Review: Ninja Creami

If your social media looks anything like mine, then you’re being constantly bombarded with high protein recipes that will ostensibly let you eat delicious food while still hitting your macros, boet.

Enter the Ninja Creami 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker, the ultimate kitchen gadget for those of us who want to live a healthy life but also think that eating a pint of ice cream everyday is a legitimate way to function as an adult.

After months of YouTube rabbit holes and Instagram influencers, I took the plunge to buy one as a reward for submitting my tax return, a gadget for a responsible adult. I’ve been using it for just under a week so I am now as qualified as those influencers to give my opinion on why you should be buying one immediately.

Ninja Creami Quick Look

• 7 Programs: Ice Cream, Lite, Sorbet, Gelato, Milkshake, Smoothie Bowl, and Mix-in
• 493ML sized tub
• 800W of power
• Dimensions: 10.8cm x 11.4cm x 11.4cm

What is it?

For the uninitiated, the Ninja Creami takes a tub of your choice of frozen liquid and uses a paddle to Creamify it (their word) into ice cream. Basically, turn almost anything into ice cream.

I was initially suspicious of the claims but the texture is phenomenal considering how quick it is to run one of the programs. It has 7 one-touch programs for Ice Cream, Lite, Sorbet, Gelato, Milkshake, Smoothie Bowl, and Mix-in.

How do you use it?

You begin 24 hours in advance by filling a tub to the demarcated line with liquid and freezing it. I find that I need to fill it a little less since the tub is almost always overflowing by the time I try to add toppings.

Each function takes about 30 seconds to run, and I run a total of three to four of them so from the time you want to eat the ice cream until it’s ready to go, you’re in for about a three-minute wait with the time to add topping taken into account.

I find that using the ice cream function once will break the solid block of whatever protein shake I’ve frozen into tiny ice shavings. I then add about 20ml of whatever base liquid I used to make the protein shake (milk or some leftover protein shake) into the tub and run the respin function once or twice which turns it into Ice Cream. I then use the mix function to add in a complimentary topping like three Oreos for a McFlurry style treat.

It’s devilishly simple to use.

The biggest draw back is that it’s loud. Really loud. I suppose it should be expected since it’s blending through a solid bock of ice but it’s still jarring each time I use it. It also wobbles on my counter top while it’s at full power which adds to the noisy nature.

Which one should I get?

There are basically three models of the Ninja Creami, the NC300 series which has seven functions including smoothie, ice-cream and gelato. The NC500 (the XL Deluxe) series with larger containers, four additional functions and the ability to mix different toppings separately into the top and bottom half of the pint. Lastly the new Ninja Swirl by Creami which adds the ability to make soft-serve style ice creams.

How to buy the Ninja Creami

The US versions all require a voltage transformer to make our 220V compatible with their measly 110V architecture but if you opt for the UK version this won’t be an issue.

There are retailers offering the Ninja Creami in South Affrica, most notably Geewiz, who bring in the US version for around R8 700 at the time of writing with a 2-3 week lead time.

However my NC300UK (the 300 series with the correct voltage to work here) cost just R5 700 from Amazon UK which shipped it to South Africa hassle free, calculating the import duties, taxes and shipping fees all in one at the time of purchase.

I suppose having the local warranty with Geewiz might sway it for some people however having already returned one unit to the US Amazon store in a previous journey of Ninja Creami discovery, I would still opt for the UK version.