Banana nice cream is a healthy and easy way to settle your ice cream craving, and I’ve got THREE amazing flavours for you to try!
No ice cream maker needed, just a food processor or high speed blender will do!
It really doesn’t get simpler than this.
How to make banana nice cream
All you need is frozen bananas and your preferred plant based milk for the base. Then a few other ingredients, depending on your flavour preference.
You know those super ripe bananas you keep freezing to make banana bread one day?
Now you have one more great reason to keep freezing those bananas.
You really want to make sure to use super ripe ones since that’s where most of your sweetness is coming from.
If you don’t have bananas in your freezer, make sure your bananas are very spotted and soft, peel them, cut them into a few pieces and place them in a sealed container or seal-able bag.
Then freeze for several hours or overnight.
Each recipe calls for three frozen bananas, so I’d get nine bananas at a minimum into your freezer if I were you. 🙂
Process your bananas and plant milk if you want plain banana ice cream (which is pretty dang delicious!). Or go with any of the 3 flavour combos I have listed below in the recipe.
The base is made up of bananas and milk, plus any additional flavour ingredients you choose.
Process the bananas first, then add your flavouring options and continue processing.
Transfer your nice cream to a bowl and enjoy immediately.
Or if you prefer a firmer ice cream texture that you can scoop onto a cone, freeze for at least 30 minutes in a shallow pan or dish.
Then use an ice cream scoop to enjoy on a cone.
Warning: Homemade ice cream without any chemicals, preservatives or other unwanted ingredients melts fairly quickly. So once scooped onto your cone, enjoy immediately. 🙂
For the strawberry banana version, process the bananas and strawberries all together. It will be a lot easier to process if your bananas are already cut into chunks, rather than whole.
If you are having a hard time breaking it down, you may add an additional tablespoon of plant milk as needed, but don’t go overboard, or it will be too soft.
Then serve in a bowl, or freeze again to serve scooped on a cone.
Some unsweetened shredded coconut pairs particularly well with the strawberry banana nice cream option, if you’re looking for a topping!
Hope you enjoy these 3 (4 if you count the plain banana option) amazing summer dessert recipes.
Ice cream just doesn’t get healthier than this.
For more summer dessert recipes, check out these!
- Coconut Lime Popsicles
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Strawberry Banana Popsicles
- Zucchini Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
Or for more ways to use your ripe bananas, try these!
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
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
- 3 frozen banana
- 1/4 cup soy milk or plant milk of choice
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp maple syrup optional
Coffee Nice Cream
- 3 frozen banana
- 2 tbsp soy milk or plant milk of choice
- pinch of salt
- 1.5 tsp instant coffee decaf if preferred
Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
- 3 frozen banana
- 2 tbsp soy milk or plant milk of choice
- 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
- 1/4 cup baby spinach optional
- 2-3 tbsp dark chocolate chips
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. You may serve immediately, it will have a soft serve texture. For a firmer "scoopable" ice cream texture, freeze for 30 minutes or longer.
Coffee Nice Cream Directions
- Add the frozen bananas, milk and salt 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 coffee and pulse to combine. You may serve immediately, it will have a soft serve texture. For a firmer "scoopable" ice cream texture, freeze for 30 minutes or longer.
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 pulse until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and you may serve immediately, it will have a soft serve texture. For a firmer "scoopable" ice cream texture, freeze for 30 minutes or longer.
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!
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. 🙂
Does this taste like banana? Also does it freeze really hard like the churned ice cream?
Sounds delicious,
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!! 🙂