The ultimate “guilt-free” ice cream treat has only ONE ingredient–overripe bananas–and no added cream or sugar. Finally, it’s OK to have ice cream for breakfast!
Vegan Banana Ice Cream
Banana ice cream, also called nice cream, is my favorite healthy snack because it’s made with just 1 main ingredient–bananas! You can top it with anything you like, such as nuts, fruits, sprinkles, or chocolate chips, or pair it with my Strawberry Crisp or Grilled Peaches. For more frozen desserts, try my Pumpkin Ice Cream and Blueberry Frozen Yogurt.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Nice Cream Recipe
You know those bananas sitting on your counter? The ones with all those brown spots you think are past their prime? Well, those bananas make the BEST dairy- free, vegan, gluten-free, fat-free frozen ice cream treat. Here are more reasons why I love this healthy nice cream.
- Great Any Time of Day: It’s the ultimate snack, breakfast, or dessert!
- Perfect for Using Ripe Bananas: For the sweetest results, use bananas with mostly brown spots.
- Quick and Easy: After freezing the bananas, you can make nice cream in just minutes.
How to Make Nice Cream
Making banana nice cream is so easy. For the complete instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Freeze Bananas: Peel the bananas and place them in a container, zip- locked bag, or small sheet pan lined with parchment. Transfer to the freezer and freeze for a few hours until hard.
- Blend Bananas: Put the frozen bananas through the Yonanas machine.
- Serve immediately with your favorite toppings for a soft-serve constancy.
Banana Nice Cream Variations:
This nice cream recipe is easy and fun to make with the family. We have experimented with all the possibilities, but my favorite topping is chopped walnuts and berries. When Madison was a toddler, she loved it with colorful sprinkles.
- Fruit: Add other frozen fruit, such as berries, pineapple, and mango, for different nice cream flavors.
- Chocolate Banana Nice Cream: Add some cocoa powder or Nutella to the bananas.
- Peanut Butter: Blend in creamy peanut butter.
- Mix in some chocolate chips.
- Top the nice cream with sprinkles, chopped walnuts or pecans, or fresh berries.
- Drizzle chocolate or caramel syrup on top.
- Compote: Top it with blueberry compote or strawberry rhubarb compote.
Banana Nice Cream FAQ
Nice cream is homemade banana ice cream made only with frozen bananas. It’s called “nice” cream since it’s a healthier alternative to ice cream.
Since the only ingredient in nice cream is bananas, it does taste like them. However, you can switch up the flavors by blending other fruits with it or adding peanut butter or chocolate.
On my trip to the Dole Banana Summit, I was introduced to my first Yonanas Ice Cream Treat Maker –the coolest machine EVER! Just freeze your overripe bananas, then run them through this simple machine. Out comes a healthy frozen, soft-serve banana ice cream.
You can also make this nice cream in a high-speed blender or a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, but you’ll want to slice the bananas before freezing them. If it’s not blending well, wait a few minutes for the bananas to thaw a little, or add some milk.
Your bananas must be frozen to achieve a creamy texture similar to ice cream.
If you’re making the ice cream in the Yonanas, you can freeze whole bananas. If using a food processor or blender, slice them first and place them in a zip-locked bag, freezer-safe container, or parchment-lined baking sheet before freezing.
This healthy banana ice cream is much lighter than ice cream since its only ingredient is fruit. Bananas are packed with potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6.
Nice cream will last for a couple of months in an airtight container in the freezer,
so feel free to make extra. When you remove it from the freezer, you may need to
wait a few minutes for it to soften before scooping it.
Featured Comment
My husband’s favorite ice cream flavor growing up was banana, so I decided to give this recipe a try, and he loved it! It’s obviously not as creamy as ice cream, but with a very ripe banana it is sweet enough to hit the spot!
– Maria
More Healthy Treats You Will Love
Ingredients
- 4 medium over-ripe bananas
Optional Toppings (not included in nutritional info):
- berries
- nuts
- chocolate syrup
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Peel bananas and place whole in the freezer until frozen.
- When the bananas are frozen, place them through the Yonannas. Serve right away for a soft serve consistency with your favorite topping.
- If using a food processor, slice the bananas before freezing, then process in a food processor fitted with an "S" blade follow the same steps, and process until smooth. Serve right away for a soft serve consistency.
