Best Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine of 2023

Who doesn’t love ice cream?

It turns out, there are a few who actually do not enjoy ice cream.

One of the biggest issues with ice cream is that it can be too hard for some to enjoy.

This is something that you possibly deal with as well.

Can you recall the last time you had to wait for your favorite ice cream to melt because it was just too hard to eat right after it was served to you?

Soft serve ice cream is a tasty solution to this.

Containing a similar texture as ice cream but being soft like frozen yogurt, soft serve ice cream is a very reasonable alternative to traditional ice cream.

These are 10 of the best soft serve ice cream machines in existence.

Our Favorite Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine

10 Featured Soft Serve Ice Cream Machines

1. 1.5 quart soft service ice cream maker by Cuisinart

Cuisinart ICE-45P1 Mix-it-in 1.5-Quart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker, Make Professional Quality Ice...

Most soft serve ice cream machines are no different than frozen yogurt machines in that they dispense soft serve ice cream and soft serve ice cream only. This is very inconvenient to deal with, especially if you need a soft serve ice cream machine for an establishment.

Cuisinart’s soft serve ice cream maker changes all this. If you have a freezer bowl, you can put its mixing arm in it to mix and aerate condiments or toppings into the ice cream that becomes dispensed. It is perfect for any establishment that is interested in serving soft ice cream. 

If you do not have a freezer bowl, have no worries. Cusinart’s machine also comes with a freezer bowl. This is one more added convenience that has over other machines.

Something you’ll need to watch for with Cuisinart’s machine is that it will dispense ice cream very slowly unless you have been able to prepare the necessary ingredients perfectly.

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2. Deluxe frozen soft serve sherbet maker by Yonanas

Yonanas 988BK Deluxe Vegan Non-Dairy Frozen Fruit Soft Serve Dessert Maker, BPA Free, Includes 75...

Soft serve ice cream is a nice dessert, but it is not very good for you. Alternatives to soft serve ice cream that contains the same kind of texture that are healthful are few and far between and are very difficult to come across.

Yonanas’ soft serve sherbet maker changes all of this. All you need to do to make delicious soft serve sherbet with it is wait for your fruit to ripen a bit, freeze the fruit, then place the fruit in its chute and you will have a very healthy alternative to soft serve ice cream. It combines a soft serve ice cream maker and a juicer.

If you want to get creative, Yonanas’ sherbet maker also comes with a handy recipe book that contains 75 different recipes that you can enjoy

However, you do need to wait for your fruit to be more ripe than usual when using Yonanas’ machine. When fruit is too ripe, it loses some of its nutritional value, and it makes the sherbet that Yonanas’ machine makes a little less healthy than it should be.

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3. “Lello” ice cream maker by Musso

Lello 4080 Musso Lussino 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker, Stainless - 110/120V 60 HZ

One of the biggest issues that surround any given soft serve ice cream machine has to do with how the ice cream is made. Things can be disastrous if your timing with mixing your ingredients is off by just one bit.

The Lello, by Musso, has decisively solved this issue. All you need to do to make perfect soft serve ice cream is put all the ingredients in the bowl and push a couple of buttons, similar to a blender. This makes the process of making soft serve ice cream much easier.

You also get timing controls with the Lello, which gives you a lot more options than you have with other soft serve machines. You will need the Lello if you need a soft serve ice cream maker for an establishment.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to clean the Lello compared to other soft serve ice cream makers like it.

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4. Automatic ice cream maker by Whynter

Whynter ICM-15LS Automatic Ice Cream Maker 1.6 Quart Capacity Stainless Steel, with Built-in...

There is one major issue that surrounds most soft serve ice cream machines. First, they do not contain timers. Knowing times is very important when making ice cream, and if you are not experienced enough to know these times, you will make a lot of mistakes.

Whynter’s ice cream maker solves all of this. It comes with not only a timer, but it also comes with a built in compressor. This means you’ll know exactly when your ice cream is ready if you only want to make a specific amount, but it also means you will not need to pre-freeze any necessary ingredient.

You will be able to clean Whynter’s ice cream maker very easily, as well. Its mixing bowl has a lot of room to clean it. The mixing bowl as well as the churn blade inside the bowl can also be removed just in case you want to clean them more intensely.

The only thing that could be better about Whynter’s ice cream maker is that you cannot mix any toppings with it. You’ll need to put them on the ice cream when it is finished.

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5. 4 quart ice cream, gelato, and frozen yogurt maker by Nostalgia

Nostalgia Electric Ice Cream Maker, Old Fashioned Bucket Style Ice Cream Machine Makes 4-Quarts of...

Most soft serve ice cream makers are one-dimensional. A lot of them can make soft serve ice cream and only soft serve ice cream. Even if these machines have a large capacity, they serve no real purpose if you need one for an establishment.

Nostalgia’s ice cream maker changes all of this. Not only can it make soft serve ice cream, it can also make gelato and frozen yogurt. Best of all, it also has an impressive capacity of 4 quarts, nearly three times more than any common soft serve ice cream machine.

Making the frozen desserts you want with Nostalgia’s ice cream maker is completely automatic. All you need to do is put in the mix around the required ice and salt and it will do all the work for you.

However, you can only use Nostalgia’s ice cream maker with Nostalgia’s own mix. This is a severe limitation as to what kinds of options you have.

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6. Classic healthy dessert maker by Yonanas

Yonanas 902 Classic Vegan Non-Dairy Frozen Fruit Soft Serve Dessert Maker, BPA Free, Includes 36...

As delicious as it is, ice cream is not a healthy dessert at all no matter what kinds of alterations are made to it. Even ice cream that is low in calories, fat, or carbohydrates still contain other preservatives that make them unhealthy.

Yonanas’ dessert maker changes all of this. Being a combination of a juicer and an ice cream maker, you can use it to make sherbet like ice cream from almost any frozen fruit. You do this by putting this frozen fruit in its chute. This allows you to enjoy fruit as a dessert with the same kind of texture as ice cream.

You would think that it would be difficult to clean Yonanas’ dessert maker, but you would be wrong. Yonanas’ dessert maker is very easy to clean. The chute, the plunger that assists with putting the fruit into the maker, and the blade the processes the fruit are all dishwasher safe.

The only thing you’ll need to watch for when using Yonanas’ dessert maker is that your fruit needs to be frozen and a little more ripe than usual when using it.

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7. Ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt, gelato, and custard maker by Brentwood Appliances

best soft serve ice cream machine

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Most ice cream machines can make ice cream and nothing else. Even if they are able to make soft serve ice cream, there are certainly other desserts that you can make, and you will not be able to make them with any traditional ice cream machine.

Brentwood Appliances’ all purpose frozen dessert maker changes all of this. You are able to not only make ice cream with it, but you will also be able to make other desserts with it. You can make frozen yogurt, gelato, and even custard with it. This makes it perfect for the home or even a small establishment that specializes in dessert type food items.

All of the parts of Brentwood Appliances’ all purpose dessert maker are not only able to be removed, but are also dishwasher safe, making it much easier to clean than other machines like it.

The only thing that sets Brentwood Appliances’ machine back is its capacity. Its capacity of only one quart is a little less than the average capacity of other ice cream machines.

 

8. Electric ice cream maker by Americana

best soft serve ice cream machine

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Most soft serve ice cream makers are so difficult to clean that most ignore cleaning them. This very fact is the one thing that will turn anyone away from them even if they really wanted one.

Americana’s ice cream maker changes all of this. It is one of the easiest ice cream makers to clean, with nearly every part of it being able to be removed for quick and easy cleaning.

Another very nice thing about Americana’s ice cream maker is that not only does it make ice cream very easily and automatically, but the paddle is also strong enough to crush any kind of ice cream topping into the mixture. This gives you numerous options when it comes to creating any kind of ice cream type of dessert.

The only thing you’ll need to watch for with Americana’s ice cream machine is that it takes a much longer time for it to make ice cream than other machines. It takes a staggering 40 minutes for it to make ice cream, nearly twice as long as the average ice cream maker.

 

9. 4 quart ice cream maker by Hamilton Beach

electric ice cream maker by americana

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Most soft serve ice cream makers face some serious limitations when it comes to capacity. Most of these machines can usually make 1.5 quarts of ice cream at the most. While this is fine if you want a soft serve machine for the home, you know you’ll need more capacity if you need one for an establishment.

One of the best things about Hamilton Beach’s ice cream maker is its capacity. Being able to make up to an impressive 4 quarts of ice cream, you will be able to make all the ice cream you need for whoever needs it. This makes it perfect for an establishment.

You also do not need to do any stirring when using Hamilton Beach’s ice cream maker. All you need to do is add the ingredients to the ice and rock salt and the maker will do all the work for you.

However, you will need a lot of ice and a lot of rock salt to make ice cream using Hamilton Beach’s ice cream maker. Prepare to have at least 8 pounds of ice and 3 cups of rock salt to make 4 quarts of ice.

 

10. Ice cream and frozen yogurt maker by Cuisinart

electric ice cream maker by americana

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Although they do have similarities, there is a difference between soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt. There are not many soft serve ice cream machines that can separate between these two and this is frustrating to deal with, especially if you need a soft serve ice cream machine for an establishment.

Fortunately, you will be able to make both ice cream and frozen yogurt with Cuisinart’s ice cream maker. All you need to do is use the proper ingredients necessary for frozen yogurt and it will do everything you need it to do. Most soft serve ice cream machines are not able to do this.

The fill spout of Cuisinart’s ice cream and frozen yogurt maker also makes it possible to add almost any kind of topping without interrupting anything, either. This is one other good thing that makes Cuisinart’s ice cream maker suitable for an establishment.

The only thing that can be improved about Cuisinart’s ice cream and frozen yogurt maker is its capacity. It can only make 1.5 quarts of ice cream.

 

Is Soft Serve Ice Cream Profitable?

Although you may not believe it, soft serve ice cream is very profitable.

There is a reason why some of the leading fast food restaurants in the United States are starting to serve soft serve ice cream and this is because it truly is profitable.

Soft serve ice cream is profitable because it is not nearly as firm as classic ice cream and it is a little more rich than frozen yogurt is.

This means that more people can enjoy it and it means that more people will purchase it from your establishment.

If you haven’t started serving soft serve ice cream in your establishment, you should consider doing so. You will see profits from it.

How Long Does Soft Serve Ice Cream Last in a Machine?

Soft serve ice cream machines can be used not only to make soft serve ice cream, but also to store it.

This is important to know because if you store soft serve ice cream in your freezer, it will become firm just like traditional ice cream is.

This is why it is important to know how long you can keep your soft serve ice cream in the machine before it melts.

The amount of time that soft serve ice cream can stay in its machine depends on a few things. 

First, it depends on if the machine uses ice in order to make the ice cream. If it does, you’ll need to also determine how much ice you have used. Know that when this ice melts, the ice cream that you have made will also melt shortly after.

Again, this all depends on how much ice you have in the maker. It could take as short as a half hour or as long as two hours before the soft serve ice cream melts.

If you are using an ice cream maker that does not use ice, then your soft serve ice cream will not last long. Expect it to last a little over a half hour inside of the machine.

This is because ice cream makers that do not utilize ice go through a cooling process that turns off when the ice cream is made.

How Often Should a Soft Serve Machine be Cleaned?

Something you need to know about any soft serve machine is that they do not self clean.

You will need to clean your machine manually, and depending on whether the parts are removable or dishwasher safe, this can be something that is either very easy to do or very difficult to do.

No matter what kinds of options you have, you should ideally clean your soft serve machine as soon as you are finished making your ice cream.

The reason for this is because soft serve ice cream uses ingredients that can be extremely difficult to clean once they have dried up.

One of the reasons why the soft serve machines of most fast food restaurants malfunction a lot is because they do not get cleaned regularly.

If you cannot clean your soft serve machine directly after using it because you know you are going to use it throughout the day, then the next best thing is to clean it when you have stopped using it.

Otherwise, you should clean your soft serve machine directly after using it to ensure that it will keep working for you.

Conclusion

Soft serve ice cream is one of the best alternatives to traditional ice cream that you can find.

Traditional ice cream can be too firm for some and frozen yogurt is not nearly as rich or as flavorful as traditional ice cream is.

This is where soft serve ice cream comes in and it is the one thing that makes soft serve ice cream a very good alternative to traditional ice cream: It combines the best of both worlds and is just as enjoyable as frozen yogurt or traditional ice cream.

Another really nice thing about most soft serve ice cream machines is that most of them can make more than just soft serve ice cream.

That’s right, there exist soft serve ice cream machines that also allow you to make frozen yogurt and gelato if your family or your customers desire it.

If you prefer soft serve ice cream over traditional ice cream, then do all you can to get your hands on a soft serve ice cream machine. Most of them are easy to use and easy to clean.

Resources:

  1. https://www.bustle.com/life/best-home-soft-serve-ice-cream-machine
  2. https://www.webstaurantstore.com/guide/805/soft-serve-machine-buying-guide.html
  3. https://www.thespruceeats.com/best-ice-cream-makers-4067670
  4. https://strandedathome.com/best-soft-serve-ice-cream-machine-for-home/

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FAQ:

Q: What is the best soft serve machine?

A: The best soft serve machine on the market is Electro Freeze. Find out why in this short video that highlights what make this soft serve equipment the best. Frozen dessert equipment distributor, Sentry Equipment serving New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Q: What equipment is needed for ice cream shop?

A: Refrigeration units, freezers, storage units sinks and ice bins are also needed. Ice cream and smoothie preparation appliances typically include blenders, shake makers, fountain drink machines and electric mixers. Other necessary store equipments include cash registers, POS systems, telephones and fax machines.

Q: How do you make an ice cream maker?

A: Pour cold ice cream mix into an ice cream maker, turn on the machine, and churn according to manufacturer’s directions, 20 to 25 minutes. When ice cream is softly frozen, serve immediately or place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the ice cream and place in freezer to ripen, 2 to 3 hours.

Q: How do you make commercial ice cream?

A: You can buy commercially made ice cream mix that is set to a certain milk fat content. Ice cream factories usually make their own mix by combining milk, cream and sugar in a 3,000 gallon vat, with the proportions and mixing controlled by computers. The mix is then pasteurized, or heated, to kill any harmful bacteria.