Soft serve has to be softer than scooped ice cream as it leaves the machine, yet firm enough to hold a swirl, and this base is tuned for that: three quarters of a cup of heavy cream and a cup of whole milk give about 14 percent fat, a third of a cup of sugar plus a tablespoon of corn syrup keeps the block pliable, and a tablespoon of dry milk powder adds protein that traps air. We tested it on the Ninja Creami Scoop and Swirl NC701 in a Swirl pint, frozen 24 hours at 0 F, and the Soft Serve program dispensed a clean swirl with zero re-spins. Each serving is an estimated 280 kcal, 4 g protein, 26 g carbs and 19 g fat.
Tested recipe
Vanilla Soft Serve
A classic vanilla soft serve that dispenses in a tight swirl from the NC701, with corn syrup and milk powder for a smooth, slow-melting texture.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Freeze
- 24 h
- Process
- 4 min
- Total
- 24 h 9 min
- Servings
- 4 per pint
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 g) whole milk
- 3/4 cup (180 g) heavy cream
- 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (20 g) light corn syrup
- 1 tbsp (8 g) nonfat dry milk powder
- 2 tsp (8 g) vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp fine salt
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (360 g) whole milk
- 1 1/8 cups (270 g) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp (30 g) light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 tbsp (12 g) nonfat dry milk powder
- 1 tbsp (12 g) vanilla extract
- scant 1/4 tsp fine salt
Equipment
- Ninja Creami Scoop and Swirl NC701
- 16 oz Swirl pint
Method
- Whisk the sugar and dry milk powder together in a jug.
- Pour in the whole milk and whisk for 30 seconds until no powder remains.
- Whisk in the heavy cream, corn syrup, vanilla and salt.
- Pour the base into the Swirl pint, stopping at the max fill line.
- Lid the pint and freeze it for 24 hours on a level surface.
- Fit the dispenser nozzle and handle, lock the frozen pint into the outer bowl and press Soft Serve.
- Hold a cone or cup under the nozzle and pull the handle to dispense.
- Brush the nozzle clean straight after serving.
Nutrition per serving (estimated)
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 19 g
Tips
- Freeze the Swirl pint on a level shelf. The Soft Serve program pushes the processed base down to the nozzle, and a pint frozen on a slope gave us an uneven swirl because one side of the block was still firm when the other had softened.
- Only Swirl pints fit the NC701. Original 16 oz pints and XL tubs do not lock into the outer bowl; our pint compatibility guide shows the three systems side by side.
- If the first dispense is crumbly or stalls, press Re-spin once rather than adding liquid. The NC701 re-spin runs 78 seconds. Add 1 tbsp of milk only before a second re-spin, and expect the result to be softer.
- Have cones or cups lined up before you pull the handle. The pint dispenses in one continuous run and the last third softens if you pause for more than a minute.
- Brush the nozzle while the base is still soft. Dried base in the star tip was the single most common cause of a ragged swirl over our month of testing.
Variations
- Chocolate dipped: dispense into a cup, freeze for 5 minutes, then dip in melted chocolate thinned with 1 tsp of coconut oil.
- Soft serve twist: freeze a second Swirl pint of our classic chocolate ice cream base and dispense half of each pint into the same cone.
- Lite soft serve: replace the heavy cream with 3/4 cup of Fairlife 2 percent milk and run Soft Serve Lite, closer to our vanilla protein ice cream in macros.
Storage and refreeze
Soft serve that has been dispensed should be eaten straight away. Any base left in the Swirl pint can be levelled with a spoon, lidded and refrozen on a flat shelf at 0 F; give it 24 hours and run the Soft Serve program again. Our refrozen pint dispensed on the second day with the same swirl, and on the third refreeze it needed one Re-spin before it would flow. If you only want a single cone, dispense what you need and stop; the remaining base stays in the pint and can go back in the freezer at once, which worked better in our tests than dispensing everything and refreezing the cones.
The model and pints we used
We made this in the two 16 oz Swirl pints that ship with the NC701; the spare 2-pack is on the Swirl pints page, and the original pints on the pints page are for the NC301 and NC351 only. The NC701 is the widest machine in the range at 10.1 in and measured 85 dB at 1 m. For the scooped version on a Deluxe, freeze the XL quantities in a 24 oz tub and run Ice Cream. The fat and solids ratios that make a base dispense are in the base ratios cheat sheet, and the rest of our dispenser recipes are in the soft serve hub.
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
Accessory
Ninja Creami Swirl Pints 2-pack
Model XSK7PNTLD2
- Two 16 oz Swirl pints with lids
- Fits the NC701 Scoop and Swirl only
- Dishwasher safe top rack
Frequently asked questions
Not as a swirl. The NC301, NC351, NC501 and NC601 can process this base on the Ice Cream program into a soft scoop, and it tastes the same, but only the NC701 Scoop and Swirl has the Soft Serve program and the nozzle that pushes it out in a ribbon. The XL quantities above are for Deluxe owners who want the scooped version.
Soft serve has to flow through a star nozzle without breaking, so it needs more dissolved solids than a scooped ice cream. The milk powder adds protein that holds air, and the corn syrup keeps the texture elastic. Our control pint without them dispensed in short broken pieces rather than a continuous swirl.
Put the processed pint back in the freezer for 10 minutes with the lid on, then dispense. We saw this with our dairy-free oat base on the NC701, which was too soft to dispense until a 10 minute refreeze; the vanilla base held its swirl straight away. A freezer warmer than 0 F has the same effect on any base.
Yes. After a month with the NC701 the one maintenance habit that mattered was brushing the dispenser nozzle after every run, because dried base blocks the star tip and the next swirl comes out ragged. The nozzle, handle and Swirl pints are top-rack dishwasher safe, but the silicone gasket needs reseating by hand afterwards.
