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Banana Ice Cream Recipe

By Natalie Monson

Published on July 23, 2022

24 Comments

With just ONE ingredient, you won’t believe how unbelievably sweet and creamy this Banana Ice Cream is. Keep reading for my pro tips on making this deliciously healthy ice cream.

Homemade banana ice cream in a bowl with peanuts and chocolate on a wooden background. Healthy dessert.

Bananas are one of the world’s most eaten and most popular fruits and it isn’t hard to see why. They are incredibly versatile, sweet and delicious, packed with nutrition and portable!

I didn’t realize until a few years back that not only can you use bananas to make bread, muffins, and smoothies, but you can use them to make the easiest ice cream recipe right at home without an ice cream machine!

One Ingredient Banana Ice Cream

Yep, it is really true. There is just one ingredient in this recipe: Bananas!

Because bananas are the only ingredient in this ice cream, you will want to make sure that you choose ripe, yellow bananas. Here is why:

Green Bananas: less sweet, firm, high in starch.
Yellow Bananas: sweet, soft, higher in sugar.

You can see why it’s important to choose yellow bananas that are more ripe for making ice cream!

Slices of frozen banana in a container on a gray concrete background.

How to Make Banana Ice Cream

Peel bananas and slice into rounds. Lay flat on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours, or until solid. The longer you can freeze them the better.
Place the frozen banana slices in a food processor. Pulse to begin crumbling the banana pieces. Keep pulsing and scrape the sides down if you need to. Once the banana starts to get smooth and the chunks are disappearing, turn your food processor on and process until you get a magical soft-serve ice cream consistency.
If you are adding mix-ins, put them in down and pulse to mix.
If you want a really soft-serve consistency, you can eat it right away. Otherwise, put it in an airtight container and freeze it until solid for a more traditional ice cream consistency. Enjoy!

Homemade banana ice cream in a glass container with a spoon for ice cream on a wooden background. Healthy dessert.

Pro Tips for Making Banana Ice Cream

I have found that a food processor works a lot better than a blender for making banana ice cream. With a food processor, you will get a creamy but not smoothie consistency.
The longer you freeze your banana pieces, the more creamy your ice cream will turn out.
Banana ice cream freezes, defrosts and refreezes pretty quickly. If you wait till the ice cream is very frozen, take it out about 15 minutes to soften before scooping into dishes. If it gets too soft, return it to the freezer. It will freeze again pretty quickly.
Air makes ice creamy fluffy. The more you pulse your frozen bananas, the more air you incorporate giving you a more fluffy ice cream.
Wait to freeze your bananas until they start to have a little brown on the outside. They will give you a much sweeter and better flavor for your ice cream.

banana ice cream in a bowl with peanuts and chocolate on a wooden background with sliced bananas in the background

Mix-In Ideas for Banana Ice Cream

Scoop of Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chips
Chopped Nuts
Cinnamon
Scoop of Nutella
Scoop of Caramel
Nilla Wafers or Graham Crackers
Brownie Chunks
Shredded Coconut

One ingredient banana ice cream in a bowl with peanuts and chocolate on a wooden background. Healthy dessert.

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