Top 4 compared
The best ice cream makers
Ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt made at home, in your own flavours.
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The top 4 at a glance
An ice cream maker turns a chilled mixture into ice cream, sorbet or frozen yoghurt at home. The simplest have a bowl with a cooling liquid sealed in its walls, frozen ahead and then churned in; compressor machines chill as they churn, like a small freezer, so there’s no bowl to freeze; and the Ninja CREAMi works the other way round, whipping a base frozen solid in a tub.
A freezer bowl has to be frozen ahead, usually overnight, and needs room to live in the freezer between batches; a compressor machine needs no freezer space but takes a good share of the worktop; the CREAMi’s tubs need a day’s notice. The idea goes back to 1843, when Nancy Johnson of Philadelphia patented a hand-cranked ice cream freezer.
What matters
- An opening in the lid, for adding chocolate chips or nuts.
- How much mixture it takes, often less than the bowl’s size.
- Dishwasher-safe parts, if the washing up puts you off.
#1Cuisinart Ice Cream Deluxe 2L (ICE30BCU)
£100.00 RRP
The classic freezer-bowl machine: freeze the 2L bowl for at least 12 hours, switch on and pour, and up to 1.5 litres of mixture turns into soft-scoop ice cream, sorbet or frozen yoghurt in 20 to 30 minutes.
What owners say: Owners say it’s simple to run and quick to wash up, and that one batch serves four generously.
Heads up: The bowl needs at least 12 hours in a freezer at -17°C or colder, so clear a space and keep it in there between batches.
A closer look: Switch it on first, then pour the chilled mixture through the lid straight away, as the manual says, filling no higher than 2cm below the rim. The result is soft-scoop, so spoon it into a lidded tub and put it in the freezer to firm up.
- Churns in 20–30 minutes
- Add mix-ins through the lid
- Makes sorbet and frozen yoghurt
Best for: Family-size batches
- Type
- Freezer bowl
- Freeze ahead
- Bowl, 12 hours+
- Bowl or tubs
- 2L bowl (1.5L of mix)
- Power
- 25W
- Dishwasher-safe parts
- No
- Controls
- On/off switch
#2Cuisinart Ice Cream and Gelato Professional 1.5L (ICE100BCU)
Over £300
No bowl to freeze: a built-in compressor chills the bowl as it churns, so one 1.5L batch can follow another, with one paddle for ice cream and a second for denser gelato and sorbet. It suits a household that makes ice cream every week and has the worktop for it.
What owners say: Owners say it makes great ice cream and sorbet with very little effort and costs little to run; some find it pricey, and opinions differ on how noisy it is.
Heads up: Cuisinart has discontinued this model and names the Freeze Ease Pro (ICE150U) as its replacement; it’s still sold new.
A closer look: Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least two hours first, as the manual advises, and fill no higher than 4cm below the rim, about a litre, since it swells as it freezes. The bowl, paddles and lid are hand-wash only, and at over 10kg it’s happiest on a permanent spot on the worktop.
- Ice cream and gelato paddles
- Churns in about 40 minutes
- Keeps it frozen 10 minutes
- Weighs over 10kg
Best for: Batch after batch, no freezing ahead
- Type
- Built-in compressor
- Freeze ahead
- None
- Bowl or tubs
- 1.5L (about 1L of mix)
- Power
- 200W
- Dishwasher-safe parts
- No
- Controls
- LCD timer, 10–60 min
#3Ninja CREAMi 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker (NC300UK)
£150–£200
It works the other way round: freeze the base in a tub for 24 hours, and the 800W CREAMi whips the frozen block into ice cream, gelato, sorbet, a milkshake or a smoothie bowl in minutes. Three tubs come in the box, so three flavours can wait in the freezer at once.
What owners say: Owners find it simple to use and say the results taste like proper ice cream; texture is the recurring complaint, with some batches coming out powdery, and a few report it failing within a month.
Heads up: Ninja says to freeze each filled tub for 24 hours, so make the bases a day ahead and keep a tub or two in the freezer ready to go.
A closer look: Freeze the base flat in its tub with the lid on, then lock the tub into the outer bowl and pick a programme. Chocolate chips or nuts go in afterwards on the Mix-In setting, and the tubs, lids and paddle can all go on the top rack of the dishwasher.
- Separate setting for mix-ins
- Makes milkshakes as well
- Three flavours frozen at once
Best for: Gelato, sorbet and smoothie bowls
- Type
- Frozen tubs, then processed
- Freeze ahead
- Base in tubs, 24 hours
- Bowl or tubs
- 3 × 473ml tubs
- Power
- 800W
- Dishwasher-safe parts
- Tubs, lids, paddle
- Controls
- 7 programmes
#4Duronic Ice Cream Maker 1.5L (IM540)
£33.99 RRP
Compact enough for a small kitchen: a 1.5L freezer bowl that needs 8 to 24 hours in the freezer, then churns soft ice cream, sorbet or frozen yoghurt in 15 to 30 minutes.
What owners say: Owners find every piece comes apart for a thorough wash, and say it turns out good ice cream quickly.
A closer look: Chill the mixture in the fridge first and switch the machine on before pouring, so nothing sticks to the frozen bowl. Once churned, spoon it into a freezer-safe container to keep, as Duronic suggests, and hand-wash the bowl so it can go straight back in the freezer.
- Churns in 15–30 minutes
- See-through lid
- Measures 24 × 17 × 17cm
- Paddle and bowl lift out
Best for: Small kitchens and first tries
- Type
- Freezer bowl
- Freeze ahead
- Bowl, 8–24 hours
- Bowl or tubs
- 1.5L bowl
- Power
- 9.5W
- Dishwasher-safe parts
- No
- Controls
- On/off
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 4.
| Feature | #1Cuisinart ICE30BCU | #2Cuisinart ICE100BCU | #3Ninja CREAMi NC300UK | #4Duronic IM540 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best premium | Most programmes | Best budget | |
| Picked Rating | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.2 |
| Price | £100.00 RRP | Over £300 | £150–£200 | £33.99 RRP |
| Type | Freezer bowl | Built-in compressor | Frozen tubs, then processed | Freezer bowl |
| Freeze ahead | Bowl, 12 hours+ | None | Base in tubs, 24 hours | Bowl, 8–24 hours |
| Bowl or tubs | 2L bowl (1.5L of mix) | 1.5L (about 1L of mix) | 3 × 473ml tubs | 1.5L bowl |
| Power | 25W | 200W | 800W | 9.5W |
| Dishwasher-safe parts | No | No | Tubs, lids, paddle | No |
| Controls | On/off switch | LCD timer, 10–60 min | 7 programmes | On/off |
| Best for | Family-size batches | Batch after batch, no freezing ahead | Gelato, sorbet and smoothie bowls | Small kitchens and first tries |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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