Ninja Creami Alternatives: What are the best options?

If you’re looking for something that works in the same way as the Ninja Creami, then the only genuine alternative is something called the Pacojet.

Because the Ninja Creami is actually based on the Pacojet!

1. Pacojet

The Pacojet is a high-end piece of professional kitchen equipment that was invented in the 1980s with a patented technology that uses a rapidly rotating, super sharp blade to shave a solid block of frozen ice cream mixture into smaller and smaller crystals until it produces a super smooth consistency.

Because of the patent (and the high-end build), for a long time, it was the only machine of its type available and was very, very expensive. And this meant that it was confined to high end, professional kitchens.

However, the patent ran out in 2017 and Shark Ninja jumped on this opportunity to produce a version aimed at the home consumer, which became the Ninja Creami.

Now, the Pacojet is undoubtedly superior to the Ninja Creami both in its build quality and the quality of the ice cream it produces. And you can watch a very detailed and enjoyable comparison of the two here:

But the bottom line is that at $6500 the Pacojet still costs over 30x as much s the $200 Ninja Creami.

Which means that if you’re looking for a cheaper (or at least similarly priced) alternative to the Ninja Creami, then the Pacojet isn’t it!

So the question remains: are there any alternatives to the Ninja Creami that are also aimed at the home consumer?

2. Vitamix or Food Processor

I’ve seen lots of TikToks that suggest that you can use blenders or food processors to make ice cream instead of a Ninja Creami. And some of them look pretty good. So I decided to investigate whether they really are viable Ninja Creami alternatives.

First, I mixed up a batch of my easy, no cook ice cream base. I decanted this into several ice cube trays and froze overnight.

Then I threw a tray of the frozen ice cream cubes into my Vitamix blender and pulsed. It immediately crushed the majority of the cubes, but there were still a few jiggling about on the top and in order to make sure they were also blended, I perhaps left the machine running slightly longer than I should.

But it was only a few seconds, and I’m not sure it would have made much difference to the final result if I stopped earlier.

You could definitely call the end result ice cream, but it was a bit soupy and melted quickly. It also had a lot of discernable ice crystals on the tongue.

I wasn’t very impressed.

Next, I tried my 1000W Bosch Blender with the mini chopper attachment, which is similar to a lot of the appliances I’ve seen in the TikTok videos.

Unsurprisingly, it struggled to blend the cubes a bit more than the Vitamix. But it did get there eventually. The problem was that it blended the bottom part without drawing the top part into the blades.

So I had to keep stopping and pushing the top part down into the blades.

By the time it had blended all the cubes, while the top part was reasonably firm, the bottom part was already too melted. And more importantly, again, there were a lot of discernible ice crystals on the tongue.

In the end, I wasn’t very happy with either the Vitamix or the hand blender. While I think slight adjustments (more cubes in the Vitamix and less in the blender) could yield a less melted final result, the ice cream is never going to be anything like as smooth as from the Creami.

The blades of the Vitamix and the blender are just not designed for the fine shaving needed to get the ice crystals small enough to not be discernible on the tongue, so the ice cream will always seem quite coarse.

So, yes the TikTok Ninja Creami alternatives can make ice cream, it’s just not very good ice cream!

Of course, the other alternative is a proper ice cream maker…

3. Traditional Ice Cream Maker

I have already written an in depth article on the Ninja Creami vs Cuisinart Ice Cream Makers, where I compare the Creami to the ICE-21 and the ICE-100, So I won’t go into too much depth, here.

Cuisinart ICE-21 and ICE-100

In case you’re not familiar with these two, the Cuisinart ICE-21 is the best of the machines that use a canister that you pre freeze in your home freezer, and the Cuisinart ICE-100 is a decent self freezing, compressor machine.

In terms of the quality of the ice cream they produce, in my opinion, the Ninja Creami and the ICE-21 are more or less equal, whereas the Ninja Creami produces significantly better ice cream than the ICE-100.

While I found the Ninja Creami ice cream to be slightly smoother than the ICE-21, the ICE-21 adds a bit more air for a softer, lighter ice cream. But compared to the ICE-100, the Ninja Creami ice cream is so much smoother, that it far out weighs any increase in overrun from the ICE-100.

Lello 4080 Musso Lussino

I’ve also written an article on the Ninja Creami vs the Lello 4080. The Lello is the one domestic ice cream maker that I think is significantly better than the Creami when comparing the quality of the final product.

The ice cream from the Lello 4080 is smoother, lighter, and well, creamier than that from the Ninja Creami.

However, the Lello is much more expensive than the Creami and in many ways is less practical than the Ninja machine.

In fact, I think all the traditional ice cream makers tend to be less practical than the Ninja Creami.

Advantages of the Ninja Creami

For starters, the Ninja Creami is very countertop friendly. It’s size and shape, means that it will sit very comfortably next to your blender or coffee machine. In contrast, most traditional ice cream makers are just too bulky to sit permanently on your countertop.

This means that you'll tend to keep them in a cupboard somewhere, only bringing them out when you need to use them. Which, I guarantee, despite your best intentions, means you’ll use them less!

Secondly, when you use the Ninja Creami, the ice cream is firm, smooth and ready to eat straight out of the machine. Whereas with a traditional machine, it’s too soft to eat immediately, and needs an hour or so in the freezer to harden.

That’s not to say there is no convoluted preparation with the Creami (you have to freeze the mixture overnight before it goes in the machine). But you can pre freeze several different batches and flavors, and as soon as you fancy ice cream you can knock it out in the Creami.

And of course that means you can try different flavors and batches at once.

You can't really do that with a traditional ice cream maker, unless you make several batches in the machine and then freeze them for later.

But that highlights the third big advantage of the Ninja Creami. Any ice cream that is stored in your home freezer starts to degrade immediately. So each time you eat the ice cream, it will get slightly more icy.

But with the Creami, you can just re-spin it every time you fancy ice cream, so that it’s perfectly smooth every time!

Conclusion: Are there any real alternatives to the Ninja Creami?

If you want to make decent ice cream at home, there are several alternatives to the Ninja Creami.

The Pacojet will be too expensive for most, so I’m excluding that (even though it’s the only machine that is comparable to the Ninja Creami in the way it works).

I’m also excluding the blender or food processor options. If you’ve already got one (and most people do), then you can definitely knock up something for the kids. But they’re not a long term solution if you want to make ice cream regularly.

My advice: try them out yourself. Add ice cream base to an ice cube tray, freeze, and then give them a whizz in your own blender or food processor. You’ll soon see why I don’t think they’re a great option!

So that leaves one of the regular ice cream makers.

My choice would always be the Cuisinart ICE-21. It’s extremely cheap. It’s built to last. It’s really easy to use. And most importantly, it makes fantastic ice cream, sorbet and gelato, that is only rivalled by the Ninja Creami and the Lello 4080.

So if you can’t afford the Ninja Creami, I would definitely recommend the Cuisinart ICE-21, it’s an absolute bargain!

If you’re less price driven and more quality driven, then I would definitely go for the Lello 4080. It’s much more expensive than the Creami. And it’s also, much bigger, much heavier and a lot less practical.

However, it’s built like a tank, easy to use and makes far better ice cream than any other domestic ice cream maker (including the Ninja Creami).

But if you're still not sure, check out my article on the best ice cream makers for the ultimate guide on what to get!