Ninja Creami Vanilla Soft Serve (with Low Fat Milk)

This Ninja Creami Vanilla Soft Serve recipe uses simple ingredients, including low fat milk to keep the recipe lighter. You'll love this easy vanilla ice-cream that has a softer texture. It is begging to be topped with lots of sprinkles.

The Ninja Creami appliance lets you make ice-creams, sorbets, and soft serve with unconventional ingredients! With a traditional ice cream maker you add the ice cream base for a frozen canister that churns the ice cream while mixing. But with a Ninja Creami, you freeze the entire base and then it chops and blends it up (similar to a blender, but gives a much creamier texture). Other Ninja Creami recipes to try is this Ninja Creami Peach Sorbet and Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream.

Jump to:

• Why I Love It:
• Ingredients
• Variations
• Step by step instructions
• Leftovers and Storage
• Recipe Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Related Recipes
• Recipe
• Reviews

Why I Love It:

• Easy Ingredients - You only need low-fat milk and a few ingredients to add flavor.
• Tastes Like Soft Serve - This tastes like vanilla soft serve and is even better with added sprinkles.
• Lighter Vanilla Ice-Cream options - Instead of using heavy cream like typical ice-cream, this Ninja Creami Vanilla Soft Serve recipe uses mainly low fat milk. Also check out this Ninja Creami Frozen Yogurt recipe made with Greek Yogurt.

Ingredients

• Low-Fat Milk - You can use nonfat milk, but know the flavor and texture will be slightly impacted. You can also use whole milk. My favorite milk to use is the Fairlife reduced fat milk that is lactose free.
• Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix - You can use regular or sugar-free. There are two reasons for adding a little bit of this. The first is to serve as a stabilizer that gives the ice cream a thicker, creamier texture. The second is to add more vanilla flavor.
• Granulated Sugar - Adding a very small amount of sugar adds just enough sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract - Essential to adding more vanilla flavor!
• Half and Half - I add just two tablespoons of half and half to add a little more fat (helps with texture and flavor) and use a little bit more for the re-spin.
• Sprinkles - Optional, but fun to mix in!

Variations

• Other Flavors - You can use other flavors of instant pudding mix to add other spins. Or this recipes also works using chocolate milk and chocolate pudding mix for a chocolate soft serve recipe or try this Ninja Creami Wendy's Chocolate Frosty copycat recipe.
• Mix-Ins - I love mixing in sprinkles, but other great options are cookie dough chunks, Oreo cookies, chocolate chip cookies, or mini chocolate chips.

Step by step instructions

Making vanilla ice cream in your Ninja Creami is easy! Just mix the ingredients together, freeze, and blend!

1. Mix Base in Pint Container - I like to use a milk frother to do this, but you can also mix well with a fork or small whisk.
2. Freeze - Place the pint in the freezer and freeze for 24 hours so it is fully solid. Make sure you place it on a level surface in your freezer.
3. Prep for Blending - Remove the frozen pint from the freezer. If you have a 'peak' in the center, it's best to scrape most of it away with a spoon.
4. Blend - Insert into the outer bowl, add the lid, and lock into position. Blend on 'Lite Ice-Cream'
5. Add Liquid and Re-Spin - Make a little well in the center, add the extra liquid, and re-spin on the same lite ice cream setting.
6. Enjoy - After the second spin, your soft serve should be thick, creamy and ready to enjoy!

Leftovers and Storage

If you can't eat the entire pint of soft serve in one sitting, you have two options for storing:

1. Save for Re-Blending: Use a spoon to smooth out and level the top in the Ninja Creami pint container and put back in the freezer. Freezing with the level top will let you re-spin it in the Ninja Creami when you want to eat it again. This method will give you that same creamy texture. Note that if you mixed in sprinkles, they'll get chopped up when you re-spin.
2. Store and Thaw Slightly Before Enjoying: If you want to free up your Ninja Creami pint container, you can transfer the leftover ice-cream to another container and freeze. For this method, you won't be able to re-spin it but I find that letting it thaw on the container for a bit or zapping it in the microwave for just 5-10 seconds softens it and the texture is almost as good as the freshly spun ice cream.

Recipe Tips

• Powdery after the First Spin is Normal - It's normal and expected for the mixture to be crumbly after the first spin. The second spin (especially when you add a little more liquid) is when the magic happens!
• The Machine is Loud -If this is your first time using your Ninja Creami, be aware that it is loud when it is spinning. I find the noise level to be similar to a blender. Might not be the best option during nap time 🙂
• Freeze without the lid - I've found that freezing the pint without the lid helps prevent the large peak from forming in the middle. If yours does have a peak, it's okay. You'll just want to shave off some of it with a metal spoon so the top is more level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Recipes

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