Just 4 simple ingredients to make this:
Swirly chocolate soft-serve.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen the idea of whipping frozen banana in a vitamix or food processor until it resembles the exact texture of soft-serve ice cream. (If you add a fat source, like peanut butter, it tastes pretty similar to ice cream as well. Or leave the fat out for a refreshing sherbet-like taste.)
I first blogged about the idea back in 2009, and then again in the Vitamix ice cream post, and I’m sure others were making it even earlier than that. The best thing about the concept is its versatility; everyone gets to put his or her own spin on the basic recipe. One of my favorite variations: chocolate soft serve!
With sprinkles on top.
(Just in case you forgot whose blog you were reading.)
Chocolate Banana Soft Serve
(Serves 2-3)
Category: 50+ Healthy Banana Recipes
- 3 medium bananas, the riper the better (for substitutions, see nutrition link below)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/16 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder (15g)
- optional: sweetener of choice, depending on your tastebuds and ripeness of the bananas
- optional: 3-5 tbsp peanut butter or another nut butter of choice
Ahead of time: peel and slice the over-ripe bananas into chunks. Freeze in a Ziploc-type bag, then combine all ingredients in a Vita-Mix, food processor, or blender. (If not using a Vita-Mix, add 2-3 tsp milk of choice so it’ll blend more smoothly. You might also have to thaw the frozen bananas if your freezer is super-powerful.) If you want the look of ice cream, use an ice-cream scoop to serve! (If you scoop it all into a container and freeze about 10-15 minutes, the texture will also become a bit firmer like ice cream, as opposed to soft serve.) Don’t try to halve the recipe unless you have a tiny food processor, as it won’t blend as smoothly.
View Chocolate Banana Soft Serve Nutrition Facts
Have you ever tried banana “ice cream”?
Any favorite ways to eat it? I almost always add a ridiculous amount of peanut butter, even to this chocolate version. Peanut butter and banana belong together, and the added fat makes it taste more like ice cream than sherbet.
LINK OF THE DAY:
I’ve been eating this stuff since I was a kid. It’s awesome!
I like to add Torani sugar free coffee syrup to it. They have a ton of flavors and it really amps up the ice cream!
Every time I buy bananas, I am never able to finish eating them before they get over ripe. Now whenever that happens, I peel them and throw them in baggies and place them gently in my freezer. My freezer is now about 1/2 full of frozen bananas. This recipe is perfect to use up some of those bananas since it uses a bunch at a time. I may even double the recipe and freeze most of the ‘ice cream’ just so I can clear out my freezer.
I’ve made banana ice cream before, but it’s just been one at a time in my Magic Bullet. I like to add chocolate (of course) but I’ll have to try it with peanut butter.
I love doing this!!! I add frozen mixed berries! Then I take a spoon and eat it out of the food processor 🙂
This looks amazing. I have never tried banana ice cream, but I have no doubt I’d love it 🙂 Anything banana appeals to me 🙂
Lol, I, too, thought the nail was photoshopped. I guess that’s a compliment to your nail-painting skills
Oh wow, this reminds me that I haven’t done banana ice cream in a very long time. I’m definitely inspired!!
Looks lovely. 🙂
Hmmm….I too am not sure exactly who discovered the frozen banana ice cream trick, but I remember hearing about it from a fellow vegan in the mid-1990s, so it’s been around at least that long! I love just banana, cocoa powder, and soy milk, or just banana and vanilla. YUM.
Wow! you’re ice cream looks so good! Now I want one serving immediately 😀
I am so glad you posted this! I tried banana soft-serve when I first heard about it (7 or 8 months ago, late to the party!) but I couldn’t get it to work in my roommate’s tiny baby blender. I decided to try again when I went home, but I forgot… until now! I just made this version and stuck it in the freezer. I might have licked the blades 🙂
Also, I love it when you post variations on your own recipes. I am very likely to end up with the wrong proportions when I try to change recipes and usually don’t try because I hate wasting food, eating stuff I don’t like, or giving away sub-par food. I know you spend a lot of time tweaking and testing everything you post, so when you do variations like this I know it will be amazing. Thank you!