One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream Recipe (2024)

By The New York Times

One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream Recipe (1)

Total Time
6 hours 10 minutes
Rating
4(4,176)
Notes
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This outrageously easy "ice cream" is just the sort of dessert to please everyone at the table – the vegans, the lactose-intolerant, the paleo enthusiasts, the picky children. Just toss four frozen bananas into a blender and give it a good whirl. If you like soft-serve consistency, eat it right away (and adding a few tablespoons of milk to the blender wouldn't hurt, but it's not necessary). For more traditional scoops, freeze it in an airtight container, and dole out as you would the Ben & Jerry's. Consider adding a spoonful of peanut butter, Nutella or honey; a handful of chocolate chips or almonds; or a ½ teaspoon of powdered ginger, cardamom or cinnamon.

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Learn: How to Make Ice Cream

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Ingredients

Yield:Four servings

  • 4ripe bananas

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

103 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 1 milligram sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Peel the bananas, cut them in 2- to 3-inch chunks and place them in a freezer bag in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Remove and blend in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately, or freeze in an airtight container for at least 2 hours. Scoop and serve.

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Richard Scher

Along the same lines - buy a bag of frozen mango (or pineapple) and a bag of frozen raspberries. dump into food processor, add about 1/4 cup honey, about the same amount of water. process until smooth. eat right away, or freeze. best sorbet you ever had! and the color is gorgeous!

Bread

I broke my parents blender trying to make this and now they are mad at me

Alice

You can also take the puree'd and frozen banana, make a uniform round ball with an ice cream scoop, dip into melted chocolate and roll in chopped walnuts before serving.

Lauren

I agree that its easiest to just put the ripe banana(s) straight into the freezer in their peel (they can be frozen for weeks/months - they will turn black but are still fine to eat). When you're ready to use, run warm to hot water over the banana for several seconds and the peel should slide off of the banana pretty easily. The whole banana can be placed in the blender with a little milk and a couple of ice cubes for a refreshing shake also.

Heather

This is really good with a bit of rum or brown sugar bourbon.

Jonathan

Like others, I've been making this recipe for decades. But these directions are too hard on most blenders. Do this instead: Keep peeled bananas bagged in the freezer for weeks or months (because we save old bananas!). Then when you want a creamy desert, take out one large banana per person and leave it to PARTIALLY defrost on a plate for TWENTY minutes (no more!). Then even the weakest blender or food processor will make superbly creamy soft-serve, with or without added flavors.

Anna Worthwood

I usually add some coconutmilk while blending for extra smoothness :) Beats store bought ice cream anyday!

Emliza

Next time, use your own blender.

CORI ROTH

The addition of tahini and cardamom did it for me!

Jane

It also works great with frozen strawberries.

Laura

This is our new favorite dessert. I make it with 4 ingredients : 4 bananas + 1/4 cup chocolate chips + 2 tablespoons peanut butter + 1/2 - 1 cup milk. The texture is better if the bananas are frozen longer, at least overnight, though our blender doesn't handle the job very well when they are frozen so solid so I have to use the food processor. My diabetic father said this did not raise his blood sugar.

jk

Used a food processor with metal blade, and added a little bit of vanilla and a tablespoon or two of almond milk. Added chopped chocolate chips once smooth. Delicious!

Geoff

Substitute walnuts for the peanut butter and you have B&J's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream, the world's best treat. This is the only reason you need to buy a Vitamix.

Sarah

Been doing this with bananas for years, minus the blender action. Bananas can be peeled or unpeeled before going into the freezer (or refrigerator, for that matter). Obviously unpeel for eating, and yes, it is a little easier to peel before freezing BUT as easy to toss in the freezer in their natural state and no freezer bag is needed. Somewhere along the line I was told freezing a banana in its peel was taboo. Naaaah.

Kevin King

Yes, strawberries work well, too, but we like mixing the strawberries with the bananas; adds some tartness to the sweet bananas. A real crowd pleaser, especially among those who want to avoid added sugar.

DonnaB

I used a food processor instead of a blender. Added honey and vanilla. Very yummy. Next time I would chop bananas into smaller pieces. Maybe diced a half frozen banana to add at the end to have chunks in ice cream. Adding cream or milk would help blending, but wanted dairy free.

Jules

Maybe some added coconut cream or milk would be good. I like the e idea of making balls rolled in chocolate and nuts. We gave up ice cream for a while and would freeze a banana in its skin, then split in half and put fudge sauce on top with nuts and a spray of whipped cream.

Simms

I like to add toasted coconut and lime zest, but, really, this recipe is infinitely versatile.

anne

Add 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 tsp honey, 2 tbsp peanut butter.

CuratethisDesignthat

I didn’t really enjoy this recipe. It tasted like creamy bananas.

Rene S

I thought this was horrible. It was slimy. The only difference between ripe bananas and this "ice cream" is that it's very, very cold. No thanks!

Rene Smith

The color wasn't as advertised and the texture was slimy. Can't recommend. I like Richard's idea: use some other fruit with some honey and water for texture.

GiddyUp

Peel and cut bananas before freezing. Add cream of coconut, splash of vodka and cardamom before refreezing. Now a 5 star recipe.

Matt C.

This just tastes like frozen ripe bananas, which shouldn't have surprised me. But, it did. You need to add the other ingredients to make it worth while.

LOLA

5 very ripe bananas, 1/4c of heavy cream, pinch of salt, 1/2tsp of cinnamon, 1TBS honey. My 3yr old loved it! I let the pieces freeze 5hrs then put them in the food processor. The texture was like soft serve, but I hope it freezes well too!

Josh G.

We just made this tonight and it turned to goop in the freezer. Definitely not the firmness it had right after blending. We still ate it (with a little chocolate drizzle), it was just bananas after all…

the deeva

Awesome ice cream, tho it was tough on the blender. Oh well, we needed a new one!

Carrie

Gamechanger! Made this with my food processor, super easy. Added a splash of vanilla almond milk and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. Topped with toasted almonds. This will be my new go-to dessert and I’n looking forward to trying many options. I can’t believe I never knew about this!

Nancy B

Fabulously easy to prepare - and healthy. Yay!

smaller bits of banana

This would be made a lot easier, if you have a classic old blender, by breaking the bananas into smaller chunks (than the 2-3 inches recommended) before freezing. It takes no time to do then, and makes a difference in getting the banana chunks down to the blender blades. May also help to just put them in the blender and wait five minutes before starting.I added milk and almond butter and it’s delicious.

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One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient to ice cream? ›

The cream cheese helps create an ice cream with a denser, smoother texture. As explained by TASTE, cream cheese acts as a stabilizer in ice cream, preventing water from seeping out of the milk and cream as well as preventing the formation of ice crystals that detract from ice cream's creaminess.

Can you mash bananas and freeze them for ice cream? ›

Peel the bananas, cut them in 2- to 3-inch chunks and place them in a freezer bag in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Remove and blend in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately, or freeze in an airtight container for at least 2 hours.

How to make ice cream at home in 10 minutes? ›

Step 1In a small resealable plastic bag, combine half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Push out excess air and seal. Step 2Into a large resealable plastic bag, combine ice and salt. Place small bag inside the bigger bag and shake vigorously, 7 to 10 minutes, until ice cream has hardened.

What is banana ice cream made of? ›

This banana ice cream is very simple and easy to make with frozen bananas, milk, and cream. No need for sugar if you use ripe bananas.

Why are my frozen bananas turning brown in the freezer? ›

After thawing and peeling a banana frozen in its peel, it will come out of the peel in an essentially mashed texture. Freezing bananas in their peels causes them to turn a brown (or even black!) color, which can be off-putting, but they're perfectly safe and delicious for that next loaf of banana bread.

Is ice cream made from bananas healthy? ›

Banana ice cream is much lower in fat and calories than regular ice cream. It also is made with less ingredients and has no added sugar, while regular ice cream has added sugar to it. Do you have to freeze bananas for ice cream? Freezing bananas helps to give it a more ice-cream like texture.

Do frozen bananas taste like ice cream? ›

Sure, frozen bananas taste like ice cream (a little), but it's not the same as having a bowl of truly spectacular, real-deal ice cream. If you want luscious, creamy banana ice cream the way your grandmother would have done it—with real cream, eggs, and a touch of sugar—THIS IS THAT RECIPE.

How to make ice cream in the old days? ›

Almost 70 years ago, ice cream was made in a hand-cranked maker that was a wooden bucket, a metal container, paddles inside the container and a hand crank and gear piece on top. Ice and rock salt was poured around the metal container inside the wooden bucket.

How do I get slush ice in Dreamlight Valley? ›

The first step is to collect 15 Snowballs from the biome, these can be found on the ground around and about the land. After all 15 have been collected, players can take these to the Crafting Station with a Purified Night Shard Potion, which will be provided to the guest, and these two items will make Slush Ice.

How do you get shaved ice in Dreamlight Valley? ›

You can buy the slush ice from the counter behind the stove in Remy's restaurant. Plus: You have to upgrade Remy's restaurant before you can see and buy slush ice. It's the very last ingredient.

What can I make with bananas in Dreamlight Valley? ›

Banana Ice Cream Recipe in Disney Dreamlight Valley

1 x banana. 1 x slush ice. 1 x sugarcane.

How to make pawpsicle dreamlight valley? ›

Pawpsicles are only a three-star recipe, so they're not too difficult to make. Players only need to acquire three ingredients to make Pawscies in Disney Dreamlight Valley: fruit, slush ice, and sugarcane.

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