I almost always have a freezer full of bananas for smoothies, but in the summer I tend to use them more for making ice cream than anything else. My kids love banana ice cream and I have no problem with them eating as much of it as they want. Besides the fact that banana ice cream is actually a nutritious treat, I can make it from start to finish faster than I can make a smoothie. Banana ice cream for breakfast anybody?
To make basic banana ice cream you only need 1 ingredient…frozen bananas. Making flavored banana ice cream isn’t much harder either! You simply make the banana ice cream base and add whatever flavorings you like. It’s simple, no ice cream machine needed, no crazy additives, and its healthy. Winning!
Get your food processor ready, it’s going to get a whole lot of use this summer.
Step 1: Peel, slice, and freeze the bananas.
Although you can slice bananas that have been frozen whole I find that having a tray of sliced ones ensures that I keep all of my fingers on my hand. Seriously, slicing frozen bananas is scary for accident prone people like myself.
Step 2: Process the bananas into soft serve.
This can take a minute or so, but I promise it works. Simply place the frozen banana slices in the food processor and start processing.
You will need to stop the processor a few times and scrape the sides, then continue to process.
The bananas go from slices, to Dippin’ Dots sized bits, to sometimes a mass of bananas rolling around like a rock, to all of the sudden soft serve. It’s crazy and cool all at the same time!
See how easy that was?! Now, of course you can eat this as it is and enjoy some seriously tasty banana soft serve or you can use this as a base and add flavorings. I tend to like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry so I am sharing my go-to recipes for those below as well.
How To Make Banana Ice Cream (Gluten Free, Vegan)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 2 sliced, frozen bananas
Instructions
- Place the frozen banana slices in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Process until the bananas turn into smooth soft serve. Serve immediately or transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze until ready to serve.
Vanilla, Chocolate, & Strawberry Banana Ice Cream (Gluten Free, Vegan)
- Prep Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 8 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
For vanilla banana ice cream
- 1 batch of banana ice cream base
- 1/2 of 1 vanilla bean, scraped and pod reserved for another use or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the chocolate banana ice cream
- 1 batch of banana ice cream base
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons almond or ten Free & Vegan)”>cashew milk
- 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the strawberry banana ice cream
- 1 batch of banana ice cream base
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped, frozen strawberries
- 2 tablespoons almond or ten Free & Vegan)”>cashew milk
Instructions
For all 3 flavors
- Make the banana ice cream base according to the directions. Once the bananas are the consistency of soft serve ice cream add the additional ingredients for whichever flavor you choose and blend until combined.
i love banana icecream as well and will definitely have to try the strawberry version! so healthy and delicious.
would this work in a full-size food processor? i don’t have a small mini-prep type like yours.
Nanda, mine is a full size food processor I think the pictures just make it look smaller. 🙂
Looks delicious!! Wish I could share a bowl with you!
Thanks Gaby! I will make a big bowl for you whenever you want.
Amazing recipies! thank you so much!!!
I made the chocolate today and although it was amazingly delicious the final consistency was not hard a all… i wonder if i processed it too long after i added the milk and cacao because previous to that it was quite hard…
do you have any recomendations?
thank you for you time
Hey Vanesa, sometimes if I process them too long and they have passed the frozen yogurt stage I put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes. That should help the ice cream set up and you should be able to scoop it with an ice cream scoop.
THANK YOU! 🙂
oh how i wish i had your phone number now! i’m trying to process the bananas and they just keep getting stuck over the blade, and the blade is just spinning without touching anything. I’ve scraped and scraped but it never engages anymore. all it ever did was get it to the dipping dots stage, and now that’s what i have. 🙁
I am so sorry you are having a problem Nanda! Hmmm…you should just be able to let it run a bit longer and it will eventually transform into soft serve. Sometimes the bananas need to melt a bit for the magic to happen. Also, if you are using a blender or a large processor you may need to add more banana to get those blades turning and free everything up a bit. If all else fails add a tablespoon or two of non-dairy milk or regular milk and try it again.
Whoa! That’s magical. I think I have some frozen bananas calling my name!
Seriously, you must try this! Soooo good.
Does the chocolate recipe still have a strong banana taste?
It actually doesn’t have a strong banana flavor. The cocoa takes over and it tastes super chocolaty.
Made the chocolate tonight- so yummy and satisfying!
Yay Tina!! So glad you liked it:)
take 2 large bananas , cut one in half, freeze one and half banana. couple hrs later throw in blender . unfrozen half banana helps the process. stop to scrape down sides several times.
That is a great tip Leon!