The best ice cream makers to whip up frozen treats this summer

For an all-singing, all-dancing machine that does so much more than just make ice cream, you can't go wrong with the Ninja CREAMi Deluxe. With just a touch of a button you can make ice cream, sorbet, light ice cream, gelato, milkshakes, frappes, frozen drinks, slushies and frozen yoghurt.

Compared to the previous model (more about the original Ninja CREAMi later), you can make 50 per cent more ice cream as it comes with three large 709ml tubs. With this larger capacity, you've now got room to create two flavours with one base so say you've made a chocolate ice cream, gelato or frozen yoghurt, you can press the 'bottom' button to add crushed-up biscuits followed by the 'top' button to added chopped up nuts to create two different styles of frozen dessert.
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Yours.co.uk Editor Claire Tapley tested this model and here’s her verdict:**
“Although this gadget is quite heavy it’s actually pretty compact so won’t take up huge amounts of room on your kitchen countertop. It was really easy to set up and get going and the instructions were clear.

Unlike some other ice cream makers, you need to add your ingredients to the tubs and then freeze for 24 hours in your freezer. Only then do you get to use the machine to transform your frozen ingredients into ice cream, gelatos, sorbet, or slushies.

The mix-in element is fun and great for kids but I did find that certain ingredients weren’t mixed in very thoroughly the first time. When making cookies and cream ice cream I needed to give it a few spins to get the biscuit chunks evenly distributed. It's also worth noting that the tubs are fairly large so you’ll need plenty of space in your freezer if you want to make several flavours at once.

It's super easy to clean, the blade is simple to remove and all the tubs are dishwasher safe. It comes with a small booklet containing a few recipes and gives you ideas for creating your own. It does take a bit of practice to get your ice cream just right, especially if you’re experimenting with flavours but once you’ve got the hang of it you’ll never want to buy shop bought ice-cream again.”

Bring the nostalgia of eating a ’99 from an ice cream van to your home with the Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker. With this machine, you can make your very own Mr. Whippy style ice creams, topped with however many sprinkles, sauces or flakes you’d like as you’re in complete control of what you add to your ice cream cone. In fact, there are compartments on the side to store and serve your favourite toppers by simply turning a dial so it’ll feel like a professional experience.

It's ever so quick and easy to make soft serve ice cream with this machine, all you need to do is pre-freeze the bowl, add the mixture and switch it on and you’ll have homemade ice cream in around 20 minutes. The freezer bowl is double insulated so it holds the temperature even after you’ve got it out of the freezer.

With nearly 7,000 reviews on Amazon alone, the Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker is a popular choice with customers rating it for how simple it is to use and the fact it doesn’t take up a lot of space. Some customers warned that if you leave your ice cream churning for too long, you’ll end up with a firmer ice cream rather than a soft serve, so remember to turn it off once it’s reached the desired consistency.

If you love the idea of an ice cream maker but your budget won’t quite stretch to the likes of Ninja or Cuisinart, the Lakeland Digital Ice Cream Maker is a great value option at under £50. It makes tasty ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt in 40 minutes, but you’ll need to remember to freeze the bowl it comes with for at least 12 hours before use.

To help you navigate through the settings and to see how long you’ve got left until your ice cream is ready, it has a digital display on the lid that is easy to read. The lid is also see-through so you can see the ice cream maker in action as it churns to create 1.8 litres of ice cream.

There is a gap in the lid that you can add your favourite fillings as your ice cream maker churns, like nuts and chocolate chips, but customers have said this gap is a little on the small side so you may have to feed them through in batches. That being said, it’s rated highly for how simple and easy to use the machine is and how smooth the finished ice cream is.

An earlier model of the Ninja CREAMi Deluxe that we've mentioned earlier, the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Maker went viral all over social media when it was first released and it's easy to see why. You can make ice cream, gelato, milkshakes, sorbets and smoothie bowls just how you like them with all your favourite toppings and flavours and if you've got any dietary requirements, you can make your delicious dessert to be low sugar, dairy free, vegan and so much more.

You simply fill one of the 473ml tubs with all your ingredients, pop it in the freezer for 24 hours and then let the Ninja CREAMi work its magic in a matter of minutes to transform it from frozen components to a deliciously creamy treat. We love that the removable parts can be popped into the dishwasher for easy clean-ups after use, but just remember they need to go on the top rack to ensure they're completely safe.

Ellen Kinsey, a previous senior health and wellness product writer for Yours, tested the Ninja CREAMi for us and she liked how convenient and versatile the machine is. She did find that when making dairy-free/vegan ice cream, the mixture turned out slightly powdery but with a splash of oat milk and a re-spin, it went as creamy as the dairy ice cream. She also found that making sorbet required an additional spin as well to get it to the right consistency. Overall, she found that despite its premium price tag and the requirement for pre-freezing ingredients, this ice cream maker is a great investment that is perfect for households that want to prioritise health and have fun in the kitchen.

Want to know more about what we thought? Check out our full Ninja CREAMi review.

There's no need to wait hours for your icy treat with the Magimix Gelato Expert. It makes 100 per cent natural ice cream, sorbet, frozen yoghurt and granitas from just 30 minutes and as it has a built-in freezer unit, it doesn’t require pre-freezing the bowl or ingredients like other ice cream makers. If you’re unable to eat it or put it away in the freeze straight after the paddle has finished turning, the storage mode keeps the consistency and temperature right for up to two hours.

To allow you to make as much ice cream as possible, the Magimix comes with two, two litre stainless steel bowls, one which is fixed and one that is removable, allowing you to make two batches of your favourite frozen treats in a row. Thanks to the automatic programs, there’s no need to go through the trial and error process of getting it just right as the machine does all the hard work for you.

Customers thought the machine was a bit noisy but the smooth consistency of the frozen treats and how easy it is to use make it worth it.

Another option from Lakeland that’s made our list is the Lakeland Stainless Steel Digital Ice Cream Maker. It churns ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt to be ready to eat in as little as 25 minutes – just remember to freeze the inner bowl for around 12 hours before you make a batch.

With a few presses of the arrow buttons on the touchscreen panel, this Lakeland Ice Cream Maker will automatically get going to create your favourite treats and you’ll know exactly how long it’s got left, thanks to the timer on the LCD display. You just add your mixture through the opening in the lid and put in additional ingredients, like nuts, berries or chocolate and away you go. Along with the ice cream machine, you’ll find an instruction booklet that’s not just filled with top tips for making delicious icy treats but also six recipes to get you going if you’re not sure what flavour to start with first.

Customers online were impressed with the results of this machine and thought that it made ice cream pretty quickly. Reviews mention that once the ice cream is made, it’s hard to remove the paddle as the ice cream is pretty solid.

Digital writer, Harvy Issit, tested the Lakeland Stainless Steel Digital Ice Cream Maker for Yours.co.uk and here's what he thought: "I recently tested the Lakeland ice cream maker and found it to be a mixed bag. The machine's design features an LED timer display and an easy-fitting bowl, paddle, and lid, making it sleek and simple to use. Although, I did think the plastic construction of the bowl felt a bit cheap compared to the rest of the product. Its compact size and light weight make it an excellent option for families and a great space-saving choice for small kitchens.

During our test, the machine struggled and buckled when the ice cream began to harden. I had to hold it down at times, even though there was still quite a bit of time left on the timer. Despite this issue, the end product - we went for mint chocolate chip ice cream - was delicious! The Lakeland ice cream maker is a great, small and affordable option with some understandable limitations at its price point."

Smart by name, smart by nature, Sage's "The Smart Scoop" is built to automatically sense the hardness of your mixture based on your setting selection but if you want your treat to be harder or softer, you can just turn the firmness dial to suit your tastes.

If you've not had time to chill your mixture before throwing it in the machine, this machine is built with pre-cool capabilities so you can get it to the optimal temperature before mixing. It is also equipped with keep cool functionality so after you've made your icy treat, you can keep it at the perfect temperature until it's time to serve without worrying it's going to melt.

Customers appreciate the versatility of the functionality of this ice cream maker by Sage and love the ability to customise the texture to their liking. At 13.97kg, this is a heavy piece of kit and customers online agree so this one won’t be so easy to whip out on your kitchen sides as and when you want to use it.

Whenever you get a craving for a sweet and creamy dessert, you can easily whip out the VonShef Ice Cream Maker Machine. Measuring 31 x 24 x 23.6cm and weighing 3.65kg, you can store it in a kitchen cupboard and take it out when you want to use it, but equally, it doesn't take up a lot of room so you could leave it out on your countertops if you have the space.

With its one-touch operation and speedy mixing, with just a push of a button and 20-40 minutes, you can have your favourite flavour of sorbet ready to devour - just remember to pre-freeze your bowl for at least eight hours before. As it has a capacity of 1.8 litres, you can create enough ice cream, gelato, frozen yoghurt or sorbet for everyone at home.

Customers agree that this ice cream maker is a good size in that it's quite small with a decent capacity so you can make a good amount of ice cream without the machine taking up too much room. Some customers had issues with the paddle coming loose during making so make sure it's properly attached before starting on your ice cream making journey.

If you've already got a KitchenAid Stand Mixer at home that you use to whip up baked goods, you can now use it to make icy treats, thanks to the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment. You can make deliciously creamy homemade ice cream as well as gelato, sorbet and frozen yoghurt in batches up to 1.9 litres. You simply add the new attachments and use your KitchenAid as normal and you'll have frozen treats whipped up from 30 minutes time.

Often when you think about investing in another kitchen gadget, you need to think about whether you have the additional space on your countertops to accommodate it, or enough room in a cupboard to put it away when not in use. Well, this KitchenAid attachment eliminates the need if you've already got a KitchenAid as it comes with a paddle and a bowl that turns your KitchenAid into a fully functioning ice cream maker.

Like many of the other ice cream makers on our list, you will need to pre-freeze the bowl but this one will require a long freeze time of at least 16 hours. It's also worth noting that this is just the attachment so if you don't have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, you'll also need to purchase one of those to be able to work. Customer reviews have praised how easy it is to make ice cream and other frozen treats with this attachment as they simply fix it to their machine and away they go.

Another option that works similarly by attaching to your stand mixer, the Smeg Additional Ice Cream Maker for Stand Mixer is a great little gadget that will allow you to turn your Smeg stand mixer into a multifunctional kitchen appliance. From sorbets and granita to ice cream, whatever your preferred icy treat, you can be enjoying it in as little as 20 minutes thanks to this device.

Designed to sit inside the regular 4.8 litre bowl, this addition to the Smeg stand mixer has the ability to make and store 1.1 litres of mixture and as it has a double gel cooling wall built-in, it'll stay the right temperature and consistency in your fridge for up to two hours before it needs to be frozen again. The parts are also dishwasher safe, making for speedier and easier clean-ups after use.

Unlike the Smeg mixers, this ice cream maker attachment isn't available in a wide range of colours so it won't be the exact match for your mixer (unless you have the white one). There aren't many customer reviews for this product online but for those that have left one, they've said this is a great addition to their Smeg stand mixer and that it makes the perfect ice cream.