Recipes · Dessert

Banana Nice Cream, Three Ways

Name: Banana Nice Cream, Three Ways
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 3 servings
Ingredients: 4 large banana (very ripe and spotty, peeled, sliced and frozen solid); 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (plus a splash more if needed); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 pinch sea salt

Reader ratings

Frozen ripe bananas whip into creamy soft-serve with nothing in it but fruit, then turn chocolate peanut butter, strawberry or cinnamon walnut in a minute.

Total 10 min

Prep 10 min

Cook None

Serves 3

Level Easy

No-Cook · Plant-Based · Gluten-Free · Dairy-Free · Kid-Friendly · Budget

Why it’s good for you

Frozen bananas stand in for the cream and sugar of ice cream, with potassium, vitamin B6 and some fiber. All the sweetness is the fruit itself, so it is still a sweet treat, just a very short ingredient list.

Ingredients

4 large banana (very ripe and spotty, peeled, sliced and frozen solid)
2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (plus a splash more if needed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch sea salt

Instructions

Peel the bananas, slice them into 1/2-inch coins, and spread them in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray.
Freeze the coins until rock solid, at least 4 hours or overnight, then use them straight away or tip them into a freezer bag.
Let the frozen coins sit on the counter for 5 minutes so they soften just enough for the blade to bite into them.
Pulse the bananas in a food processor until they look like fine, pale crumbs, about 30 seconds.
Add the almond milk, vanilla, and salt, then process for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until the crumbs turn glossy and smooth like soft-serve.
Serve right away for soft-serve, or scoop it into a loaf pan and freeze 30 to 45 minutes for a firmer, scoopable texture.

Tips

Flavors: for chocolate peanut butter, add 3 tbsp raw cacao powder and 3 tbsp natural peanut butter with the almond milk. For strawberry, swap in 1 cup frozen strawberries for one banana. For cinnamon walnut, add 1 tsp cinnamon and fold in 1/4 cup chopped walnuts at the end.
The more spotted the banana, the sweeter the result, so there is no need for added sweetener. Freeze ripe bananas as they appear and a bag in the freezer makes this a ten-minute dessert whenever you want it.
It goes through a crumbly stage and a gummy stage before turning creamy, so keep going. If the machine stalls, add one more tablespoon of almond milk at a time.
Leftovers freeze hard. Let them soften 10 minutes, or re-blend with a splash of milk, before serving.

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