Forget Ninja Creami — I tested this ice cream maker that delivers soft serve in just 30 minutes

Could GreenPan’s ice cream and frozen drinks maker rival the Ninja Creami? I put it to the test in my own kitchen to see how it stood up. What does it offer that the Creami lacks? You get ice cream almost instantly. Instead of having to pre-freeze ingredients or a bowl, you don’t have to pre-plan your ice cream and frozen drinks treats.

But GreenPan’s Frost Soft Serve & Frozen Drinks Maker should come with a health warning. When you can make homemade ice cream in 30 minutes, it’s a quick and easy way to put on the pounds. However, it’s a fine way to cool down in a heatwave.

GreenPan's Frost Ice Cream Maker: Price and availability

GreenPan’s Frost Soft Serve & Frozen Drinks Maker is not a cheap buy. In fact, I think it’s expensive for an appliance that you may not use consistently all year.

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The Frost Soft Serve & Frozen Drinks Maker is priced at $399 on GreenPan.com, in the U.S., although it’s currently reduced from $574. It costs £399 at Amazon in the U.K. By comparison, the Ninja Creami costs $229 at Amazon in the U.S., and £134 at Amazon in the U.K.

You’ll have to decide whether you’re happy to pay the extra for the convenience of getting soft scoop in 30 minutes.

GreenPan's Frost Ice Cream Maker: Design

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The GreenPan Frost & Serve will take up a large area on your countertop, so if you have a small kitchen, this ice cream maker might not be for you, as it measures 17.2 (L) x 8.7 (W) x 17.3 (H) inches. It comes with a decent-sized bowl with a 2-quart (1.8-liter) capacity.

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This appliance does look fun, especially with the pull-handle dispenser and side pop-up flap to hold cones. It also comes in a choice of colors, including Cream, Licorice, Berry and Pistachio. There’s not much you need to do to set up the machine; almost everything is already in place when you take it out of the box. You’ll need to attach the pull-handle.

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The mode setting is placed on the left side of the appliance and the level control to the right. You get six modes to choose from, including Slushie, Soft ice cream, Spiked slushies, Sorbet, Milkshake and Extrude/Clean.

GreenPan's Frost Ice Cream Maker: Performance

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Soft ice cream

I started making vanilla soft ice cream using the recipe in the instruction manual, using whole milk, heavy cream, table sugar, vanilla extract and kosher salt. For the best results, I chilled all the ingredients before pouring them into the bowl. I selected the ‘Soft Ice Cream’ mode and level 4.

You can watch the mixture churning in the clear bowl, and while it was operating, I measured the noise level, which averaged 62 dB and peaked at 74 dB; however, it didn’t sound overly noisy or distracting.

Although I thought it would take 30 minutes for it to be ready, it wasn’t until 40 minutes that I heard a beep and ‘COOL’ appeared on the display screen. At this point, I was able to extrude some of the ice cream, but a large amount remained on the cooling rod. For this reason, I would carefully watch the ingredients at the 25-minute mark.

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According to the guidance, the mixing time will depend on the selected mode, the mixing temperature and the amount of contents in the mixing bowl. Once the ice cream maker determines when the mix is ready, it will beep and ‘COOL’ will appear on the display screen. I suggest checking in on the mix to see how it is progressing to prevent the issue I experienced.

In addition, you need to remember to add the silicon extrusion head gasket to the nozzle, as it will give you that signature swirl effect when you extrude the ice cream.

Although my family was excited to try the soft-scoop ice cream, I found it a little grainy and wondered whether this was due to the use of table sugar rather than superfine sugar. So, on my second attempt, I swapped to superfine sugar and noticed a difference. And on this second attempt, I removed the ice cream at the 25-minute mark to avoid my previous problem of it freezing onto the cooling rod.

I also noticed a difference when the ice cream was frozen (unbelievably, it wasn't eaten in one go). The texture felt grainier; it was more enjoyable to eat when freshly made.

Frozen yogurt

Swapping from the calorie-dense ice cream, I followed the recipe for honey frozen yogurt. However, it still required heavy cream, so if you think it’s a healthy option, you might be disappointed.

To get the best result, GreenPan recommends ensuring all the honey is incorporated into the mixture before pouring it into the machine, so give it a good whisk.

I used the same setting as when making soft-scoop ice cream and selected level 3. Again, I checked the mix’s progress and removed it after about 30 minutes. I was pleased with the creamy texture, and the frozen yogurt tasted delicious.

Slushie

Sipping a cold drink is a quick way to cool down in the heat, especially if it is a slushie. So, I took my favorite ginger ale soda and poured it into the bowl. What’s more, you don’t need any other ingredients, so there isn’t any prep.

The only thing you need to know is that sugar-free sodas won’t freeze properly, so it won’t work with diet sodas or ones with artificial sweeteners. I set the mode to ‘Slushie’ on level 4 and left the soda to turn until it beeped.

I was happy with the amount of ice in the drink, and it didn’t dissolve instantly, so I could sip my ginger slushie slowly and enjoy the chill.

There's also a mode for making a 'Spiked Slushie' if you prefer to add some alcohol to your chilled drinks.

Milkshake

My final test was making a coffee milkshake, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to add full-cream milk as the recipe suggests, so I replaced it with extra whole milk and added it to the bowl with my cold brew coffee and simple syrup. I enjoyed the milkshake without the full cream, but I’m sure it would have been much thicker if I'd added it. I would have had to watch the timing to ensure it didn’t become too thick to drink.

Aside for what I made, the frozen ice cream and drinks maker can also whip up sorbet, frozen custard and cocktails. But you can't add any solids into the bowl, so if you want to add flavors you've got to add syrups, rather than chunks of fruit, chocolate chips or crushed cookies, as they'll clog the machine.

GreenPan's Frost Ice Cream Maker: Cleaning

The beauty of this appliance is its cleaning mode. I don’t think you can rely on it completely, as it didn’t always reach up to the uppermost section of the bowl, but it did do a pretty good job.

How does it work? Make sure the contents have been extruded before selecting the ‘Extrude clean’ mode. When operating, the blade rotates at high speed, just as when making ice cream, but without cooling.

Start by adding a container under the extrusion head, then add warm water and a dash of dish soap to the machine. Leave the machine to stir for one minute before extracting the liquid. You can then repeat this process a couple of times within the 5 minutes that the cleaning mode runs.

Then, you can remove the handle and decorative cover before twisting off the bowl and blade. These parts, along with the drip tray and cleaning brush, can all be placed in the top rack of a dishwasher.

GreenPan's Frost Ice Cream Maker: Verdict

It’s fun to use GreenPan’s Frost Soft Serve & Frozen Drinks Maker, and I was surrounded by a crowd when I extruded the ice cream for the first time. But it is an expensive way to make homemade ice cream, which is why I’ve given it a lower rating. However, it is quick, so if you need a hasty way to cool down in a heatwave, you won’t have to wait 24 hours to pre-freeze a bowl.

I’d be interested to know other people’s views on the taste and texture of the ice cream, so please leave comments below if you have used this appliance. Or let me know if you think it's worth the premium after reading my review.