This Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Is Smaller, Quieter and Less Expensive Than the Ninja Creami, and It’s Now on Sale

By Samira Vishwas On Jul 7, 2026

It weighs less than 5 pounds.

Credit: Design Elements: Courtesy of Brand. EatingWell Design.

Ice cream is my favorite dessert. I don’t really care if it’s 30°F or 100°F outside, a scoop of coffee ice cream always sounds good to me. I love it so much, in fact, that I registered for Breville’s Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker when I got married a few years ago. It’s a fantastic machine that allows me to make ice cream the moment a craving hits. But if you aren’t willing to drop $600 on a large appliance you probably won’t use that often, the Cuisinart FastFreeze 5-in-1 Ice Cream Maker is the next best thing. After using it for almost a year, I’m happy to report that its small footprint and $80 price tag make it the perfect summer gadget.

Cuisinart FastFreeze 5-in-1 Ice Cream Maker

~~$100~~ $80 at Amazon

The first thing I noticed about the FastFreeze is that it doesn’t take up a lot of space. It looks more like an immersion blender than an ice cream maker, with a width of 4.5 inches, a height of 16 inches and a weight of less than 5 pounds. Such a slim profile is a boon when storing an appliance that doesn’t see daily use.

The next thing that struck me about the machine is how easy it is to operate. To test it, I referenced the vanilla ice cream recipe included in the instruction manual. I combined all of the ingredients in the dessert cup and let it sit in the freezer for 24 hours. When I was ready to blend the mixture the next day, I let it defrost on the counter for 10 minutes, locked the cup into the mixing assembly, attached the power handle and chose the correct function. Less than a minute later, I had a cup of delicious vanilla ice cream.

Unlike my Breville machine, the FastFreeze lends itself beautifully to experimentation. It only takes five minutes to mix a base and about 30 seconds of processing the next day, so it’s easy to try new flavor combinations, add fun mix-ins and test the different settings. Naturally, it’s also easier to clean, since the three included dessert cups are top-rack dishwasher-safe and the mixing blade only needs a quick rinse.

In the months since I made that first batch of vanilla ice cream, I’ve learned to leave coffee, strawberry and basil bases pre-mixed in the freezer, so I can make ice cream on demand. I’m not the only user who had this idea. One Amazon shopper wrote: “I always keep containers ready in the freezer so that I can grab, blend and start enjoying in a matter of minutes.” They went on to say that “I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I ordered, but this product exceeded my expectations,” adding that they love that it’s easy to practice portion control and experiment with new recipes.

I originally thought that I would pass the Cuisinart FastFreeze 5-in-1 Ice Cream Maker off to my sister-in-law. She has two little kids who love ice cream as much as I do, and I thought it could be a fun activity for them to do together—but I have no plans to part with it anytime soon. When you buy it, you’ll quickly see how special it is, too.