Ice Cream Makers · Buying guide

Ninja CREAMi Recipes: 8 Easy Dairy-Free and High-Protein Pints

Reviewed by Mara Ellison, Kitchen-Gear Editor

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The Ninja CREAMi turns whatever you freeze in a pint into a smooth, scoopable dessert, so the recipe is mostly a matter of what goes into the pint. These eight are simple starting points: chocolate protein, classic vanilla, dairy-free sorbets and a soft-serve banana pint. Mix, freeze flat for about 24 hours, then spin.

Don't have one yet? Read our Ninja CREAMi review or check the Ninja CREAMi on Amazon.

Ice Cream Makers illustration — Ice Cream Makers guides from Kantan Prep, researched from specs and owner reviews.

Before you start

Fill each pint to the max-fill line at most, and freeze it flat on a level shelf for about 24 hours.
If the first spin looks powdery or crumbly, add a tablespoon or two of milk or juice and use the re-spin.
Recipes behave differently by brand of ingredients and by machine, so treat these as starting points and tweak sweetness and texture to taste. The recipe booklet that comes with the machine is a good reference too.

The recipes

1. Chocolate protein ice cream (high-protein)

1 1/4 cups milk (dairy or plant-based)
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 to 2 tablespoons sweetener, to taste
Pinch of salt

Blend or whisk until smooth, pour into a pint and freeze. Process on Lite Ice Cream, then re-spin with a splash of milk if needed.

2. Classic vanilla ice cream

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Stir until the sugar dissolves, pour into a pint and freeze. Process on Ice Cream.

3. Strawberry sorbet (dairy-free)

2 cups hulled strawberries
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Blend until smooth, pour into a pint and freeze. Process on Sorbet.

4. Banana soft serve (dairy-free)

2 ripe bananas, sliced
2 tablespoons milk or plant milk

Pack the slices into a pint with the milk and freeze solid. Process on Lite Ice Cream for a soft-serve texture.

5. Mango-lime sorbet (dairy-free)

2 cups mango chunks
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water

Blend until smooth, freeze, and process on Sorbet.

6. Coconut vanilla (dairy-free)

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
1/2 cup oat or almond milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Whisk well, freeze, and process on Ice Cream.

7. Mint chocolate chip

Make the classic vanilla base and stir in 1/2 teaspoon mint extract before freezing. After the first spin, make a hole in the center, add a handful of chocolate chips or crushed chocolate cookies, and process on Mix-in.

8. Vanilla milkshake

Take a frozen vanilla pint, add about 1/4 cup milk and process on Milkshake. Add a spoonful of peanut butter or cocoa before spinning for a flavored shake.

Tips for smooth results

Sugar and fat keep a pint from turning icy, so very low-sugar bases need extra care.
Let a rock-hard pint sit at room temperature for a few minutes before spinning.
Make two or three pints at once so one is always ready.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use any pint recipe?

Most frozen-dessert bases work, but a recipe written for a churn machine may need tweaks, since the CREAMi spins a solid pint.

How do I make it dairy-free?

Use the sorbet and coconut recipes above, or swap the milk in any recipe for a plant milk.

How long do leftovers keep?

Cover the pint and refreeze it. It will firm up, so re-spin it before serving.

How we wrote these

These are general starting recipes, not lab-tested for a specific batch size. Adjust to your taste and to your machine's manual.