The Best Ice Cream Makers for Summer 2025 [Tested and Reviewed]

26, 2024

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Its deliciously creamy and, best of all, totally customizable.

Well, whats the best option?

OurTest Kitchenput the most popular home ice cream makers to the test.

If you want an ice cream maker with a small footprint, try theCuisinart Automatic Ice Cream Maker.

This gadget is incredibly easy to use.

This machine will churn a batch of ice cream in 20 minutes.

Says Ellie: So fast and simple.

Besides its large capacity, our Test Kitchen enjoyed the easy-to-use functionality of this machine.

Add your recipe to the frozen canister, pop it into the base and hit startthats it.

In 25 minutes, your homemade ice cream will be ready.

This model has a spout that makes it easy to add mix-ins.

Within 30 seconds, Ellie says those extras are evenly distributed.

So what about the frozen fancies this Cuisinart ice cream maker produces?

Ellie has only the highest praise.

The ice cream is super smooth and created a really nice, creamy soft-serve texture, she says.

The frozen yogurt comes out tasting likevanilla ice creamwhich is a pleasant surprise.

Best Compressor

Breville Smart Scoop

Not every machine relies upon pre-frozen canisters.

If these pro-level machines are more your style, youll want theBreville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Compressor.

Its very hands-off, says Ellie.

The machine does all the thinking and work for you.

In about 40 minutes, youll have scratch-made froyo, ice cream orfrozen custardready for the scooping.

So what sort of results does the Smart Scoop Ice Cream Compressor deliver?

Delicious ones, per Ellie.

The ice cream is crystal-free and smooth, and the froyo is velvety and luxe.

This machine makes it so simple if you want to add mix-ins to your ice cream.

It can be a basic tone or an old-fashioned ice cream truck song.

How cute is that?

What sets theCuisinart Gelateria Ice Cream Makerapart are its three churning functions for ice cream, gelato and sorbet.

Ellie says that this Cuisinart model produced her favorite ice cream.

Gelato was velvety, ice cream was rich and even low-fat froyo felt like a treat.

This didnt impact the end result, but it required her to wipe down the machine afterward.

And for that reason, its best suited for frozen treats that go beyond plain ol vanilla.

Theres a reason this gadget has taken TikTok by storm.

To use, you pre-freeze your base in one of the included pints for 24 hours.

Then, you add it to the machine canister to churn.

The Creami has several tweaks for full-fat bases, light ice creams, sorbets and even frozen drinks.

In our testing, Ellie noted a grainy texture after the first spin.

Learn more in ourNinja Creami review.

Additional time spent mixing yields the best product, as ice cream is a game of patience.

And machines make noise.

Its the simple nature of how mechanical devices function.

Some models make more noise than others, especially automatic models with built-in motors.

We spent hours investigating top brands, asking our team for recommendations and reading customer reviews.

We then called in 10 of our top choices for firsthand testing.

Only six models earned our designation of Test Kitchen Approved.

The machines that fell short required too much attention or yielded too soft results.

As a true Midwesterner, she is excited to finally put her ice cream-tasting skills to the test!

She has personally reviewed hundreds of items in the food, kitchen, holiday and home spaces.

She tested and researched each ice cream maker in this article.

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