Best Ice Cream Maker for Non Dairy Ice Cream? Ask What Freezes

1. Ninja CREAMi 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker, NC299AMZ — Best Overall

The best-ranked machine on the page names dairy-free and vegan in writing, and has a program and a re-spin for the way lean bases freeze.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

This is the machine most people on Amazon are buying, and it says the words. At #61 overall and #1 in Ice Cream Machines, the Creami 7-in-1 outranks every other machine here by a wide margin. Its third bullet reads “Create protein-packed ice cream, low-sugar sorbet, dairy-free treats, and vegan options — all from scratch with ingredients you choose.” That sentence is the whole non-dairy case: the machine does not care what the base is made of, because you make the base.

The method is freeze first, then shave. “Prep your base, freeze for 24 hours, and process in minutes.” You pour your base into the 16-ounce pint, freeze it solid, lock it into the outer bowl and let the motor drive the Creamerizer Paddle down through the block. Ninja calls this “Creamify Technology”, which it says “finely shaves through a uniformly frozen pint”. Nothing is churned while it freezes. The freezing happens in your freezer, and the machine’s job is texture.

That matters for plant bases, and the re-spin is why. As general food-science knowledge, a base with little fat or sugar freezes into a harder, icier block than a rich one, and many plant drinks are leaner than dairy cream. A shaving machine can still break that block down, but the first pass may come out crumbly. The listing’s answer is the “Re-spin function”, which “lets you process a second time for an even softer, creamier texture”. It does not mention plant bases in that sentence, but it is the control a lean base is most likely to need.

The Sorbet program covers the no-dairy dessert that needs no substitute at all. Seven one-touch programs are named: “Ice Cream, Gelato, Sorbet, Milkshake, Smoothie Bowl, Lite Ice Cream, and Mix-In”. Sorbet and smoothie bowls are naturally built on fruit. The Ice Cream and Lite Ice Cream programs are where a coconut, cashew, oat or soy base would go; the listing does not say which program suits which base, so expect to try both.

The limits are the pint and the wait. One 16-ounce pint is two cups, by our arithmetic, and each pint needs a 24-hour freeze before it can be processed. Extra pints let you stagger flavours, but the listing is blunt about which ones fit: “compatible with Ninja CREAMi NC299 and NC300 series pint accessories only. It is NOT compatible with NC100, NC200, NC500 or NC700 series pints.” Check the SKU on the base before you buy spares. At 13.0 pounds and almost 16 inches tall, it is also the heaviest single-pint machine here.

What to weigh. It is sold by Amazon.com with a 1 Year Limited Warranty, and the pint, lid and paddle are top-rack dishwasher safe. Against the Creami XL, it gives up a second tub and the larger 24-ounce size, and gains a stated 800W and a far better rank. For one or two people who want to make plant-based ice cream and sorbet from their own bases, it is the best-documented machine on the page.

Best for: One or two people who want to turn their own dairy-free bases into pints, with sorbet on the side.

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2. Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Machine, Fully Automatic, 2 qt, ICE-30BCP1ES — Best Churner

It never says non-dairy, but it churns any chilled base you pour in, two quarts at a time, and ranks #3 in its category.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

The second-best-ranked machine here does not use the word non-dairy once. Its bullets list what the 2-quart bowl holds: “ice cream, yogurt, sorbet, sherbet, or frozen drinks”. There is no vegan, no dairy-free, no plant-based. And yet it ranks #335 overall and #3 in Ice Cream Machines, and it will churn a coconut or cashew base exactly as it churns a custard, because a churner has no idea what the liquid in its bowl is made of.

The method is the classic freezer bowl. “DOUBLE-INSULATED FREEZER BOWL: Holds 2 qts of ice cream, yogurt, sorbet, sherbet, or frozen drinks (pre-freeze first).” The walls of the bowl hold a coolant that you freeze in your freezer. You pour in a chilled base, the “fully automatic heavy-duty motor” turns the bowl against a paddle, and the base freezes against the cold wall while air is folded in, “in under 30 minutes”. The listing does not say how long the bowl needs in the freezer; it says only to pre-freeze it.

For plant bases, churning rewards fat. As general food-science knowledge, a churned base freezes into small ice crystals held apart by fat, sugar and air. A base built on full-fat coconut milk or blended cashews has plenty of fat to keep those crystals small, and tends to churn creamy. A base built on a thin oat, almond or rice drink has much less, and tends to churn icier and set harder in the freezer afterwards. The machine cannot fix a lean base; the recipe has to. That is the trade against the Creami’s re-spin, and it is why the base matters more than the badge on a churner.

Sorbet is native here. Sorbet is, as general knowledge, usually fruit, sugar and water, so it needs no substitution at all, and the listing names it outright. Sherbet usually contains some dairy, so if you are avoiding dairy, read sherbet as a recipe you would adapt, not one to follow. The “Large ingredient spout for easily adding favorite mix-ins” lets you add chopped nuts, fruit or chocolate during the last minutes of the churn.

Two quarts is the biggest freezer-bowl batch on the page. That is 64 fluid ounces, by our arithmetic: four times the Creami 7-in-1’s pint and twice the Elite Gourmet’s one-quart bowl. The catch is the bowl itself. It has to fit flat in your freezer, and one frozen bowl gives one batch; a second batch the same day needs a second bowl. If freezer space is tight, our {freezer} looks at small freezers that suit a bowl or a stack of pints.

What to weigh. It is sold by Amazon.com with a limited 3-year warranty, the longest stated on the page alongside the FastFreeze. It is light, at 3.97 pounds listed, and compact, at 11.25 inches tall. It is the oldest design here, with a release date in 2005, and its spec sheet has no wattage. For anyone who makes non-dairy ice cream for a family, from rich plant bases, this is the most proven-by-rank churner on the page.

Best for: Families who make rich plant-based bases, such as coconut or cashew, and want two quarts in one churn.

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3. Yonanas 988TL Deluxe Vegan Non-Dairy Frozen Fruit Soft Serve Dessert Maker, Teal — Best No-Base Option

No base, no churning and no dairy at all: it turns frozen fruit into a soft-serve style dessert, and it is the best-ranked of the three Yonanas listings.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

This is the only kind of machine on the page where dairy never enters the question. A Yonanas does not freeze anything and does not churn anything. You freeze fruit, drop it into the chute and push it down with the plunger onto a spinning blade. The listing’s first bullet: “Easy-to-use vegan dessert maker quickly turns frozen fruit into delicious vegan soft serve or a smooth sorbet-like treat made without additional fats, sugars or preservatives.” Whatever goes in the chute is the whole dessert.

It puts the keyword in its title. “Yonanas 988TL Deluxe Vegan Non-Dairy Frozen Fruit Soft Serve Dessert Maker” is the most direct answer to a search for the best ice cream maker for vegan ice cream on this page. It is also the most literal one: the machine makes a fruit dessert, not an ice cream from a plant milk. If you want a scoop of coconut or oat ice cream, this is not that machine. If you want something cold, soft and made from fruit alone, nothing here is simpler.

Texture depends on the fruit, not on fat. The listing names no particular fruit in its bullets; the 75-recipe book is where ideas live, with “pies, parfaits and sorbets” named. As general knowledge, frozen bananas are the fruit most often used in this kind of dessert because their texture turns smooth and creamy when processed frozen, while watery fruit such as berries or melon on its own comes out closer to a sorbet. The listing’s own phrase, “soft serve or a smooth sorbet-like treat”, allows for both.

The machine is small and the motor modest. 200 watts is a quarter of the Creami 7-in-1’s 800W, by our arithmetic, which is plausible for a machine that pushes fruit onto a blade rather than driving a paddle through a solid pint. It weighs 3.92 pounds as listed. The “top-rack dishwasher-safe chute assembly, plunger, and blade” come apart for cleaning, and the base wipes clean. Batch size is not stated; the listing says it suits “single servings or making enough to satisfy the whole family”, which in practice means you feed it as much fruit as you have frozen.

Three listings sell this machine. This teal 988TL, the black IC0988BK13 and the red 988RD share the same five bullets word for word. The teal holds the best rank of the three, #88,994 overall and #72 in Ice Cream Machines. It is also the lowest-priced Yonanas at capture, and the only one of the ten machines on the page not sold by Amazon.com: the seller is listed as “always quality”. Check the seller’s returns policy before you buy, and remember the 1-year warranty comes from the manufacturer.

What to weigh. The listing also uses diet words; we do not assess those. What it offers in plain terms is a dessert with no base to make and no 24-hour freeze for a pint, only fruit you already froze. As a second machine beside a churner or a Creami, or as the only machine for someone who wants fruit desserts, it is the easiest route to a dairy-free treat on the page.

Best for: Anyone who wants a soft, cold dessert made from frozen fruit alone, with no base to plan.

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4. Ninja NC501 CREAMi XL Deluxe 11-in-1 Ice Cream and Frozen Treat Maker — Best for Families

The Creami method at family size: two 24-ounce tubs, eleven programs including sorbet and Italian ice, and dairy-free named.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

This is the Creami for a household, and it also says dairy-free. Its fourth bullet reads “TOTAL INGREDIENT CONTROL: Dial in low-sugar, protein-packed, dairy-free, and other customized treats.” It does not use the word vegan, as the 7-in-1 does, but the point is the same. You make the base; the machine processes whatever you froze.

Two 24-ounce tubs change the arithmetic. “Create family-sized treats with (2) 24 oz. XL Tubs — 50% more capacity than the original CREAMi pint.” 24 ounces against 16 is indeed 50% more, by our arithmetic, and two tubs give 48 ounces, or a quart and a half, in the box. Because each tub has to be frozen before it can be processed, the second tub is the practical gain: one plant-based ice cream and one sorbet can freeze side by side.

It does not state the freeze time. The 7-in-1 says 24 hours. The XL says “Just 3 simple steps — prepare, freeze, process, and enjoy.” A 24-ounce block is deeper than a 16-ounce one, and as general physics a larger frozen mass takes longer to freeze through, so plan for at least the 7-in-1’s 24 hours and check the manual. A base that is not frozen solid all the way down is not what the paddle is designed to shave.

The program list favours fruit desserts. “11 one-touch programs including ice cream, sorbet, gelato, Italian ice, and frozen yogurt.” Only five of the eleven are named in the listing. Sorbet and Italian ice are both, as general knowledge, built on fruit or juice with no dairy, so two of the five named programs need no substitution. The “DUAL PROCESSING: Turn one frozen base into two separate mix-in flavors in the same tub” feature and the “RE-SPIN FUNCTION: Run a second cycle for a softer, creamier finish” carry over the controls that help a lean plant base.

The motors are described, not rated. “The Dual-Drive Motors apply downward pressure and spin the Deluxe Creamerizer Paddle”, but the listing gives no wattage. The 7-in-1 states 800W. At 14.44 pounds and 16.69 inches tall, the XL is the heaviest and tallest machine on the page, so measure the space under your wall cabinets. Tubs are “Designed for NC500 and NC600 Series 24 oz. XL Tubs only”, so 7-in-1 pints will not fit.

What to weigh. It is sold by Amazon.com with a 1 Year Limited Warranty and ranks #1,987 overall and #5 in Ice Cream Machines. Against the 7-in-1, it buys a second, larger tub and more programs, and gives up a stated wattage, a stated freeze time and the word vegan. For a family that wants a dairy-free pint and a sorbet in the same freezer at once, it is the step up.

Best for: A family that wants a dairy-free ice cream and a sorbet freezing side by side in larger tubs.

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5. Cuisinart FastFreeze 250th Celebration Edition Ice Cream Maker, ICE-FD10RWB — Best Single Serve

A half-pint, freeze-first machine that names non-dairy ice cream and fruit sorbets outright, with a 3-year warranty.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

This is the smallest freeze-first machine here, and it names non-dairy ice cream in plain words. Its third bullet says users “can make frozen treats including non-dairy ice cream, protein milk shakes or fruit-based sorbets”. That is the most specific non-dairy statement on the page from a machine that takes a liquid base: not just dairy-free treats, but non-dairy ice cream by name.

The method is the Creami’s, scaled down. “Simply turn on the homemade ice cream maker, twist the top to select your dessert, and push down the freeze wand to have delicious ice cream ready in minutes (pre-freeze base 24 hours in advance).” You freeze the base in a half-pint cup for 24 hours, then the wand works through it. The first bullet repeats the 24 hours, so there is no ambiguity about the wait.

Half a pint is one serving, and that is the point. 0.5 pint is 8 fluid ounces, by our arithmetic, half the Creami 7-in-1’s pint and a sixth of the Creami XL’s two tubs together. For one person making a dairy-free dessert, it means smaller cups to freeze, less freezer space and the chance to keep several flavours ready. The listing pitches exactly that: “dessert cups with lids to easily keep multiple flavor options in the freezer.”

The listing disagrees with itself on how many cups you get. The title says “Two 0.5-Pint Mixing Cups with Lids”. The fifth bullet says it “includes three detachable and dishwasher-safe dessert cups with lids”. We report both. If cup count matters to your plans, confirm with the seller, and in either case expect to want spare cups if you make dairy-free desserts often.

Five presets, two of them fruit-first. “ice cream, milkshakes, slushies, sorbet and mix-ins”. Sorbet and slushies are naturally dairy-free in most recipes, as general knowledge, so they need no plant milk at all. For a coconut or nut-based ice cream, the ice cream preset is the one to use. As with every freeze-first machine, a richer base will process smoother, and a lean one may need a little more fat or sugar in the recipe.

What to weigh. It is sold by Amazon.com and carries a limited 3-year warranty, matching the Cuisinart 2-quart for the longest stated cover here. It weighs 4.4 pounds as listed; dimensions and wattage are not stated. It ranks #12,346 overall and #14 in Ice Cream Machines. For a single person who wants non-dairy ice cream named on the box and no more than a serving at a time, it is the right size. For two or more, the Creami pint makes more sense. For more on the small end of the market, see our {small}.

Best for: One person who wants a single serving of non-dairy ice cream or sorbet at a time, with flavours waiting in the freezer.

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6. Elite Gourmet EIM1750 Self-Churning Electric 1Qt. Ice Cream Maker, Mint — Best Budget

The only listing on the page that names a plant ingredient, in a coconut lime sorbet recipe, and it never says non-dairy.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

This listing never says non-dairy, and it is the only one that names a plant ingredient. Its recipe list runs “vanilla, chocolate, mint chocolate chip, strawberry cheesecake, rocky road, cookie dough, peach gelato, strawberry gelato, lemon raspberry sorbet, coconut lime sorbet, frozen yogurt, and more.” Coconut lime sorbet is the one place on all ten listings where a plant base is named. The same listing has no vegan, no dairy-free and no non-dairy anywhere.

It is a small freezer-bowl churner. “The pre-freeze bowl design means no rock salt, no buying ice every time, and no salty cleanup, just freeze the bowl ahead, pour in your chilled mixture, and press start.” It works like the Cuisinart 2-quart at half the size: a bowl with coolant in its walls, frozen in advance, and a paddle that turns a chilled base until it sets, “in under 20 minutes”. How long the bowl needs in the freezer is not stated.

Its batch figures agree with each other, once. The listing gives three: a “1-quart freezer bowl”, a yield of “up to 3 cups of freshly churned ice cream per batch”, and “A 24-ounce batch makes approximately four generous servings”. Three cups is 24 fluid ounces, by our arithmetic, so the last two match, and both leave headroom in a one-quart bowl for the air a churned base takes on. That headroom matters: a base swells as it churns, and overfilling a small bowl is a common reason a batch does not set.

For plant bases, the coconut recipe is a clue. As general food-science knowledge, coconut milk and coconut cream carry a lot of fat, which helps a churned base stay smooth, and that is one reason coconut turns up so often in dairy-free ice cream. A churner like this one will treat a coconut or cashew base well and a thin almond or oat drink less well, which is the same trade as on the Cuisinart 2-quart. Sorbets, which need no dairy in the first place, are named twice in the recipe list.

Cleaning is by hand. “Removable lid, mixing paddle, freezer bowl, and outer container make hand-wash cleanup quick and stress-free between batches.” Nothing is stated as dishwasher safe. The “INGREDIENT CHUTE FOR MIX-INS” lets you drop in fruit, nuts or chocolate mid-churn. Wattage and dimensions are not stated; weight is 4.4 pounds.

What to weigh. It is sold by Amazon.com with a 1 Year Warranty, ranks #17,459 overall and #19 in Ice Cream Machines, and is the lowest-priced machine on the page at capture. Against the Cuisinart 2-quart, it gives up half the batch, two years of warranty and the category rank, and gains a lower price and a recipe book that names coconut. For a couple who want to churn a coconut-based ice cream or a sorbet without spending much, it is the budget churner.

Best for: A couple who want to churn a coconut-based ice cream or a fruit sorbet on a budget.

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7. Secura Ice Cream Maker, DIY Visualization Electric for Gelato & Sorbet 1QT, LX-1007 — Budget Freeze-First

A freeze-first machine that names dairy-free and vegan ice cream, with a power figure that is hard to square with the job.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

The Secura says the words and borrows the Creami’s method. Its third bullet lists “dairy-free, and vegan ice creams” among the treats you can make. And the method: “Just prep your base, freeze 24h, process in the ice cream dream maker, and indulge in your unique flavor creations.” That is the same three steps the Ninja Creami 7-in-1 lists, at a budget level.

The power figure does not fit the method. The second bullet says it turns ingredients into ice cream, sorbets and milkshakes “with just 12 watts of power”. The Creami 7-in-1 states 800W to drive its paddle through a frozen pint, and the Yonanas machines, which only push fruit onto a blade, state 200 watts. 12 watts is about 1.5% of the Creami’s figure, by our arithmetic. The listing does not explain how 12 watts processes a base frozen solid for 24 hours. It may be a misprint, or it may describe a very different mechanism; either way, ask the seller before relying on it for a hard plant-based block.

The size field is ambiguous. The title says “1QT” and the size field “1 QT”. For a machine that processes a frozen base, the listing does not say whether one quart is the container, the batch or something else. One quart would be twice a Creami pint, by our arithmetic, which would be a lot to freeze solid and process at 12 watts. Weight and dimensions are not stated either, so you cannot size it from the page.

It pitches itself at a named diet programme. The first bullet is headed “PERFECT FOR OPTAVIA DIETARY GROUP”. We make no claims about that or any diet. For non-dairy purposes, the relevant facts are the freeze-first method and the written dairy-free and vegan wording, which put it in the same group as the Creamis and the FastFreeze.

The paperwork is thin. No warranty is stated. The fifth bullet offers “contact us, and we will respond within 24 hours to assist you” instead. The release date is July 2024, so it is newer than most machines here. It was sold by Amazon.com but flagged as scarce stock at capture, and it ranks #147,218 overall and #117 in Ice Cream Machines.

What to weigh. On paper, it is the lowest-cost way to try the freeze-then-process method on a dairy-free base. On the same paper, it has the least information of any machine here that takes a base: no weight, no dimensions, no warranty and a power figure that needs explaining. Buy it only after the seller has answered those questions.

Best for: A buyer who wants to try the freeze-first method on a dairy-free base and will confirm the specs with the seller first.

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8. Yonanas Deluxe Frozen Fruit Soft Serve Dessert Maker, Vegan and Dairy-Free, Black, IC0988BK13 — Fruit-Only, Sold by Amazon

The same Yonanas machine in black, sold by Amazon.com, with a listed weight that does not match the other two colours.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

This is the same machine as the teal 988TL, by its own words. The five bullets match the teal listing word for word, from “Easy-to-use vegan dessert maker quickly turns frozen fruit into delicious vegan soft serve” to the recipe book “complete with 75 individual recipes”. The title adds “Vegan and Dairy-Free Treats” and “Easy Push Button Operation”. The method is the same: frozen fruit into the chute, plunger down, blade spinning.

The difference that matters most is the seller. This one is sold by Amazon.com. The teal is sold by a third-party seller. If you want Amazon’s own returns process behind a Yonanas, the black or the red is the one to buy.

Its fields do not agree with its siblings. The listed weight is 6.61 pounds, against 3.92 on both the teal and the red. The number-of-items field says 2, where the teal says 1. The dimensions, 10.2 by 15.59 by 6.46 inches, are the teal’s three figures in a different order, give or take a hundredth. The likeliest reading is that the black listing’s weight is a shipping or pack figure, but the listing does not say so. Nothing in the bullets describes a second item in the box beyond the machine, the recipe book and the manual.

As a non-dairy machine, it does one thing. It makes a fruit dessert with no base and no dairy at all. As general knowledge, frozen ripe bananas give the creamiest result in this kind of machine and watery fruit a more sorbet-like one; the listing allows for “soft serve or a smooth sorbet-like treat”. It will not turn a coconut or oat base into ice cream; for that you need a churner or a freeze-first machine.

What to weigh. It ranks #127,968 overall and #98 in Ice Cream Machines, behind the teal and ahead of the red. Power is 200 Watt, the warranty a “1-Year Manufacturer’s Limited Warranty”. Choose it over the teal for the Amazon.com seller and the colour; choose the teal if price comes first.

Best for: A buyer who wants the Yonanas fruit dessert maker sold by Amazon.com, in black.

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9. Yonanas 988RD Deluxe Vegan, Dairy-Free Frozen Fruit Soft Serve Maker, Red, IC0988RD13 — Fruit-Only, in Red

The third listing for the same Yonanas machine, sold by Amazon.com, with its own set of dimensions.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

One machine, three listings, and this is the third. The red 988RD shares every bullet with the teal and the black, and its title carries the same promise: “Yonanas 988RD Deluxe Vegan, Dairy-Free Frozen Fruit Soft Serve Maker, Includes 75 Recipes, 200 W, Red”. The method, the motor, the recipe count and the warranty are the same.

Its dimensions are its own. The red lists 9.5 by 10.25 by 6.5 inches. The teal lists 15.6 by 6.46 by 10.2, and the black 10.2 by 15.59 by 6.46. The width figure is close on all three, and 10.2 or 10.25 appears on all three, but the red’s 9.5-inch height is a long way from the other two’s 15.6-inch figure. The listings do not say whether they measure the machine with or without the chute and plunger fitted. If shelf height matters, plan for the larger figure.

Its weight agrees with the teal. 3.92 pounds, the same as the teal, against the black’s 6.61. Like the black, its number-of-items field says 2, without explanation in the bullets.

As a non-dairy machine, the answer is the same as for its siblings. No base, no churn, no dairy: frozen fruit becomes a “soft serve or a smooth sorbet-like treat”. The top-rack dishwasher-safe chute, plunger and blade make cleanup easy. As general knowledge, the fruit you freeze sets the texture, with bananas giving the creamiest result.

What to weigh. It is sold by Amazon.com and ranks #138,284 overall and #110 in Ice Cream Machines, the lowest rank of the three Yonanas listings. If you want the machine from Amazon.com and like red, this is it; otherwise the black is the same machine from the same seller, and the teal the same machine at a lower price from a third party.

Best for: A buyer who wants the Yonanas machine from Amazon.com in red.

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10. Classic Cuisine Electric Ice Cream Maker Machine, 4 Qt, Pine Wood Bucket, GW34A02-01 — Biggest Batch

Four quarts, churned in ice and rock salt, with an electric motor and a hand crank, and not a word about non-dairy.

Key Specifications

Why We Recommend It

This is the oldest freezing method on the page, at the largest size. “Simply place your ingredients in the cannister, surround it with ice and rock salt, and turn on the electric paddle.” No bowl to pre-freeze, no 24-hour wait for a frozen base. You chill the base, pack the bucket and churn. The listing says the aluminium canister makes “up to 4-quarts of tasty frozen treats”, twice the Cuisinart 2-quart and the largest batch here.

It does not mention non-dairy, but the method is indifferent to it. The desserts named are “homemade ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, and sorbet”. There is no vegan, dairy-free or non-dairy wording. Like the other churners, it will freeze whatever base you pour into the canister, and as general food-science knowledge, a richer plant base such as coconut cream will churn smoother than a lean one.

The ice and salt do the freezing, and that cuts both ways. As general physics, salt lowers the temperature at which ice melts, so a brine of ice and rock salt gets colder than ice alone and pulls heat out of the canister quickly. The benefit is that you need no freezer space for a bowl and can make batch after batch, as long as you have ice. The cost is buying or making a lot of ice and rock salt every time, and draining salty water afterwards. It is the opposite trade to the Elite Gourmet’s “no rock salt, no buying ice every time” pitch.

Two drives, two textures. The “38 RPM motorized attachment” turns the paddle for you. “The hand crank can be used for a firmer consistency.” The listing also calls the machine a “soft serve ice cream machine”, which it is not in the usual sense of a dispensing machine; a churned ice-and-salt dessert comes out soft and firms in the freezer. If true soft serve is what you want, our {soft} covers that class.

The listing is light on paperwork. Weight and warranty are not stated, and the manufacturer field reads “4Qt Ice Cream Maker Machine” rather than a company name. The dimensions are given for both set-ups: 15 by 14 by 16 inches with the electric attachment, 19 by 14 by 14 inches with the manual crank. The pine bucket is pitched as “traditional kitchen decor” as well as a tool.

What to weigh. It is sold by Amazon.com and ranks #194,437 overall and #166 in Ice Cream Machines, the lowest on the page. For a crowd, a party or a family that wants a big batch of coconut ice cream or sorbet and does not mind the ice, it does something no other machine here can. For everyday dairy-free desserts for one or two, it is far more machine than you need.

Best for: A crowd or a party that wants four quarts of coconut ice cream or sorbet at once and has plenty of ice.

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