Here’s how to make the best healthy banana ice cream recipe at home, with unlimited flavor options!
One ingredient easy banana ice cream
Have you tried the popular vegan banana ice cream yet?
One of the most frequent requests I receive each month is from readers asking for more banana ice cream or nice cream recipes.
The basic concept is simple. Just blend peeled and frozen bananas in a food processor or blender until the results resemble a creamy soft serve ice cream texture!
And the best part is that you can create an endless array of custom flavors, including dark chocolate, blueberry, caramel, coffee, rocky road, or butter pecan.
Also try this Almond Milk Ice Cream (with no banana)
Homemade nice cream ingredients
This is a super short list, as bananas are the only required ingredient!
Depending on the strength of your blender, you may want to add a small amount of milk of choice or another liquid, such as pineapple juice, to help with the blending process. For vegan nice cream, any plant based milk is fine to use.
Optional add ins or toppings are completely up to you. I’ve included a few of my favorite flavor combinations below, but feel free to experiment.
Flavor inspiration is everywhere, from restaurant menus, to grocery store displays, to even looking up the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor list online.
In other words, don’t be surprised if you ever see a Peanut Butter Fudge Core banana soft serve ice cream recipe show up here on this blog.
Want cookie dough nice cream? Add Chickpea Cookie Dough!
Banana ice cream recipe video
Above, watch the step by step video
Banana ice cream flavors
Chocolate Banana Ice Cream: Use 3 bananas. Add 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract, pinch salt, and 3 tbsp cocoa powder.
Mint Chocolate Chip: Use 2 bananas and a pinch of salt. Add 1/8 tsp pure peppermint extract (or more if desired), and stir in chocolate chips or cacao nibs after blending. Optional, blend in a pinch of spirulina or a small handful spinach for color and an extra nutrient boost.
Nutella Nice Cream: Blend a generous spoonful of Homemade Nutella or your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread in with the bananas.
Peanut Butter: Make the original recipe below, adding 2-3 tbsp peanut butter or another nut butter or allergy friendly alternative before blending.
Piña Colada: Make the original recipe below, using 1/4 cup canned coconut milk as your milk of choice. Blend in 1/2 cup frozen pineapple. Stir in shredded coconut if desired.
Cookies’n Cream: Make the original recipe below, adding 2 tbsp Coconut Butter if desired. After blending, add in a crushed Oreo cookie sandwich.
Very Berry: Make the original recipe below, adding 1 cup frozen berries of choice and 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract.
Strawberry: Use 2 bananas. Blend in 1/2 cup frozen strawberries. Add 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract and optional shake of cinnamon.
Vanilla Bean: Use 3 bananas and a pinch of salt. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste.
Pistachio: Make the original recipe below, adding 2-3 tbsp pistachio butter and 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract. Sprinkle crushed pistachios on top if desired.
How to make banana ice cream
Once your bananas are ripe (when the peels are at least partially brown), peel them and cut into pieces. Freeze in a ziploc bag or container.
You can do this step days, weeks, or even months in advance so there’s no need to wait when you are ready to make banana ice cream.
To make the nice cream, start by tossing the frozen pieces of about three bananas into a food processor or blender. No need to be exact with measuring, and feel free to double or triple the recipe for a larger serving or to feed a family.
If using a regular blender instead of a high speed one like a Vitamix, or if your frozen bananas are rock hard, add a few tablespoons milk of choice or another liquid.
Blend until the mixture resembles a thick and smooth soft serve texture.
Either transfer to a bowl and enjoy right away, or spread the banana soft serve into a container and freeze for thirty minutes or so to get a firmer ice cream texture.
Usually, I will eat the banana ice cream in a bowl, straight out of the blender, because this option involves no waiting. If you do want the firmer texture, I recommend scooping it out with an ice cream scoop after chilling, for authentic presentation.
Try topping it with homemade Coconut Whipped Cream!
Recipe tips and tricks
While banana ice cream is a wonderful and refreshing healthy snack on its own, adding a little fat to the blender, such as peanut butter, almond butter, or coconut milk, can even make it start to taste pretty similar to actual ice cream!
Be sure to let the bananas ripen before peeling and freezing. If they are green or entirely yellow with no brown spots when you buy them, it means the fruit is not yet ripe and will have more of an earthy taste than a sweet one.
Let the bananas sit on the counter until the peels at least begin to turn brown. I like to wait until they are almost entirely brown, because brown bananas develop a rich caramelized flavor. Ripe bananas are a great natural sweetener option that can be used in many recipes instead of added sugar.
This soft serve banana nice cream is even healthy enough to eat for breakfast, with no heavy cream or added sugars. The recipe can be fat free, dairy free, egg free, vegan, raw, paleo, and gluten free.
Readers also love this Chia Pudding Recipe
More healthy ice cream recipes
Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 frozen bananas f
- 1 – 3 tbsp milk of choice, if needed
- optional pinch salt
- see above for different flavor ideas
InstructionsÂ
- Peel ripe bananas, and slice them into a few pieces. Freeze in a bag or container. This can be done months in advance so there's no need to wait when you're ready to make the ice cream. Once frozen, toss about three banana's worth of pieces into a food processor or blender. If not using a high speed blender (such as a Vitamix), or if bananas are frozen rock solid, add a few tablespoons of liquid. Blend until smooth. Either eat right away as soft serve, or freeze in a container for about thirty minutes for a firmer texture, then scoop out with an ice cream scoop.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Healthy Banana Recipe Ideas
Although the ice cream is perfect as soon as I’m done processing it, I can’t seem to find a great way to store it in the freezer. I’ve tried airtight containers with a ziplock bag over it, but the ice cream still comes out crystalized in the morning. Should I add heavier cream instead of the 1%? What have you found has helped?
Because of the lack of preservatives, gums, and stabilizers, homemade ice cream will always be best the day you make it, unfortunately.
Hi! Would you know how long before the banana ice cream expires in the fridge? Thanks!
It’s just bananas, so the same amount of time that any banana would last once opened, a day or two.
Hey there! I was very eager to try this recipe as I am currently trying to cut back on processed sugars. To my complete and utter disappointment this recipe brought nothing but sadnesss. My loving two year old Ethan spit it out and I have no words for how sad that made me. Thank you anyway I had a lot of fun making it! Took about a whole 30 seconds.
Hello Betsy! I am so sorry to hear this! Remember a positive attitude will always leave you feeling happier and like a better person. Hugs, kisses and toodles,
Tata
Lisa
The recipe is literally just banana, so if he likes banana then he would like it. And if he doesn’t like banana, then why are you giving him a dessert that the only ingredient is banana? Why also, are you replying to yourself as a different person? I am so confused.
I agree with Jenn.If he likes banana he would like this.
If you knew he didn’t like bananas,why give him banana nice cream?It had to be the bananas as there is nothing else.
I absolutely love this!!! I mixed peanut butter powder, cocoa powder and vanilla extract and my husband loves it! I bet you could do a pumpkin spice one by adding pumpkin and pumpkin spices/vanilla extract. I’m curious to try using Greek yogurt instead of almond milk next. Incredible!!!
I made the ice cream, froze it in a container until it was solid, cut it in slabs and coated it with a chocolate shell made of coconut oil and baking cocoa, with a little maple syrup for sweetness. They turned out great! 🙂
Note: they’re not pretty, but they are good!
Wow! I can’t believe how smooth it is! Although I should’ve waited a bit longer for the bananas to get more brown. They were just starting to get brown and I feel it would be nicer if the bananas were more brown. Thanks for those awesome recipes! 🙂
Thank you for the lovely nicecream recipes! I used to have a coconut honey ice cream on my holiday in Greece when I was a child, is there any vegan honey substitute you could recommend for using in nicecream? Thanks!
Agave is good! Or bee-free honee (I think that’s what it’s called). Or good old pure maple syrup.
A variation on preparing the simple banana nut butter ice cream:
We assemble all ingredients UNFROZEN (btw we blend the nuts first into our own nut butter.) in the Ninja Blender (We don’t have a food processor but this is an incredibly powerful can-make-slurpees blender) and add the flavors we want.
3 ripe bananas,
1/4 cup your choice of nuts,
Options: a TBS of honey, a TBs of Monk fruit syrup, a TBs of no sugar added jelly/jam.*
Blend or process thoroughly until fully smooth and all grit free!
Spread thinly in a flat rectangular freezer container with air tight seal.
Freeze for at least 5 hours (Better if a day or two so flavors can coalesce and be fully set with no crystals)
* we play with variations and can add sucralose** if you want sweeter, or you can use an extra banana and more of the other optional sweet flavors. We have used Almond milk but did not find it helpful as it tended to make it crystalize too much. We have added a cup of frozen fruit and that too tends to increase crystals.
** we use sucralose often, not liking Stevia, and despite Whole Foods’ approval, not finding Xylitol or Erythritol safe (we get sick!) Sucrolose is indeed a manufactured sweetener but the molecule has been found in nature, and is simply a mirror image of natural sucrose. Your brain basically ignores it. Research in actual consumption studies has NOT shown ANY ill side effects. The only time you will find it bad-mouthed is if you read an article about artificial sweeteners lumped together as if all were the same. Anyway this is MY personal experience.
I wonder why everyone seems to freeze the bananas first. Seems easier on your equipment to blend everything first, then stick it in the freezer.
Thank you! We love banana ice cream..and all the yummy flavors! Any tips or a recipe for pumpkin pie banana ice cream? We would love it!! I’m ready for fall!
Have a great day! Thanks again!
I can’t believe I just found this recipe out! This is absolutely DELICIOUS and so easy to make! I love making the peanut butter version and the banana chocolate chunk version! Thank you so so much! I will be showing this recipe to my friends, cause this is amazing!