Looking for an ice cream maker for kids that will allow your whole family to make cold, tasty treats together?
Whipping up your own DIY ice cream is a fun activity that children of all ages will enjoy – plus, it can serve as an educational opportunity about science can turn regular milk or cream into a beloved dessert!
In this post we’re detailed the 4 best ice cream makers for kids, from popsicle molds to ice cream balls!
Zoku Single Portion Ice Cream Maker
The Zoku Ice Cream Maker is a great tool for creating quick, small batches of ice cream.
This device can make soft serve and hard ice cream, frozen yogurt, and gelato! Soft serve ice cream can be made in just 10 minutes, while hard ice cream takes 20 minutes.
Best of all, the Zoku Ice Cream Maker doesn’t use electricity – it’s wire free! This makes it remarkably kid-friendly, as children can simply add their chilled ice cream mixture, scrape the bowl, and watch the ice cream freeze!
Pros: Since the Zoku Ice Cream Maker doesn’t use electricity, it’s great for kids – they can complete the whole process by themselves if they want!
Cons: While the actual process of making the ice cream is fast, a lot of prep time is required. The bowl must be frozen for 12+ hours beforehand to properly get to a cold temperature that will allow it to form the ice cream.
The ice cream mixture also needs to be chilled for 2 hours beforehand. Since the bowl only makes single servings, you also need to re-freeze the bowl after every batch, which can be quite the pain!
Recap: The Zoku Ice Cream Maker is great for parents who want a totally safe, wire-free way for their kids to make ice cream. However, know that a lot of freezer prep time is required, so this isn’t great for those who want spontaneity.
Popsicle Molds
Popsicle Molds are another easy, safe way to get your kids making ice cream!
These popsicle molds from Mamasicles are BPA free, include slotted holes (for the sticks) so that they can be removed easily, and even include a drip tray at the base of each stick to avoid sticky hands!
Pros: These popsicle sticks are safe, electricity-free, and easy for your kids to use. They also come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee – if you don’t like them, return them and you can get your money back!
Cons: While these popsicle sticks are easy to use, you can technically use them to make ice cream – only popsicles! So if you’re dying to make classic ice cream with the kiddos, this won’t be for you.
YayLabs Ice Cream Maker Ball
The YayLabs Ice Cream Maker Ball is a safe, wire-free ice cream maker for kids that’s fun and easy to use!
Its unique ball shape is enticing for children – plus it comes in 4 bright and appealing colors. It also comes in two sizers – one for making a pint of ice cream, and another for making a quart of ice cream.
Just add ice and rock salt into one end, and your ice cream ingredients in the other end (don’t worry – a recipe book is included). Then, shake and roll the ice cream ball to brew up your creamy cold treat!
This ice cream maker is also extremely portable – use it at home, at picnics, for parties – basically anywhere!
Pros: The ice cream maker ball is an incredibly fun design, and kids will actually enjoy the time waiting for their ice cream to get cold by tossing and rolling the ball around the yard.
Cons: Some have had trouble with the ice cream ball leaking, requiring them to tighten the ball’s layers. Some note that they whole process is kind of a pain – the biggest value is simple in doing this fun activity as a family.
Hamilton Beach Ice Cream Maker
This Hamilton Beach Ice Cream Maker is more of a traditional ice cream maker, using electricity to churn ingredients until it reaches the cold consistency of ice cream!
The ice cream maker is completely automatic, requiring no stirring. It can be used to make ice cream, frozen yogurt, custard, sherbet, or gelato. In addition, this ice cream maker comes with a 20-recipe booklet, so you’ll have plenty of flavors to choose from.
Pros: This ice cream maker will likely produce the best quality ice cream, since it’s a real machine designed for making ice cream.
Cons: Strictly speaking, this isn’t the best ice cream maker for kids since there is electricity – you’ll need adult supervision for younger kids. That being said, the design is still very safe and fine to use with children, so long as there is an adult monitor.
That concludes our list of the best ice cream makers for kids. Did we miss any? Have you used any of these to make ice cream with your kids? Share your story in the comments below!
