Ice cream makers have become somewhat of a craze, especially this summer just gone. And I totally understand why: have you recently been robbed (in broad daylight, mind you) by your local ice cream man? It’s no longer a cheap treat, that’s for sure.
Well, thanks to a good ice cream maker, you can create your very own smooth desserts, using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and your fridge. And not only will it cost a fraction of the price of a Mr Whippy, but you actually know exactly what you’re eating or feeding to your kids.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: where on earth is one of the best ice cream makers supposed to live, especially come winter? I thought the same — as someone who tests appliances for a living, I cannot afford to lose another inch of worktop space.
Well, there’s a new ice cream maker on the market, and instead of requiring countertop space, it’s tiny enough to fit in a cupboard. Enter: the Nutribullet Chill, which also comes in 3 stunning colourways. I used its 5 programmes to test its churning capabilities, and this is what I thought.
In a nutshell
PRODUCT SPECS
Weight: 5.27kg
Size: W24.4cm x D14.6cm x H27.1-112cm
Settings: Ice Cream, Sorbet, Gelato, Smoothie Bowl, and Frozen Yoghurt
Timer: Countdown bar
Capacity: 470ml each pot
RRP: £199.99
The Nutribullet Chill is a compact ice cream maker for smaller kitchens or anyone who can’t dedicate countertop space to an ice cream maker (understandably!). It has a short cord, too, but do note this if sockets in your kitchen are sparse.
It offers 5 pre-set programmes that are easy to use, while it takes between 3 -4 minutes 30 seconds for each setting to work. It does require you to be prepared, as each dessert needs pre-freezing for 24 hours before churning. Each tub (you get 2 included) offers a generous serving, at almost 500ml, while you also get a recipe for each setting included in the manual.
These tubs are dishwasher-safe after use, plus there’s a countdown timer on the machine so you know when your treat is nearly ready to enjoy. After using each programme, I would recommend the frozen yoghurt setting and the ice cream mode the most. These performed the best, in my opinion. I didn’t like the smoothie bowl or sorbet modes at all.
The machine itself is nice and compact but admittedly loud while in operation. It suction-cups to your worktop so that it won’t jump around whilst churning. It also beeps once finished to alert you, and it does churn well, so expect your desserts to be smooth — you’ll want to enjoy them ASAP
Overall, it’s a great ice cream maker for small kitchens but still comes in at the same price as the Ninja CREAM (which we awarded five stars to in our reivew). It’s fuss-free and easy to use, as well as simple to clean. Just be wary that it’s noisy.
Who reviewed this ice cream maker?
Unboxing
Due to its compact size, this ice cream maker arrived in a somewhat small box. It was fairly weighty but not heavy enough to require 2 people to lift.
Inside the box came another box, which housed the main unit, two lids, two pots, a blade and a blade cover. These were all wrapped in plastic packaging. This packaging is 4LDPE, so it’s recyclable depending on your local authority.
It comes with a fairly simple instruction manual, which shows how to insert the tub into the machine, and it features 5 recipes — 1 for each function.
What’s it like to use?
Overall, it’s fairly fuss-free to use. You might need to refer to the manual for first use when it comes to inserting the blade block and shaft into the tub. It offers the following modes: Ice Cream, Sorbet, Gelato, Smoothie Bowl, and Frozen Yoghurt. Simply press one and then press the middle button to start.
I really liked that the machine offered a countdown timer, but to be honest, it never took a really long time to churn anyway. It’s handy that it beeps once ready in case you’re busy and forget about it.
The blade shaft does become hot to the touch, especially towards the base, so be careful when removing it after your dessert is churned. Your hands might not naturally grab it, but it’s something to note.
The tubs fit in a standard freezer drawer, too. While churning, I used a decibel monitor to find the noise level of this machine. The ambient reading in my kitchen was hitting 35dB, but whilst the machine was churning, it read 98dB. I wouldn’t be using it around any sleeping children, that’s for sure.
Whilst I was testing this ice cream maker, I did like its safety features. You need to press the unlock button on the machine to release the tub once finished. It also displayed an error message at one time, which told me that the blade wasn’t inserted correctly.
Making ice cream
I followed Good Food’s classic vanilla ice cream recipe, which does take a lot of prep, but it makes up for it when it comes to the taste. I froze it for at least 24 hours, as per the manual, and served it in bowls. It would easily serve 4-5.
The ice cream setting on this machine took 3 minutes 30 seconds to churn. The result was tasty, but very smooth. Arguably, this was still a little firmer than the Gelato setting, which was very soft. Still, once churned, this ice cream will need to be enjoyed ASAP.
After churning, we did notice that there was a very thin layer of ice cream left in the bottom of the tub. The blade mustn’t have been able to reach down to the bottom of the tub. This had softened by the time we came to eat it, so it wasn’t really a huge issue.
Making sorbet
Again, I made Good Food’s classic lemon sorbet recipe, which is incredibly simple yet tantalisingly sharp. After freezing for 24 hours and churning for a whopping 4 minutes and 30 seconds, using the dedicated sorbet setting, it was soft. I mean, it was still frozen and cold, but it was very sloppy. This could only be enjoyed in a bowl and couldn’t be rolled into a scoop for a cone.
Taste-wise, it was great, and I could’ve eaten the entire tub. It’s just a shame it was so soft. I probably wouldn’t use this machine to make sorbet again, but I don’t usually eat sorbet, so this doesn’t hugely bother me.
Making gelato
I followed the vanilla bean gelato recipe which was featured in the Nutribullet manual. This took all of minutes to make and just 4 ingredients — which I had in my pantry/fridge already. I’d definitely make this recipe again, mostly for how convenient it was to mix, since it didn’t require blending or pre-boiling. It was pretty much mess-free, too. Better yet? It took just 3 minutes 20 seconds to churn.
This was a total hit with my family, and I managed to make it stretch to serve 8 cones! It was admittedly quite soft, so it needed to be eaten ASAP, but everyone loved its taste.
I noticed a layer of ice cream stayed on the blade, as you can see below. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it did make things a little messy. Next time, bearing this in mind, I’d use this gelato recipe, but maybe try the ice cream setting instead. This mode seemed to make the dessert a tad firmer.
Making a smoothie bowl
I used the Nutribullet smoothie bowl on the recipe card for this, and although it required pre-blending, it tasted great. TBH: smoothie bowls aren’t really my thing, so I probably won’t use this setting again. But it’s nice to know that it works.
This setting took 4 minutes 30 seconds in total. After, the smoothie was surprisingly not soft. It was hard, crumbly and chunky. It wasn’t anything like you’d use in a smoothie bowl. This could have been down to the recipe, but this was provided by Nutribullet.
Taste-wise, it was very powdery, which put me off. I wouldn’t make this recipe again.
Making frozen yoghurt
I followed Nutribullet’s smoothie bowl recipe for this one. Although it required a good few ingredients, I had most of them already in my pantry. These ingredients needed to be blitzed in your trusty blender before being frozen in the tub for 24 hours.
I used the dedicated frozen yoghurt programme, and I was seriously impressed. It churned for 5 minutes in total, and I was left with a soft but still-scoopable dessert that I would definitely make again. Despite thinking that I wouldn’t be a frozen yoghurt lover, this machine has convinced me otherwise.
Again, there was a little leftover frozen yoghurt in the blade that I easily scooped away and into a bowl.
What’s it like to clean?
There’s minimal cleaning required after using this ice cream maker. Both of the tubs and the 2 lids are dishwasher-safe, as is the blade. The blade cover shouldn’t get dirty if you only use it over a clean blade.
It’s worth checking underneath the blade after each use, as you might find that there’s some leftover dessert in there that needs a wipe. Otherwise, that’s it! Simple.
How does it compare to other competitors?
I’ve reviewed 5 ice cream makers, but this one in particular I will be keeping. Mostly because of its compact footprint, which means I can store it in a cupboard, but also because I found it super simple to use.
In comparison to other pre-freeze models like the Ninja CREAMi and the Russell Hobbs Chilluxe, both of which were used on either side, this machine does make slightly softer desserts. But this didn’t exactly put me off using it, as I’ll always enjoy my treat straight after churning, anyway.
Price-wise, you would probably expect it to be a little more affordable since it’s smaller, but this retails at an average price of £200. You can sometimes find it on sale.
Should you buy the Nutribullet Chill?
If kitchen space is a premium and you know that you won’t use your ice cream maker all of the time, then this is a great investment. For me, I love that it can fit in the cupboard above my oven, and I can grab it out when I know we’re having dinner guests over; in the summertime, I can move it to my worktop as it’s not hugely cumbersome.
I also love that it comes with two tubs, so you can have one in your freezer and the other ready for your next creation. There’s also the fact that it’s easy to use, and it offers a countdown timer so you know when your dessert will be ready; plus, it beeps when finished.
Cleanup is minimal, and its blade cover is a game-changer, as not only does this make it safer, but it also means it looks nice on your worktop, too.
I’d avoid this ice cream maker if you also want to use it to make sorbet, as it admittedly over-churned this and made it extremely soft. It was fine to eat in a bowl but too soft for scooping. The ice cream it created was soft, too, but it was completely edible and a total hit. The frozen yoghurt was definitely my favourite as it was perfectly scoopable yet still soft.
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