The Best Ice Cream Makers for 2026: Cuisinart, Breville Smart Scoop, Whynter and Lello
By Claire Whitmore. Last updated October 2026.
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Homemade ice cream is one of those luxuries that’s surprisingly attainable. With a good machine you control the cream, the sugar and the mix-ins, and you can churn gelato, frozen yogurt and dairy-free sorbet that tastes better than most pints from the store.
This guide draws on two independent tests. Serious Eats churned more than 60 quarts, making vanilla ice cream, mix-ins, frozen yogurt and strawberry sorbet in every machine while timing each batch and measuring overrun (how much air was incorporated). The Spruce Eats tested its own picks for setup, performance and cleanup. We haven’t tested these machines ourselves.
Quick answer: the simple Cuisinart ICE-21P1 has been Serious Eats’ favorite for years, and it’s The Spruce Eats’ best budget pick. If you don’t want to pre-freeze a bowl, get a compressor model: Serious Eats’ best for most people is the Whynter ICM-220CGY, and both outlets love the automatic Breville Smart Scoop as a splurge.
Our picks at a glance
| Machine | Type | Source | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisinart ICE-21P1 | Freezer bowl | Serious Eats: best; Spruce Eats: best budget | Fast, simple churning |
| Cuisinart Cool Creations / ICE-30BCP1 | Freezer bowl, 2 qt | Spruce Eats: best overall (Cool Creations); Serious Eats: best 2-quart | Bigger batches |
| Whynter ICM-220CGY | Compressor | Serious Eats: best compressor | No pre-freezing |
| Breville Smart Scoop | Compressor, automatic | Serious Eats: splurge; Spruce Eats: best high-end | Hands-off churning |
| Cuisinart ICE-100 | Compressor | Serious Eats: editor favorite; Spruce Eats: best with compressor | Gelato and batch after batch |
| Lello 4080 Musso Lussino | Compressor | Serious Eats: best for gelato | Ice cream obsessives |
| Ninja Swirl by CREAMi | Frozen-pint processor | Serious Eats: nifty soft serve | Single servings |
| GreenPan Frost | Soft serve / slush | Serious Eats: best soft serve; Spruce Eats: most versatile | Parties |
Freezer bowl or compressor?
Freezer-bowl machines, like the Cuisinart ICE-21P1, are affordable and compact, but the bowl must be frozen in advance, typically overnight, so you can’t churn on a whim. The Spruce Eats suggests simply storing the bowl in the freezer so it’s always ready.
Compressor machines have built-in refrigeration, so you can make batch after batch. They’re bigger, heavier and pricier: The Spruce Eats lists the Breville Smart Scoop at 30 pounds and the Cuisinart ICE-100 at 27.2 pounds. Old-fashioned bucket churners use ice and rock salt and can make larger batches, but they’re messy and best used outdoors or in a sink, according to Serious Eats.
The best ice cream makers
1. Cuisinart ICE-21P1: best overall value
Best for: most households.
Serious Eats says it proves you don’t need bells and whistles: pour the base into the pre-frozen bowl, add the paddle and lid, and flip the switch. It was among the fastest in every test, making ice cream in 20 minutes, frozen yogurt in 19 and sorbet in just nine, five minutes faster than its closest competitor, with some of the highest overrun for light, creamy results.
The Spruce Eats’ budget pick makes 1.5 quarts in about 20 minutes with one simple setting; it lists the machine at 10.1 pounds.
Pros
- Fast
- Simple
- Affordable
- Compact
Cons
- Bowl must be pre-frozen
- One speed
2. Cuisinart Cool Creations (ICE-70) and Pure Indulgence (ICE-30BCP1): best for 2-quart batches
Best for: families and parties.
The Spruce Eats’ best overall, the Cool Creations, makes two quarts at a time and automatically adjusts mixing speed for ice cream, gelato or sorbet; its lid has a removable cup for up to half a cup of mix-ins. It can be loud and the bowl needs freezing overnight.
Serious Eats’ 2-quart pick, the Pure Indulgence, was a cinch to operate and made smooth ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet with minimal iciness, though the tested unit whined loudly and allowed some icy buildup on the walls.
Pros
- Two-quart capacity
- Easy mix-ins
Cons
- Loud
- Bowl must be frozen
3. Whynter ICM-220CGY: best compressor machine
Best for: making ice cream on a whim.
Serious Eats calls it the best self-freezing ice cream maker for most people and the most affordable of its winning compressor models. It made smooth vanilla ice cream in 30 minutes and frozen yogurt in 36, has labeled modes for churning, mixing only and cooling only, and keeps dessert frozen for an extra 10 minutes if you’re not ready. It even has a yogurt-incubation function. It’s pricier than freezer-bowl models and its narrow mix-in window takes care.
Pros
- No pre-freezing
- Extended cooling
- Elegant finish options
Cons
- Pricier
- Narrow mix-in window
4. Breville Smart Scoop: best luxury ice cream maker
Best for: hands-off cooks and beginners.
Serious Eats’ splurge pick monitors the ice cream for you: choose sorbet, frozen yogurt, gelato or ice cream and a hardness, and it senses resistance on the paddle to stop at your chosen consistency. Its display shows progress, temperature and churn time, and Keep Cool mode holds ice cream cold for up to three hours. The Spruce Eats’ best high-end pick lists 12 settings and a 1.1-quart yield.
Pros
- Fully automatic
- 12 settings
- Keeps ice cream cold for hours
Cons
- Expensive
- Heavy (30 lb)
5. Cuisinart ICE-100: best compressor for gelato
Best for: families who want several flavors in one session.
A Serious Eats senior editor churned nearly two dozen pints with it as wedding favors, and in testing it made silky ice cream and frozen yogurt without noticeable iciness. The Spruce Eats’ compressor pick makes 1.5 quarts at a time and can start the next batch right away. Serious Eats’ unit squeaked repetitively.
Pros
- Batch after batch
- Silky texture
Cons
- Squeaky in testing
- Heavy
6. Lello 4080 Musso Lussino: best for gelato lovers
Best for: the most serious home ice cream makers.
Serious Eats found it made exemplary ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet without a hint of iciness, even after several days in the freezer. Its paddle spins at 104 revolutions per minute, more than double most competitors. It’s extraordinarily pricey, weighs nearly 40 pounds, and its built-in bowl isn’t removable, so cleaning means repeatedly sponging it out.
Pros
- Best texture in testing
- Very fast paddle
Cons
- Very expensive
- Nearly 40 lb
- Fixed bowl
7. Ninja Swirl by CREAMi: best for single servings and soft serve
Best for: portion-controlled treats.
You freeze a base in pint containers and the machine blasts through the frozen block, Pacojet-style, then can dispense soft serve. Serious Eats was skeptical but won over. It’s not a true churner, more a powerful processor for frozen bases.
Pros
- Single pints
- Soft serve option
Cons
- Requires freezing bases ahead
For parties
The GreenPan Frost is a soft-serve and frozen-drink machine that needs no pre-freezing; Serious Eats found it dispensed parlor-worthy swirls, and The Spruce Eats liked its slushie, sorbet and milkshake settings. It needs about 30 ounces of liquid minimum and weighs 25 pounds. For nostalgia, Serious Eats likes the Hamilton Beach 68330N bucket churner and The Spruce Eats the Nostalgia Wood Bucket, which makes up to 4 quarts. KitchenAid owners can add The Spruce Eats’ favorite mixer attachment; see our best luxury stand mixers.
Tips for better homemade ice cream
- Chill your base thoroughly before churning.
- Freeze bowls for the full recommended time; a partially frozen bowl gives soupy results.
- Add mix-ins near the end of churning, while the paddle is still turning.
- Don’t use metal tools against freezer canisters or churning bowls, as Serious Eats’ care notes warn.
- Harden churned ice cream in the freezer for a few hours for scoopable texture.
FAQ
Is a compressor ice cream maker worth it?
If you make ice cream often or want multiple batches, yes. Otherwise a freezer-bowl model like the ICE-21P1 is faster and cheaper.
How long does homemade ice cream take?
Serious Eats’ ICE-21P1 churned ice cream in 20 minutes; compressor models took about 30 minutes or more, plus time to firm up in the freezer.
What is overrun?
The air whipped into ice cream as it churns; more overrun makes lighter ice cream.
Can I make dairy-free ice cream?
Yes. All machines here churn sorbet, and bases made from plant milks work too.
The bottom line
Start with the Cuisinart ICE-21P1 for fast, delicious results at a modest price. For spontaneity, the Whynter ICM-220CGY is the best compressor value, and the Breville Smart Scoop is the luxury pick that does the thinking for you.
