Banana ice cream without the guilt!?! Tell me more Ms. Kaitlyn! :-) Kaitlyn writes…… I’m not really a big ice cream eater – I have what my mom calls a “delicate constitution,” and ice cream has always given me tummy troubles. I usually opt for sorbet when I want frosty treat, but when I found out about banana “ice cream” I knew I needed to give it a try. It’s super simple to turn frozen bananas into a ice cream like dessert with just a blender or a food processor. And you get the satisfaction of ice cream without the guilt – or in my case, the stomach ache. That’s a win, win in my book!
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Banana “Ice Cream”
I almost feel silly even typing out instructions for this because it’s so easy.
Start with frozen bananas. I like to slice mine up and freeze them on a cookie sheet before throwing them in a plastic bag. This ensures that they don’t stick together in the bag. I almost always have a big bag of frozen bananas in my freezer to use in smoothies and now they’ll do double duty for this sweet treat!
Bonus Tip: The riper the bananas the sweeter your ice cream will be. I used about 1 1/2 bananas to make a single serving of ice cream.
Just put your bananas in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You’ll probably need to scrap the sides of your blender or food processor a few times before you get the right consistency.
Scoop out the banana and place in a bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours. If you’re a big banana fan you’ll probably like just plain banana ice cream but the sky is really the limit with the flavors you can make!
I decided to try two different kinds – dark chocolate and mint chocolate chip.
I found the dark chocolate recipe over on The Kitchn:
- 1 1/2 frozen bananas
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Process the bananas on their own until you get the ice cream consistency. I made the mistake of putting all the ingredients in at once and it was kind of a pain to get everything mixed together.
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Add the cocoa powder, cream and vanilla extract. You could also add a couple of tablespoons of sugar if you have an especially sweet tooth. And if you’re avoiding dairy just leave out the cream. Blend until everything it’s well incorporated.
Put the mixture in a bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours.
For the mint chocolate chip you’ll need:
- 1 1/2 frozen bananas
- handful of chocolate chips
- 1 drop peppermint essential oil
Follow the same process as you did with the dark chocolate. Blend the bananas on their own and then add the chocolate chips and peppermint EO. Put the mixture in a bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours. Enjoy!
Next time I’m going to try an almond butter and honey mixture and maybe some fresh strawberries or raspberries. Yum! The perfect frozen, guilt-free treat!
What is your favorite healthy treat?
Helpful information. Fortunate me I found your web site by accident, and I’m shocked why this accident
did not came about earlier! I bookmarked it.
thanks for this easy, delicious and healthy recipe. we loved it!
I don’t understand 11/2?
I make popsicles for myself and my husband. We are dairy free so I mix them with rice milk. I make all of my mixes in a blender. I mix rice milk with Nystle Chocolate syrup, a little sugar, a tiny bit of soy powder and a drizzle of marshino cherry juice and a dash of salt for my hubby’s favorite Chocolate pops. Try rice milk, crushed pineapple, coconut, a bit of sugar and a dash of salt and a bit of soy powder and you have pina colada pops. Rice milk, a dash of salt and soy powder with… Read more »
Delicious and very healthy. Texture is very creamy, and depending on the add-ins, you can’t taste the bananas. Had to use a good processor as the Blendtec blender was too large and unable to work with only 1 1/2 bananas. This will be one of our “dessert staples”. Has anyone doubled or tripled this without any problems?
My favorite when I want something that feels decadent is bananas, cacao powder and a big spoonful of peanut butter. Yum.
I make this in my Vitamix for my kids. We add a little bit of honey if it’s not sweet enough and sometimes a little ice. Fake ice cream that even kids love!
yes I got three sends of the post as well but it was good, it ensured that I didn’t miss them among the other emails as I sometimes do with my emails!
amazing! I had never thought of doing it this way! thanks for another great post!
So glad someone mentioned 3 sends of your post! (But I did think I was really special, too, Susan, getting it 3 times!)
We made the Banana/Peanut Butter version when I was visiting some of our “grands” (and their parents!) in Colo. Springs ~ it was yummy, and disappeared quickly! So easy, and quite fast … esp. when you rush it/don’t care if it freezes really hard!