Soft serve is the one category that belongs to a single machine. The NC701 Scoop and Swirl is the only Creami with a dispenser, and its Soft Serve, Soft Serve Lite and Fruit Whip programs process a frozen pint and then push it through a star nozzle as a swirl. Every other Creami can make a soft texture, but it comes out of the pint with a spoon. If you do not own an NC701, the recipes here still spin as scooped ice cream on the base program listed, but the swirl is the point.
What holds a swirl is fat and sugar. Our full-fat vanilla base ran on Soft Serve and dispensed a true swirl straight from the cycle, and the protein base on Soft Serve Lite dispensed cleanly as well. The oat base was the one that failed: after one re-spin on Lite Ice Cream it was too soft to hold a shape and needed a 10 minute refreeze in the pint before the dispenser gave a clean swirl. A soft serve base wants more cream than a scooped recipe, not less, because the dispenser works the base warmer than a spin does.
Fruit Whip is the program that surprised us. It takes a sorbet base, our canned mango blended smooth, and turns it into an airy, dispensable whip where the Sorbet program gives a dense scoop. After 30 days it is the NC701 program we reach for most. The base ratios page lists the soft serve cream ratio and the fruit whip ratio separately, because the whip wants slightly more sugar than a scooped sorbet to stay light.
Tips for soft serve
- Use the Soft Serve program for cream bases and Soft Serve Lite for protein bases. Running a lean base on Soft Serve left it too loose to hold a swirl.
- Raise the cream in a soft serve base above what you would use for scooping. The dispenser works the base warmer than a spin, and the extra fat holds the shape.
- Freeze flat for 24 hours at 0 F with the lid on. A sloped top gave an uneven first swirl that fell over in the cone.
- If the base comes out too soft to dispense, lid it and refreeze for 10 minutes rather than forcing it. Forced soft base leaves a film that dries in the nozzle.
- Chill the cones or bowls. Soft serve from the dispenser is warmer than a scoop and melts faster at the point of serving.
- Brush the nozzle immediately after every run and reseat the gasket by hand after the dishwasher. Dried base in the star tip is the most common reason a swirl comes out ragged.
Best model for soft serve
The NC701 is the only pick, because it is the only Creami that dispenses. Beyond the dispenser it is also a complete scooped machine: 13 programs including CreamiFit, which took our protein base to creamy on the first spin, and Frozen Yogurt, with two 16 oz Swirl pints at about 4 servings each. We measured it at 85 dB and it is the widest Creami at 10.1 inches, so it needs more counter than an NC351. The NC701 review covers which bases dispensed first time, the nozzle cleaning routine and why Fruit Whip earned its place. The Swirl pints are a separate pint system, so budget for an extra 2-pack.
Scoop and Swirl · Gen 1
Ninja Creami Scoop and Swirl 13-in-1 (NC701)
Model NC701 · Our score 8.6/10
- 13 programs, the only Creami with a soft serve dispenser
- Two 16 oz Swirl pints, a separate pint system
- Measured 85 dB; tallest and widest Creami at 10.1 in wide
The recipes hub lists the other 13 categories, all of which run on the NC701 as scooped programs. The sorbet category is the starting point for Fruit Whip bases.
Only the NC701 Scoop and Swirl. It is the only model with a dispenser and the Soft Serve, Soft Serve Lite and Fruit Whip programs. Other Creamis can make a soft texture by adding liquid on a re-spin, but it comes out of the pint with a spoon, not as a swirl. Every recipe in this category is written for the NC701.
Full-fat bases dispense best. Our vanilla cream base on Soft Serve gave a true swirl straight from the cycle, and the protein base on Soft Serve Lite dispensed cleanly. The oat base was too soft after one re-spin and needed a 10 minute refreeze in the pint before it would hold a swirl. Fat and sugar are what hold the shape.
A program that turns a fruit sorbet base into an airy, dispensable whip, like a pineapple whip from a theme park. Our mango sorbet base on Fruit Whip came out light and dispensed a clean swirl, where the same base on Sorbet was a dense scoop. After 30 days it is the NC701 program we use most.
Brush the nozzle after every run with the brush in the box. Dried base blocks the star tip within an hour if you leave it. The nozzle and handle assembly are top-rack dishwasher safe, but the silicone gasket needs reseating by hand after each cycle. We do a quick brush immediately and a dishwasher cycle weekly.