I tested the viral Ninja Swirl by Creami. Here's what I thought about the soft-serve ice cream maker

CNN

09-05-2025

When I was a kid, one of the best parts of going to summer camp was ordering a big cup of vanilla soft serve from the ice cream truck at the end of the day. Even with my camp days far behind me, I still enjoy grabbing a few scoops of store-bought ice cream or going to nearby ice cream shops for soft serve. But thanks to the new Ninja Swirl by Creami, I can enjoy vanilla soft serve from home year-round.
The latest addition to the Creami lineup, this viral countertop appliance lets you make ice cream and a handful of other frozen treats from the comfort of your home. Its biggest appeal (and what makes it stand out from other Ninja Creami models) is its soft serve feature, which truly brings the ice cream shop right into your kitchen.
Even though I already have the original Ninja Creami, I've never actually used mine for ice cream, only fruit sorbets. Shocking, I know. But when I heard about the Ninja Creami Swirl, my mind immediately went to vanilla soft serve, and I just knew I had to get my hands on one. To see if Ninja's newest ice cream maker lives up to all the social media hype (and if it's worth its $350 price tag), I made several desserts with it over the course of a couple of weeks.
Ninja Swirl by Creami Soft Serve & Ice Cream Machine
Ninja's latest ice cream machine lets you create delicious frozen treats at home. And thanks to the new soft-serve feature, you can get even more creative with the types of desserts you make. You can customize your recipes
What I love most about the Ninja Swirl is that you can get as creative as you want with your recipes. From Chocolate Hazelnut Frozen Yogurt to Cookies and Cream Frozen Custard, the options are pretty much limitless. I have no dietary restrictions, but if you prefer dairy-free recipes, you can easily swap ingredients (like whole milk for unsweetened oat milk, for example).
The Ninja Swirl has several one-touch programs: Ice Cream, Creamifit (high-protein and low-sugar mixtures), Lite Ice Cream (mixtures with low sugar or sugar alternatives), Frozen Yogurt, Milkshake, Fruit Whip, Sorbet, Frozen Custard and Gelato, so you'll never get bored experimenting. It's worth noting that not every recipe, like sorbet, can be dispensed as soft serve, so it's important to keep that in mind when you're preparing your bases.
I made several desserts during testing, including a one-ingredient sorbet and a peach fruit whip. The textures were pretty spot-on, and they were both so refreshing. Though I didn't need to use this feature for every dessert I made, the Ninja Swirl has a respin option if your mixture comes out crumbly. I found that to be the case with the sorbet I made, but respinning it again fixed this. I also noticed with both the sorbet and fruit whip mixtures, the parts against the walls remained icy after the first spin and I could still see tiny pieces of peach. I fixed this in both recipes by scraping down the sides of the containers and respinning them.
The Swirl also has a mix-in option for adding ingredients like nuts and cookies to scoopable desserts. I used it to make a cookie crumble milkshake, and it came out perfect. The cookie pieces broke down well during the mixing process, and the chocolate chips remained intact just like I expected.
But when I made strawberry frozen yogurt using the Ninja Creami Swirl, it didn't come out as sweet as I hoped it would. In the future, I'll experiment with adding a sweetener to the base before freezing it.
I also followed Ninja's Easy Vanilla Soft Serve recipe, which has just five ingredients: granulated sugar, vanilla instant pudding mix, whole milk, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Though I wasn't sure how it would turn out, I was super pleased with how delicious the ice cream tasted. In its soft serve form, I was impressed by how similar it looked to something you'd get at an ice cream shop. It definitely holds up to the ice cream you can buy in stores or at places like Dairy Queen, and the ability to fully personalize your recipes makes it all the better.
Using it is pretty straightforward
Like the Ninja Creamis before it, there's some prep work required before you can get to the fun part. Because it uses a blade to shave frozen ingredients into creamy desserts, your mixtures need to be made ahead of time and left in the freezer for 24 hours (you may be able to get away with less) before they can be processed. This is a little inconvenient because you can't make and eat your dessert the same day, but the delicious results make it worth the wait (promise!). There are also some exceptions to this, since milkshake recipes don't require any freezer time.
The Ninja Swirl comes with an easy-to-follow recipe booklet to help you get started and two containers to freeze your mixtures in. I also appreciated that plenty of single-ingredient recipes were included in the booklet to further simplify this part of the prep.
To get your frozen base ready for processing, you have to install the container in the outer bowl, click the lid in place and attach the bowl to the unit. After that, the Ninja Swirl will light up with two options and two options only: Soft Serve and Scoop. From there, you're able to select from the nine other output programs I mentioned earlier.
If you chose a Scoopable spin cycle, once it's done, you're pretty much free to enjoy your dessert. If you went with a Soft Serve cycle, you'll have to take it a step further by removing the pint from the outer bowl and attaching it to the dispense area. The handle at the side of the machine is how you dispense your base and control the speed. I found that it takes a bit of time for it to start dispensing, so don't be surprised if nothing comes out right away.
It doesn't take up a lot of counter space
This appliance isn't small by any means, but it also won't eat up all your counter space. Compared to my first-generation model, the Ninja Swirl is considerably wider and taller (see below for a side-by-side). I was also pleasantly surprised to find that it fits perfectly under my built-in cabinets so I can push it against the wall. While I kept the ice cream maker on my counter during testing, I'll likely find a different spot for it now, since I know I won't be using it as much as some of my other appliances.
It only comes with two containers
One of the biggest drawbacks for me is that the Ninja Swirl only comes with two pints. If you want to freeze more than two mixtures at a time, you'll have to shell out additional money. You can purchase a four-pack for $65 or a two-pack for $35, but given its $350 price tag, I expected it to come with at least a few more.
Since I didn't buy extra pints, I had to resort to using empty plastic containers for my leftovers so I could continue making more recipes. This isn't convenient at all, and I can see this being a pain point for families with kids who like to eat totally different things. The pints from the different Creami models aren't interchangeable either, so even though I have the ones that came with my older Ninja Creami, I can't use them in the Swirl.
It's pretty loud and heavy
When I reviewed Ninja's frozen drink maker last year, I mentioned finding it heavy. At nearly 21 pounds, the Ninja Creami Swirl is on the heavier side too, though it's lighter than the Ninja Slushi, which weighs 24 pounds. My older Ninja Creami weighs only 13 pounds, so I keep it on a shelf in my kitchen when I'm not using it to avoid having too many appliances out at once. But the Ninja Swirl is heavy enough that it probably needs a dedicated spot on your counter, so you're not forced to pull it from a shelf every time you want to use it. There's really no getting around this, but it's something to keep in mind (especially if you have limited mobility), since you'll have to get the box from your door to the kitchen, unbox it and then lift it to your counter.
Weight aside, I also couldn't help but notice how noisy this appliance is. In fact, the first couple of times I used it, I was concerned that I had done something wrong because of how loud it was. I quickly realized this wasn't the case, though, and the Ninja Swirl is just noisy. If you're a midnight snacker living in a small, shared apartment, don't say I didn't warn you.
The whole appeal of the Ninja Swirl is being able to have soft-serve ice cream on demand, and I won't lie, being able to make it from home so easily is pretty awesome. If you love the idea of having soft serve in a cone or a bowl, the Ninja Swirl is for you. If you're willing to ditch the soft-serve function, the Ninja Creami XL Deluxe might be a better option that can save you some coins too.
How does the Ninja Swirl compare to the other Ninja Creami models?
How does the Ninja Swirl compare to the other Ninja Creami models?
The biggest feature that sets the Ninja Creami Swirl apart from the other two Ninja Creami models is its soft serve function. All of the Ninja Creami appliances can make ice cream, lite ice cream, gelato, sorbet and milkshakes, but only the original Ninja Creami can make smoothie bowls. The Ninja Creami XL Deluxe and the Ninja Swirl, on the other hand, both have a frozen yogurt program, while the Ninja Swirl has settings for Creamifits, fruit whips and frozen custards too. The Deluxe model is also able to make Italian ice, frozen drinks, slushies and creamiccinos (coffee-based frozen drinks).
And then there's Ninja's dedicated frozen drink maker, the Ninja Slushi, which has five different presets: slush, spiked slush, frappé, milkshake and frozen juice.
CNN Underscored has a team of skilled writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. We talk to top experts when applicable to make certain we are testing each product accurately, recommending only the best products and considering the pros and cons of each item.
For this story, associate editor Rachel Dennis tested the Ninja Swirl by Creami over the course of two weeks to see if it's worth buying.