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One of the great things about ice cream making—among many—is how easy it actually is. Yes, the store-bought kind has its charm and place, such as enjoying directly from the pint while binging Netflix, or as a casual dessert plopped on the table at the end of a dinner party with a handful of dessert spoons. But freshly churned homemade ice cream is an underrated trick in the home cook’s playbook, and it’s much easier to do than you might realize.
Start scrolling ice cream recipes and you’ll likely find that what they all have in common is that they’re pretty short: They typically require only a few ingredients, a saucepan, a whisk, a mixing bowl, and time to chill in order to make your base. But while no-churn ice cream recipes—in which whipped cream is typically folded into a custardy base before freezing—have become popular, if it’s the dense, smooth texture of the really good stuff that you’re after, you’re absolutely going to need an electric ice cream maker (the rock salt method that you’ll find online is really only for nostalgia purposes and middle school science classes).
With several different models on the market and prices ranging from $20 to up over $1,000, it can be a daunting task to determine which machine is right for you. But we were up for it, polishing off our sundae spoons as we rounded up popular and highly rated models and put them to work making frozen treats. Read on for our top picks. And for more about how we tested ice cream makers and which ones we don’t think are worth your money, scroll further down the page.
Table of contents
What’s the difference between canister and compressor ice cream makers
Best ice cream maker overall
Best small-batch ice cream maker
Best compressor ice cream maker
Another great, more affordable compressor ice cream maker
What we looked for in ice cream makers
How we tested ice cream makers
Other ice cream makers we tested
The takeaway
What’s the difference between canister and compressor ice cream makers?
The two most popular types of ice cream maker for home kitchens are canister-style machines, and compressor machines.
Canister-style machines are typically made up of four parts: a base that includes the motor, a plastic cover, a dasher or paddle, and then a canister that holds the ice cream base while it’s churned. The canister is heavy, made of aluminum and plastic to seal a nontoxic saline solution (similar to an ice pack) inside the lining. The mixture inside the bowl freezes at a lower temperature, stays frozen longer than plain ice. With these machines, it’s absolutely critical that the canister be thoroughly frozen, for 24 hours or more, because it’s this frozen bowl that actually chills the ice cream, frozen yogurt, or gelato during churning. The easiest test is to give the canister a quick shake; if you hear any sloshing at all, it’s not ready. These types of machines are generally less expensive, with great options (such as our top pick) costing around $50.
Compressor machines, on the other hand, require no pre-freezing of the parts. They’re fitted with a refrigeration compressor that uses a coolant to freeze the ice cream as it churns. There are several advantages to these types of machines—they have fewer parts, you don’t have to plan ahead by pre-freezing your canister, you can churn one batch after another without any interruption, and being a high-end appliance, they typically make great ice cream. But they’re quite heavy and all the convenience comes at a cost. Compressor-style ice cream makers typically start at around $250 and go up steeply from there.
Best ice cream maker overall: Cuisinart ICE-21 1.5 Quart Ice Cream Maker
The Cuisinart ICE-21 1.5 Quart Ice Cream Maker has claimed our top slot for years now, and it’s obvious why. Between an easy-to-use design and interface; the deliciously dense, smooth, creamy ice creams it produced; and a low price point, it’s been hard to beat. We’ll note that we chose a canister machine over a compressor one because this one works so well and it is so much less expensive that we think it outweighs the convenience a compressor machine can offer.
The machine consists of just four parts: the electric base, the canister bowl, the dasher (the technical name for the paddle that helps churn the ice cream), and a clear plastic cover. The interface includes just a single switch that turns the motor on and off. And once your ice cream base is chilled and the canister thoroughly frozen, you’re just one flip of a switch away from churning. The base of the machine rotates the canister, the plastic cover holds the bowl and dasher place, and with no timer on the machine you’ll churn for as long as your recipe instructs. The clear cover is easy to peer through to monitor the progress, with an opening wide enough for adding mix-ins.
The base is surprisingly lightweight—in fact, the only relatively heavy part of this machine is the canister, which is the case with all canister ice cream maker models. And like those, it must be frozen thoroughly—for 24 hours or more—before you can start churning. If you’re the type to make ice cream often, you might create dedicated freezer space for your canister, and it may even be worth investing in an extra freezer bowl for double-batch occasions.
Not accounting for the time required to chill our base and freeze the canister, this is the fastest to churn ice cream to a proper soft-serve consistency, in 20 minutes flat. It produced the best texture of all of the canister models, with a deliciously dense but silky mouthfeel and barely discernible ice crystals. It’s the quietest in this category too.
Because the bowl is fairly shallow and wide, it’s easy to pull the paddle out without spilling ice cream onto the counter, and also to pause, assess, and taste as often as necessary during the churning process. Once we scraped the ice cream from the paddle, scooping the rest out of the bowl is a quick, easy process.
Cleanup is also a breeze. You will have to hand-wash the parts though, and Cuisinart recommends cleaning the bowl, paddle, and lid with warm soapy water. That all takes a couple of minutes. At about $50 at the time of publication and with a 3 year warranty, it’s also one of the best values you can get.
For large families or bigger batches, the 1.5-quart capacity canister may be too small, but we never found it to be an issue with any of the standard-size recipes we tested using it. We wish that the paddle felt more durable; it’s made from plastic that feels a bit flimsy, but given the price this is a minor complaint.
Type: Canister
Size: 9.5" x 9" x 11.25"
Capacity: 1.5 quart
Weight: 11 lb.
Warranty: 3 years
Best small-batch ice cream maker: DASH My Pint Electric Ice Cream Machine
We weren't sure what to expect from this model since it was the smallest of all of the home ice cream makers tested, but we were pleasantly surprised at the performance and found that the DASH’s more traditional pre-freeze canister model is much more effective for creating a classic ice cream consistency than new, blender-type designs such as the Ninja CREAMi Breeze.
As with all of the canister models, the mixing bowl has to be stored in the freezer for at least 24 hours before churning. That inconvenience is offset by the diminutive size of the mixing bowl on this little machine—we hardly noticed it in the freezer at all because it took up barely any space. Assembly is pretty simple. The mixing bowl sits in a cup, and the paddle goes into the motor, which also acts as the lid. When you’re ready to churn, pour your base into the mixing bowl, cover with the motor lid, and switch on the machine.
Since the paddle is attached to the motor lid, it lifts right out when you open the machine, which makes scooping the ice cream from the bowl to a storage container really easy. Cleanup is also simple, with only the mixing bowl and paddle requiring a wash. As with all machines we tested, none of the components are dishwasher-safe, but for $20, and given the quality of the ice cream it produces as well as its tiny footprint, this is a surprisingly good value, particularly for small households.
Since the mixing bowl is completely enclosed, we assumed the machine would churn the ice cream faster than any of the machines. But it ended up taking about 30 minutes—50% longer than the Cuisinart—to reach the right consistency. And without any way to see into the machine, checking the progress means stopping the machine and separating the bowl from the dasher lid, a tedious and potentially messy process that can ultimately compromise the finished texture. This machine also has a small capacity of only about a pint, so you’ll need to adjust standard size recipes or be careful to fill the canister only about 60% of the way with your ice cream base.
Type: Canister
Size: 8.6" x 5" x 4.2"
Capacity: 1.6 cups
Weight: 2 lb.
Warranty: 1 year
Best compressor ice cream maker: Lello Musso Lussino (1.5 Quart Capacity)
We get it. More than $700 is a lot to spend on an ice cream maker. If a small kitchen appliance costs that much, it’s really considered a luxury item. And this machine is big and heavy. But hear us out: The Lello Musso Lussino produces the absolute best quality ice cream of every single machine we tested, full stop.
First of all, this machine is beautiful. We spoke with a representative at Lello’s US distribution center and were told that every Lello ice cream maker is assembled by hand in a small factory in Italy before being meticulously inspected and shipped off to be distributed.
The interface is simple, if a bit more robust than the single-button canister models we tested. One button toggles the chilling function on and off so you can mix the ice cream without chilling it if need be, a second toggles the churning motor on and off, and a dial sets the churn time, also acting as the on-off switch. The entire thing is made of stainless steel, including the paddle and the nut that secures it to the mixing bowl, ensuring maximal durability and sturdiness. (It’s worth noting that the mixing bowl is actually just a deep depression in the top of the machine, and is not removable.)
One serious advantage compressor models have over the canister ones is that you can use them whenever your base is ready, no pre-freezing of the canister required. That said, they do typically take about 50% longer to churn, and this initially gave us worry that it’d compromise the texture. But after one taste, we knew our concerns were for naught: The Lello Musso Lussino (along with the other Lello model we tested below) yielded the best-textured ice cream of all of the machines we tested. The soft-serve ice cream stage rivals fresh, professionally churned ice cream made on industrial machines designed to churn quickly and minimize crystallization—it’s gloriously, evenly silky-smooth. Even more impressive: It stays that way after freezing overnight. Once we had the machine running, consecutive batches take less time to churn, at a brisk 20 minutes, and those batches are identical in quality to the initial batch.
Because the bowl is wide and shallow, it’s easy to get all of the ice cream out, and made even easier thanks to the precisely shaped plastic spatula that comes with the machine, designed for reaching the edges of the bowl. We’re also able to move the churning paddle manually to push it out of the way for easier ice cream removal.
Because of the price, the Lello is really only an option for home cooks who are very serious about making ice cream, or those who have lots of extra money to burn. And it’s a bulky, heavy machine that isn’t easy to maneuver in and out of storage—ideally it’d live in a permanent spot on your countertop. Additionally, because the bowl isn’t removable, cleaning up isn’t as straightforward as it is with canister models and even other compressor machines. But by following the manufacturer’s instructions, we found it to be less difficult than we expected: Wash the lid, nut, and paddle by hand in the sink, then pour ¼ cup of hot water into the bowl and wipe it out with a clean sponge. Rinse the sponge and repeat, wiping the bowl clean until the machine is clean, sanitizing it as necessary.
Type: Compressor
Size: 12" x 18" x 11"
Capacity: 1.5 quarts
Weight: 38 lb.
Warranty: 1 year
Another great, more affordable compressor ice cream maker: Whynter 201-SB
The Whynter 201-SB is another excellent compressor machine, especially considering it’s $400 less than the Lello Musso Lussino. The interface is straightforward, with buttons to toggle different modes, like churn only, freeze only, and the “ice cream” setting (churn and freeze), as well as buttons to start and stop the machine and adjust the time. Because it is a compressor machine like the Lello, no pre-freezing of a canister is necessary—once your base is made and chilled, you can start churning right away, and it turns out perfectly creamy, silky-smooth ice cream in about 30 minutes, with texture that’s almost as good as the Lello.
The bowl lifts out for easy cleaning and, like all the other models, must be hand-washed. The footprint on this machine is also smaller than all of the compressor models, which are designed with the compressors alongside the churning bowl, making the machines much wider. This Whynter, on the other hand, has the compressor directly under the churning bowl to create a much narrower, but slightly taller body. For those wanting a machine that requires less planning ahead than a canister model, takes less counter space to operate, and is a significant price cut on the Lello, we definitely recommend the Whynter 201-SB.
The construction of the churning paddle is a bit frustrating—the blades on it are fairly close together, which makes scraping the churned ice cream off of it difficult, and it’s also made of plastic, which feels quite flimsy compared to the Lello’s stainless-steel churning blade. And even with its relatively small footprint for a compressor model, this is a large and quite heavy machine that isn’t super easy to move around. Ideally, it’d have a permanent space on your countertop and get frequent use.
Type: Compressor
Size: 12.5" x 10.75" x 14.25"
Capacity: 2.1 quarts
Weight: 24 lb.
Warranty: 1 year
What we looked for in ice cream makers
Churn time is an important factor, because the faster the ice cream base freezes, the less chance there is of ice crystals forming, which has a big effect on texture. The best performing machines churned out silky ice cream in 30 minutes or less.
Our favorite machines had the simplest interfaces, with only a button or two and maybe a dial. Since the process of churning ice cream is inherently simple, we think that the machine should make it feel that way! We also assessed how quietly each machine ran, since a loud machine can be a nuisance.
Canister machines are smaller, so they take up less counter space, but they also require you to keep the bowl in the freezer for 24 hours before you can use them. Compressor models, on the other hand, are considerably bulkier and take up more counter space, but you can also use them as soon as your ice cream base is chilled. We took note of these factors as well as how heavy the machines were for getting and out of storage.
The price range of all of these models is from $20–$1,200—is a more expensive machine worth the extra cost? On the flip side, will an inexpensive one yield ice cream worthy of your time and effort?
All machines require hand-washing, but is cleaning more tedious than necessary?
How we tested ice cream makers
We used the same ice cream base to test every machine, taking care to use the exact same weight of each ingredient for every batch. We let every batch cool to room temperature and then put it under refrigeration overnight, fully chilling them to 40°F. We adhered to the manufacturer’s instruction to churn each base to a soft-serve consistency, watching the process closely and taking note of churn time. After these tests, we experimented with other bases, including sorbet and frozen yogurt on high performing machines.
Since compressor models are able to churn multiple batches of ice cream consecutively without having a bowl you have to freeze between batches, we also tested that capability by cleaning out and drying each machine after the initial test and starting the second batch immediately after.
Other ice cream makers we tested
This machine looks almost identical to the winning Cuisinart model, but takes about 40 minutes to churn the ice cream base to the right consistency. It also sounded like the rock tumbler we used to have as kids for the entire churn time, making the entire experience pretty unpleasant. The ice cream it produced was just okay, with some pretty intense crystallization.
We were excited to add this new ice cream maker to the mix, especially because it promises to be a completely different type of machine. It’s designed for smaller, pint-size yields, and it innovates by essentially reversing the ice cream method: Rather than churning a chilled base, your ice cream base is fully frozen in a pint-size container, which is then fitted with a lid that has a wide blade attached to it and snapped into the machine. When operating, over the course of just a few minutes the blade forces itself down through the frozen base, whipping it up to an airy consistency like a blender, and then pulls back up. The results weren’t what we were hoping for—we know that the Ninja CREAMi is a popular option for how quickly it transforms a frozen base into a whipped dessert, but it doesn’t make ice cream in the traditional sense. For a classic custard base, the “churned” results lacked the creamy density and stretchy quality of the ice cream we love and crave.
This may have been the biggest disappointment of the bunch. We’ve seen the Smart Scoop ice cream maker feature in some pretty prestigious test kitchens and wondered whether it could justify the $500 expense. Unfortunately, we don’t think it does. The Breville took the longest to churn, at a whopping 55 minutes, which affected the texture with pronounced iciness. The interface is also excessively complicated, offering a ton of different settings for different types of frozen desserts, and a pre-chill setting that didn’t seem to do anything. The tall, narrow bowl makes removing the churned ice cream difficult, and we lost a pretty big glob of ice cream to the counter when removing the paddle. There were some functions that seemed helpful on the surface, like an alarm that told you when to add mix-ins, but this went off too early in the process, given how long it took to churn. We were disappointed in this machine.
This is a solid compressor machine, with a standard 1.5-quart capacity, and it yields deliciously similar results as the Whynter 201SB, all for about $50 less. But with its more traditional compressor design—the motor is situated alongside the bowl as it churns—it’s a wide machine that has a significantly larger countertop footprint than the other Whynter we tested. We also found it to be very heavy and disruptively loud, and as with the other Whynter, we wish it had a dasher that’s easier to get the churned ice cream off of (and that felt sturdier). But we love the simple interface, how easy it is to see inside to monitor progress, the lower price point, and the quick ease of the compressor model. And relished the delicious ice creams this model churned.
Cuisinart’s entry into the compressor category was perfectly fine. It’s much easier to use than the Breville model, with just three buttons, one to toggle power on and off, one to start churning, and one to toggle the timer. It takes about 40 minutes to churn, twice as long as its winning canister counterpart, so the texture leaves a little to be desired, especially considering this model is almost four times as expensive as the ICE-21. The bowl is removable, making it a little easier to clean than the Lello, but the quality of the ice cream is so vastly different that if you really want a compressor model, we’d still encourage you to go for a pricier option.
This is a fine option if you already have a KitchenAid stand mixer and are staunchly against buying a whole separate machine for making ice cream. It is, however, more expensive than the Cuisinart ICE-21 and doesn’t perform as well, so if you can spare the kitchen storage space, go for the separate machine.
At $1,200 this is likely out of the price range for the vast majority of home cooks, but if you want to be able to make large batches—up to two quarts of ice cream at a go—and get a shorter churn time (just 20 minutes) than the Lussino, this is a superb machine. Besides the price, the size is a bit of a drawback for typical homemade ice cream needs. It is enormous, the largest of all the machines tested, and weighs over 70 pounds, so finding a permanent spot for it in your kitchen is less of a suggestion and more of a necessity.
The takeaway
Compressor machines are big, bulky, and expensive, but let you make ice cream on a whim with minimal preparation. However, for most of them, the extra cost is rarely justified by the quality of the results. For a low-cost machine that consistently makes terrific ice cream, the Cuisinart ICE-21 and DASH My Pint are sure to satisfy the needs of most home kitchens. And if you’re dead set on getting an ice cream maker with a built-in compressor, the Lello Musso Lussino is as good as it gets, but the Whynter 201-SB is a close second and much less of a splurge.
Ready to get going? Find some of Epicurious’s best sorbet, gelato, frozen yogurt and ice cream recipes.
