Best Ice Cream Maker 2024: Cuisinart ICE-21 Review

The Best Ice Cream Maker for Creamy, Homemade Results

For many of us, the idea of making ice cream at home brings back mixed memories — sticky countertops, a hand-cranked machine that wore out your arms before the custard ever set, and a final product that was more ice than cream. But that picture belongs firmly in the past. Today's best ice cream makers are smarter, easier to use, and capable of producing genuinely impressive results right in your own kitchen. After years of hands-on testing, one machine rises consistently to the top: the Cuisinart ICE-21.

Whether you're a first-time buyer or someone looking to upgrade from an older model, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about choosing and using the best ice cream maker available today.

Why Make Ice Cream at Home?

Store-bought ice cream has its place, but homemade ice cream offers something entirely different. When you control the ingredients, you control the flavor, the texture, and the quality. Want a deeply rich dark chocolate gelato? A bright, fruit-forward sorbet with fresh strawberries from your garden? Or perhaps a classic vanilla bean with no artificial anything? Homemade ice cream puts all of that within reach.

Beyond creative freedom, making ice cream at home is also a rewarding experience for families. It turns a simple dessert into an activity, and the results are almost always met with genuine excitement. With the right machine, the process is straightforward enough to become a regular weekend ritual rather than a once-a-year project.

How We Tested Ice Cream Makers

Over the years, we've put 24 different ice cream makers through rigorous testing to find the one that delivers consistently on every front. Our evaluation covered several key criteria:

Ease of use: How much effort does setup require? Is the machine intuitive for beginners?
Churn quality: Does the machine produce ice cream with a smooth, creamy texture, or does it leave behind icy, grainy patches?
Ease of cleaning: After the fun is done, how much of a chore is cleanup?
Consistency: Does the machine perform reliably batch after batch, or does quality vary?
Value for money: Does the price reflect what the machine actually delivers?

After all that testing, one model stood out from the rest in nearly every category.

Our Top Pick: The Cuisinart ICE-21

The Cuisinart ICE-21 is our top recommendation for the best ice cream maker, and it has earned that title through consistent, impressive performance. It uses a double-insulated freezer bowl that you pre-freeze before use — a simple, reliable mechanism that eliminates the need for built-in compressors and keeps the price accessible without sacrificing results.

With a bit of prep and practice, this machine is genuinely easy to use. You freeze the bowl overnight, assemble the unit in minutes, pour in your base, and let the machine do the rest. Within 20 to 25 minutes, you typically have a soft-serve consistency ice cream ready to eat or transfer to the freezer for a firmer scoop.

The churning results speak for themselves. The Cuisinart ICE-21 produces creamy, rich ice cream that rivals what you'd find at a quality creamery. There's no elbow grease required and no babysitting the machine — just a smooth, automated churn that incorporates air evenly and prevents the large ice crystals that give homemade ice cream a bad reputation.

What Makes the Cuisinart ICE-21 Stand Out

Beyond its core performance, several practical features make the Cuisinart ICE-21 a standout choice among home ice cream machines:

Compact footprint: The ICE-21 doesn't hog counter space, making it practical even in smaller kitchens.
Simple cleanup: The lid, dasher, and bowl are all easy to rinse and dry. There are no complicated parts or hidden crevices that trap residue.
Generous capacity: The machine makes up to 1.5 quarts of ice cream per batch — enough for a family of four with some left over.
Affordable price point: Compared to compressor-based machines that can cost several hundred dollars, the ICE-21 offers excellent performance at a fraction of the cost.
Versatility: It handles not just ice cream, but also gelato, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and sherbet with equally good results.

Tips for Getting the Best Results from Your Ice Cream Maker

Even with a great machine, a few good habits will take your homemade ice cream from good to exceptional. Here are some practical tips to keep in mind:

Freeze the bowl completely: For the Cuisinart ICE-21, this means at least 16 to 24 hours in the freezer before churning. A partially frozen bowl will produce a runny, disappointing result.
Chill your base first: Make your custard or ice cream base the night before and let it chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Cold base churns faster and produces a smoother texture.
Don't overfill: Ice cream expands as it churns. Fill the bowl no more than two-thirds full to avoid overflow and ensure even mixing.
Add mix-ins at the end: Chocolate chips, nuts, or fruit pieces should be added in the last few minutes of churning so they distribute evenly without getting crushed.

Is the Cuisinart ICE-21 Right for You?

If you're looking for a reliable, easy-to-use, and affordable ice cream maker that consistently delivers creamy, delicious results, the Cuisinart ICE-21 is the clear choice. It's ideal for households that make ice cream a few times a month, for families wanting to explore homemade frozen desserts, and for anyone who values simplicity without sacrificing quality.

Those who want to make back-to-back batches without waiting for the bowl to refreeze might eventually consider a compressor-based model — but for the vast majority of home users, the ICE-21 hits every mark beautifully.

Final Verdict

Homemade ice cream doesn't have to mean big messes and sore arms. With the Cuisinart ICE-21, it means creamy scoops, minimal effort, and the genuine satisfaction of making something delicious from scratch. After testing 24 ice cream makers over the years, we keep coming back to this machine — and we think once you try it, you will too.

If you're ready to elevate your dessert game, the Cuisinart ICE-21 is the best ice cream maker to bring home.