Learn how easy it is to make vanilla ice cream in the Ninja Creami with this simple recipe.
You’ll love this easy Ninja Creami vanilla ice cream recipe–it takes minimal effort to enjoy a cool and creamy treat.
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I’ve been making homemade ice cream for many years now.
First, I purchased an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, which has served me well now for almost twelve years.
In the last few years, I’ve begun making no-churn ice creams, which don’t require an ice cream maker at all.
But this summer, I invested in a Ninja Creami ice cream maker, which uses a different method for preparing cool and creamy frozen treats.
First on my list of ice creams to make was a classic Ninja Creami vanilla ice cream, which is my daughter’s favorite!
Since it’s so versatile, I think it’s one of the best Ninja Creami recipes…and I think you’ll agree!
More Ninja Creami Recipes You’ll Love:
- Ninja Creami Vanilla Pudding Ice Cream
- Decadent Ninja Creami Chocolate Ice Cream
- Easy Ninja Creami Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
- Ninja Creami Copycat Chunky Monkey Banana Ice Cream
- Ninja Creami Pineapple Sorbet
- Ninja Creami Orange Sherbet
Making Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami
Let’s start off by talking about how traditional ice cream is often made, then I’ll share how the Ninja Creami works.
Many of us are familiar with ice cream that’s made with a custard-style base. These ice cream bases are typically made with eggs, sugar, and milk, and cooked on the stove top.
Then after the base cools in the fridge for a while, it’s churned in an ice cream maker. This churning not only helps it freeze, but also aerates it and breaks up ice crystals, so it ends up nice and smooth.
Then there’s no-churn ice cream, where the sweetness is provided by sweetened condensed milk, and the creaminess is provided by fluffy whipped cream, so it is an easy way to make eggless ice cream that doesn’t require any cooking!
The Ninja Creami reverses the process! Instead of churning or whipping ingredients and allowing them to freeze, you prepare an ice cream base and freeze it for at least 24 hours.
Then you pop it into your Ninja Creami, which “creamifies” the base with one of seven settings, by finely chopping or shaving the frozen concoction.
It’s worth noting that the Ninja Creami is not a blender–in fact, the blades aren’t even sharp!
Surprisingly, the result is rich and creamy ice cream!
How to Make Vanilla Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami
It’s really easy to make this simple ice cream.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Whole milk
- Heavy cream
How to Make It:
(Full printable recipe is available below)
Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. First, you’ll warm up the cream cheese in the microwave. This gets it nice and soft (you can also let it soften at room temperature if you’d like).
Mix that with the sugar and vanilla extract, using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, to make a pasty mixture.
Add liquids. Next, you’ll add in the whole milk and heavy cream gradually. I add a couple tablespoons at a time, mixing well, to avoid lumps and to help the sugar dissolve.
Continue stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour mixture into a Ninja Creami pint and close its lid.
Freeze. Next, you’ll transfer the pint to a flat location in your freezer (you want it to freeze nice and level) and freeze for 24 hours.
Creamify. After 24 hours, remove the lid from the pint and insert into the bowl of the Ninja Creami. Lock the lid and click the bowl into place.
Select the Ice Cream function and let the Ninja do the rest!
Notes and Adaptations:
- If your ice cream is crumbly after the first round of churning, you can put it through a Re-Spin cycle. If that doesn’t result in a nice, creamy texture, I like to add a tablespoon of milk and Re-Spin again, which usually does the trick.
- If you need to make this dairy free, you can try this Ninja Creami dairy free vanilla ice cream recipe. Or you can use unsweetened oat milk instead of milk, unsweetened coconut cream instead of heavy cream, and vegan cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese.
Recommended Equipment:
Ninja Creami Vanilla Ice Cream
This rich and creamy vanilla ice cream is easy ot make with your Ninja Creami machine!
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP (1/2 ounce) cream cheese
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Add cream cheese to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds.
- Add sugar and vanilla extract to the cream cheese. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to mix together, until incorporated into a thick paste.
- In a separate measuring cup, combine whole milk and heavy cream. Gradually add this liquid to the sugar mixture (a couple tablespoons at a time to start), mixing well to combine. Continue until all liquid is added and the sugar has dissolved.
- Transfer mixture to a Ninja Creami pint. Close the lid and freeze for 24 hours on a level location in your freezer.
- After 24 hours, remove from freezer and take off lid. Add pint to the bowl of the Ninja Creami and secure lid. Insert bowl into machine, locking into place.
- Select the Ice Cream function, which will run for about 2 minutes.
- When the function is complete, unlock the bowl and remove lid. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If your ice cream is crumbly after processing, you can use the Re-Spin function to see if that helps the texture. If not, add 1 tablespoon of milk and Re-Spin again. This usually does the trick.
- If you need to make this dairy free, you can use unsweetened oat milk instead of milk, unsweetened coconut cream instead of heavy cream, and vegan cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese.
Recipe slightly adapted from Ninja Creami
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1/2 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 286Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 84mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
Printable Ninja Creami Recipes
If you’d like some of our favorite Ninja Creami recipes in printable form, check out Tried and True: 35 Favorite Ninja Creami Recipes!
It contains loads of delicious options in a digital download.
Check it out here, or click the image below!
Edna says
Can i use 2% milk for my ice cream?
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Edna! Yes, that should work fine to use 2% milk instead of whole milk. Enjoy! 🙂
Jeanna Brack says
Many of my ice creams in my Ninja cream….seems to have a greasy, film after taste. What causes that? I don’t have that when I use fruit… I have used whole milk, heavy cream and half and half…. It seems to happen with what ever I use.. Is it the cream cheese that does this?
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Jeanna! I’ve not noticed a greasy after-taste, but I do think the higher fat content of heavy cream could be the culprit. I don’t think it would be the cream cheese, since it’s such a small amount, but you could omit the cream cheese and see if that gets rid of it for you! I hope that helps! 🙂
Darlene says
You may be over whipping and the milk products are turning to butter. I was processing it two or more times because it was powdery . Now I add a little milk/liquid before processing. Problem solved
Chrysti Benner says
Thanks for your suggestion, Darlene! 🙂
Ana says
Where did you get those adorable ramekins from? I‘d love me some!
Chrysti Benner says
Aren’t they so cute? I found them a couple of summers ago in the “Dollar Spot” at Target! 🙂
Katie says
Hi – I’m new to using the Ninja Creami and this recipe looks nice and simple.
I don’t have a microwave so wondering what I can use in place of the cream cheese please.
Thanks – I really appreciate your help.
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Katie! You can definitely just let the cream cheese soften at room temperature and skip the microwave step. The microwave is just a faster way of softening it, but definitely not necessary. Having it softened makes it easier to work with. I hope that helps and that you enjoy our new Ninja Creami! 🙂
Katie says
Thanks for your help and good wishes, Christi!
Nina Nazifi says
Tried and true. Used it with the creami machine and my mixmaster ice cream maker. Also added about a tablespoon of diluted instant coffee per pint. OMG the vanilla and coffee together tasted like gourmet ice cream. This is a perfect no egg creamy delicious ice cream. So happy I found your page❤️
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Nina! Thank you so much for your kind words. What a great idea to add a hint of coffee to the ice cream! 🙂
Doris says
Hi , my husband is a diabetic. Can I use low fat milk instead of whole milk?
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Doris! You can use low fat milk instead of whole milk if you’d like. The texture will change slightly, but it will still be good! If you end up using skim milk, I’d recommend using the Lite Ice Cream button instead of the Ice Cream button. Enjoy! 🙂
Lisa says
I own the creami deluxe how do I adjust the recipe?
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Lisa! You can make it as written for the deluxe pints, but it won’t fill the pint completely (it will make about 2 cups instead of 3 cups). You can also multiply the ingredient amounts by 1.5 to fill the deluxe pint. So for this recipe, you’d use 1.5 TBSP cream cheese, a scant 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 2.25 tsp vanilla extract, 1.5 cups whole milk, and 1 1/8 cup heavy cream. The step-by-step process will be the same. Hope that helps–enjoy! 🙂
Connie says
When the finished product is ready to serve can it be transferred to a freezer container and used later without having to re-spin the mixture?
I wanted to make a batch for a friend and leave it in her freezer as a surprise.
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Connie! You’re such a thoughtful friend to surprise someone with ice cream! 🙂 Yes, you can enjoy it without re-spinning it. However, it refreezes pretty hard, so I recommend letting the container sit out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes (or popping it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds) to soften slightly before scooping if you aren’t going to be re-spinning. I hope that helps!
Lisa Long says
We just got a Ninja Creami and have been enjoying protein ice cream. I decided to try this recipe for my husband to have some real ice cream. I followed the directions to a T. But, with only one spin on the ‘ice cream’ setting it was as liquidy as a milk shake. I thought maybe I missed a thickening ingredient but no. Any idea what I did wrong?
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Lisa! It sounds like maybe it wasn’t frozen solid before spinning. This can happen if it doesn’t freeze for the full 24 hours, or if your freezer runs a bit warm. Ninja says your freezer should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit. Hopefully that will help next time!
Brianna says
U literally just copied the recipe given to u in the book that the ninja creami comes with
Chrysti Benner says
Hi Brianna–it’s slightly adapted from the recipe in the book (which I noted in the recipe card). Many people prefer to follow recipes with photos and more instructions than what’s provided in the book, or to see what kind of recipes are available before purchasing the machine. If you’re looking for something different, check out one of these vanilla ice cream recipes I developed for my ice cream website:
https://idreamoficecream.com/ninja-creami-vanilla-pudding-ice-cream/
https://idreamoficecream.com/ninja-creami-vanilla-cool-whip-ice-cream/
https://idreamoficecream.com/ninja-creami-sweet-cream-ice-cream/
Hope that helps! 🙂