Ninja Creami Gingerbread Ice Cream (Real Ginger and Molasses)

This Ninja Creami gingerbread ice cream tastes like a soft gingerbread cookie in frozen form. Ground ginger, cinnamon and real molasses go into one pint with five minutes of hands-on work. Your freezer does the rest.

t is rich and creamy, warmly spiced, and not too sweet. If you want a sharper ginger ice cream, I have included a bolder ginger version below that uses the same base.

Already working through the holiday flavors? This pint sits nicely next to my Ninja Creami pumpkin ice cream at Thanksgiving and my peppermint bark ice cream at Christmas.

Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Ice Cream

• Real gingerbread flavor. Molasses plus four spices, not a flavored syrup.
• Five minutes of prep. Whisk, pour, freeze. No cooking and no eggs.
• One pint, pantry ingredients. Everything is in the baking aisle.
• Easy to turn into ginger ice cream. One swap takes it from cozy gingerbread to bright, spicy ginger.
• Made for mix-ins. Gingersnaps, Biscoff cookies and gingerbread chunks all work.

Ingredients for Ninja Creami Gingerbread Ice Cream

Exact amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Whole milk: The liquid base. Whole milk freezes creamier than 2% or skim.
• Heavy cream: Adds the fat that keeps the pint smooth instead of icy.
• Instant vanilla pudding mix: Works as a stabilizer so the ice cream spins up thick and scoopable.
• Unsulphured molasses: This is what makes it taste like gingerbread and not just spiced vanilla. Avoid blackstrap, which is bitter.
• Brown sugar: Sweetens and deepens the molasses flavor.
• Ground ginger: The lead spice. Use a fresh jar for the best flavor.
• Cinnamon, allspice and cloves: The supporting gingerbread spices. Go light on cloves, since a small pinch is plenty.
• Vanilla extract: Rounds out the spice.
• Optional mix-ins: Crushed gingersnaps, Biscoff cookies or gingerbread cookie pieces.

How to Make Gingerbread Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami

Step 1: Whisk the base. In a bowl, whisk the milk, pudding mix, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, molasses, brown sugar and vanilla. Keep whisking until the sugar dissolves and no pudding lumps remain.

Step 2: Add the cream. Stir in the heavy cream until the base is one even color.

Step 3: Fill and freeze. Pour the base into a Ninja Creami pint, staying below the max fill line. Snap on the lid and freeze on a level shelf for 24 hours.

Step 4: Spin. Remove the lid, lock the pint into the outer bowl and run the Ice Cream setting.

Step 5: Re-spin if needed. A crumbly or powdery first spin is normal. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and press Re-spin. Repeat once more if it still looks dry.

Step 6: Add mix-ins and serve. Dig a hole down the center of the pint, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of crushed cookies and run Mix-in. Scoop and serve right away.

How to Make It a Ginger Ice Cream

Want ginger ice cream in the Ninja Creami rather than gingerbread? Keep the same base and change the spices so ginger leads.

• Raise the ground ginger from 1/2 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
• Skip the cloves and allspice and cut the cinnamon to 1/4 teaspoon.
• Cut the molasses to 1 tablespoon, or swap it for honey for a lighter, brighter pint.
• Add crystallized ginger. After the first spin, add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped crystallized ginger and run Mix-in.
• For fresh ginger heat, whisk 1 teaspoon of finely grated fresh ginger into the base before freezing.

The result is a pale, creamy ginger ice cream with a clean, spicy finish. It is very good next to anything chocolate.

Tips, Mix-Ins and Substitutions

Tips for a creamy pint

• Freeze the full 24 hours. A partly frozen pint spins into slush.
• Freeze it level. A slanted surface can spin unevenly.
• Taste before you freeze. Cold dulls flavor, so the liquid base should taste a little stronger and sweeter than you want the ice cream.
• Re-spin with milk, not water. Water adds ice crystals.

Mix-ins

• Gingersnaps: Store-bought work, or crush a few of my air fryer gingersnap cookies.
• Biscoff cookies: Crush 3 or 4 cookies for a caramelized spice crunch. A spoonful of cookie butter on top is even better.
• Gingerbread pieces: Leftover gingerbread cookie bars crumble in well.
• Others: Toasted pecans, white chocolate chips or a caramel drizzle.

Substitutions

• Dairy-free: Use full-fat coconut milk for the milk and coconut cream for the heavy cream.
• Higher protein: Start from my vanilla Greek yogurt ice cream base and add the gingerbread spices and molasses.
• No pudding mix: Use 1 tablespoon of softened cream cheese, whisked smooth with the sugar first.
• No molasses: Dark brown sugar keeps some of the flavor, but the pint will taste more like spiced vanilla.

Serving ideas

• Scoop it over a warm slice of air fryer gingerbread cake.
• Sandwich it between two gingerbread crinkle cookies.
• Top each bowl with a small gingerbread man cookie for a Christmas dessert.

How to Store Leftovers

Smooth the top flat with a spoon, put the lid back on the pint and return it to the freezer. It keeps for up to 2 weeks.

It will freeze hard again. When you want more, run the Ice Cream setting once, then Re-spin with a tablespoon of milk if it looks crumbly.

Gingerbread Ice Cream FAQs

Is ginger ice cream the same as gingerbread ice cream?

No. Gingerbread ice cream blends ginger with molasses, cinnamon and cloves. Ginger ice cream lets ginger stand alone. This recipe makes either one, using the ginger version above.

Can I use fresh ginger in the Ninja Creami?

Yes. Grate it very finely and whisk 1 teaspoon into the base before freezing. Large pieces stay fibrous after spinning.

Why is my gingerbread ice cream crumbly?

The pint is very cold after 24 hours, so the first spin often looks powdery. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and Re-spin. One or two rounds fixes it.

Can I add Biscoff cookies?

Yes. Crush 3 or 4 cookies and add them with the Mix-in setting after the pint is creamy. Adding them earlier grinds them to dust.

Do I really have to freeze it for 24 hours?

Yes. The Ninja Creami shaves a solid block, so the center must be frozen through. Less time gives a soupy result.

Can I make it without molasses?

You can, but molasses is the gingerbread flavor. Without it you get a spiced brown sugar ice cream.

What other holiday flavors can I make in the Ninja Creami?

Try Ninja Creami pumpkin cheesecake ice cream, which also takes a gingersnap mix-in, or the peppermint bark and pumpkin pints linked at the top of this post.