All you need for the perfect summer treat are bananas and this 1-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream will keep you deliciously chilled in minutes!
Why We Love Frozen Banana Ice Cream
- Who doesn’t love bananas?!? Sometimes we love bananas so much that we buy too many and then don’t know what to do with them when they become over-ripe. Well, problem solved! The more ripe the better for this easy ice cream recipe!
- There is no need for an ice cream maker for this treat, just your trusty food processor or a high-powered blender.
- Freeze your sliced bananas ahead of time, or keep a stash in the freezer, so you can quickly make banana ice cream whenever you get the craving.
- This banana ice cream recipe is great as-is and adding in more flavors you love, such as berries, chocolate, and/or peanut butter, is easy and totally encouraged!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Banana Ice Cream
BANANAS: All you need for this fabulous ice cream are bananas. To make four cups of ice cream you will need four large, ripe bananas. You will need to slice and freeze the bananas ahead of time.
How to Make Banana Ice Cream
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Slice the bananas and place them on a sheet pan or ziplock bag and place them in the freezer for at least four hours or overnight.
STEP 2 Place the frozen banana in a food processor or blender and pulse until the banana resembles a chunky crumb. Scrape down the sides of the food processor or blender and continue to pulse until the mix become smoother. Switch to blending the bananas, scraping the side every few minutes, until the ice cream is smooth and creamy.
STEP 3 For a soft serve consistency you can enjoy the ice cream immediately.
STEP 4 For more scoopable ice cream, spoon the ice cream into a loaf pan or air-tight container and freeze for about two hours.
Tips & Tricks
- Let your bananas get nice and ripe like you would for banana bread, before cutting and freezing them. The more ripe the banana, the more natural sweetness it has, which is why it makes such a great treat!
- Toss in a couple of cups of your favorite frozen berries for a berry-rific ice cream, or get a little decadent and add in a 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of sweetened cocoa powder for a chocolate banana ice cream dream!
- For a single serving you can blend one frozen banana or to double the recipe, use eight bananas. When doubling you may need to blend the bananas in two batches so the bananas get really smooth without burning out your food processor or blender.
- So which is better, a food processor or a blender? The truth is, you can use what you have if you only have one of those appliances, but be more careful with the blender. Frozen bananas are pretty hard and can be difficult for blenders to power through. If you are using a blender, and depending on how robust your blender is, perhaps making small batches would help, along with cutting the bananas into even smaller pieces when freezing.
- Store the banana ice cream in an airtight container for up to three months and when you’re ready to enjoy it, let it sit on the counter for bout 15 minutes to make scooping easier.
Banana Ice Cream Recipe FAQ
Are frozen bananas healthier than ice cream?
When comparing frozen banana treats to ice cream there is no doubt that frozen bananas are more healthy than ice cream. Freezing bananas and then letting them thaw a little while blending stretches the natural sugars in the fruit, making it sweet and creamy, which is why bananas are perfect for making an ice cream alternative, also known as “nice cream”.
Regular cream-based ice cream has a lot more ingredients and contains more sugar, carbs, and fats, so while not a terrible treat, banana ice cream can be a healthier choice.
Can you mash bananas and freeze them for ice cream?
It has been mentioned about 15 times already to freeze the sliced bananas ahead of time, but please don’t mash the bananas and then freeze them. Mashing and freezing the bananas will result in a gooey mess instead of ice cream and everyone will be sad.
Can you freeze bananas for shakes?
Frozen bananas are excellent for shakes and can even be used in place of ice cream in most of your favorite shake recipes! The sweet creaminess of the bananas is the perfect backdrop to delicious berry shakes, chocolate shakes, and more. Shakes, smoothies, and “nice cream” shakes are all great ways to enjoy more frozen bananas. Most shakes are made in a blender so remember to cut your bananas into even smaller pieces before freezing, to make it easier for your blender.
Other Recipes You May Like
- Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream
- Kauai Pie Ice Cream
- Fudge Swirl Baileys Ice Cream
- Bacon Bourbon Peach Ice Cream
- Unicorn Ice Cream
1-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 large bananas
Instructions
- Peel the bananas and cut them into slices. Pop the slices into a food storage bag and freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight, until solid.
- Pour the frozen bananas into a food processor or heavy-duty blender. Pulse until crumbs forms, then keep pulsing until the bananas start to smooth out. Scrap down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Process the bananas until completely smooth, scraping the bowl as needed. After about 10 minutes, the bananas should resemble soft-serve ice cream.
- Serve immediately as soft-serve. For a firmer, scoopable ice cream transfer to a small loaf pan and freezer for 2 hours.
Notes
- You can make berry banana ice cream using 3 bananas (sliced and frozen) + 2 cups of frozen berries.
- Make chocolate peanut butter banana ice cream by adding 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter and 1/4 cup sweetened cocoa powder to 4 bananas (sliced and frozen).Â
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
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