9.5/ 10
SCORE
Ninja Swirl by Creami Review
Pros
Easy to use
Six soft-serve settings
Clean design
Great for prepping desserts, healthy alternatives and protein shakes
Removable parts are dishwasher safe
Cons
Loud operation
Larger footprint that may not be good for small spaces
The newly released Ninja Swirl by Creami is making a huge splash in the ice cream world and I've found the best place for it: the office. After all, nothing helps boost company morale better than an ice cream party, and the CNET team got to experience it firsthand.
Ninja Swirl by CREAMi on a kitchen countertop next to a variety of ingredients
Many of the Ninja Swirl's recipes require only a handful of ingredients that you probably already have in your home. Corin Cesaric/CNET
After breaking open the box and setting up the machine, CNET's Social Media Manager Tara Brown prepped up Ninja's vanilla soft serve at our Manhattan office in one of the Ninja Swirl pints included with the machine, then let it freeze overnight. The following day, Lai Frances, one of CNET's social media producers, and I put the machine to the test.
After reading the instructions, getting our soft serve spun was quick and easy -- albeit loud. But despite the fact that the machine makes a sound reminiscent of NYC construction (OK, maybe not that loud, but still pretty loud) the delicious soft serve it created helped our colleagues forgive us for the ruckus we made during the process.
How the Swirl differs from the original Ninja Creami
The main difference between the new Swirl and the original Ninja Creami, released in 2021, is that the Swirl has six additional soft-serve settings and a dispensing nozzle, so you can either eat your dessert directly out of the pint like the original or attach it to the soft serve side and use the lever to create a perfectly smooth swirl in a cone or cup.
a bright blue ice cream cone with frozen yogurt inside
I loved the smooth texture of the frozen yogurt. Corin Cesaric/CNET
For events and large groups, that nozzle plus the additional setting options come in handy by offering more variety and making it feel like you have an ice cream or frozen yogurt vendor right in your home or office. But, is that worth an extra $170 in comparison to the price tag on the Ninja Creami? We set out to find out.
How the Ninja Swirl by Creami works
The Swirl offers six soft serve programs: Soft serve ice cream, soft serve lite ice cream, fruit whip, frozen yogurt, frozen custard and CreamiFit (ideal for protein mixtures). Plus, it comes with a booklet of more than 30 recipes to help you get started using the machine and it offers substitutions in case you want to make the recipes vegan or low-sugar.
When we created Ninja's vanilla soft serve, I thought it was delicious and tasted a bit like pudding. The following week, I was ready to give the Swirl another whirl, so I made a few more concoctions to see how different types of frozen treats would turn out. This time, a handful of the NYC staff indulged in one-ingredient frozen yogurt and dairy-free vanilla coconut ice cream, both of which were easy to prepare.
Ninja Swirl by CREAMi sitting on a countertop with ice cream cones in the background
The new Ninja Swirl has six additional soft serve settings Corin Cesaric/CNET
You may notice that although the prep time needed for Ninja Swirl base recipes is a quick five minutes or less, the full time needed is about 24 hours. This is because the ingredients you prepare in the pints need to be frozen overnight before you can make your dessert. But pints don't take up too much room in the freezer, as do the necessary pieces of ice cream machines, namely freezer bowls. If you're planning to use the Ninja Swirl during the next event you host, you may want to snag some additional pints to prep up enough soft serve to go around.
Setting up the machine was simple and quick after getting the hang of it the first time around and it took less than a minute to get everything ready. After placing the frozen pint into the outer bowl that has a handle, I added the lid with the Creamerizer paddle and locked it into place. Then I slid the bowl under the right side of the machine and twisted until I heard the tell-tale click that let me know I was on the right track.
an frozen ice cream pint in front of an ice cream machine
The pint fits perfectly inside the outer bowl. Corin Cesaric/CNET
Next, I chose my selections based on the recipe I was using and waited for it to complete. The frozen yogurt and vanilla ice cream both took five minutes to spin while the vegan ice cream took four minutes. It was loud but it only lasted for the quick spin time.
After it was finished spinning, I removed the pint from the outer bowl and placed the dispense lid on top of it, then clicked it into place on the soft serve side of the machine before using the lever to serve it. It takes a couple of seconds to dispense once you pull down the lever. In comparison, the coconut ice cream was the creamiest and it was only slightly sweet while the vanilla soft serve was by far the sweetest and the fro-yo was more tart as we used Greek yogurt to create a higher protein snack.
white ice cream in a cylinder pint
The vegan ice cream had a great consistency after it spun in the machine. Corin Cesaric/CNET
How we rated the ice cream we made
We, of course, paid close attention to the taste and texture when rating the ice cream the Swirl made and compared it to store-bought ice creams we've had.
Although taste often comes down to personal preference, in the office this week it was clear that the coconut ice cream beat out the frozen yogurt thanks to its distinct flavor, smooth texture and fresh taste. Nasha Addarich Martínez, managing editor at CNET and taster of numerous vegan ice creams, was impressed.
"It's very comparable to high-end vegan ice creams, but this one tasted a lot fresher," she says. "I also liked that it wasn't overly sweet like some you find at the supermarket. This one just tasted like coconut deliciousness."
woman dispensing soft serve into a bright blue cone
Nasha Addarich Martínez dispensing the coconut vanilla soft serve during our taste test. Corin Cesaric/CNET
When the soft serve runs out of the pint, the Swirl automatically retracts the pint for easy removal from the machine, then you can rinse off the pint and lid and pop it in the dishwasher until you're ready to create another batch.
"I think it's so cool that you can create a tasty coconut ice cream whenever you want," said Meara Isenberg, a CNET writer, adding that she's excited to see what we will whip up with it next.
four women getting soft serve ice cream from a Ninja Swirl machine
From left: Bridget Carey, Carly Marsh, Meara Isenberg and Numi Prasarn. Corin Cesaric/CNET
Is the Ninja Swirl by Creami worth it?
It ultimately depends on how often you will use it. Although $350 is nothing to scoff at, if you plan to use this machine weekly, then yes, it's worth the price tag. A pint of quality ice cream costs upwards of $9 while the ingredients to make one at home costs more like $2 or $3.
If you just want to create frozen snacks occasionally and don't care as much about the texture or how they look at the end of the process, the less expensive Ninja Creami, which you can now find for as low as $180, will likely do the trick.
The biggest advantage of the Ninja Swirl is that it offers nearly double the amount of settings than the Ninja Creami, making it possible to create six different and delicious types of soft serve. So no matter what dietary restrictions or preferences you may have, you can whip up something just as delicious -- if not more -- and far less expensive than what you'd find at any ice cream shop or grocery store.
blue ice cream cone in front of a Ninja Swirl by Creami
The soft serve nozzle helps you achieve the perfect cone every time. Corin Cesaric/CNET