Learn how to make this simple and delicious Banana Nice Cream. It's an easy and tasty frozen treat, that's healthy enough to eat every day! What's not to love?
I visited a raw foods cafe for the first time about fifteen years ago, and as soon as I walked in the door someone handed me a sample-sized cup of what looked like vanilla soft serve ice cream.
I gave it a try and you know what? It tasted like ice cream too! I had totally expected to be served nothing but salad - certainly not ice cream, so that was a pleasant surprise. An even bigger surprise came when I found out what was in it: bananas, and nothing else!
These days frozen banana ice cream, or nice cream as it's often referred to, is one of my favorite summer treats. And these days I don't have to make a trip to the raw foods cafe for a taste. It's really easy to make this banana nice cream at home. And best of all, it can be made in all kinds of flavors.
Making Banana Nice Cream
Start with Frozen Bananas
Get some nice ripe bananas, preferably a bit overripe, and freeze them. Whenever I have a banana that's just a little browner than I'd like, I peel it right away and stick it into a freezer bag, that way I've got a stash of bananas ready to go whenever a nice cream craving hits.
When it's time to make the nice cream, break your bananas into 3 or 4 chunks each, so they fit into your food processor. You'll want to use at least two bananas per batch, unless you're using a very small blending device.
Add-Ins
Plain old banana is delicious, but why stop there? Some of my favorite ingredients for adding flavor are cocoa powder, vanilla bean paste or extract, spices, or other frozen fruits like strawberries.
Some fat will add richness to your nice cream, so try stirring in some almond butter, peanut butter, tahini, or coconut cream. A tablespoon or so for every banana should be plenty.
Blend
Now blend everything up! This might take some patience, depending on the type of blender you're using. The first couple of rounds often yields what looks like a bunch of frozen banana crumbs. Stop, scrape down the insides of the bowl, and continue blending.
You can add a splash of non-dairy milk, such as almond milk, to help the process along, but don't go overboard or you'll end up with a smoothie instead of nice cream.
Eventually you'll start to see your bananas transform into a creamy mix that resembles soft serve ice cream. Give it a taste-test and adjust your add-ins if needed.
Once you're done blending, you can also throw in any additional ingredients that you don't want blended up, like pieces of fruit that you'd rather keep chunky.
One of my favorite tricks is to melt some dark chocolate chips, drizzle them over the blend, and then pulse the the food processor a few times. The chocolate will solidify really quickly and you'll end up with chocolate flecks throughout.
Freeze It. Or Not.
If you decide to enjoy your nice cream right away (which is a hard prospect to resist) it'll have the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
If you want something that's scoopable, transfer it to a container and stick it into the freezer. Work quickly while you do this to avoid it melting! After one to two hours it should be perfect for scooping.
If you want to freeze it for longer, just give it a stir at the one to two hour mark and stick it back in the freezer. Pop it out about 10 minutes before you're ready to serve and scoop away.
While you're here, be sure to grab our FREE 5-Day Meatless Meal Plan. It's packed with tasty recipes to make vegetarian cooking easy and delicious!
More Nice Cream Recipes
If you love this banana nice cream, check out these other delicious frozen treats:
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 bananas , peeled and frozen overnight
- non-dairy milk, as needed
Optional Mix-Ins (Before Blending)
- cocoa powder, for chocolate flavor
- vanilla bean paste or extract, for vanilla flavor
- almond butter or tahini, 1 tablespoon per banana
- coconut cream, 1 tablespoon per banana
- frozen fruits, such as strawberries or blueberries
Optional Mix-Ins (After Blending)
- fresh fruits, cut into chunks
- chocolate chips
- almonds, or other nuts
Instructions
- Be sure to start with frozen bananas. Just peel and stick them in the freezer overnight! When you're ready to start making your nice cream, break the bananas into 3-4 large chunks so they fit into the food processor.
- Add your favorite mix-ins, if using any.
- Blend the bananas! This may take a little time. Blend for a bit, then stop and scrape the banana bits from the sides of the blender back into the bowl. If the mixture is to dry to blend, you can add a splash of non dairy milk. Keep blending until it forms a creamy mixture that resembles soft serve ice cream.
- If adding any additional (post blender) mix-ins, such as chocolate chips or fresh fruit chunks, add them now and fold into the ice cream.
- Freeze the banana nice cream for 1-2 hours. If still not hardened enough for your liking, give it a stir and freeze for additional 1-2 hours. For serving, let soften at room temperature for easier scooping.
DHARAMBIR CHAUDHARY says
yummy ! children will surely like it ! thanks for sharing ! ill try this recipe!
Alissa says
I hope you enjoy it!!
Leo says
OMG im so excited to try all the recipes at the bottom of the page and this one. Growing up allergic to the proteins in milk I would eat ice cream and suffer through the effects then I finally took charge of my well being and here I am looking for recipes.
Briana says
What kind of food processor are you using?????
My old food processor was a black and decker that made magical tasting nice cream, that I was so in love with it. But that food processor was old and breaking and they don’t make them anymore.
Briana says
What food processor are you using to make this nice cream??????