I don’t know about your kids, but my two kids can put away ice cream like you wouldn’t believe! If it was up to our 11-year old she would eat a big scoop of ice cream after every meal and in between as snacks. If you are like us in the fact that your family requires special ice cream due to dietary restrictions than this already not too cheap indulgence becomes super expensive. I have seen price tags on specialty ice creams go for as much as $7 a pint. Which means there is NO WAY that they are going into my grocery cart, I just don’t have the budget for that and even if I did there is no way that I would pay $7 for a pint of ice cream, it’s just ridiculous! My solution to our kid’s bottomless appetite for frozen treats in the summer is to make them at home for ourselves.
Sometimes I go all out and use the ice cream machine for a batch of homemade coconut ice cream, sometimes I make sorbet without the machine, and then other times when my daughter is having an ice cream emergency I whip up a treat like this one. It never ceases to amaze me how frozen bananas can turn into soft serve ice cream in a matter of seconds and when you add other flavors like frozen berries, chocolate chips, or peanut butter something really special happens. I had never tried adding cherries before until last weekend when I was reading through my latest issue of Veg News and I saw an article titled Summer Scoops by Gena Hamshaw of the popular blog Choosing Raw. I couldn’t help but run into the kitchen, break out the food processor and frozen fruit! It was totally decadent and since it was packed with nothing but fruit I didn’t feel bad about the four of us eating the whole batch in one setting. Do you make banana soft serve, what are your favorite flavor’s to add in?
Description
Super easy vegan cherry vanilla ice cream with bananas as the base. Perfect quick frozen treat for summer that is actually good for you too!
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas, cut into 1-inch pieces and frozen
- 2 Tbsp. almond milk
- 1 cup cherries, pits removed and frozen
- 1 1/2 tsp. gluten-free vanilla extract
Instructions
- Freeze the bananas and the cherries overnight. Then add the bananas, almond milk, and vanilla to the bowl of a food processor. Process for 1-2 minutes to break up the banana then stop and scrape down the sides. Then continue to process the banana for a few minutes more until it reaches the consistency of soft serve ice cream, stopping as needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cherries and pulse until the cherries are broken up into pieces and incorporated into the banana soft serve. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Hungry for more banana based vegan ice cream goodness?
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OMG gimme this! I always forget how amazing “banana ice cream” is. I need to get back into this ASAP. I keep frozen bananas in my freezer at all times for smoothies, I think tomorrow I need to make some of this goodness.
Beth, I forget all the time too and it’s so delicious and good for us. I don’t even mind if the kids eat it for breakfast!
YUM!! This looks amazing! I love banana ice cream, but haven`t tried with cherries. Such a good idea!
It really is a pretty amazing combination! I hope you enjoy it.
This looks fantastic! I love making frozen banana “ice cream”, and I’ve been trying to think up different variations to make it interesting.. this looks so yummy! And it’s pink. 😉 Pinning.
Thanks Abbie, I really loved the color too!
I love the idea of using cherries. I’ve been making banana/peach ice cream for my almost one year old and she loves it (as do I). We are going to have to give this a whirl next time!
Banana & peach sounds AMAZING!!! I may have to give that combo a try myself.
This looks soooo delish! I have all of the ingredients on hand except for the almond milk. Do you think I could make this without it or is there a good substitute so that I don’t have to go to the store??
Hi Tammi, you can absolutely use any type of plant based milk or even regular milk. No need to go to the store 🙂
I added a handful of chocolate chips to the mix. Oh man. So many options…
That sounds like an excellent addition!!!