Ninja Swirl by Creami 13-in-1 Soft Serve & Ice Cream Maker Review

Introduction

Last year’s Ninja Creami Deluxe redefined what you could expect from an ice cream maker, even able to make frozen drinks, milkshakes and more. Now, the Ninja Swirl by Creami 13-in-1 Soft Serve & Ice Cream Maker NC701UK goes a step further and adds the ability to make soft-serve treats.

More than just for ice creams, the Swirl can deal with fresh fruit, frozen yoghurt, protein-based treats and more. It’s certainly not cheap, and it’s quite loud and bulky, but there’s nothing that can quite match it for quality and flexibility.

Design and Features

• Can make scoop or soft-serve
• Comes with two ice cream tubs
• Quite large

The Ninja Swirl by Creami 13-in-1 Soft Serve & Ice Cream Maker NC701UK looks like the Creami Deluxe, only with Mr Whippy-style dispenser added on the side. And, in many ways, that’s exactly what this machine is, as it can make traditional scoop frozen treats, drinks, plus soft-serve treats.

As with the Creami, everything the Swirl can make starts out in a 480ml Swirl ice cream tub, of which two are provided in the box.

The difference here is that the bottom of the tubs can be unscrewed into an ‘open’ position, and each tub has a star-shaped hole for soft-serve treats.

I’d like slightly larger tubs, as the 480ml is pretty easy to go through quickly, and typically suits four to six people with small portion sizes, but it’s easy to use up a batch quicker if using larger cones or serving sizes.

These tubs are slightly more complicated than on the original machine, and it’s important to put the tubs in the ‘closed’ position before adding ingredients, otherwise you risk spilling liquid everywhere.

Most recipes require you to mix ingredients in a bowl, then add them to a tub, before freezing for 24 hours. Ninja provides a brilliant guide that has a wide range of recipes, which range from the super-simple (just add some ingredients one at a time), to the more complicated (the soft-serve gelato recipe requires cooking to a specific temperature first).

You can also skip the hassle and use shop-bought ice cream, either mixing in additional ingredients or use a mode to turn it into soft-serve instead. It’s nicer to make food from scratch, but the pre-buy option does mean you can make fancy-looking treats in a matter of minutes without having to wait 24-hours for ingredients to freeze.

Once the ingredients are frozen, the Creami tech comes into action. Drop the tub into the outer bowl, add the lid with the creamerizer paddle, slot everything into the slot, and you’re ready to go with one of the one-touch functions.

Here, controls are split into two options: soft-serve and scoop. There are six soft modes to choose from, each of which runs a pre-set paddle movement, sliding the paddle down to the bottom of the tub and back up, for a set amount of time.

With the Ice Cream mode, you get lighter ice cream that’s soft enough to swirl; Light Ice Cream is the same but for low-sugar and sugar-alternative recipes; Fruiti is for use with fresh fruit; Frozen Yoghurt is for a soft-serve alternative to ice cream; Soft Serve Gelato does the same thing for classic gelato; and CreamiFit is for protein-based recipes, such as turning a protein shake into an iced treat.

There are also six scoop modes: Ice Cream is for traditional ice cream; Light Ice Cream is the low/no sugar version; Gelato is for the cream and egg-based Italian-style ice cream; Sorbet is for fruit-based recipes; Frozen Yoghurt produces an alternative to ice cream; and Milkshake used a combination of ice cream, milk (or plant milk) and mix-in options for a cold drink.

In addition, with the scoop mode, you can use the mix-in mode to add extra ingredients that get blended into the final product, whether that’s chocolate chips, sweets, pretzels or nuts.

Aside from the potential complexity of making some of the recipes, the actual process of using the Ninja Swirl is incredibly easy, but incredibly loud. I found that the Swirl hit over 80dB when using the Fruitti mode, so it’s best to walk away while the machine is doing its job.

At the end of a mix, if the texture’s not quite right, there’s a Reswirl button that gives you a quicker, second burst. That can also be used to refresh recipes that you’ve refrozen, or to mix up shop-bought ice cream.

For Scoop-based modes, you can simply serve with an ice cream scoop, as you would with any ice cream maker or the standard Creami.

For soft-serve recipes you need to attach the Dispensing Lid with Swirl Press. This let me clip the tub into the soft-serve section of the machine, which then requires the bottom of the tub to be put into the Open position.

This then enables the handle on the right-hand side of the machine. Pull this down, and the Swirl starts by pushing the Swirl Press forwards, compressing the mixture and forcing it out of the port on the bottom to give you a soft-serve finish.

It’s incredibly easy to use, but pouring neatly is a skill that takes time to develop.

Once you’ve finished, any leftover mixture can be put in the freezer, using the provided lids. For soft-serve mixtures, you need to close the tub and rinse the spout and chamber to remove all traces of leftover treat; if you don’t, then the remainder can get frozen into place, preventing it from dispensing properly in future.

When you’ve completely finished, all removable parts are dishwasher safe, and the machine can be wiped down with a soft cloth.

Performance

• Very loud
• Mixes brilliantly
• Soft-serve genuinely tastes different

I tried out multiple recipes to see how good the Ninja Swirl is. I started by making my own coffee gelato, following the basic soft-serve gelato recipe (whole milk, cream, sugar and eggs, cooked to 74°C), but also added in a shot of espresso for flavouring.

This took 24-hours to freeze, after which I processed the mixture to get air into it, making it softer and ready to serve. Pouring via the soft-serve system, the result was excellent: a creamy, softer ice cream that was smoother and denser than traditional soft-serve, but softer and easier to eat than scooped ice cream. I’d definitely serve this (or other flavours) again.

To compare, I made a scoop version of this ice cream, which was easier to do as there was no cooking. After 24-hours of freezing and then processing, the ice cream looked and tasted brilliant: smoother than traditional ice cream, but with a denser texture than soft serve.

I also tried a Fruiti, mixing coconut milk with tinned peaches and tinned pineapple. In its frozen state, it didn’t look particularly appetising, but once processed, I got something that was a blended, smooth dessert that looked more like ice cream.

Pouring this, I was really impressed with the result: smoother than a traditional sorbet and closer in texture to soft-serve ice cream, the Fruiti was packed with flavour, with the fruit coming through. If you’ve had a Dole Whip in Disney World, then this is a similar-style treat. Again, there’s not really another product that can produce something similar.

I finally used some shop-bought honeycomb ice cream, and used the 2-minute Respin option to turn it into a soft-serve ice cream. This option changes the texture of the ice cream: it has a lighter, airier finish to it, and it’s easier to eat, particularly in a cone. It was a touch softer than the homemade recipes, so it wasn’t quite as good a result, even if it was quicker to make.

Should you buy it?

FAQs