Gingerbread only shows up in my life once a year, when it’s Christmas and we’re building a gingerbread house. It’s also the only time of year I eat gingerbread cookies. This gingerbread ice cream is my way of bringing those flavors into the Creami.
Molasses, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and a little clove give it that warm, spiced gingerbread taste in a creamy, scoopable pint. It’s no-cook, too. Just blend, freeze, and spin.
For a little crunch, add crushed gingersnaps after spinning. For another cozy holiday pint, try my Spiced Hot Chocolate Ice Cream.
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Ice Cream
- What Is Gingerbread Ice Cream?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Ninja Creami Gingerbread Ice Cream
- Tips for Smooth Gingerbread Ice Cream
- Mix-In and Topping Ideas
- Tools You’ll Need
- Make Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches
- How to Store Leftovers
- Recipe FAQs
- More Fall and Holiday Ninja Creami Recipes
- Did you try this recipe?
- Ninja Creami Gingerbread Ice Cream
Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Ice Cream
- No cooking at all. There are no eggs to temper and nothing on the stove. Everything goes into the blender, then into the freezer.
- All the gingerbread flavor, in a scoop. Molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg give it the warm, spiced taste of a gingerbread cookie.
- Creamy without eggs. Equal parts whole milk and heavy cream give the base enough richness to spin smooth, with no custard needed.
- Made from pantry staples. If you bake during the holidays, you probably already have the molasses, brown sugar, and spices on hand.
- A holiday dessert you can make ahead. Freeze a pint a day or two before your gathering, then spin it when you’re ready to serve.
What Is Gingerbread Ice Cream?
Gingerbread ice cream is a holiday-inspired frozen dessert flavored like gingerbread cookies. It gets its warm, spiced taste from molasses, brown sugar, and spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Many versions start with a cooked egg custard, while others use a simple no-cook cream base, and some add crushed gingerbread cookies or gingersnaps.
This version is made in the Ninja Creami with a no-cook base of whole milk and heavy cream. You blend everything, freeze it for 24 hours, and spin it smooth, with no eggs or stovetop step needed.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Base
- Whole milk: Milk makes up half the base and keeps it from being too heavy. Whole milk gives the best balance of richness and lightness.
- Heavy cream: Cream adds the fat that makes the ice cream smooth and scoopable without eggs. Using equal parts cream and milk works like half and half, rich enough to spin creamy without turning waxy.
- Cream Cheese: A little cream cheese adds body and helps the base spin smooth instead of icy. Let it soften on the counter first so it blends in fully and doesn’t leave small white specks.
- Dark brown sugar: Dark brown sugar sweetens the base and adds a deeper molasses flavor than light brown sugar, which makes the gingerbread taste stronger. It also keeps the ice cream soft enough to scoop.
- Molasses: This is the backbone of gingerbread flavor and what gives the ice cream its deep tan color. I use Grandma’s unsulphured molasses. Avoid blackstrap, which is much more bitter.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla softens the spices and rounds out the molasses, so the flavor tastes warm rather than sharp.
- Pinch of salt: A little salt brings out the molasses and spices, so the flavor stays full once frozen.
The Gingerbread Spices
- Ground ginger: This is the main spice, and the one that makes it taste like gingerbread. It adds warmth and a gentle bite.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a familiar, cozy sweetness that balances the ginger.
- Ground cloves: A small amount adds depth, but cloves are strong, so a little goes a long way. Too much can taste medicinal.
- Nutmeg: Nutmeg adds a soft, nutty warmth that rounds out the other spices.
How to Make Ninja Creami Gingerbread Ice Cream
- Blend the base. Add the milk, heavy cream, cream cheese, dark brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, spices, and salt to a blender. Blend until the sugar dissolves and the molasses and spices are fully mixed in. Taste it. It should taste a little stronger and sweeter than you want the finished ice cream, since freezing mellows both.
- Fill the pint. Pour the base into your Ninja Creami pint, staying below the max fill line. Overfilling can strain the machine and keep the blade from processing the pint evenly.
- Freeze for 24 hours. Put the lid on and freeze on a flat surface for a full 24 hours. A tilted pint freezes unevenly, and a base that isn’t frozen all the way through comes out soft in the middle.
- Spin on Lite Ice Cream. Remove the lid, lock the pint into the machine, and run the Lite Ice Cream program.
- Respin if needed. If it looks crumbly after the first spin, run Respin once until smooth.
- Add mix-ins (optional). For a little crunch, make a well down the center, add crushed cookies, and run the Mix-In program.
Tips for Smooth Gingerbread Ice Cream
- Blend, don’t whisk. Ground spices tend to clump in a cold base, and molasses is thick enough to sink to the bottom. A blender mixes both in evenly, so every scoop tastes the same.
- Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap. Blackstrap is much stronger and more bitter, and it can overpower the spices. Regular unsulphured molasses gives the classic gingerbread flavor.
- Go easy on the cloves. Cloves are the strongest spice in the mix. Measure carefully, because even a little extra can make the ice cream taste medicinal.
- Taste before freezing. Cold dulls both sweetness and spice, so the base should taste a little stronger than you want the finished ice cream to be. Add a pinch more ginger or cinnamon now if needed.
- Add mix-ins last. Crushed cookies go in after spinning, in a well in the center. Added before freezing, they turn soggy, and the blade grinds them into dust.
Mix-In and Topping Ideas
Gingerbread ice cream is warm and spiced, so it goes well with crunchy cookies and sweet, creamy toppings. For mix-ins, make a well down the center of the spun ice cream, add them, and run the Mix-In program. Add toppings right before serving.
- Crushed gingersnaps: Gingersnaps add crunch and a little extra ginger flavor, so every bite tastes even more like gingerbread.
- Graham cracker crumbs: These add a mild, buttery crunch that lets the spices stay front and center.
- White chocolate chips: White chocolate adds creamy sweetness that balances the deep molasses flavor.
- Chopped candied ginger: Small pieces of candied ginger add a chewy texture and a bright, spicy kick. Chop them finely, since big pieces freeze hard.
- Caramel drizzle and whipped cream: Top a scoop with both for a holiday sundae. Caramel brings out the brown sugar and molasses.
For more on what to add and when, see my guide to the best Ninja Creami mix-ins.
Tools You’ll Need
- Blender: A blender dissolves the brown sugar and mixes the thick molasses and ground spices evenly through the base. Whisking by hand can leave spice clumps and molasses at the bottom.
- Ninja Creami Deluxe: This recipe is sized for the Deluxe’s 24 oz pint. If you have the original 16 oz Creami, use about two thirds of each ingredient.
- Extra Ninja Creami pints: Extra pints let you prep a few pints ahead for holiday gatherings, so one is always ready to spin.
Make Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches
Gingerbread ice cream makes great holiday ice cream sandwiches. Here’s how to put them together:
- Pick soft cookies. Use soft gingerbread or molasses cookies, store-bought or homemade. Soft cookies bend when you bite, while crisp ones shatter and push the ice cream out the sides.
- Spin the ice cream firm. Spin the pint, then put it back in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. Slightly firmer ice cream holds its shape between the cookies instead of squishing out.
- Scoop and press. Place a scoop of ice cream on the flat side of one cookie, top it with a second cookie, and press gently until the ice cream reaches the edges.
- Roll the edges (optional). Roll the exposed sides in crushed gingersnaps, holiday sprinkles, or mini white chocolate chips.
- Freeze to set. Freeze the sandwiches on a tray for about 30 minutes, until firm. Then wrap each one in parchment or plastic wrap so they’re ready to grab.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover ice cream: Smooth the top flat with a spoon before refreezing. Peaks and holes can strain the blade the next time you spin, and a flat surface freezes more evenly. Put the lid on and freeze on a level surface. When you’re ready for more, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes, then run the Lite Ice Cream program again to bring it back to a scoopable texture.
With mix-ins: If you added crushed cookies, they’ll soften in the freezer and get broken down further when you respin. To keep them crunchy, store the base plain and add fresh mix-ins each time you serve.
Ice cream sandwiches: Wrap each sandwich individually in parchment or plastic wrap, then store them together in a freezer bag or airtight container. This keeps the cookies from drying out and stops them from picking up freezer smells.
Recipe FAQs
No. This recipe is completely no-cook. There are no eggs to make safe, and the blender dissolves the brown sugar and mixes in the molasses and spices. Just blend, freeze for 24 hours, and spin.
I don’t recommend it. Blackstrap molasses is much more bitter and less sweet than regular molasses, and it can overpower the spices. Use regular unsulphured molasses, like Grandma’s, for the classic gingerbread flavor.
Yes. Light brown sugar works the same way, but the gingerbread flavor will be a little milder, since dark brown sugar has more molasses in it.
I spin it on Lite Ice Cream. If it looks crumbly after the first spin, run Respin once until it’s smooth.
Yes. The molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg are the same flavors as gingerbread cookies, just in a cold, creamy scoop. For even more cookie flavor, mix in crushed gingersnaps after spinning.
Yes. Use about two thirds of each ingredient: ⅔ cup whole milk, ⅔ cup heavy cream, 4 teaspoons cream cheese, about 3½ tablespoons dark brown sugar, 4 teaspoons molasses, ⅔ teaspoon vanilla, ⅔ teaspoon ginger, ⅓ teaspoon cinnamon, and a small pinch each of cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
More Fall and Holiday Ninja Creami Recipes
- Ninja Creami Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream: warm chai spices, a lot like the ones in this gingerbread pint
- Ninja Creami Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream: the coffee shop fall drink, spun into a pint
- Ninja Creami Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream: a creamy pumpkin pint for Thanksgiving
- Ninja Creami Maple Walnut Ice Cream: maple syrup and toasted walnuts for a cozy winter scoop
Did you try this recipe?
Share how it turned out in the comments below, and if you loved it, share it on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram.
Thank you! - Rose
Ninja Creami Gingerbread Ice Cream
Equipment
- Blender
- Ninja Creami Deluxe
- 24 oz Ninja Creami pint
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- 4 gingersnap cookies
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend until the sugar dissolves and the molasses and spices are fully mixed in.1 cup whole milk, 1 cup heavy cream, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoon molasses, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon cloves, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, Pinch of salt, 2 tablespoon cream cheese
- Pour into a Ninja Creami pint, staying below the max fill line.
- Cover and freeze on a flat surface for 24 hours.
- Remove the lid, lock the pint into the machine, and spin on Lite Ice Cream.
- If it looks crumbly, run Respin once.
- Optional: make a well in the center, add crushed gingersnaps, and run the Mix-In program.4 gingersnap cookies
Notes
- Thaw before spinning: Let the frozen pint sit on the counter for a few minutes for a smoother first spin.
- Molasses: Use regular unsulphured molasses, like Grandma’s. Blackstrap is too bitter.
- Taste first: The base should taste slightly stronger and sweeter than you want, since freezing mellows the flavor.
- Ice cream sandwiches: Sandwich a scoop between two soft molasses or gingerbread cookies, then freeze for 30 minutes to set.
- 16 oz Ninja Creami: Use about two thirds of each ingredient.
- Leftovers: Smooth the top flat before refreezing, then spin again on Lite Ice Cream. Add mix-ins fresh each time.
Rose Sioson says
Rose here. Two tips if you’re making this for the first time. Go easy on the cloves, because a little goes a long way and too much can taste medicinal. And taste the base before you freeze it. It should taste a bit sweeter than you want, since the sweetness mellows once it freezes. If you try it, let me know how it turned out.