GreenPan Frost ice cream maker review: "brilliant if you love homemade soft serve"

RRP at time of testing: £399 | Check price at Amazon, Very or Debenhams

My verdict

The GreenPan Frost is a top-of-the-range ice cream maker that lives up to its £399 price tag if you have the space, the budget and a family likely to use it regularly. It makes delicious homemade soft serve with very little effort, and the no-pre-freezing design means you can be more spontaneous than with freezer-bowl machines.

It’s not small, cheap or completely faff-free. Cleaning takes a bit of attention, and it’s definitely a make-and-eat-now machine rather than one for batch-making tubs of scoopable ice cream. But in our house, it turned into a weekend ritual almost immediately. My kids are still asking to use it every single bloody day, which tells you most of what you need to know.

How we tested the Greenpan Frost ice cream maker

I tested the GreenPan Frost over three weeks in May, during a Leeds heatwave that made it all feel suspiciously well timed. We’ve used it around 10 times so far, mainly to make homemade soft serve ice cream using GreenPan’s own classic vanilla recipe, followed by chocolate and an adapted toffee version. I’ve also tried my hand at a “spiked slushie” for DH and me.

I tested it as a full-time working mum of two young boys, aged four and six, in a normal family kitchen with normal family limitations: not enough worktop space, children desperate to “help”, someone needing a snack, and absolutely no desire to spend an evening dismantling an appliance with the energy usually reserved for flatpack furniture.

I focused on ease of setup, real timings, flavour, texture, serving, cleaning, storage and whether we actually wanted to keep using it once the novelty wore off.

First impressions of GreenPan’s ice cream maker

I’m at the stage of parenthood where I can look at a £399 ice cream maker and think, well, at least I’d know what was in it. This is what trying to reduce ultra-processed foods as a family does to a person. One minute you’re buying multipacks of ice lollies with the weekly shop, the next you’re wondering whether a countertop soft serve machine could be classed as a sensible household investment.

Ice cream makers had been on my radar ever since my not-so-little 30-year-old brother told me he was buying his girlfriend a Ninja Creami for Christmas. And it turns out Mumsnet users are curious too. Recent Mumsnet discussions show plenty of interest in homemade ice cream, especially from users weighing up freezer-bowl machines, compressor models, the cost of decent shop-bought ice cream and whether they really have room for another kitchen gadget.*

GreenPan Frost ice cream maker's does everything you want - from ice cream to slushies

So when the GreenPan Frost arrived, my two boys were beside themselves. Understandably so. They would live on an ice cream diet if I let them, and we opened it right in the middle of a May heatwave in Leeds. The timing couldn’t have been better. 

The machine itself is enormous and a tad heavy, so I’d recommend deciding where it’s going to live before opening the box. It’s awkward to lift out, though not especially difficult to move around once unpacked. We’re limited on kitchen worktop space, so ours now lives in the utility cupboard between uses. If I had more room, I’d happily leave it out: the cream colour fits nicely with our kitchen, and while it looks a little plasticky from a distance, it doesn’t feel cheap. Though given the £399 price tag, I’d hope not.

How easy is it to set up the GreenPan Frost? 

Setup was much easier than expected. The GreenPan Frost arrived largely ready to go, and all I had to do was attach the pull lever. The instructions were simple enough, if a little lacklustre, but I appreciated the included recipes because they meant we could get started without disappearing down a recipe-search rabbit hole.

It fits under our wall cupboards, but there’s a catch: you need access to the top to pour the mixture in. So while it can sit under cupboards when it’s not in use, you’ll probably need to pull it forward a bit when you’re actually making anything. Thankfully, it’s not noisy during use so you can get on with your day while you’re waiting for your batch of ice cream.

There are a few accessories included, including cleaning brushes and dispenser attachments to create the true Mr Whippy-style shape. I did not realise these attachments were hiding in the storage bag until after we’d used it a few times.

The ice cream maker comes well packaged - but be warned, it's heavy

Is the GreenPan Frost ice cream maker easy to use?

For our first test, I followed GreenPan’s classic vanilla ice cream recipe, using whole milk, double cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. The ingredients went in fridge-cold and you do need to mix them in a separate bowl before pouring them into the machine.

That part is easy, but the pouring itself needs more concentration than I expected. The opening at the top isn’t huge, and if you go too fast you risk spilling cream mixture over the machine. It’s not difficult, exactly, but it’s not a task to attempt while refereeing Lego-based warfare between two kids.

I used the soft serve mode at texture level L5, which turned out to be our sweet spot: not too soft, not too solid and very much in Mr Whippy territory. The machine doesn’t have a countdown timer, which I think would be genuinely useful. It beeped after around 50 minutes, at which point the first serving was ready.

How long does it take to make ice cream with the GreenPan Frost?

It’s not instant ice cream. And it’s definitely not the 15-minute dream you might have in your head if you’ve skimmed the marketing a bit too quickly. But it didn’t feel unreasonable for freshly made ice cream from scratch, especially as the machine keeps the mixture cold once the cycle has finished.

We were able to go back for seconds without everything collapsing into a dairy puddle. Which, obviously, we did.

You get cleaning tools, shaping attachments and detailed instructions - with recipes to try!

Taste and texture of ice cream with the GreenPan Frost

The vanilla ice cream was delicious. Smooth, creamy and much more like Cornish sea salt ice cream than the slightly synthetic soft serve I half expected. It was miles better than most shop-bought ice cream, and I loved knowing exactly what had gone into it.

The texture was consistent throughout the batch, and it dispensed smoothly from the pull lever. Before I found the shaping attachments, it came out in a fairly tubular shape. With the attachment fitted, it looked much more like real ice cream van soft serve, which my husband seemed to appreciate.

Didn't realise that these little attachments were stashed in the included bag

It held its shape well in both cones and bowls and didn’t melt any faster than a normal ice cream van cone. One batch made around eight wafer cones, which was more than enough for our family of four, with some left over.

We also tried the chocolate recipe from the instruction booklet and an adapted toffee version based on the vanilla. The chocolate could have been stronger; I used equal amounts of chocolate syrup to vanilla extract and I’d add more syrup next time. The toffee flavour came through better, and the texture stayed just as good.

The boys were thrilled and demanded seconds. My Yorkshire husband also went back for more, which is when I knew the machine had earned a place in our house.

Design of the GreenPan Frost ice cream maker

The dispensing lever is one of the best bits of the GreenPan Frost. It’s satisfying, easy to pull and gives the whole thing a fun ice cream van feel. Both boys could use it safely without supervision, though it’s almost too easy for small children to operate.

A child lock or a measured pull would be useful. My boys kept going and going, creating increasingly ambitious soft serve towers while DH and I shouted “lick it quick” as though that was a meaningful warning.

There was no splattering, though, and the drip tray caught the small amount of melted residue that appeared at the end. The mess was far less dramatic than I expected. I did keep a close eye on the lever because, frankly, giving children unlimited access to a soft serve tap feels like the opening scene of a cautionary tale.

The ice cream maker's colouring suits my kitchen well

How much does it cost to make ice cream with the GreenPan frost? 

The ingredients for a batch of classic vanilla ice cream cost roughly £2.50 to £4.50, depending on whether you’re using standard supermarket staples or premium vanilla extract.

That doesn’t make the GreenPan Frost an instant money-saver, because the machine itself costs £399. But if you use it regularly over several years, especially as a family treat or for hosting, the value starts to make more sense.

Plus, one of the biggest appeals for me is being able to make treats at home with ingredients I recognise. I’m under no illusions: homemade ice cream made with double cream and sugar isn’t suddenly a health food. It’s still ice cream. Lovely, creamy, moreish ice cream.

But as a family we’re trying to reduce our ultra-processed food intake where we can, and this gives me more control over what goes into a treat my children would happily eat daily if left unsupervised. Since using it, we haven’t bought any ice cream from the shops. At one point, we popped to Tesco and both boys enthusiastically shouted, “No need for ice cream, mummy, we can make our own.” That felt like a small parenting win, albeit a sticky one.

Slushies, frozen yoghurt and other modes of the GreenPan Frost

The GreenPan Frost has modes for soft serve, sorbet, milkshake, slushie, spiked slushie and cleaning. I haven’t yet tested the slushie or frozen yoghurt functions. They’re next on my list, along with testing the Ninja Creami for comparison.

On paper, that broader functionality is part of the appeal. Ninja’s Creami and Slushi are separate appliances, whereas the GreenPan Frost brings soft serve and frozen drinks into one machine. If you’re short on space, that matters. Although, to be fair, it’s still a very big appliance, so “space-saving” is doing a bit of heavy lifting.

The pull handle and cone holder give major Mr Whippy vibes

How easy is it to clean the GreenPan Frost ice cream maker?

The GreenPan Frost has a cleaning mode, and for day-to-day rinsing between cycles it works well. You add warm soapy water, run the cleaning programme and empty the water into a jug. I usually ran this three times to fully remove leftover ice cream residue, and it did a good job.

A deeper clean takes more effort. Removing the pull lever is easy, but the cover needs a firm shove sideways to unlatch. The removable parts feel sturdy, and the included brushes are useful rather than decorative, which is always a pleasant surprise.

The awkward bit is reaching the back of the machine underneath the main freezing arm/component. Syrup residue can build up on the freezing arm between batches and needs scraping off, and some drips can get trapped at the back, so a long brush helps. A full deep clean took me around 15 minutes, including removing parts, rinsing, scrubbing and leaving everything on the drainer.

It isn’t enough to put me off using it, but it is still cleaning. While the self-cleaning function reduces the faff, it doesn’t magically make the appliance pristine while you sit down with a cup of tea.

Vanilla was actually our favourite recipe to make together!

Storing the GreenPan Frost ice cream maker

Storage is one of the biggest drawbacks. The GreenPan Frost is too tall to fit in my kitchen cupboards, so ours lives in the utility cupboard between uses. It’s not impossibly heavy to lift, and I’d lend it to a friend without too much worry, but it’s not a small, tuck-it-away appliance.

If you have generous worktop space, you may be happy to leave it out, especially over summer. It looks smart enough, and the white finish works well in our kitchen. If your kitchen is already home to an air fryer, coffee machine, toaster, blender and the emotional baggage of several abandoned gadgets, you’ll need to think carefully.

Unsurprisingly, my boys were very excited for their first taste of homemade ice cream!

Is the GreenPan Frost good value for money?

At £399, the GreenPan Frost is expensive. There’s no getting around that. You can find ice cream makers for less, including freezer-bowl models and some compressor machines, though many won’t offer the same soft serve and frozen drink functionality in one appliance.

For us, testing changed my mind. Before using it, I expected an ice cream maker to be harder work. In reality, the GreenPan Frost was easier, more fun and more useful than I thought it would be. We used it at least seven times in three weeks, made it part of our warm-weather weekend routine and stopped buying shop-bought ice cream during that period.

It would be brilliant for birthdays, BBQs, family film nights, playdates and summer hosting. I briefly wondered if it might be a good gadget for our school PTA, but the batch size means it wouldn’t be practical for serving 100 children ice cream unless you have the patience of a saint and an hour between servings. It would, however, be fun for slushie drinks at a smaller fundraiser or summer fair.

If you’ll use it regularly, I think it can justify the price. If it’ll come out twice during a heatwave and then retreat to the cupboard of forgotten appliances, absolutely not.

The controls are intuitive, no-nonsense and easy to figure out

How does the GreenPan Frost compare to other ice cream makers?

I haven’t tested the Ninja Creami side by side yet, so I can’t give a full comparison. That’s next on my list. But from a functionality point of view, the GreenPan Frost feels appealing because it makes soft serve-style ice cream directly and is designed to handle frozen drinks too, without needing pre-frozen tubs.

The Ninja Creami is still worth considering, especially if you like the idea of prepping tubs ahead of time or want a machine with a huge online recipe community behind it. But the GreenPan Frost has impressed me because it feels more spontaneous. You mix, pour, wait and dispense. No freezer bowl. No 24-hour planning. No explaining to children that yes, technically we are making ice cream, but not until tomorrow.

Who should buy the GreenPan Frost? 

Buy it if you:

• You’re a family that will actually use it weekly

• You’ve got somewhere to keep it (it’s tall)

• You like soft serve and frozen drinks

• You host and want an easy “wow” dessert

Avoid it if you: 

• You want quick ice cream, not 50 minutes

• You’re short on storage or worktop space

• You want to batch-make tubs for the freezer

• You want a budget option

Cleaning is made easy thanks to the self clean cycle - just stick a jug underneath

Final verdict: is the GreenPan Frost worth it?

The GreenPan Frost has been a lovely addition to our family kitchen. It’s big, expensive and slightly addictive, but it makes excellent homemade soft serve with very little effort. The children love helping with recipes and flavours, my husband keeps going back for more, and I like knowing exactly what’s in the ice cream we’re eating.

It isn’t perfect. I’d like a countdown timer, a child lock or measured lever, and a slightly easier way to pour mixture into the top. Cleaning also takes effort if you want to do it properly, especially around the freezing arm and back section.

Et voilà! Smooth, creamy, perfectly whipped homemade ice cream

But the taste, ease of use and family fun outweigh the drawbacks for me. After three weeks of use, I’d recommend it to other parents, and I already have done at school pick-up.

The GreenPan Frost is brilliant if you love homemade soft serve, have room to store it and will use it regularly. Don’t buy it if you want cheap, compact or instant. Buy it if you want the taste of homemade ice cream without the faff of pre-freezing, and you’re prepared for your children to ask for it every single day.

About the author

Rebecca Roberts (aka Beccy) is our resident lifestyle expert with a practical focus on sleep, wellness and everyday comfort. She’s equally at home tackling frank, NSFW‑adjacent topics as she is road‑testing kitchen appliances, mattresses and vacuums that work for real parents. As a mum of two, she writes with the time‑poor, sleep‑deprived in mind - honest product reviews, realistic routines and products that make parents’ lives easier.

When she’s not at her desk, she’s probably product‑testing with her two helpers, corralling a PTA or walking her two dogs up and down country lanes.

About Mumsnet reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real parents after weeks of hands-on testing. We never accept payment for coverage, and our verdicts are independent and honest. We may earn a small commission through affiliate links, which helps fund our work - but it never influences our opinions.

All prices are correct at the time of writing.

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* Conversational analysis by mumsGPT, 9 June 2025 to 9 June 2026