Ninja ice cream and soft serve maker NC701BL

If you mainly want scooped ice cream, a machine built around that single style may be enough. The Ninja Creami Scoop & Swirl is aimed at people who also want soft-serve-style treats and more control over ingredients.

It offers 13 one-touch programs, including six for soft serve, frozen custard, fruit whip, and other named treats. That range gives you room to switch up dessert styles without buying a separate machine for each one.

If you prioritize variety and customization, this setup has more to offer, if you prefer a simpler appliance with fewer program choices, its range may feel like more than you need.

Where it shines

The main appeal is the choice between scooped treats and swirled soft serve. The programs include Soft Serve, Fruit Whip, Frozen Custard, CreamiFit, Swirled Frozen Yogurt, and Lite Ice Cream, alongside the other options in its 13-program lineup. That makes it useful for a household where one person wants a classic scoop and another would rather have a soft-serve-style dessert.

Ingredient control is another practical draw. The maker says you can tailor recipes for preferences such as dairy-free, vegan, nut-free, lower-sugar, lower-calorie, or high-protein treats. For example, you could make a Fruit Whip for one serving and a customized high-protein option for another. Results still depend on the ingredients you choose, the program names alone don’t guarantee a particular nutritional profile.

Compared with a basic ice cream maker focused on scoops, the extra soft-serve programs are the reason to consider this model. If you only plan to make one style of frozen dessert, that added choice may not matter much.

Highlights

The 2-in-1 Creamify Technology is designed to make scooped treats or process soft-serve programs, while the CreamiFit program is intended for lower-calorie, high-protein treats. The product description presents CreamiFit as a one-spin option, but it doesn’t provide preparation times or serving capacity, so those details are hard to weigh before choosing.

Mix-ins let you add items such as chocolate, nuts, candy, or fruit to CREAMi Classics. That’s useful when you want to start with a basic flavor and change its texture or add a little crunch rather than rely on a fixed selection of finished flavors. It’s a great fit if you expect to use both the customization and the different treat styles.

Care & maintenance

The listed 2-in-1 pints, lids, paddle, and swirl press are BPA-free and dishwasher safe, which gives you a straightforward cleanup route after making a batch. Those are the parts specifically named in the product details, they don’t say that every component of the appliance is dishwasher safe. If cleanup is a deciding factor, keep that distinction in mind and follow the maker’s care instructions for anything not listed.

Should you buy it?

Choose the NC701BL if you want more than a scoop-focused machine and expect to use its soft-serve programs, ingredient flexibility, or mix-ins. It may not suit you if you want a minimal appliance, have no interest in swirled treats, or need clear capacity and preparation-time details before buying. The extra programs are most valuable when they match desserts you’ll actually make, not simply because the number on the feature list is higher.