This Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream bursting with strawberry flavour, is perfectly sweet, soft and so creamy. Made with a few simple ingredients it is also UPF free!
Ninja Creami Strawberry Ice Cream
One of the things I really love about the Ninja Creami is the ease with which you can make delicious fruit based ice creams (as well as sorbets and yoghurts) all using natural ingredients with no added nasties!
This strawberry ice cream is the perfect balance of fruit, sweetness and creaminess all with a few everyday ingredients.
More Ninja Creami Recipes
- Raspberry froyo – bursting with fruit!
- Classic tropical mango froyo!
Good ice cream needs a careful balance of sugar, water and fat for the perfect texture, freezing point and mouth-feel. It took a good few experiments to get this recipe perfect.
Too little sugar and fat and the ice cream is icy, too much sugar and the ice cream does not freeze, and with too much fat the machine will churn it to butter as it spins.
I have reduced the sugar as much as possible so the ice cream is still sweet and has a great texture but is not over sickly sweet. There is enough fat in the cream to make a delicious smooth creamy ice cream that is stable and doesn’t melt too quickly into a watery liquid. All of this without needing processed additions like pudding mix or gums which I prefer not to use.
Why make this recipe
- It uses simple everyday “clean” ingredients
- It’s easy to make – prepare the ice cream in advance and then process in the Creami
- Delicious – soft, rich, bursting with strawberry and vanilla flavour
- Far cheaper than premium store bought ice cream – and no nasties – this is UPF free!
- Adaptable – once you have learnt and memorised this easy recipe, you can make any flavour of fruit ice cream
Ninja Creami Strawberry Ice Cream Ingredients
- Strawberries – In the summer I have been using the ripest freshest strawberries whilst they are in season. Out of season I recommend frozen.
- Cream – British single cream (18% fat). Or you can use a mixture of two parts semi skimmed milk to one part double cream (48% fat). This mixture has almost the same fat content. (This is an easy swap to both remember and calculate).
This is preferred method as I usually have double cream in the fridge to use in other recipes.
I will usually weigh the cream and milk – it is close enough to 1ml = 1g for the recipe to work
- Sugar – I usually use golden caster sugar which adds another layer of flavour.
- Maple Syrup – Adds a little sweetness, flavour and improves the texture of the final ice cream. You can also use honey or golden syrup, or leave it out altogether.
- Lemon juice – pairs so well with the strawberries and acts as a flavour enhancer.
Optional (not pictured above)
- Vanilla Extract / Paste – takes your strawberry ice cream to the next level!
I prefer a vanilla bean paste with the little black flecks of seed, as they have more flavour. It is worth spending more money on a decent brand, because if you buy a cheaper, one you often need twice as much (or more). Avoid false economy!
Vanilla extract contains real vanilla, while vanilla essence is generally synthetic and really does not taste very good. So don’t buy it.
How to make Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream – step by step
Follow my step by step instructions, with hints and tips for how to make this strawberry ice cream perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – If using frozen strawberries allow to partially defrost so you can cut them up. Prep fresh strawberries by removing the hull, cut into quarters and put into the Ninja pot.
Add the sugar, maple syrup (honey or golden syrup), lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Step Two – Pour over the cream up to the fill line, then blitz with a stick blender.
I find it is best to blitz the mixture as otherwise the pieces of strawberry will sink to the bottom. You can also blitz in a regular blender, but using the Ninja Creami pot means less washing up.
Freeze until solid; this can take overnight or up to 24 hours depending on your freezer.
Step Three – If the mixture has developed a hump or bump in the middle scrape with a spoon so it is flat.
Freezing with the lid off can help to stop these humps forming. Different recipes and freezers will cause different sized humps to form. If your mixture always forms a large hump give it a stir after an hour or so in the freezer.
Do not spin a mixture that has a large hump, without flattening it first. You may damage your machine.
Step Four – Put the container in the machine and spin – with the regular Creami (the NC300 which makes pint pots) the light ice cream cycle gets the best results for this recipe.
Scrape the sides down and respin as needed to get the best creamy texture. I find it usually needs one respin.
What do I do if my strawberry ice cream is grainy / sandy?
If your ice cream looks sandy or grainy (like this mango froyo) after processing put it back in the machine and run the respin cycle, repeat as needed. You can also add a splash of milk to help it along. Do NOT add cream – as this will freeze into small lumps which will not be blitzed on a respin cycle.
Serving suggestion
Enjoy straight away as is, or top with some fresh strawberries, or a drizzle of cream.
Storage
Your ice cream will keep for a couple of weeks in the freezer in an airtight container. Before returning a half eaten pot to the freezer smooth out the top of the strawberry ice cream so it is flat.
Never use the respin cycle on a tub of leftovers from the freezer until after it has been spun on a regular cycle.
Alternatively you can mix some vegetable food-grade glycerine to soften the mix and keep it scoopable from the freezer. The perfect amount will vary with recipe, but start with 2 teaspoons.
Hints and Tips
- The recipe is for the regular “original” Ninja Creami (NC300). If you have the deluxe model multiply the recipe by 1.5x to fill the tub.
- Make sure the mixture is completely frozen before processing. You might have to turn up your freezer in hotter weather. On my basic freezer, turning the dial up to a higher number makes the freezer work more, giving a colder temperature. If you freezer is more sophisticated then you might have direct control of temperature.
- If you add some strawberry chunks as additions using the mix-in function, then any re-spinning of the ice cream after refreezing will blend them completely. If you don’t want to do this, simply allow the mixture to defrost a little before enjoying. Or, you can add about 2 teaspoons vegetable, food grade, glycerine into the mixture so your ice cream is scoopable from the freezer. Experiment to perfect quantities.
- Wash the lid and blade as soon as the machine has finished.
FAQs
Either just let it thaw slightly, or process again with the light ice cream function. You can’t use the re-spin function on a solid mixture. You can also add glycerine, as detailed above.
Well, it is admittedly an expensive device but we are loving homemade fruit based ice creams, sorbets and froyos with no added nasties.
The containers, lids, and paddle are top-rack dishwasher safe. Ensure the paddle, tub, outer bowl, and lids are all separated before placing them in the dishwasher. Sometimes water can get trapped in the lid – make sure the lid is positioned with the sliding knob facing down so that water can drain out.
The advantage of the Deluxe NC501 model is that it has more cycles and you can process only half a tub at a time. We have the NC300 model which is perfect for a two person household with a smaller freezer.
The other advantage of the deluxe machine is the larger pots, which might help you if you have many people clamouring for ice cream.
Ninja Creami Strawberry Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 220 g strawberries (1)
- 50 g sugar (2)
- 2 tsp maple syrup (3)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 225 ml single cream (4)
(4) In place of the single cream
- 150 ml semi skimmed milk
- 75 ml double cream
Instructions
- Prep the Strawberries – If using frozen strawberries allow to partially defrost so you can cut them up. Prep fresh strawberries by removing the hull, cut into quarters and put into the Ninja pot. Add the sugar, maple syrup (honey or golden syrup), lemon juice and vanilla extract.220 g strawberries, 2 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, 2 tsp lemon juice, 50 g sugar
- Add the cream up to the max fill line then blitz with a stick blender.I find it is best to blitz the mixture as other wise the pieces of strawberry will sink to the bottom. You can also blitz in a regular blender, but using the Ninja Creami pot means less washing up.Freeze until solid; this can take overnight or up to 24 hours depending on your freezer.225 ml single cream
- Check for humps – If the mixture has developed a hump or bump in the middle scrape with a spoon so it is flat.* Freezing with the lid off can help to stop humps forming. Different recipes and freezers can different sized humps to form. If your mixture always forms a large hump as it freezes give it a stir after the first hour in the freezer. Do not spin a mixture that has a large hump, without flattening it first. You may damage your machine.
- Process – Put the container in the machine and spin – with the regular Creami (the NC300) I have found that the light ice cream cycle gives the best results. Scrape the sides down and respin if needed.
Notes
- Strawberries – I prefer the ripest freshest strawberries in season. Otherwise use frozen.
- Sugar – I usually use golden caster
- Maple Syrup is optional but adds some sweetness and improves the texture of the final ice cream. You could also use honey or golden syrup.
- Cream – British single cream (18% fat). Or you can use a mixture of two parts semi skimmed milk to one part double cream (48% fat). This mixture has almost the same fat content. This will be 150ml milk and 75ml double cream. I nearly always weigh the cream and milk using 1ml = 1g as a guide, the recipe will still work perfectly.
- This recipe is for the regular NC300 Ninja Creami, with (American) pint pots. For the Deluxe model use 1.5X the ingredients.
- For best results use the ripest strawberries.
- Make sure the mixture is completely frozen before processing.
- If you add some strawberry pieces as additions using the mix-in function, then any re-spinning of the ice cream will blend them completely.
- Smooth the surface of any leftover ice cream before returning to the freezer.
- To enjoy a half empty pot: either just let it thaw slightly or process again with the light ice cream function. You must not the re-spin function on a solid mixture. Or, you can add about 2 teaspoons vegetable, food grade glycerine into the mixture so it is scoopable from the freezer. Experiment to perfect quantities.
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