, and smoothie bowls in minutes. Its unique system uses a high-powered paddle that spins down and shaves ice crystals into an ultra-fine, smooth texture. This method allows for a huge range of customization, including low-sugar, dairy-free, and high-protein creations that are difficult to achieve with traditional churners.
- What it is: A standalone frozen dessert maker that uses "Creamify Technology" to process solid-frozen pint-sized containers of ingredients.
- Key features: Multiple one-touch programs for ice cream, sorbet, gelato, smoothie bowl, and milkshake, includes a separate mix-in function, comes with several pint containers and storage lids for making and storing bases.
- Price: Around $199 - $249 for the base model.
- Dimensions: Approximately 8" D x 8" W x 12" H depending on the model, with a tall and slim vertical profile.
- Materials/Construction: The body is made of durable plastic components with a sturdy base to handle the powerful motor during operation. Pints and blades are top-rack dishwasher-safe.
- Style: Sleek and modern with a simple button interface, typically available in neutral finishes like silver, black, or white to match contemporary kitchen aesthetics.
- Pros: Extremely versatile with multiple presets, can create creamy textures from non-traditional bases (like canned fruit or protein shakes), handles mix-ins perfectly, small single-serving pints are great for portion control and flavor experimentation, easy to clean.
- Cons: Requires you to pre-freeze your mixture for 24 hours before processing, can be very loud when operating, makes small batches (one pint at a time).
The Ninja Creami is perfect for creative home cooks who want to make a wide variety of frozen treats, experiment with unique ingredients, and prefer the convenience of single-serving portions.
Shop this product: ninjakitchen.com/creami-family-page-10-long-v2/
KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment
The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker is not a standalone machine but an attachment designed to work with the iconic KitchenAid stand mixer. It uses a tried-and-true method: a large, liquid-filled freezer bowl is frozen solid, then attached to the mixer. As the mixer's motor spins a dasher (paddle), it churns your liquid ice cream base, slowly freezing it against the bowl's walls to create creamy, classic ice cream.
- What it is: A freezer bowl attachment for KitchenAid stand mixers that churns traditional ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt.
- Key features: Large 2-quart capacity freezer bowl, dasher attachment connects to the mixer's motor head, designed for continuous churning to minimize ice crystals. Stand Mixer Sold Separately.
- Price: Around $70 - $99 for the attachment itself. The required stand mixer is sold separately, typically pricing from $300+.
- Dimensions: The bowl is approximately 7" H x 9" W, and it's quite bulky for freezer storage.
- Materials/Construction: The heavy-duty insulated bowl is built to stay frozen for the entire churning process. The dasher and drive assembly are made from sturdy plastic.
- Style: The bowl is typically white, designed to seamlessly fit the aesthetics of any KitchenAid stand mixer, maintaining the brand's classic, throwback look.
- Pros: Makes large batches (up to 2 quarts), ideal for families or entertaining, leverages the powerful and reliable motor of your existing stand mixer, produces classic, rich, slow-churned ice cream texture, very simple to operate.
- Cons: Requires you to own a compatible KitchenAid stand mixer, the large bowl needs to be pre-frozen for at least 15-24 hours and takes up significant freezer space, less versatile, designed primarily for classic churning recipes.
This attachment makes sense for current KitchenAid stand mixer owners who want to make large quantities of traditional ice cream for gatherings and have ample freezer space for the bowl.
Shop this product: kitchenaid.com/appliances/stand-mixers/attachments/p.ice-cream-maker-attachment.ksmicm.html/
Ninja Creami vs. KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Comparison
Process & Versatility
The core difference is the process. The Ninja Creami uses brute force - spinning a blade downward through a pre-frozen block. This allows it to create amazing textures from almost anything you can freeze, from canned peaches for a sorbet to a thick protein shake for a healthy frozen dessert. Its dedicated settings for smoothie bowls, gelato, and mix-ins make it a multi-purpose machine.
The KitchenAid takes a more classic approach. Its churn and freeze method is specifically for traditional custard or milk-based ice creams and sorbets. While excellent at that task, it is not designed to handle the wide range of bases or solid ingredients the Creami can process. For straightforward, high-quality ice cream, it's fantastic, but it's fundamentally a one-trick pony.
Prep Time & Batch Size
Both machines require significant pre-freezing. The Creami needs its bases frozen solid for 24 hours, and the KitchenAid needs its 2-quart bowl frozen for 15-24 hours. The true difference lies in what happens next and how much you can make. The Ninja Creami finishes a pint in about 2-5 minutes, great for an "on-demand" treat if your bases are ready.
Conversely, the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment takes 20-30 minutes of continuous churning. However, it yields up to 2 quarts (64 oz) in one go, compared to the Creami's one pint (16 oz). This makes the KitchenAid the clear winner for serving a family or party guests.
Price & Value
On the surface, the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment appears cheaper, often retailing under $100. But that price is misleading, as it is useless without a compatible KitchenAid stand mixer, which is a significant investment ($300+). If you already have the mixer, the attachment is an excellent, low-cost add-on.
The Ninja Creami's price (around $200-$250) includes everything you need to start making desserts out of the box. For anyone who doesn't already own a KitchenAid mixer, the Creami is the more affordable and direct path to homemade frozen treats, offering more versatile functions for its all-in price.
Who Each One Works Best For
The Ninja Creami is built for the experimenter and the individual. If you love creating new flavors, want to make healthier alternatives like protein ice cream, or appreciate having multiple types of desserts from one machine, it's the obvious choice. The single-serving pint system is ideal for small households, couples, or anyone with specific dietary needs, allowing each person to have their own custom-made treat.
The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker is for the traditionalist and the entertainer. Its value shines for those who already own a stand mixer and love making large batches of classic, smooth ice cream or sorbet. If your goal is to serve homemade vanilla bean ice cream to a table of six after dinner, this attachment is more efficient and practical than running the Ninja Creami three or four times in a row.
Which One Should You Choose?
Both appliances make excellent frozen desserts, but they cater to very different needs and kitchen workflows.
Choose the Ninja Creami if:
- You want maximum versatility to make ice cream, sorbet, smoothie bowls, and more.
- You enjoy experimenting with unique flavors or custom recipes (e.g., keto, dairy-free).
- You're making desserts primarily for one or two people at a time.
- You don't already own a KitchenAid stand mixer.
- You appreciate the convenience of its dedicated one-touch programs.
Choose the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment if:
- You already own and love your KitchenAid stand mixer.
- You need to make large batches of ice cream for your family or guests.
- You prefer the classic, airy texture of slow-churned ice cream.
- You have dedicated freezer space for a large, bulky bowl.
- You mainly want to make traditional ice cream and sorbet recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main difference in how they make an ice cream base?
The primary difference is the process. The Ninja Creami takes a fully frozen block of ingredients and uses a high-speed blade to shave off and process micro-thin layers into a creamy dessert. The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker uses a traditional churning method, where a paddle continuously scrapes a liquid base against the walls of a frozen bowl to gradually freeze it.
Do I need an appliance to use either device?
Yes, though in different ways. The Ninja Creami is a self-contained, standalone countertop appliance. Conversely, the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment requires a KitchenAid stand mixer to function, as the mixer's motor is what powers the churning paddle.
How much ice cream does each one make at a time?
The standard Ninja Creami makes one pint (roughly 16 oz) at a time, making it ideal for individual servings or small bowls. The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment has a much larger capacity, producing up to two quarts (64 oz) in a single batch.
Which device produces results faster?
Both products have a similar pre-freeze time of around 24 hours (for the pint or the bowl). Once frozen, the Ninja Creami is faster, finishing a pint in just 2 to 5 minutes. The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker takes noticeably longer, requiring a continuous churning process of about 20–30 minutes to complete.
Can you make different kinds of desserts, like sorbet or gelato, in both?
You can make sorbet in both machines if you freeze the right sorbet bases. However, the Ninja Creami is far more versatile due to its design. It features dedicated settings for various dessert types like Gelato, Smoothie Bowls, or Milkshakes, and can even process bases with low sugar and low fat content.
Which machine is easier to clean after you are done?
Both products are designed for convenience. All the moving parts in a Ninja Creami - such as its blade, lid, and pints - are top-rack dishwasher-safe. The same goes for the drive assembly and dasher of the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker. However, its freezer bowl must be hand-washed after each use.
Is either device hard or complicated to operate?
No, not really. Both the Ninja Creami and KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker are meant to be simple, straightforward, and user-friendly. Ninja Creami comes with multiple, one-touch settings for different bases like ice cream, gelato, or milkshakes. Similarly, the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker works flawlessly with their iconic, straightforward stand mixers and requires nothing more than assembly to get working.
Are either one very noisy while they are running?
Yes. The KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker relies on the KitchenAid Stand mixer's loud electric motor, while the Ninja Creamy's "Creamify" technology, while certainly very innovative and novel, produces an even louder mechanical chopping sound due to its high-speed blade shaving pieces directly off of a solid, frozen block.
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