Whoop!! GREAT news for ice cream lovers! I’ve got three amazing flavours of vegan no churn ice cream for you! A dairy free summer treat that’s sweet, creamy, refreshing, wholesome, and guaranteed to keep you happy all summer long!

This recipe was originally published in March 2019. It has been updated for content and photos.
Reader Feedback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I made all 3 flavors this weekend and my family loved them! Strawberry banana for the kids, coffee for me and mint chip for hubby who loves mint chocolate. So delicious and I love that these are sweetened with just bananas! – Megan
You know those super ripe bananas you keep freezing to make banana bread one day?
Now you have another great recipe to use those frozen bananas.
Choose from three great flavour options!
- Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
- Vegan Coffee Ice Cream
- Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
The best part?
No churning or ice cream maker required.
It doesn’t get simpler than this.
PLUS, this vegan ice cream is coconut free and nut free for a low fat version.
How to make it
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Choose your flavour (or make all three) and gather the ingredients.
Your base is always frozen bananas and your preferred plant based milk. Then a few other ingredients, depending on your flavour choice.
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
Add your frozen bananas, strawberries, plant milk, vanilla and maple syrup (if using) to your food processor. Process until smooth. (photos 1-2 below)
Enjoy straight away or freeze for 30-60 minutes for a firmer texture.
Vegan Coffee Ice Cream
Add the frozen bananas, instant coffee, plant milk and pinch of salt (if using) and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. (photos 1-2 below)
Enjoy immediately, or freeze for 30-60 minutes for a firmer consistency.
Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
Add the frozen bananas and plant milk to your food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. (photos 1-2 below)
Next, add the spinach (if using) and process to combine. (photos 3-4 below)
Finally, add the chocolate chips and pulse once or twice to fold them in. (photos 5-6 below)
NOTE: You won’t taste the spinach, but it will turn your nice cream from white to green.
Enjoy right away for a soft serve consistency, or freeze for 30-60 minutes for a scoop-able, firmer texture.
Storage
If you won’t be consuming your nice cream right away, keep frozen in a freezer safe, air tight container.
A smaller container is best without much space for air between the top of your nice cream and the bottom of the lid, to prevent freezer burn. You may also add a sheet of plastic wrap on top of your nice cream, before sealing with the lid to help it keep longer.
I’ve kept mine frozen for up to 2 weeks without any issue. However, I suspect it would last much longer if properly sealed.
If it gets too hard in your freezer to scoop, just leave it at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to slightly soften.
Common Questions
No. Not necessarily. This nice cream version IS quite healthy since it’s made using a base of bananas and plant milk. However, store bought vegan ice cream tends to be loaded with fat and refined sugar.
When freshly made, the texture is similar to soft serve. However, if you want a firmer texture, just freeze for 30-60 minutes.
Yes, if you freeze it for 30-60 minutes, the texture is scoop-able and may be served onto a cone.
The flavours are great as is, but feel free to add toppings, if you’d like. Some great options include: shredded coconut, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, a drizzle of peanut butter, cinnamon, cocoa powder and raisins.
Expert Tips For Success
- Use very ripe frozen bananas to maximize the natural sweetness of your vegan ice cream.
- If you don’t have bananas in your freezer, make sure your bananas are very spotted and soft. Then peel them, cut them into chunks and freeze until solid.
- Break your frozen bananas into chunks (if not already) to give your processor a head start, and make blending easier.
- Start with the lower amount of plant milk and increase only if needed. The size of your bananas will determine how much milk is needed to process them. Use the least amount of milk possible to blend them into a thick and creamy texture. Too much milk will make your nice cream too thin and more smoothie like.
- The optional spinach in the mint chocolate chip nice cream is for the green colour, not flavour. You will not taste the spinach, but you may skip it, if preferred. Your nice cream will be white without it.
- If using a food processor, you will have tiny bits of spinach that don’t fully purée, but again, you won’t taste it. Use a blender for smoother consistency if you need to hide the spinach from picky eaters. 🙂
- Homemade no churn ice cream melts quickly! There are no stabilizers or other unwanted ingredients added here, so plan to enjoy immediately, or freeze.
More summer dessert recipes
More ways to use overripe bananas
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito
Rosa
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
- 3 frozen bananas
- 4-6* tablespoons soy milk or plant milk of choice
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional
Vegan Coffee Ice Cream
- 3 frozen bananas
- 2-3* tablespoons soy milk or plant milk of choice
- 1.5 teaspoon instant coffee decaf if preferred
- pinch sea salt optional
Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
- 3 frozen bananas
- 2-3* tablespoons soy milk or plant milk of choice
- ¼ teaspoon pure peppermint extract increase to half a teaspoon for stronger mint flavour
- ¼ cup baby spinach optional
- 3 tablespoons vegan chocolate chips dark chocolate or semi sweet
Instructions
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream Directions
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor or high speed blender and process until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Enjoy immediately for a soft serve texture. Or freeze for 30-60 minutes for a firmer "scoopable" texture.
Vegan Coffee Ice Cream Directions
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor or high speed blender and process until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Enjoy immediately for a soft serve texture. Or freeze for 30-60 minutes for a firmer "scoopable" texture.
Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream Directions
- Add the frozen bananas, milk and peppermint extract to a food processor or high speed blender and process until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Then add the spinach (if using) and process to combine.
- Add the chocolate chips and pulse once or twice to fold in. Enjoy immediately for a soft serve texture. Or freeze for 30-60 minutes for a firmer "scoopable" texture.
Megan
I made all 3 flavors this weekend and my family loved them! Strawberry banana for the kids, coffee for me and mint chip for hubby who loves mint chocolate. So delicious and I love that these are sweetened with just bananas!
Rosa
So glad you all enjoyed Megan. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Susie
Hi. For the coffee version, do you add the instant coffee granules or the prepared coffee? These sound delicious! 🙂
Rosa
Hi Susie, you’ll add the instant coffee granules, not prepared. Enjoy. 🙂
Melissa
Do you have any nice cream recipes that don’t use bananas? I would love to have a pure flavor of mint chip without any banana or fruit flavor. Thank you!
Rosa
Hi Melissa, I don’t have any banana free nice cream recipes yet. That said, you won’t really get banana flavour here, it’s just to add sweetness. I should have something coming out closer to the summer months for a banana free nice cream though, so if you want to keep updated on the new recipes, feel free to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss it. 🙂
Diane
Does this taste like banana? Also does it freeze really hard like the churned ice cream?
Sounds delicious,
rosa
Hi Diane, no it doesn’t really taste like banana, the bananas are mainly for sweetness. Yes it will freeze hard if you freeze longer. 30 minutes is good for a scoopable hardness but even longer in the freezer will get it harder, depending on your preference. Thanks so much and enjoy!! 🙂