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(4,152)
Notes
Read community notes

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. Step

    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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4,152

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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.

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.

RSB

Broke my blender. How does this work successfully for others? Blenders need liquid to pull the ingredients down into the blades!

Slip Mahoney

Thought it too runny straight out of the blender and two hours freezing wasn't enough to harden it to a custard. I think 4-6 hours will do it. And it will be custard-like, not even gelato. But still delicious. Don't forget the whipped cream.

Mr. McTiddles

Put serving bowls in freezer. Use food processor.

Christa

This was indeed easy and flavorful, but next time, I'm going to use my food processor rather than even my Vitamix, which is supposed to be able to puree even a gym shoe, as I grew concerned about the motor, just as I have with hummus, and I shorted out my KitchenAid blender making white-bean hummus. The bananas were too frozen to be able to distribute peanut butter effectively so I didn't even try chocolate chips. But very tasty and a great summertime treat and effective natural body cooler.

Janet

Since cherries are in season now, we just made a pretty good Garcia-like combo with dark chocolate chips. Would have preferred a chocolate flake rather than chip, but I really am quibbling.

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One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream Recipe (2024)

FAQs

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.

What is banana ice cream made of? ›

Arrange banana slices on paper and freeze until solid, 3 to 5 hours. Peel bananas from the parchment paper and place in the blender. Add milk and cream and blend until smooth; transfer to a sealable container and freeze until set, about 2 hours.

Is ice cream made from bananas healthy? ›

Being made of milk it does qualify as a healthy food but due to the high sugar content may still be a big No for many! Banana Icecream is a good alternative to cool off and enjoy the sweetness without worrying about the sugar content. Banana is known to be a good source of pottasium which is very good for heart health.

Why is my banana ice cream bitter? ›

You can also blend in a few frozen raspberries or blueberries for a fruity twist. Bananas – Bananas can tend to get a bitter taste to them after freezing and it's intensified if they're under-ripe So definitely use very ripe bananas for this. They shouldn't be brown-mushy-banana-bread-ripe, but ripe.

Why is my banana ice cream icy? ›

If you try to swap skim (or any other milk), the ice cream will be more icy than soft. Conversely, I don't think you need entirely heavy cream, as this ice cream is already quite rich. The ratio of 1 cup milk to 2 cups heavy cream is the right one for us.

How do you freeze mashed bananas without turning brown? ›

To prevent the bananas from turning brown in the freezer, make sure to use an airtight container, or freezer-safe plastic bag. Exposure to air is what causes bananas to brown, so as long as they're sealed tightly, you won't have any issues with browning.

What is monkey ice cream? ›

Banana ice cream with fudge chunks & walnuts

To create a flavor as fun as the name, we monkeyed around with bunches of test batches until we knew we had a winner: the nuttiest chocolatey-chunkiest concoction-gone-bananas you'll ever go ape for.

Do frozen bananas taste like ice cream? ›

If you freeze a banana until solid, then whiz it up in a blender or food processor, it gets creamy and a little gooey, just like custard ice cream. I was surprised at this bit of kitchen wizardry; I assumed that a blended banana would be flaky or icy like other frozen fruit.

What kind of bananas taste like ice cream? ›

They're called Blue Java bananas, and they taste like vanilla ice cream. Yes, that's right, a fruit that tastes like a dessert. The Blue Java is known for being sweet and aromatic and having the consistency and taste close to that of ice cream, specifically vanilla ice cream.

Does Blue Bell make a banana split ice cream? ›

This Blue Bell Banana Split Sundae is the ultimate frozen dessert for any banana lover!

Can dogs eat banana? ›

Yes, dogs can eat bananas. In moderation, bananas are a great low-calorie treat for dogs. They're high in potassium, vitamins, biotin, fiber, and copper. They are low in cholesterol and sodium, but because of their high sugar content, bananas should be given as a treat, not part of your dog's main diet.

What is banana royal ice cream? ›

Two of your favourite ice cream flavours topped off with bananas, your choice of wet topping, chopped almonds, and a cherry.

Why does my homemade ice cream taste weird? ›

If your ice cream tastes greasy and leaves an unpleasantly cloying film in your mouth, then the butterfat content is probably too high. Try using less cream and more milk. And check the butterfat content using my ice cream calculator.

Why does my homemade ice cream taste like eggs? ›

But sometimes you end up with an ice cream that tastes like scrambled eggs. This is most likely due to the cooking temperature being too high. When cooking your custard base, make sure the temperature of your custard does not go higher than 185°F (85°C).

Why does banana Flavour not taste like banana? ›

SUBSCRIBE NOW! The alleged reason why artificial banana flavor doesn't taste like the Cavendish bananas we typically buy in the grocery store is because artificial banana flavor wasn't developed based on that variety of banana. It was developed based on a variety called the Gros Michel, or the Big Mike.

Can you blend bananas and then freeze? ›

Learning how to freeze bananas is one of the best meal prep hacks you can have up your sleeve! Just slice, halve or mash, then freeze, and store away for future smoothies, baked goods, and so much more.

Will mashed bananas turn brown in the freezer? ›

Bananas always turn brown in the freezer. They haven't gone bad. They will taste very sweet when brown. I hope you peeled your bananas before you froze them, because it it difficult and messy to peel a frozen banana.

How long do frozen mashed bananas last in the freezer? ›

Ideally, use frozen bananas within about 6 months. If you leave them in the freezer any longer, they may develop freezer burn. Fortunately, while freezer burned bananas may be of lower quality, they're still safe to eat. For recipes like smoothies or ice cream, you can use frozen bananas straight from the freezer.

Is it better to freeze bananas whole or mashed? ›

Freeze Bananas Whole (If Using for Baking)

But to use in baking recipes, you need to thaw the frozen bananas first, because you need to mash them for your recipe. Many online tutorials may tell you to leave the peels on when freezing them, and that definitely works!

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