Name: Ninja Creami Butterbeer Ice Cream
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 d 10 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: For the Butterscotch Sauce:; 4 TBSP unsalted butter; 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream; For the Ice Cream Base:; 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream; 3/4 cup whole milk

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Learn how to make Harry Potter inspired Butterbeer Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami!

Harry Potter fans will love this Ninja Creami Butterbeer ice cream, inspired by the famous beverage!

close-up view of three scoops of Butterbeer ice cream in a dessert cup, drizzled with butterscotch sauce.

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If you’ve read the Harry Potter books, you know all about the Butterbeer beverage commonly enjoyed by the characters, served in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

My kids and I read through the entire series of the books during this school year, watching each movie after the book.

We even took a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and also visited New York City to watch Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway.

During our trip to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios, we tried the ever-popular Butterbeer and loved it!

It’s a butterscotch cream soda of sorts, but not too sickly sweet. You can even get a frozen Butterbeer, which is perfect for hot days at Universal Orlando.

But what about those days when you can’t be in the theme parks but want to be immersed in the Wizarding World?

Luckily, you can make your own version of Harry Potter’s Butterbeer ice cream in the Ninja Creami machine!

a Ninja Creami pint of butterbeer ice cream resting on a Harry Potter book

Butterbeer Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami

For this easy recipe, I opted to make my own butterscotch sauce, which I combined with a few other ingredients to make the ice cream base.

I saved some of the butterscotch for drizzling over the individual servings, too!

If you aren’t familiar with butterscotch, it’s similar to caramel sauce.

The main difference is that caramel is made by cooking and melting sugar until it’s browned. Sometimes cream or milk is added.

Butterscotch, however, uses brown sugar, butter, and cream to make the traditional sauce.

Adding butterscotch to the base gives the ice cream the classic butterscotch flavor of a frozen butterbeer recipe, but in a creamy dessert form!

You could certainly just use store-bought butterscotch sauce if you don’t want to make your own.

If you need a shortcut recipe, try making our Ninja Creami butterscotch ice cream with pudding mix instead!

three scoops of Ninja Creami butterbeer ice cream served in a glass dessert cup next to a Harry Potter book

How to Make Ninja Creami Butterbeer Ice Cream

It’s easy to make this simple dessert!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Butter
Brown sugar
Vanilla extract
Heavy cream
Milk

overhead view of a glass dish serving scoops of Harry Potter butterbeer ice cream that was made in the Ninja Creami ice cream machine. The ice cream is drizzled with butterscotch sauce, and a Harry Potter book title is in the background.

How to Make it:

(Full printable recipe card is available below)

Make the butterscotch. In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar until melted, stirring often.

Add the vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream, mixing to combine.

two photos; one shows butter and brown sugar melting in a saucepan; the other shows heavy cream being added to the melted mixture while being mixed with a rubber spatula.

Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, allowing it to simmer briefly before removing from heat.

The sugar should be completely dissolved and the mixture will be slightly thickened (it thickens more as it cools).

Add 1/2 cup of the butterscotch to a small bowl or large glass measuring cup. Set aside the rest of the butterscotch in an airtight container for using as a topping later.

two photos; one shows butterscotch simmering in a small saucepan; the other shows butterscotch sauce in a large measuring cup

Prepare the base. Add in the whipping cream to the 1/2 cup of butterscotch sauce, stirring until fully combined. Add in the milk and stir to combine.

Pour the ice cream base mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container and close the lid.

Two photos; one shows heavy cream and milk added to the butterscotch mixture and whisked together; the other shows the mixture transferred to a Ninja Creami pint container.

Freeze. Transfer the pint container to a level surface in your freezer. Freeze for at least 24 hours.

Spin. Remove the pint from the freezer and take off the lid. Place the pint into the outer bowl apparatus and close the outer bowl lid. Secure the outer bowl into the Ninja Creami machine.

Use the Ice Cream button to process the pint.

two photos; one shows a frozen pint of butterbeer ice cream base in the outer bowl apparatus; the other shows the outer bowl in the ninja creami machine and a woman's finger pointing to the ice cream function.

Check the consistency. Remove the pint from the machine and check the texture of the ice cream. If it seems a bit crumbly, you can re-insert it back into the machine and use the Re-spin button to process it again.

If it’s still crumbly, add a tablespoon or two of milk and re-spin again. By then, it should be a nice soft serve consistency.

two photos; one shows a crumbly ice cream base in a ninja creami pint, the other shows the same pint after re-spinning in the machine.

Scoop and serve. Scoop the ice cream into serving dishes.

Warm the reserved butterscotch for about 10 seconds in the microwave, then drizzle over your ice cream. You could also add a dollop of whipped cream if you’d like!

Pull out your favorite Harry Potter book or turn on your favorite movie and enjoy a taste of Hogsmeade!

close-up side view of a serving of Ninja Creami butterbeer ice cream topped with a drizzle of homemade butterscotch sauce

Notes and Adaptations:

Feel free to substitute store-bought butterscotch sauce instead of homemade if you need to save some time.
If you’re enjoying leftovers of this ice cream, I recommend letting the container sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften a bit before scooping.

close-up of the top of a Ninja Creami ice cream pint filled with butterbeer ice cream. An ice cream scoop is swirling the top of the ice cream.

Recommended Equipment:

Yield: 1 pint

Ninja Creami Butterbeer Ice Cream

Enjoy the taste of the classic beverage featured in Harry Potter books and movies, but in ice cream form!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 day

Total Time 1 day 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Butterscotch Sauce:
4 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
For the Ice Cream Base:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup whole milk

Instructions

In a small saucepan, prepare butterscotch by combining butter and brown sugar. Cook over medium-low heat until butter is melted, stirring often.
Add vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream, stirring to combine. Continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently and allowing mixture to bubble slightly. The sugar should be dissolved and the mixture slightly thickened (it will thicken more as it cools).
Remove sauce from heat. Meaure out 1/2 cup of the sauce into a small mixing bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Reserve the remainder of the sauce in an airtight container.
Prepare the ice cream base by adding heavy whipping cream to the butterscotch sauce, whisking well to incorporate until smooth.
Add the whole milk to the mixture, whisking to combine.
Pour mixture into a Ninja Creami pint and close the lid. Transfer to a level surface in your freezer and freeze for at least 24 hours.
Remove pint container from freezer and take off the lid. Place pint into the outer bowl apparatus and close the outer bowl lid. Secure the outer bowl into the Ninja Creami machine.
Use the Ice Cream button to process the ice cream.
When the cycle completes, remove the pint from the machine and check the consistency of the ice cream. If it appears crumbly, reinsert it into the machine and use the Re-spin function to process it again. If it's still crumbly after that, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk and re-spin again. It should now be soft-serve consistency.
Warm the reserved butterscotch sauce in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Drizzle warm butterscotch sauce over individual servings of ice cream.