Vegan banana ice cream

Vegan banana ice cream

vegan banana ice cream cone

Forgive me for another sweet recipe – I usually try to space things out a bit – but this one almost doesn’t count as a proper dessert. In case, you’ve never come across this wonderful one ingredient ice cream, let me introduce you to vegan banana ice cream right now. You’ll be happy I did, especially if you are suffering from a bit of a heatwave, like we are at the moment.

This is not really a recipe as such, it’s more of a hack and one of those things you learn about when you go vegan. I wish I knew whom I can credit with the invention of this masterpiece…as whoever came up with this is a genius.

It’s as simple as it sounds, chuck frozen banana slices into an average food processor (all I’m saying is you don’t need a high tech gadget for this) and watch the transformation into the creamiest of (banana) ice cream right in front of your eyes. We live on this stuff in summer. We always aim to have at least a couple of boxes in our freezer, so when a desire for a cooling snack after dinner hits us, I can quickly whip something up. Something that’s delicious and won’t spike our blood sugar for hours afterwards 😉 .

Having said that, I usually add a little something extra on top – of course, or else I wouldn’t be me 😉 . Peanut brittle, roasted almond butter and cacao sauce, chopped dark chocolate or some frozen raspberries. Below I included a few ideas for toppings or additions you may like.

The beauty of this ice cream is that it’s good enough to just have it on its own, if you like bananas that is. And it’s so pure and natural that I imagine it will go down well with your teething toddler too, not that I’m an expert on kids, mind you 😉 .

frozen bananas

serves
2-4
PREP
10 min
COOKING
10 min
serves
2-4
PREPARATION
10 min
COOKING
10 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 4 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen

PEANUT BRITTLE (optional)

  • ½ cup shelled peanuts
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • fine sea salt, to taste
METHOD
  1. Place frozen banana slices in a food processor and blend until smooth. Initially, the mixture will be a bit crumbly but if you persevere it will soon (5 minutes tops) change into smooth and super creamy banana ice-cream. If you are after a soft serve, consume immediately. Otherwise, place smooth banana mixture in a freezer-friendly box and freeze until solid. Let it thaw for a few minutes before scooping.

PEANUT BRITTLE (optional)

  1. Heat up the oven to 175° C / 350° F and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
  2. Put roughly chopped peanuts in the middle of the tray and pour 2 tbsp of maple syrup over the peanuts and quickly mix the two together. Season with a little bit of sea salt and spread the mixture in a single layer on the baking tray.
  3. Pop the mixture into the oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes. The edges will brown sooner then the middle (that’s normal) so you want to remove the brittle from the oven when the edges are lightly browned but not burnt. Take out of the oven and allow it to cool and crisp up.

NOTES

SUGGESTED ADDITIONS / TOPPING IDEAS

– frozen berries (raspberries work really well)
– chocolate chips
– tahini and cacao powder ripple (tahini, water, cacao powder)
– salted date caramel (dated softened in hot water, salt)
– almond or peanut butter

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
230
12%
sugars
21 g
23%
fats
9 g
13%
saturates
1 g
6%
proteins
6 g
12%
carbs
36 g
14%
*per serving
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5.0
7 reviews, 24 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Donna:
This is such a brilliant use of frozen bananas. Like above, l added medjool dates, cashew milk and peanut butter chocolate protein powder. It turned out so well. This has unlimited possibilities.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Donna, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed this simple dessert and your additions sound delicious indeed. Ania
Lynn:
The Peanut Brittle topping is BRILLIANT & DEEEEEEELICIOUS! Great recipe!. My next batch was chocolate, 1 Banana, frozen, 2 Tbls Cacao Powder, 2 Medjool Dates, 1/8 of an avocado (makes it thick, smooth & creamy), 1/2 cup raw Cashew Milk, unsweetened. Blend, freeze, top with your Peanut Brittle and enjoy! Thank you for sharing your Vegan recipes, I look forward to trying more!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Lynn, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed this simple ice-cream hack and I hope you'll find more enjoyable recipes on my blog. x Ania
Neil:
My daughter is recovering from pancreatitis caused by gallstones. She is due to have her gall bladder removed. In the meantime, she has been pursuing a very low fat diet which, inevitably, means cutting out a lot of the sweet stuff she is used to having. This ice cream has proved to be a life saver, when it comes to desserts either on its own or with fruit. I am 66 years old and have been a carnivore and a vegetarian and love cooking. I have never come across this idea of whizzing bananas into an ice cream texture. Just goes to show you can still teach an old dog new tricks. Thank you.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Neil, I am really happy to hear that this recipe was a hit with and you and your daughter - wishing her speedy recovery! Ania
Beury kilbourne:
Very good. Thanks for sharing.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Glad to hear, thanks :) Ania
Ola:
Oh my wow!
With the current lockdown I'm super bored with banana bread to use up any brown bananas, but this is a life saver! The consistency is super creamy!
A tip - don't chuck more than the equivalent of 1-2 bananas in the blender, as otherwise there will be no space for it to go creamy.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Ola, great to hear that you enjoyed it and thanks for the tip. x Ania
Rejoice Machimbidzofa:
Hie I'm Rejoice I love cooking and baking
    Ania
    Ania:
    Awesome!
verena:
hi, i made the frozen banana ice cream but it goes rock hard and when it thaws it goes liquid. is there any way to keep it creamy?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Verena,
    I'm afraid not, without adding fat and stabilisers. Ania
    maria sobolewski:
    Verena
    Adding finely ground psyllium or chia, dissolved pectin or agar should help it function more like regular ice cream.
Lauren:
Can I blend the banana first and then freeze? Or is it better to freeze first?
    Ania
    Ania:
    It's an interesting idea, Lauren. It my work, worth giving it a go! Ania
maria sobolewski:
Ania
Instead of a blender i use a meat mincer/grinder for the frozen banana ice cream. By itself, or with frozen pineapple, pear, etc plus vanilla works really well too. The pineapple or pear makes the banana sweeter and creamier without being overpowering. Electric is easiest but hand cranked also works.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Ha ha, great idea, but as a vegan, I don't own a meat mincer, of course ;) Pineapple and pear both sound like delicious additions! :) Ania
      maria sobolewski:
      Mine has never seen meat and never will, either! Originally bought to make nut butters. Poor man's version of cold press juicer /grinder. A cheap option for those without a strong food processor. cheers
      maria
        Char:
        Great idea Maria! I'm soon going self sufficient / off the grid so a hand powered grinder juicer would do the trick perfectly rather then the power hungry 2 hp blender I currently have!
Ben Myhre:
Frozen bananas are one of our go to easy, healthy desserts. I love the peanut brittle topping.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Ben! Same here, we are addicted to them - there are so many things bananas go well with! Ania
cakespy:
Oh wow. This looks incredible! Banana and peanut butter is my fave flavor combo so I imagine that banana ice cream with peanut brittle would rank high in my mouth! :-)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks! There is only one way to find out, I guess...I know it's gonna be tough ;) Ania
Bethany @ athletic avocado:
banana ice cream is like the best hack I've ever learned! It sounds even better with this peanut brittle on top, YUM!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Agreed! We literally live on this in summer :) Peanut brittle cannot do no wrong, I think ;) x Ania
Helen:
It does indeed go down well with teething babies! And mothers of teething babies...
    Ania
    Ania:
    ha ha, awesome - I assume you've tried it! Glad to have that reassurance as I don't have any babies to test on ;) Ania
Michel Daw:
Love the peanut brittle topping idea. What temperature would you use for the oven?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Michel! Very good point, I accidentally deleted this info - oooops - thanks for letting me know :) I set my oven to 175° C / 350° F. Ania
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