Best ice cream makers to buy in 2023

While it may be cold, ice cream is a dessert we can eat all year round.

It's also why an ice cream maker is our latest obsession. They allow you to create ice cream and sorbets in all your favourite flavours.

Typically, there's two types of ice cream makers. One can self-freeze and will churn your liquid mixture, and the other uses a bowl that you'll need to freeze first, usually overnight or across the span of 12 hours.

To help you find the right one for your kitchen, we've handpicked our favourite models, to suit a variety of countertop and freezer sizes.

Featuring Cuisinart, Lakeland, KitchenAid and more, each make top-quality ice cream for an after dinner treat.

If you already own a KitchenAid mixer, then this is the perfect add-on attachment. The giant bowl comes with a paddle to replace your usual beater, simply freeze the bowl for 16 hours, attach it to the mixer base and watch as it churns your mixture. For added flavour we'd recommend dropping in a handful of strawberries to a vanilla mix for a fruity twist.

One you've frozen this affordable bowl for 12 hours, it can make ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt in just 40 minutes. It comes with a recipes included, an easy to read digital display and a large 1.8 litre capacity.

You may know Ninja better for its air fryers and slow cookers, but its ice cream maker is another quality appliance worth a spot in your kitchen. One five-star review reads, "It's convenient how the machine comes with more than one bowl for the freezer, it allows us to pre make mixture and leave it in the freezer ready to churn whenever we fancy a treat!"

Whip up ice cream, sorbet, frozen yoghurt or fruit blends with this Cuisinart kitchen gadget, that takes as little as 25 minutes to mix, once you've frozen the bowl overnight. Perfect for smaller kitchen counters, the metallic pistachio shade has also got us hooked.

Getting to grips with this VonShef is a breeze. Simply add you mixture and ingredients, pick your settings via its touchscreen control panel and let it do all the hard work for you. Taking just 20 to 40 minutes to create ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt, the bowl has double-wall insulation which will deliver a smooth, soft scoop consistency.

This clever kitchen gadget allows you to choose between hard or soft consistency for your ice cream and you can let it get to work while you put your feet up. It comes with measuring spoons, a scoop, spatula and recipe book for endless inspiration.

Not for the faint-hearted, this is ideal if you're serious about brushing up your ice making skills. According to one happy shopper, it has an "excellent pre-cooling system and easy-to-use system for reaching different consistencies".

If you love entertaining guests and have a more refined palette that prefers the taste of gelato, this Magimix design is ideal. It's designed with automatic cycles for gelato and ice cream, and has a two-hour storage option that will keep it tasting fresh if you don't need it until later.

This affordable option from Lakeland is perfect for smaller countertops and for having a bit of fun experimenting with homemade frozen treats. Simply pre-freeze the 500ml bowl for eight to 12 hours, then add the lid and switch on – 25 minutes later you'll have ice cream ready to serve.

There are more than 30 five-star reviews of this Buffalo ice cream maker, with shoppers singing its praises for being easy to use and simple to clean. "This is a fantastic ice cream maker. It is so easy to use...simply push one button. I bought this to make keto ice cream at home and it has already proved to be one of my best buys. The ice cream has been super."

Another affordable pick is this one from Amazon, which costs just under £30. It can be used to make ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and frozen yoghurt and take inspiration from the recipe book that comes included. There's a large ingredient funnel to prevent spillages and pre-freezing the bowl the easily be done overnight.

This spacious ice cream maker is perfect for beginners. One satisfied customer said: "Simple to use. Effective. Makes large enough quantities without bowl being too awkward to fit in freezer. It comes with recipes included, removable components which are easy to clean and takes just 20 minutes to churn your mixture."