Creami, which boasts the capability to turn any frozen base into delicious ice cream at the mere touch of a button, is TikTok’s kitchen app du jour. Its viral popularity has resulted in its selling out multiple times (seriously, we had to look HARD to even track a few of these gadgets down), and you’d be hard-pressed to scroll through CookTok without stumbling onto a recipe or ten within seconds. Influencers will take literally anything, and attempt to “Creami” it, which has really taken root in the “healthy” cooking community, because of the ability to make supposedly delicious treats out of Greek yogurts, protein shakes, dairy alternatives, etc, anything your Creami-craving heart could desire. After weeks of watching fluffy, cold creamery-level sweets be churned out on my feed, I considered myself fully influenced. Could the Creami work, even for someone as non-kitchen inclined as myself?

Cooking doesn’t come naturally to me. In the broadest sense, it’s because I am extremely lazy (if it can’t happen in one pot, I’m already out), but more specifically, I just don’t know enough about it. There seem to be endless gadgets and appliances that all seemingly do the same thing (seriously, can someone explain to me what the difference is between a toaster oven and an air fryer?), and I’m never exactly sure which flavors are supposed to go together, resulting in a few terrible experiments. But the promises of Creami proved too much for me to resist — it both seems easy to use and results in something that makes you look like a master chef. As part of my summer plans to become more familiar with my own kitchen and its capabilities, I decided to try it out.

Keep reading to see how this TikTok-famous ice cream maker stacks up.

Ninja CREAMI Breeze 7-In-1 Ice Cream Maker, $169.99

What is the Creami?

Though Creami calls itself an ice cream maker, it’s not really one. It’s not churning liquid to solid. What it actually is is an ice cream base blending machine (it’s apparently not a blender, either—who knew!) that uses Ninja’s patented “Creamify Technology” to transform frozen solid bases into creations with the texture of ice cream, gelato, milkshakes, sorbet, or slushie. This is made possible with the downward pressure of Creami’s dual motors, which finely shave ice particles into your texture of choice. It also has a fun “mix in” button, so you can add chunks of cookie dough, fresh fruit, candies, or whatever other ingredients you could possibly want in your dessert. Specs-wise, there are three different models of the Creami, which all function relatively the same way. I tested the Creami Breeze 7-in-1, which comes with two pints and has (you guessed it), seven functions. It does take up a bit of space (much to my girlfriend’s chagrin), sitting at 12″ long, 15″ tall and 6″ wide. So it’s not ideal if you don’t have the counter space for it.

I am obsessed with creating no dairy, no sugar scoopable, delicious, creamy ice cream. Raspberry Cucumber, Blueberry Lemon, Mermaid, Mint Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Chip are just a few of my favorites! If I had to give up kitchen appliances…this one must stay!

What can you make in the “Creami”?

According to Ninja, you can make an infinite amount of frozen treats with your Creami, and if the TikTok tutorials that kept appearing on my FYP were any indication, they’re right. When I was first deciding what to test out in my Creami, I decided to go with something that was going to be easy — as in one single ingredient easy. I was personally influenced by the amount of fitness bloggers who suggested transforming a pre-made protein shake into ice cream, and I couldn’t help but be curious if my morning protein shake could actually become ice cream with the click of a button, as I’d been promised…

Does It Cream?: Protein Shake

With my one ingredient prepped (shout out to Premiere Protein’s Cafe Latte flavor—she’s a real one), I was ready to take on the Creami. Except, of course, the instant ice cream I’d been promised would take a little more than that. Your journey with the Creami starts by first freezing your liquid base in the accompanying pint container overnight (they recommend a full 24 hours). But honestly, that didn’t bug me. I might be lazy, but I can be patient. And the pint was easy to fill — it even has a little line telling you where the maximum fill is. So, as the instructions required, I filled that sucker up and placed it in the freezer to do its thing.

Twenty-four hours later, my protein shake was frozen solid in the pint jar and ready to be creamed. The lid of the pint swaps out for the Creamifying paddle, and the jar clicks into place on the device pretty easily (although, pro tip: push harder than you think). Then, I pressed the ice cream mode button and let it do its Creamifying.

Heads up: The sounds the motors make are truly terrifying. I was slightly worried that it was going to smoke out and spark a fuse with the whining, moaning, and keening sounds coming from the Creami. I wished the TikToks had warned me about that, so I’m passing along my expertise. Apparently, it’s totally normal, and the noises are just the intense sounds of ice shaving, and you’re not actually at risk of blowing up your kitchen. The process took about three minutes, and so when it was finished, I unlocked the pint and took off the lid to reveal… not ice cream. What actually was there was a weird powdery substance that tasted as chalky as it looked. Luckily, I’d been warned that might happen, and users recommended putting a little bit of water into the pint and respinning it. So, that’s what I did.

Tada! Success. After two spins, I was presented with some seriously delicious coffee ice cream. The pint, which was made solely from my protein shake, clocks in at 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar, and tasted if not exactly like coffee ice cream… pretty damn close. I felt like a proud chef. And not only was this ice cream easy AF to make and delicious to eat, but the blade was easily cleaned as well, totally satisfying my lazy heart. Feeling emboldened by my success, I decided to attempt a recipe on the more indulgent end of the spectrum…

Does It Cream?: Rosé Wine

Protein shakes are well and good, but sometimes you want an icy treat that doesn’t have secret health benefits. And on the hottest days of the summer, nothing fills that craving more than a delicious frosé. At the suggestion of my team members, I decided to dip my toe into the alcoholic slushie world and see if the other Creami functions would be just as much of a hit as my protein ice cream. And wouldn’t you know… it was.

As before, I poured my rosé into the freezer-safe pint to solidify overnight. I wasn’t 100% sure it was going to work (tbh, I didn’t know if alcohol would freeze!), but freeze it did. With my second “recipe,” I decided to kick things up a notch, using not just one ingredient… but two.

That’s right, after blending the frozen pint of rosé into a perfect slushie consistency (which only required a single spin, unlike my ice cream), I decided to use the mix-in feature. I took a handful of chopped-up frozen strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries and poured about two tablespoons of simple syrup on top of it, and dumped the whole thing into the slushie. The mix-in feature worked quickly, taking barely even a minute, to integrate completely.

Not only did the finished product look gorgeous (seriously, peep that color!!!), but it tasted incredible. Most frosé also includes a splash of vodka, but I chose to go without for a lighter and more fruit-centric flavor. Honestly, this one was so easy and delicious that it inspired me to buy more of the freezer pints, so I can make big batches for dinner parties and impress my friends.

Verdict?

I’m giving the Ninja Creami a strong two thumbs up. TikTok calls it a kitchen essential for summer, and while I don’t know that I need the Creami, I certainly enjoyed using it. The novelty of making icy treats with just a few simple steps did genuinely feel as easy as counting to three. Functional? Absolutely. Easy-to-use? Most definitely. Easy to clean? 100%. Though I found it fun to use in a multitude of ways, I do think it shines most for people who have dietary restrictions that prevent them from enjoying ice cream. By controlling exactly what goes into the base, it’s especially useful for those who can’t have dairy or sugar (it’s really popped off in the bariatric community), and helps them enjoy ice cream in a new way.

Tl;Dr: We totally get why the Creami has continuously sold out. In fact, it’s currently only available at a few select retailers and via independent sellers on Amazon. Keep checking back, as we’ll keep things updated when the Creami is fully back in stock, and for now, drop your fav Creami recipes below and share what you think this lazy (but totally satisfied) chef should cream next.

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