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The Best Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker of 2024
While it could be argued that all ice cream is good ice cream, it’s undeniable that your grocery-bought ice cream pales in comparison to the local creamery that makes its own supply. Now, think about combining the delicious texture that comes from freshly made ice cream with the satisfaction of creating it yourself. This is exactly what you’ll be getting when you pick up a soft serve ice cream maker for your home kitchen. After researching several brands and models, we've tested the best soft service ice cream makers of 2024. The Yonanas Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker is our top pick, although our other recommendations are just as competent. To start making your own ice cream, read our complete buying guide below!
Our Top Picks For Soft Serve Ice Cream Makers
View all ContentsThe Best Soft Serve Ice Cream Makers
Best Overall
Are you trying to indulge your love for frozen desserts while staying fit? Then look no further than the Yonanas Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker. Yonanas takes our top spot for their commitment to giving you the option to make soft serve ice cream that doesn’t mean packing on calories. Within minutes, the machine can easily turn your favorite frozen fruit into buttery smooth ice cream or sorbet. This dessert-making maven also doesn’t require any additives in the form of fats, sugars, or preservatives. As an added bonus, the machine comes with recipes to make the most amazing homemade desserts like pies, parfaits, and sorbets to get a jump start on your own creative soft serve creations. Yonanas is a trusted brand with over a decade of experience in the industry, so you know that seeing their name on this product means you’ll be getting a quality dessert experience.
Pros
- Easy to use and clean
- Serves a whole family
- A healthy option for soft serve lovers
Cons
- The machine can be a bit noisy
Key Features
- 36 fantastic recipes are included for every diet
- All removable components are dishwasher safe and BPA free
- No necessary preservatives
- Limited defect coverage for a year
Most Efficient
By most accounts, including our own, Cuisinart is by far one of the most trusted manufacturers of soft serve ice cream makers. It goes without saying that you should expect only the best from the Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker. If you’re looking for variety from your soft serve ice cream maker, then look no further than this offering from Cuisinart.
This soft serve ice cream maker comes with a viewing panel, making this a fun option for watching the ice cream-making process with your own eyes. A mixing arm incorporates and aerates the ingredients in the included freezer bowl to create ice cream that has a buttery smooth consistency. This set even includes three condiment holders and a cone dispenser, giving you even more options for creating fantastic desserts from your home kitchen.
Pros
- Easy to disassemble for cleaning
- Double-wall design to keep the ingredients cool at the same temperature
- Three containers for three condiments
Cons
- Made of many components, which may mean longer cleaning time
Key Features
- Simple-lock lid with transparent window
- Heavy-duty motor to create and dispense ice cream
- Made of BPA Free materials
- Non-Slip rubber feet for better grip
Most Affordable
With home-made ice cream, a lot of the satisfaction comes from actually preparing your ingredients. Nutrichef knows this, which is why its Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker is an excellent choice for ice cream preparation. This machine is designed to give you a tactile feel for the ingredients being turned into the ice cream which adds to the satisfaction of making this classic dessert. And since the choice of ingredients is entirely up to you, you can make healthy ice cream for your vegan, dairy-free, or fat-free diets.
Pros
- Quick and easy to use
- Fits on the kitchen countertop
- Stain-resistant housing
Cons
- Very noisy
Key Features
- One-touch operation
- No preservatives
- 150-Watt power
- Includes recipe book
Most Portable
Let’s talk about space for a second, or more specifically, how you need more of it. Having a large home kitchen comes with its own perks, including being able to set up a bulky soft serve ice cream maker wherever you want without worry. But even if you’re living arrangements require you to be more economical with your kitchen area, you won’t need to compromise with this Frozen Fruit Ice Cream Maker. It is a single compact unit with everything you need in a soft serve ice cream maker. The best part is that this machine is also complete: there’s no need for extra parts that clutter up your kitchen area. Just place this machine on top of your counter, cut up some fruit, throw them in, and with the press of a button you have prepared a deliciously creamy dessert.
Pros
- No artificial colors and additives
- Fast and convenient ice cream maker
- Easy to use
Cons
- Fruits may come out as a purée or not go through at all if they are frozen solid
Key Features
- Includes a cleaning brush
- Lightweight and compact design
- Removable components for deep cleaning
- Single-button control
Best for Sorbets
Afloia’s Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker excels at one thing more than any other: making a delicious sorbet. Weighing only 8.58 pounds, the machine can produce up to two quarts of any frozen treat from your favorite ingredients. Its compact design also makes for hassle-free storage so that you’ll always have your favorite dessert within reach. Of course, it also creates homemade ice cream with the perfect smoothness and texture like every other product on our list. There’s no reason to play it cool with options like these!
Pros
- Easy to use and store away
- Ice cream stays cold for longer than some other products
- Low-noise emission
Cons
- Pre-freezing the liner can be time-consuming
Key Features
- Made of food-grade safe material
- Creates up to two quarts of your chosen dessert
- Double-insulated freezer bowl for fast freezing
- Easy to clean with only two removable parts
Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker Buying Guide
Going through our list of the best soft-serve ice cream makers in 2024 may have made you a little less indecisive than you were when your search began. At least we hope it did because we think you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better collection than what we have curated for you within this article. That being said, our goal isn’t to overwhelm you with options and leave you feeling spoiled for choice after reading about all of these amazing products. Given that, we have created this guide to discuss all you need to know before getting an ice cream maker for your own home. We have covered everything from the types of soft serve ice cream makers to the difference between the ones you can use at home and those meant for commercial use. After reading this guide, you should feel well-informed on every aspect of buying your own soft serve ice cream maker. And if you want to thank us, be sure to share this article with a friend.
Types of Soft Serve Ice Cream Makers
You will find that most soft serve ice cream makers on the market can be categorized into two types: those with a freezer bowl and those without.
Freezer bowl
A freezer bowl is popular with many soft serve ice cream makers. When you see that an ice cream maker includes a freezer bowl, remember that this means that the machine will require some prior planning. Freezer bowls can sometimes be a hassle because, for the bowl to freeze properly, you need to leave it in the freezer for several hours. While this process certainly adds to the amount of time it takes to prepare your dessert, ice cream machines with freezer bowls produce a fantastic product. They are your best bet for achieving an authentic taste, flavor, and texture similar to commercially made ice cream from your own kitchen.
Non-freezer bowl
If you’re not the patient type, there are many options that don’t require a freezer bowl. To make ice cream without a lot of forethought, these ice cream makers come with a built-in freezer that controls the temperature of your ingredients while mixing. With these machines, you also won’t need any additives or preservatives to get soft-serve ice cream at the required temperature, thanks to their sophisticated systems for regulating your dessert to the perfect temperature.
Homemade vs. Commercial Soft Serve Ice Cream
While both homemade and store-bought ice cream are great in their own right, they are two very different products. Commercial ice cream makers are used to produce very large quantities of ice cream at very low temperatures that you would not want in your home. An at-home ice cream maker will not be able to perfectly replicate the conditions used to make a commercial product. However, it is still more than capable of making a delicious and refreshing product.
A definite advantage you will have with your at-home soft serve ice cream machine is in your ability to experiment with ice cream maker recipes or create something entirely unique. Creativity is the name of the game with your at-home machine, and you’ll never run out of options for new flavors to try out. To complete your home ice cream set, you can even get a proper ice cream scoop while you’re at it!
People Also Asked
Can I make gelato and frozen yogurt with a soft-serve ice cream maker?
Gelato and frozen yogurt of all kinds can be made with soft serve ice cream makers. It is all about getting and setting the right churning speed and freezing time. If your ice cream maker can keep these settings under control, there is no limit as to what you can make.
Is ice cream expensive to make?
The quality of ingredients and your preferences are the largest influence on the cost for making homemade ice cream. It is up to your own discretion whether you use low or high-cost ingredients in your ice cream mix.
