Make banana ice cream with just one simple ingredient – frozen bananas. No ice cream maker needed. Just blend until creamy, freeze and serve!
Prepare to be hooked on the easiest recipe ever… banana ice cream. It’s made with just one ingredient and doesn’t require an ice cream maker! I love keeping frozen bananas in my freezer so I can whip up this treat whenever my sweet tooth kicks in.
There are so many variations of banana ice cream (and I have a few posted here on EBF already) but I wanted to share the easy, basic recipe with you!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple – All you need are bananas and a food processor to whip up this recipe!
- Customizable – Enjoy it as is or customize it with your favorite mix-in’s and toppings like nut butter, chocolate chips or fresh fruit.
- Healthy – This banana ice cream is free of added sugars, preservatives and artificial flavors. It’s a pure and wholesome treat!
Ingredients Needed
- frozen banana – the star of the show! I like to peel and chop the banana before freezing which makes for easier blending. You can also follow my full guide on how to freeze bananas.
- almond milk – this is optional, but you can add unsweetened almond milk to help the mixture come together if you want.
Flavor Variations
Oh my goodness, there are sooo many ways to get creative with banana ice cream and create different flavors. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Chocolate – add in 1/2-1 Tablespoon cacao powder or cocoa powder plus chocolate chips or cacao nibs for a chocolate-y treat! Or just try my chocolate banana ice cream recipe.
- Peanut Butter – add in 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter during blending and drizzle extra peanut butter on top. I make this one all the time and it’s amazing.
- Coconut – Top with homemade toasted coconut flakes for a delicious banana coconut combo!
- Berry – add in frozen berries during blending and/or top with fresh berries for serving!
- Vanilla – add vanilla bean paste from 1/2 – 1 vanilla bean pod or vanilla extract for vanilla goodness.
- Oatmeal raisin – check out my oatmeal raisin ice cream that uses banana ice cream as the base.
- Cinnamon – add a dash of cinnamon to the mix for a warm, spiced flavor.
- Banana frozen yogurt – Add Greek yogurt to the mix to make frozen yogurt or just follow my banana frozen yogurt recipe.
How to Make Banana Ice Cream
Step 1: Add frozen bananas to a food processor or high powered blender and blend for about 2 minutes. You may need to turn off the motor and stir the mixture a couple times while processing.
Step 2: Transfer your ice cream to a freezer-safe dish and/or serve it immediately with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Tips!
- Chop your bananas: Make sure your frozen bananas are chopped into chunks before adding them to your food processor or blender to help them blend easier.
- Stir while blending: While blending the ingredients you may need to turn off the motor of your food processor or blender and stir the mixture a few times while processing so it blends evenly and gets all the frozen chunks!
- Protect from freezer burn: Add a layer of parchment paper or wax paper on top of the frozen yogurt under the lid of the airtight container when storing in the freezer to prevent freezer burn.
How to Serve Banana Ice Cream
For soft serve consistency, you can spoon the mixture into one or two bowls and serve immediately after processing. For a scoop-able ice cream, transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe dish and freeze for 2 hours, then bring it out and scoop.
Want to take your banana ice cream to the next level? Top it with a delicious, homemade chocolate magic shell! To do this, melt dark chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave until melted. The coconut oil helps harden the chocolate when it gets cold and makes the chocolate a little thicker. Drizzle the magic shell on top of the ice cream and sprinkle flake sea salt on top for salty-sweet perfection. So good!
How to Store Leftovers
I personally like to enjoy banana ice cream right away (it tastes like soft serve), but leftovers store really well! I find that when I freeze this for longer than a couple hours, it gets a bit hard so you’ll need to set it on the counter to thaw 5-10 minutes before diving in!
Frequently Asked Questions
First thing first, let’s address the elephant in the room… is banana ice cream healthy? YES! Banana ice cream is a great alternative to traditional cow’s milk ice cream or any store-bought variety. It’s made with literally one ingredient! It has more fiber and less sugar than traditional ice cream, but is still absolutely delicious. It legit tastes like soft-serve.
