I Found the 7 Best Ice Cream Makers by Churning Over 60 Quarts of Ice Cream

If you want to make high-quality ice cream at home, you simply must have an ice cream maker. Sure, no-churn ice cream recipes exist, but something magical happens when you prepare an ice cream base in a machine that’s built to churn it. Or, I should say, something even better than magic occurs: science. Even with all the right ingredients and ratios, you still need an ice cream maker’s unique ability to disrupt ice crystal formation to achieve truly velvety ice creams, gelati, and even dairy-free sorbets. 

To find the best ice cream makers for making luscious frozen desserts at home, I tested our longtime favorite models against a few new and notable competitors, churning dozens of quarts of ice cream, frozen yogurt, and strawberry sorbet (shout out to my deep freezer!). I also considered more than seven years of rigorous Serious Eats testing insights and spoke to Michael Kimball—founder of the Denver-based Sadboy Creamery—for his expert insights. My favorite ice cream makers have withstood nearly a decade of evaluation and include options for easy-to-store freezer bowl models, self-freezing compressor machines, and a nostalgic old-fashioned churner. 

Our Favorite Ice Cream Makers

The Best Ice Cream Maker

Cuisinart ICE-21P1 Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker

$90 at Amazon $90 at Target $90 at Walmart

What we liked: The Cuisinart ICE-21P1 ice cream maker has been our favorite for years; it proves you don’t need bells and whistles to make fantastic frozen treats. Just pour your base into the pre-frozen bowl, fit the paddle and lid in place, and flip the switch to get churning. Its asymmetrical paddle prevents buildup along the walls of the canister and keeps things moving; plus, it has a spacious window for monitoring progress and adding mix-ins. It’s well under $100 at the time of writing, making it a budget-friendly pick.

It was among the fastest to churn in each of my tests, making ice cream in 20 minutes, frozen yogurt in 19, and sorbet in only nine (a full five minutes faster than its closest competitor). Its ice cream and frozen yogurt also had some of the highest overrun percentages of the lineup, meaning its desserts were airier and easier to scoop after freezing.

What we didn’t like: If you prefer denser ice creams, you may need to experiment with recipes to find ones that come out the way you want in this machine. The canister requires freezing for at least a day before you want to churn, especially if you’re starting with it fully thawed. 

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 9.25 x 9.25 x 11.25 inches
• Machine style: Freezer canister
• Pre-freezing requirement: At least 24 hours
• Stated maximum capacity: 1.5 quarts
• Average ice cream churn time: 20 minutes
• Paddle revolutions per minute: 40
• Care instructions: Hand-wash removable parts with warm, soapy water and dry canister thoroughly before freezing; wipe base with a damp cloth as needed. Do not use sharp or metal tools against the freezer canister. 

The Best Ice Cream Maker With a Larger Freezer Canister

Cuisinart ICE-30BCPI Pure Indulgence Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker

$92

$130 at Amazon $130 at Sur La Table View on Cuisinart.com

What we liked: Like the Cuisinart ICE-21P1, the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence was a cinch to assemble and operate with its on/off switch. It produced smoothly textured ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet with minimal iciness. The freezer canister could hold up to two quarts of churned base (a half-quart more than the ICE-21P1), and its open paddle structure made it easy to scrape clean. While it wasn’t as speedy as the other Cuisinart canister winner, it still churned ice cream in under 30 minutes, and yogurt and sorbet in about 20.

What we didn’t like: The one I tested made a loud, wheezing whine while operating that seemed to increase in volume as it churned. Its paddle had just enough clearance from the bowl to allow for some icy buildup along the walls of the canister that took extra effort to scrape up. I had trouble getting the lid to lock fully in place during the yogurt test, but it was close enough that it didn’t affect its functionality—it just sat slightly ajar.

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 x 12.25 inches
• Machine style: Freezer canister
• Pre-freezing requirement: Six to 22 hours
• Stated maximum capacity: 2 quarts
• Average ice cream churn time: 28 minutes
• Paddle revolutions per minute: 28
• Care instructions: Hand-wash removable parts with warm, soapy water and dry canister thoroughly before freezing; wipe base with a damp cloth as needed. Do not use sharp or metal tools against the freezer canister. 

The Best Ice Cream Maker With a Built-In Compressor

Whynter ICM-220CGY Compressor Ice Cream Maker

$244 at Amazon View on Whynter.com

$389

$387 at Wayfair

What we liked: The Whynter ICM-220CGY is the best self-freezing ice cream maker for most people. It was the budget-friendliest of the winning compressor models, but that’s not the only aspect that set it apart. It produced lovely, smooth vanilla ice cream in just 30 minutes and frozen yogurt in 36. It has labeled buttons to switch between ice cream churning, mixing-only, and cooling-only modes. If the machine isn’t turned off 10 minutes after the timer beeps, it will go into an extended cooling mode to keep your frozen dessert, well, frozen for another 10 minutes. The machine also has a yogurt function that wasn’t for churning frozen yogurt, but rather for incubating fresh homemade yogurt between 104 and 110°F for up to 24 hours at a time. (The cooling mode would automatically kick in after that, too.) While the latter use was intriguing, I didn’t test it for this review.

I liked its subtle rose-gold champagne hue, but if that’s not your thing, you can get it in black and silver instead.

What we didn’t like: It’s pricey compared to freezer canister models. While I did see some ice cream base accumulate and freeze on the bottom of the bowl during my first test, the bits incorporated quickly when scraped up, and I didn’t see it happen again during other uses. Its lid had a flap-up window to add mix-ins, but it was only a few inches wide and took extra attention to pour caramel sauce and peanuts in without spilling them.

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 16.75 x 11.25 x 8.75 inches
• Machine style: Self-freezing
• Stated maximum capacity: 2 quarts
• Average ice cream churn time: 30 minutes
• Paddle revolutions per minute: 32
• Care instructions: Store machine upright. Hand-wash removable parts with warm, soapy water and dry churning bowl thoroughly before freezing; wipe base with a damp cloth as needed. Do not use metal or sharp tools against the churning bowl. 

An Editor-Favorite Compressor Ice Cream Maker

Cuisinart ICE-100 Ice Cream and Gelato Maker

$299 at Amazon $380 at Sur La Table $380 at Wayfair

What we liked: Senior editor Grace Kelly used this handy self-freezing machine to churn nearly two dozen pints of mascarpone ice cream as party favors for her wedding, to her lucky guests’ delight. In my tests, it made silky ice cream and frozen yogurt without any noticeable iciness, plus it came with a special paddle for mixing decadently thick sorbet and gelato. It has an even simpler interface than the Whynter ICM-220CGY, with just three buttons—power, timer, and start/stop—as well as a similar 10-minute standby cooling mode.

What we didn’t like: The model I used made a repetitive squeaking sound (like a dog’s squeaky toy, if my pup’s reaction proves anything). It got a little quieter with use, but never fully went away. Its lid was identical to that of the Whynter ICM-220CGY, so it also took extra attention to get mix-ins through the small hinged window without spilling.

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 11.25 x 17 x 8.75 inches
• Machine style: Self-freezing
• Stated maximum capacity: 1.5 quarts
• Average ice cream churn time: 46 minutes
• Paddle revolutions per minute: 32
• Care instructions: Store machine upright. Hand-wash removable parts with warm, soapy water. The mixing paddle and lid are top-rack dishwasher safe. Dry churning bowl thoroughly before freezing; wipe base with a damp cloth as needed. Do not use metal or sharp tools against the churning bowl. 

A Splurge-Worthy Automatic Ice Cream Maker

Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker

$450 at Amazon $600 at Williams Sonoma $600 at Sur La Table

What we liked: While all the other ice cream makers I tested required me to keep an eye on the ice cream as it churned, the Breville Smart Scoop did the monitoring for me. To operate, you just add your base to the self-freezing bowl and set the manual timer or spin the dial to whatever you’re making—sorbet, frozen yogurt, gelato, or ice cream—then select your desired hardness. In its automatic mode, the smart ice cream maker senses the resistance against its paddle to judge when it's reached your set consistency. The Smart Scoop’s display included a progress bar, the current temperature, and a timer showing how long it’s been churning, which was handy for monitoring it at a glance. It played an ice cream truck jingle when it was time to add mix-ins, and when it finished, though I did change the optional settings to have it play a simple ding instead after hearing the tune a few times. If it’s not turned off right away, the Smart Scoop will go into an automatic “Keep Cool” mode to keep your ice cream cold for up to three hours after churning.

This automatic ice cream maker is an excellent choice for beginners and those who don’t want to babysit their ice cream as it churns. It’s also great for people who want the option to hold their ice cream in its soft-serve stage.

What we didn’t like: It’s quite expensive. It was also rather slow to freeze, taking about an hour to churn each quart of ice cream and frozen yogurt. The sorbet also took almost an hour (about 20 minutes longer than any other model in the lineup) and, though it was thickened and frozen, the machine hadn’t advanced past “cooling” in its progress bar by the time I stopped it manually. This model had a pre-cool function to bring it down to churning temps before adding the ice cream base, which may have sped things up, but I didn’t use it to keep its tests consistent with other compressor models. Because it took so long to freeze, the frozen desserts I made in the Breville Smart Scoop were ever so slightly icier and grainier than those of its competitors. The center of its paddle has a hole in the top, and any liquid that gets inside could drip down into the base of the machine and cause a mess (and lead to the bowl getting frozen in the machine if not wiped up before running a churning cycle).

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 16.5 x 11.25 x 10.5 inches
• Machine style: Self-freezing
• Stated maximum capacity: 1.1 quarts
• Average ice cream churn time: 59 minutes
• Paddle revolutions per minute: 64
• Care instructions: Store machine upright. Hand-wash removable parts with warm, soapy water. The mixing paddle and lid are top-rack dishwasher safe. Dry churning bowl thoroughly before freezing; wipe base with a damp cloth as needed. Do not use metal or sharp tools against the churning bowl. 

The Best Ice Cream Maker for Gelato-Style Ice Cream

Lello 4080 Musso Lussino Compressor Ice Cream Maker

$680 at Amazon $800 at Sur La Table

What we liked: The Lello Musso Lussino made exemplary ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet without a hint of iciness, even when I tasted it after several days in the freezer. Its paddle spun remarkably fast at 104 revolutions per minute, more than double that of most other models I tested, but the ice cream wasn’t overly whipped. Instead, it had a moderate 23% overrun and an almost gelato-like thickness and elasticity. This was perhaps because the Musso Lussino was also the fastest of the self-freezing compressor machines: Frozen yogurt churned for 35 minutes, ice cream for 24, and sorbet for only 21. While it may have been hard to move and clean, I couldn’t deny that this ice cream maker made the creamiest frozen desserts of any model I tried.

What we didn’t like: It’s extraordinarily pricey. It also weighs nearly 40 pounds, making it a big inconvenience (literally) to lug out of any storage space. Its built-in churning bowl isn’t removable, so you have to “wash it” by adding water inside and sponging it out a few times until it's clean. The paddle can be unscrewed from the base for cleaning, but there was some oil on the shaft. I didn’t want to risk contaminating my ice cream while scraping, so I scooped each batch without removing it—a painstaking process compared to other machines with removable bowls and paddles.

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 11.75 x 18.5 x 12 inches
• Machine style: Self-freezing
• Stated maximum capacity: 1.5 quarts
• Average ice cream churn time: 24 minutes
• Paddle revolutions per minute: 104
• Care instructions: Unplug before cleaning. The lid, mixing blade, and locking nut (which holds the paddle in place) can be removed and washed by hand. To clean the built-in bowl, pour 1/4 cup of hot water inside, let soak for a few minutes, then wipe out with a damp sponge. Repeat until no residue remains. Dry inside with a dry towel, and wipe exterior with damp cloth as needed.

The Best Old-Fashioned Bucket Ice Cream Maker

Hamilton Beach 68330N Ice Cream Maker

$46

$48 at Amazon $63 at Target $63 at Home Depot

What we liked: For many of us, this style of old-fashioned, ice bucket churner invokes a charming sense of nostalgia; I grew up eating my grandmother’s homemade ice cream out of one just like it (after she upgraded from a hand-crank churner, that is). This Hamilton Beach ice cream maker is the most affordable of my winners and has the largest capacity—up to a full gallon. It’s lightweight, too, at only five pounds or so empty. It doesn’t require pre-freezing, but you’ll need about 10 pounds of ice and a box of rock salt to get churning. The ice cream it made was among the most highly overrun samples of the lineup, with a lightly whipped (if subtly icy) texture. 

What we didn’t like: The machine doesn’t have an on/off switch; rather, it turns on whenever it’s plugged in. It has a drainage hole near the top for melting ice and leaves a coating of salt behind wherever it churns, so it's best placed in a kitchen sink or used outdoors. I chose the latter when I tested it because it was loud while running. The cord is only two feet long, though, so you’ll likely need an extension cord wherever you put it.

It can be a struggle to assemble if everything isn’t aligned properly when you pour the ice around the canister, and you have to unplug it, remove the motor, brush away the salt and ice, and take the lid off every time you need to check the ice cream’s progress. If you remove the canister from the bucket before the ice cream is fully churned, you’ll have to dump out the ice and reassemble the setup completely to get it back in. This model took nearly an hour and a half to freeze vanilla ice cream—the longest of the bunch. Because of its long churn times, frozen treats made in the Hamilton Beach had some minor but noticeable iciness, especially after a day in the freezer. Its deep canister was harder to scrape clean than the shallower bowls of the other winners. 

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 12 x 11.5 x 15.75 inches
• Machine style: Old-fashioned bucket 
• Chilling requirements: Ice and ice cream rock salt
• Stated maximum capacity: 4 quarts
• Average ice cream churn time: 88 minutes
• Paddle revolutions per minute: 40
• Care instructions: Unplug before cleaning. Wash all non-motorized parts by hand with hot, soapy water. Wipe exterior of motor with damp cloth as needed.

The Criteria: What to Look for in an Ice Cream Maker

To choose the best ice cream maker for you, consider your budget and freezer space, how often you’d like to use it, and how much ice cream you’d like to make at a time. Ice cream makers with freezer canisters are best for people who want an affordable option, have the space (and forethought) to freeze their bowls ahead of time, and are okay with making single, one- to two-quart batches at a time. Compressor machines, on the other hand, are larger appliances that take up more storage space, but they’re ready to churn whenever you are and can make several small batches in a row. Budget-friendly old-fashioned bucket churners offer sentimental flair and can churn up to a gallon of ice cream at a time, but they take a long time to freeze and produce frozen desserts that are a little less smooth.

The Tests

• Vanilla Ice Cream Test: I made two quart-sized batches of Stella Parks’s Double Vanilla Ice Cream (from her book BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts) in each model. With a larger ratio of cream to milk, this recipe is designed to churn up light with a higher overrun, aka the amount of air incorporated as it churns. I timed how long it took to reach the soft-serve stage and measured the volume of the chilled base and ice cream before and after churning, respectively, to find the average overrun percentage. I also tasted the churned ice cream both before and after freezing it overnight and noted any graininess or iciness. 
• Mix-Ins Test: After I measured and tasted the second quart of vanilla ice cream from each machine, I placed it back into its appropriate ice cream maker and let it run while I poured in a half-cup each of caramel sauce and roasted peanuts through the mix-in window, if the churner had one. I noted how evenly the paddle incorporated the peanuts, and if the machine could maintain ribbons of caramel without mixing it in entirely. In previous rounds of this test, we’ve also used crumbled sandwich cookies. 
• Frozen Yogurt Test: I made a quart of frozen yogurt in each machine. Like in the ice cream test, I timed it, measured its volume before and after to find the overrun, and tasted it after churning and freezing to evaluate its texture.
• Sorbet Test: To analyze the ice cream maker’s ability to churn up a nonfat, dairy-free treat, I made a batch of strawberry sorbet in each model. I timed, measured, and tasted it as I had in previous tests. 
• Cleaning and Usability Tests: Throughout testing, I noted how intuitive each machine was to use and how straightforward it was to clean all of its parts by hand. 

What We Learned

A Brief Intro to the Science of Ice Cream and Overrun

Chemically speaking, a traditional ice cream base made with cream, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar is an emulsion of fat, protein, alcohol, and a water/sucrose solution. When churned, the emulsion captures and holds onto air bubbles as it's spun; this added air content is called overrun, and is usually expressed as the percentage of volume gained after churning. Ice crystals also start to form as the mixture churns, though their ability to link up to form long, crystalline structures (as they would in, say, ice cubes) is impeded by the presence of the aforementioned molecules—especially the dissolved sugar—as well as the physical mixing action and a rapid freezing time. The latter two aspects are crucial to how well an ice cream maker can accomplish luxuriously smooth textures, even for mixtures with minimal fat and protein, like sorbets.

When shopping for ice cream in a store, cartons that feel heavier in your hand are more desirable because commercial ice cream machines often incorporate 50 to 60% overrun into a base—and sometimes up to 100%—meaning that up to half of what you’re paying for could be added air. Home ice cream makers produce lower overrun in general. The averages I saw ranged from 16% for the Cuisinart ICE-30BCPI to 35% for the Cuisinart ICE-70P1. More aerated ice creams are fluffier and easier to scoop straight from the freezer, and ones with less air are richer and almost chewy. When making ice cream at home, the ideal overrun percentage is up to you.

What Are the Different Kinds of Ice Cream Makers?

All standard ice cream makers have the same basic function: to simultaneously stir and freeze whatever liquid is inside. They vary in how they accomplish this, though. The nearly two dozen models we’ve tested over the years can all be grouped into four categories:

• Freezer Canister Ice Cream Makers: These ice cream machines, like the winning Cuisinart ICE-21P1, use a double-walled, coolant-filled bowl that spins around a stationary paddle to churn. The canister must be frozen until the liquid inside is completely solid, usually taking 12 to 24 hours. These models tend to be more affordable than self-cooling machines, but require extra freezer space and preparation before use. 
• Self-Freezing Compressor Ice Cream Makers: These machines, including the Whynter ICM-220CGY, have built-in refrigerators that get their bowls to sub-freezing temperatures in minutes. They vary in efficiency, though, and often take longer than freezer canister models to get the ice cream frozen, though you can run one for a few minutes before pouring your base into it to pre-chill it and speed up the process. Given their extra functionality, compressor ice cream makers are pricier, heavier, and take up more space than freezer bowl models.
• Old-Fashioned Bucket-Style Ice Cream Makers: Bucket churners, like the one from Hamilton Beach, have a tall canister with a central paddle that sits inside an ice-filled bucket and spins when attached to a motorized lid on top. Adding rock salt to the ice allows it to get colder than freezing (hovering around 8°F to 12°F), chilling the ice cream base inside the canister rapidly. Still, these bucket-style churners take noticeably longer to churn than either canister or compressor models. They’re more affordable, though, and can spin twice as much ice cream as ice cream makers in other categories.
• Non-Standard Ice Cream Makers: This broad grouping includes all ice cream makers that don’t mix and freeze at the same time. For example, the Chef’n Sweet Spot Ice Cream Maker uses a chilled plate-like bowl, but asks the user to scrape, stir, and roll the ice cream by hand using straight spatula-like paddles. The Ninja Creami diverts even more from tradition. It’s similar to a Pacojet, a fancy restaurant gastronomy tool that’s been around since the 1980s, and blends pre-frozen blocks of solid base into a thick ice cream-like consistency. Its successor, the Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl, also includes an extruder to dispense the blended dessert as you would soft-serve. Non-standard machines tend to be novelties rather than great performers, and we haven’t found any to recommend over a conventional ice cream maker for making the type of creamy ice cream we’re used to. That said, if one appeals to you, I’d say adjust your expectations and give it a go.

Paddle Speed and Freezing Time Had the Greatest Impact on Overrun

In previous rounds of testing, we found that asymmetrical paddles were better than symmetrical ones at keeping the ice cream base moving in an even swirling motion, incorporating more air, and distributing mix-ins quickly. In my evaluation, I noticed another key paddle consideration: speed. The average rotations per minute (RPM) of the paddle—or bowl, if it spun and the paddle was stationary, as was the case for all the freezer canister models—varied widely across the lineup. The Cuisinart ICE-30BCPI bowl, for example, loped around at a relaxed rate of 28 RPM. Comparatively, the Lello 4080 Musso Lussino paddle raced urgently at 104 RPM, almost twice a second. According to Sadboy Creamery founder Michael Kimball, increased RPM speed correlates with higher overrun. This makes sense if you compare it to, say, a stand mixer—a whisk attachment set to a high speed will whip air into cream much faster than one on low.

Paddle speed is only one part of the equation, though. The other is freeze time. The faster the ice cream freezes while mixing, the smaller the ice crystal formation will be, leading to a smoother product. The winning freezer canister models tended to churn faster than the top compressor machines because they were already cold when I poured the base in—24 minutes on average versus 40 minutes, respectively. In general, I found that lower RPMs and churn times correlated with less overrun, but few machines hit both marks, so predictability was shaky. The Lello is a particularly good example of this: Even though it had the most rapid RPM of the lineup, its aeration was limited by its fast freezing speed, yielding a somewhat low 23% average overrun. The Hamilton Beach churner, on the other hand, had a moderate RPM of 40, but its 88-minute freeze time caused the highest overrun of the winning ice cream makers.

Tips for Making Fantastic Homemade Ice Cream

You aren’t relegated to just one type of texture—aerated or dense—with whatever ice cream maker you choose; you can experiment with different types of recipes and ice creams to achieve your preferred consistency. In fact, we’ve got a whole guide to the different kinds of ice creams and other churned treats from around the world here. No matter which type of frozen dessert you choose to make, here are some tips for making (and keeping) it as smooth and dreamy as possible. 

• For light and fluffy ice creams: Choose high-fat recipes that use more cream than milk, like Philadelphia-Style Ice Cream or standard American-style ice creams with an egg yolk-laden custard base.
• For denser, richer ice creams: Go with lower-fat, higher-protein bases like those used for New England-Style Ice Cream and Gelato. Kimball told me that he uses a two-to-one ratio of milk to cream, substitutes a portion of milk for evaporated milk, and adds dried milk powder in his recipe to maximize protein for a chewier bite.
• Keep batch sizes small. Where possible, avoid churning more than a quart at a time to keep freeze times short and ice crystal formation to a minimum.
• Chill your base. Regardless of your formula, be sure to cool your base thoroughly in the refrigerator (40°F or below) before churning. This will also help to minimize freezing times, leading to creamier, less icy textures. If you don’t have four or five hours to spare, you can speed up this process by pouring your base into a resealable bag and laying it flat on a sheet pan in the freezer, checking it in 30-minute intervals, or by placing the mixture in a stainless steel mixing bowl over an ice bath, stirring often, until cold.
• Freeze all of your equipment, too. While your ice cream is in the ice cream maker, stash any scoops, spatulas, and containers (anything that will touch the ice cream after it’s churned) in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. The ice cream is in what Kimball dubbed a “vulnerable,” barely frozen state when it comes out of the ice cream machine, and melts surprisingly fast upon contact with room temperature gear. Having everything cold will keep that texture, which you just worked so hard to achieve, consistent.
• For distinct swirls, add sauces after churning. While every model I tested distributed chunky peanuts well throughout the ice cream, they all diffused the caramel sauce more than I hoped. Even if it was nicely ribboned after a brief second or two of mixing, the caramel was all but dissolved by the time I had decanted the ice cream from the bowl into my storage containers. For the best swirls, fold your (cold!) sauce into the ice cream by hand.
• Store it well. Chilled metal or glass can help keep your ice cream cold when you remove it from the ice cream maker, but I found that scooping it directly into wax-lined paper cartons caused minimal melting and was more convenient for long-term storage and labeling (no one wants months-old mystery ice cream). After you’ve decanted the ice cream from the machine, stash it in the coldest part of your freezer (usually the back) to keep its temperature stable. Even minor temperature changes—like those that happen when your freezer goes through its normal thawing cycles or when the door is opened—can contribute to subtle melting and re-freezing, which can cause further ice crystal formation and hardening in your homemade ice cream.

The Competition: Other Ice Cream Makers We Tested

• Whynter ICM-201SB Upright Compressor Ice Cream Maker: I had high hopes for this compact compressor machine, but ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt all came out softer than I liked. It didn’t seem to get cold enough to freeze them thoroughly, even when I gave it extra time. At one point, the paddle was pushing the ice cream around the wide, flat bowl instead of stirring it, and the motor didn’t appear to have enough power to start churning the lightly thickened mixture again after I stopped it to scrape off its paddle and walls. 
• Cuisinart ICE-70P1 Cool Creations Ice Cream Maker: This Cuisinart ice cream maker produced fluffy and fairly creamy ice cream and frozen yogurt, but its lid kept knocking itself ajar, and it had thick layers of frozen base that built up along its bottom and sides throughout each test. 
• Whynter ICM-14LS Compressor Ice Cream Maker: This Whynter model made smooth ice cream, but the other winning compressor ice cream makers had smaller footprints and better performance.
• Beautiful by Drew Barrymore Ice Cream Maker: This machine’s opaque lid and small mix-ins window made monitoring churn progress a pain. 
• Lello 5030 Musso Pola Ice Cream Maker: Like the other Lello machine, this is a fantastic ice cream maker—but it costs hundreds more. 
• Ninja Creami 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker: This non-standard ice cream maker is more of a high-powered blender that blasts through blocks of liquid base that’ve been frozen solid in pint-sized containers. Senior editor Grace Kelly reviewed it on its own and wasn’t impressed by its inconsistent texture, nor by its hulking size or ear-splitting volume. 
• Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl 13-in-1 Ice Cream and Soft Serve Maker: This Ninja Swirl machine has the same capabilities (and flaws) as the regular Ninja Creami. It’s larger and has an added extruder nozzle that can dispense your blended base as soft serve. 
• Chef’n Sweet Spot Ice Cream Maker: Another non-traditional ice cream maker, this gizmo uses a pre-frozen shallow bowl to chill the base while you mix it by hand (or scrape it into Thai-style ice cream rolls) using two plastic paddles. It’s a fun experience and produces a decent treat, but it's not good for making more than one or two servings at a time.
• Dash My Pint Ice Cream Maker: This mini ice cream maker had to be held throughout its entire churning process to avoid its top-heaviness from bringing it crashing down. To add insult to inconvenience, the ice cream base was still soupy after 40 minutes.
• Nostalgia Electric Bucket Ice Cream Maker: The Nostalgia bucket ice cream maker operated identically to the Hamilton Beach, but the latter won out because it had a central metal rod to stabilize its paddle rather than the plastic-only construction of this one.
• KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment: The ability to convert your existing KitchenAid stand mixer into an ice cream maker seems handy, but the churning paddle for this attachment couldn’t adequately scrape the bottom. It also pushed ice cream around the bowl once it started to thicken, rather than folding it. It’s since been discontinued. KitchenAid does offer an updated version, though we haven’t tested it.
• Klarstein Sweet Dreams Ice Cream Maker: The Klarstein model had a detachable motor on top that was tricky to lock into place and made adding mix-ins difficult. It’s been unavailable online for several years.
• Della Ice Cream Maker: The combination yogurt warmer and ice cream maker took over an hour to churn in the ice cream and sorbet tests. It’s no longer available.
• Ariete Ice Cream Maker: This one was very similar to the winning Cuisinart ICE-100, but had a larger footprint and a higher price. It’s also been discontinued.

FAQs

How do you make homemade ice cream?

To make homemade ice cream, you’ll need an ice cream maker and some ice cream base. There are a lot of different kinds of base recipes to choose from (check out our guide to learn all about them), but most use a combination of milk, cream, egg yolks, and sugar. Churning it in an ice cream maker incorporates air into the ice cream base as it freezes, creating the smooth, creamy consistency we all love.

How do you keep homemade ice cream soft?

Ice cream can get harder and icier when it modulates between warmer and colder temperatures after churning. This process can be subtle, even happening as your freezer goes through its normal thawing and freezing cycles, making it hard to avoid. To keep your homemade ice cream as smooth and soft as you can, keep it in the back of your freezer, where the cold temperatures are the most stable. You can let it soften before serving, but be warned that any leftovers will likely be harder and grainier after refreezing. 

How do you make ice cream without an ice cream maker?

There are plenty of tasty no-churn ice cream recipes that you can make sans ice cream maker, but don’t expect them to be as light or creamy as ice cream churned in a machine. Many work by whipping the base or folding it with whipped cream to incorporate air before freezing; even so, they tend to be icier and less spoonable than traditionally churned ice cream once frozen.

How do you use an ice cream maker?

To make ice cream with an ice cream maker, you first need to check the type of machine you have. Compressor-style churners can cool themselves down, but those with freezer bowls require freezing for 24 hours or more before use. Once your machine is ready to go, just pour in your chilled ice cream base and turn it on. Most take about 30 minutes to churn a quart of ice cream; once it’s the texture of soft serve, you can serve it immediately or scoop it into containers to freeze until firm and scoopable. 

Why We’re the Experts

• Ashlee Redger is a writer for Serious Eats. She’s been testing kitchen equipment since 2022 and has written many reviews for Serious Eats, including mixing bowls, kitchen scales, and infrared thermometers.
• For this review, Ashlee tested our top-performing ice cream machines against several new and notable competitors. She churned gallons of vanilla ice cream, frozen yogurt, and strawberry sorbet to find the machines that made the smoothest frozen treats and were easy to use and clean.
• She also spoke to Michael Kimball, founder of Sadboy Creamery, for expert ice cream insight.
• We’ve been evaluating ice cream makers for more than seven years and regularly retest our winners against new models to ensure we’re still recommending the best. Ashlee used insights from previous testers (including Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm and Sohla El-Waylly) when writing this most recent update.