Easy Ninja Creami Pumpkin Ice Cream

Learn how easy it is to make indulgent pumpkin ice cream in the Ninja Creami with this easy recipe.

You’ll love this easy Ninja Creami pumpkin ice cream recipe–made with just a few basic ingredients!

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Many years ago, I began making homemade ice cream and sorbet for my family, using an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer.

That method has served me well for many years now. I’ve also made many no-churn ice cream recipes, which don’t require an ice cream machine at all!

Every summer, we happily enjoy some of our favorite homemade frozen desserts, thanks to those two methods.

But more recently, I invested in a Ninja Creami ice cream maker, which uses a different method for preparing cool and creamy frozen treats.

And because ice cream should be enjoyed any time of year, I decided to make a favorite frozen treat for fall–Ninja Creami pumpkin ice cream!

The result is a creamy, indulgent ice cream that disappears fast. It’s similar to pumpkin gelato, but without the hassle of making a custard-based ice cream.

It makes a great holiday dessert! In fact, it’s one of the best Ninja Creami recipes, in my opinion.

Eat it plain or with whipped cream, or use it instead of vanilla ice cream on top of your favorite desserts, such as warm pumpkin cobbler!

If you want a higher protein treat, try this Ninja Creami pumpkin protein ice cream!

For more holiday ideas, check out our list of Ninja Creami Thanksgiving recipes.

Making Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami

Let’s start off by talking about how traditional ice cream is often made, then I’ll share briefly how the Ninja Creami works.

Traditionally, many ice cream recipes are made with a custard-style base typically made with eggs, sugar, and milk, and cooked on the stove top.

After the custard base is chilled in the refrigerator, it’s churned in a pre-frozen drum of an ice cream maker. This churning not only helps the custard freeze, but also aerates it and breaks up ice crystals, so it ends up nice and creamy.

After churning, it gets transferred to the freezer for a few hours.

Then there’s no-churn ice cream, which gets its sweetness from sweetened condensed milk, and its creaminess from light and fluffy whipped cream.

It’s a simple method of making ice cream without egg yolks or whole eggs, that doesn’t require any cooking, and no ice cream machines!

The Ninja Creami sort of reverses the process.

Instead of churning your base into a light and creamy dessert, then allowing it to freeze, you begin by preparing a liquid ice cream base and freeze it for at least 24 hours, per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Once that liquid is frozen solid, you transfer it into your Ninja Creami, which “creamifies” the base with one of seven settings, by finely chopping or shaving the frozen concoction.

It’s not quite a blender or food processor (the blades aren’t sharp!), but it’s a similar idea.

To be honest, I initially wasn’t completely convinced this reversed process would really work well, since there’s no aerating or breaking up crystals prior to freezing.

But I was happily proven wrong! The result is rich and creamy ice cream that my whole family loves!

And having the ability to make multiple flavors with the Ninja Creami is great, as it allows everyone to have their own ice cream.

How to Make Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Recipe in the Ninja Creami

It’s really easy to make this simple pumpkin ice cream. It’s one of those easy Ninja Creami recipes you’ll want to make again and again!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• Cream cheese
• Light brown sugar
• Pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Vanilla extract
• Whole milk
• Heavy whipping cream

How to Make this Easy Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe:

(Full printable recipe is available below)

Mix the base. First, you’ll start by softening a bit of cream cheese, then adding brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice to it. Mix together well to form a paste.

Then, add pumpkin puree and vanilla extract, mixing well.

Add the whole milk and heavy cream, whisking in a little bit at a time. Continue until all of the liquid has been added and the mixture is smooth.

Freeze. Next, you’ll pour the liquid into a Ninja Creami pint container and close the lid. Transfer the ice cream mixture to a flat location in your freezer (you want it to freeze nice and level) and freeze for 24 hours.

Creamify. After 24 hours, remove the lid from the pint and insert into the bowl of the Ninja Creami. Lock the outer bowl lid and click the bowl into place.

Select the Ice Cream function and let the Ninja do the rest!

Scoop and serve!

Notes and Adaptations:

• If your ice cream is crumbly after the first round of churning, you can put it through a Re-Spin cycle. If that doesn’t result in a nice, creamy texture, I like to add a tablespoon of milk and Re-Spin again, which usually does the trick.
• Want to make this as a dairy-free ice cream? You can try using unsweetened canned coconut cream (not regular coconut milk) instead of heavy cream and unsweetened almond milk or oat milk instead of regular milk.
• I find that the best way to enjoy leftovers is to let the container sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before serving. If you’re in a hurry, you can put it through the re-spin cycle in your Ninja Creami (just be sure to smooth the top out before freezing).
• I use pumpkin puree from the grocery store, but you can also use fresh pumpkin puree you’ve made at home if you’d like.
• Check out this list of Ninja Creami recipes for fall if you’d like even more autumn favorites!

Recommended Equipment:

• Ninja Creami
• Ninja Creami Pint

More Easy Frozen Treats:

• Healthy Ninja Creami Recipes
• Ninja Creami Nutella Ice Cream
• Ninja Creami Apple Pie Ice Cream
• Easy Ninja Creami Strawberry Sorbet
• Ninja Creami Frozen Yogurt
• Easiest Ninja Creami Cherry Pie Sorbet
• Ninja Creami Pistachio Ice Cream
• Ninja Creami Eggnog Ice Cream
• Simple Ninja Creami Apple Cinnamon Sorbet
• Ninja Creami Blueberry Lemonade Sorbet
• Oreo Milkshake without Ice Cream
• Ninja Creami Coffee Gelato
• Ninja Creami Apple Butter Ice Cream

More Pumpkin Recipes to Satisfy Your Pumpkin Spice Craving:

• Pumpkin Spice Latte Popcorn
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
• Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Bread

Be sure to save this to your Ninja Creami board on Pinterest!