This is the easiest frozen dessert you'll ever make. All you need are 2 ingredients and a few minutes of prep time to make this creamy, delicious, banana ice cream (also known as Nice Cream!) - and don't worry, you don't need an ice cream maker!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Homemade Banana Ice Cream is one of my favourite desserts because of how ridiculously easy it is to make, how customizable it is with different flavours, and how delicious and healthy it is compared to regular store-bought ice cream. What else makes it such a hit?
- No ice cream maker needed - all you need are 2 ingredients and 1 blender. So easy!
- So many flavours - you can easily customize this recipe with an endless number of different flavours - everything from chocolate, to fruits, peanut butter, coconut, the list goes on.
- Lower in calories - this has less than half of the calories you'd find in a typical carton of ice cream, without the heavy trans fats, added sugars, and other additives.
- Natural and nutritious - made with nutritious, whole foods instead of processed foods.
- Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan - this ice cream is friendly to all sorts of dietary needs, opening it up to many more people who'll be able to enjoy it!
- Have a sweet tooth? - I have a big sweet tooth, and this satisfies those cravings with the natural sweetness of fruits, so that I don't need to grab that cupcake, brownie, or ice cream bar.
The Magic of Frozen Bananas
Frozen bananas are pure magic when blended - they produce a luxuriously creamy and thick texture with a natural sweetness that closely resembles soft-serve ice cream or gelato. Unlike other fruits, bananas have a unique starchiness, high pectin level, and low water content which helps create this creaminess. It's truly a marvel!
Ingredients
All you need for this recipe are 2 simple ingredients. That's it!
- Frozen ripe bananas: Always freeze the bananas before blending to get a super thick and creamy texture. Make sure to use ripe bananas - the browner and more spotted they are, the sweeter they'll be.
- Milk: Adding a splash of milk helps the frozen banana blend more easily. My go-to choice is unsweetened almond milk because it's light and creamy, fairly low in calories, with no added sugar. But you can also use cow's milk or any other plant-based milk (such as cashew or almond).
Add-Ins and Toppings
You can enjoy this delicious banana ice cream on its own, or add in your own favourite ingredients and toppings to create some truly unique and delicious flavours! Here are some examples:
- Vanilla extract - just a splash to enhance this with some vanilla flavour!
- Frozen fruits - this opens up so many different types of ice cream flavours - two of my favourites are berries and mango.
- Cocoa powder - to create a deliciously rich, chocolatey flavour.
- Spices - cinnamon and nutmeg are two of my favourites to use for a bit of spice and flavour.
- Nut butter - thick and creamy with the added bonus of providing some healthy fats.
- Sweeteners - while the natural sweetness of ripe bananas can often be sweet enough on its own, you can add a splash of honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, or other sweeteners if you prefer. This can be especially helpful when using ingredients that aren't naturally sweet on their own.
- Toppings - sprinkle in your favourite toppings - coconut flakes, chocolate chips, crushed nuts, seeds, dried fruits, whatever you like!
Instructions
STEP 1: Prepare the frozen bananas. Peel ripened (browned/spotted) bananas, and slice them so they're easier to blend.
STEP 2: Throw banana slices into the freezer (in an air-tight container or freezer bag) until solid, for 3+ hours or overnight for best results.
STEP 3: In a high-speed blender or food processor, add frozen bananas, milk, and any other additional ingredients for flavour.
STEP 4: Blend until the ingredients turn into a smooth puree. If the ingredients get stuck while blending, you may have to periodically stop to stir and scrape down the sides to keep things moving.
STEP 5: Once it's fully blended, scoop it out and enjoy right away as a smooth and creamy soft-serve, or freeze it for later as a scoopable hard-serve ice cream!
Equipment
All you need to make this is either a high-powered blender or food processor. A high-powered blender will have the strength and speed needed to crush through frozen fruits like nobody's business. I can't say enough good things about Vitamix blenders (such as the A3500 that I own and use everyday) - they come with a super helpful tamper that you can use to manually stir the ice cream through the opening at the top in case it gets stuck. A good food processor can also work well - however you may find that the ingredients can get stuck in it more frequently, requiring you to stir it more often during the blending process.
Enjoy as Soft-Serve or Hard-Serve
I love how you can enjoy this as either a soft-serve style ice cream, or hard-serve. For a soft-serve, just enjoy your ice cream right after blending! For a scoopable hard-serve, you can freeze it for a few hours to let the blended banana firm up; when you take it out, let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to soften enough to scoop out, and then enjoy! (or if freezing, let it sit out for a little while longer to get soft serve again).
Soft-serve
Hard-serve
Storage
You can store the ice cream in the freezer for up to a month with no issues (I've frozen mine for up to 2 months before and it still tasted perfectly fine!). Make sure to cover it with a sealable lid in an air-tight container to prevent freezer burn. Then, just thaw it for 15-20 minutes before you're ready to enjoy it!
For storage, I'm a huge fan of using 16-ounce (473 ml) wide-mouth mason jars. They're a perfect size for storing one pint of ice cream (which is what this recipe makes), with a sealable lid and a wide-mouth opening that makes it easy to scoop out of, and easy to clean. As you may have seen in my other recipes, I use these mason jars for everything!
Toasty's Tips
- Mix in other ingredients to create your own unique flavours - be creative!
- If using a blender, start at a slow speed and then slowly move up to higher speeds once the frozen bananas have started breaking down. If using a food processor, give it a few pulses first before blending.
- Keep frozen bananas handy in the freezer - this makes it easy to whip up a fresh batch of banana ice cream whenever you like! They're also great for thickening smoothies.
- When freezing your banana slices, they may get stuck together. You can separate them with parchment paper before freezing in order to prevent sticking if you'd like.
- While you can slice and freeze bananas yourself, I often like the convenience of store-bought bagged frozen banana slices. They're already pre-ripened and frozen, so they're ready to use anytime!
FAQ
My blender is struggling to blend the bananas smoothly. What am I doing wrong?
If your blender is struggling to blend the ingredients, there are a few things you can do. Try adding a splash of milk to help things move. Stop the blender or food processor periodically to stir and scrape the bananas, and then continue blending. And make sure to use either a high-speed blender or food processor - lower-powered blenders often struggle with crushing and blending frozen bananas into a smooth puree.
Do I have to use milk?
If you have a strong enough blender or food processor, you can try making this with only frozen bananas (and no milk added). The splash of milk is there to help it blend a little bit easier, but you can try blending without it if you like, and then adding a small amount only as needed.
Is this banana ice cream healthy?
Yes! Bananas are packed with essential nutrients, fibre, and are naturally sweet. You won't find the high amounts of added sugar, trans fats, and other additives of traditional ice cream - plus it's much lower in calories! You can even mix in your favourite berries, fruits, seeds, and superfoods if you like for an even more nutrient-dense frozen dessert.
Try These Other Ice Cream Flavours
Check out these super easy and delicious homemade ice cream flavours:
📖 Recipe
Easy Banana Ice Cream (2 Ingredients)
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 small/medium bananas (or 3 large bananas) - frozen and ripened
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Prepare the frozen bananas. Peel ripened (browned/spotted) bananas, and slice them so they're easier to blend.
- Throw banana slices into the freezer (in an air-tight container or freezer bag) until solid, for 3+ hours or overnight for best results.
- In a high-speed blender or food processor, add frozen bananas, milk, and any other additional ingredients for flavour.
- Blend until the ingredients turn into a smooth puree. If the ingredients get stuck while blending, you may have to periodically stop to stir and scrape down the sides to keep things moving.
- Once it's fully blended, scoop it out and enjoy right away as a smooth and creamy soft-serve, or freeze it for later as a scoopable hard-serve ice cream!
Notes
- Video: Watch the step-by-step video tutorial here.
- Mix in other ingredients to create your own unique flavours - be creative!
- If using a blender, start at a slow speed and then slowly move up to higher speeds once the frozen bananas have started breaking down. If using a food processor, give it a few pulses first before blending.
- If your blender is struggling to blend the ingredients, try adding a splash of milk. Stop the blender or food processor periodically to stir and scrape the bananas, and then continue blending. And use either a high-speed blender or food processor - lower-powered blenders often struggle with crushing and blending frozen bananas into a smooth puree.
STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO
You can find step-by-step video tutorials for all of my recipes on my YouTube Channel. There you'll find many more tips and tricks to help you along!
Nutrition
Note: Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Anonymous says
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Thank you for supplying these details.