Banana Ice Cream

Make yummy peanut butter chocolate chip banana ice cream in just 5 minutes with a food processor or blender. Or try one of the 6 yummy flavor variations for a cool, sweet treat!

When you have too many overripe bananas, you can bake fun things like Caramelized Banana Bread or Banana Bread Muffins or Banana Nut Muffins with Crumb Topping.

But when it’s HOT outside, you don’t want to turn on the oven to bake. You want to make COLD things like Coconut Cream Popsicles, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, and Homemade Ice Pops.

So, what do you do when it’s hot outside AND you have too many ripe bananas?

Make banana ice cream!

BEST BANANA ICE CREAM RECIPE

I was a skeptic before, thinking there was no way you could make a delicious homemade ice cream using just bananas, but now I LOVE this banana ice cream frozen dessert.

Bananas are a fruit, making this sweet treat naturally:

• Dairy-free
• Gluten free
• Vegan
• Super affordable
• Easy to make
• Soft-serve consistency
• Creamy texture
• Lots of different flavor options
• Kid-friendly
• Parent-friendly
• Always in season

A creamy, naturally sweetened cold treat for hot summer days? Yes please!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER RECIPE OF BANANA ICE CREAM INGREDIENTS

You only need ONE ingredient to make this healthy banana ice cream recipe: bananas!

The pectin in the bananas gives them the perfect custardy texture when you blend them after freezing.

Add two more ingredients, and you have chocolate chip peanut butter banana ice cream!

• Bananas. The star of the show for banana ice cream.
• Creamy Peanut Butter. Look for natural peanut butter that just contains peanuts, oil, and salt.
• Chocolate Chips. Use dark chocolate chips, semisweet chocolate chips, or even mini chocolate chips to spread the sweetness throughout the ice cream.
• Salt (optional). Add just a pinch if your peanut butter doesn’t already contain salt.

And just to get my point across at how EASY and SIMPLE this recipe of banana ice cream is compared to traditional ice cream, you DON’T need almond milk, vanilla extract, almond butter, heavy cream, coconut milk, or an ice cream maker.

BANANAS AND ICE CREAM RECIPE TIPS

You only need bananas to make the base of this ice cream, so let’s talk about choosing the best ones.

• You want RIPE bananas. Bananas get sweeter as they ripen, so you want to use bananas that have at least flecks of brown on the peels. This gives you the natural sweetness, no need for honey or maple syrup!
• Use FROZEN bananas. That’s the key to combining bananas and ice cream. Room-temperature bananas will only give you banana puree. Freeze slices for at least 3 hours, but ideally overnight.
• You want frozen banana SLICES. I’ve made this with halved bananas and sliced bananas, and the ice cream was much easier to make with sliced bananas.

Step-by-step Instructions BANANA ICE CREAM PB CHOCOLATE CHIP

Step 1. Place sliced frozen bananas, peanut butter, and optional salt in a food processor or high-powered blender.

Step 2. Process on high until the bananas are super smooth, for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Step 3. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Step 4. Dish into a bowl to serve immediately, or place in an airtight container in the freezer to serve later. Note that whipped banana ice cream starts with the texture of soft serve but will harden the longer it sits in the freezer.

MORE RECIPES FOR BANANA ICE CREAM FLAVORS

Starting with bananas is like starting with a blank slate – the flavor options are endless!

I’m currently crushing on peanut butter chocolate chip.

• For every banana, add 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter to the food processor.
• Fold in 1 ½ Tablespoons of chocolate chips or chocolate chunks into the mixture at the end.

The flavors truly are endless, though, and you can make up whatever recipes for banana ice cream you want based on what you’re in the mood for and what you have in the pantry.

• Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream. Just skip the chocolate chips! Use any type of nut butter!
• Chocolate Banana Ice Cream. Add 1 Tablespoon of cocoa powder or some chopped dark chocolate when you blend the bananas. A bit of nutella on top would taste amazing too!
• Strawberry Banana Ice Cream. Add 1 cup of frozen strawberry pieces with the bananas, or fold fresh chopped strawberries in at the end. (Blueberries, raspberries, or mixed berries work the same way!)
• Vanilla Banana Ice Cream. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with the bananas.
• Caramel Banana Ice Cream. Swirl in 2 Tablespoons of delicious caramel sauce (like this Salted Caramel) after blending.
• Banana Nut Ice Cream. Fold in 2-3 Tablespoons of chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts, or almonds after blending.

The only thing you MUST have on hand is frozen bananas, so keep a stash in the freezer and you’re good to go!

You can combine flavors or fold in your favorite toppings after blending (mini marshmallows, chopped peanuts, toffee bits, instant coffee granules)…the sky’s the limit!

PROTEIN BANANA ICE CREAM

One of the perks of making your own banana ice cream is that you control the ingredients. That means no added sugars (unless they’re part of your peanut butter or chocolate chips), more fiber than typical dairy ice cream, and you can accurately track your macros.

And as a bonus, you can bump up the protein in your banana ice cream with a few simple additions!

• Add ½ a scoop of protein powder when blending frozen bananas (chocolate or vanilla flavors both work with banana ice cream)
• Include a scoop of collagen to boost the protein by 10g without changing the flavor (I like this brand)
• Use 2 Tablespoons of almond butter or peanut butter for around 8g of protein
• Fold in 2 Tablespoons of chopped walnuts for 4g of protein (the same amount of pecans or peanuts will give you 2g of protein)
• Add 1-2 Tablespoons of milk for a creamier ice cream and 1g of protein

FROZEN BANANA ICE CREAM FAQS

MORE YUMMY COLD TREAT IDEAS

Here are a few more COLD dessert recipes to enjoy in the summer:

• 3-Ingredient Yogurt Popsicles
• Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
• Homemade Ice Pops
• Cherry Limeade Popsicles
• Coconut Cream Popsicles
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad
• Apple Crumble Ice Cream