This Chocolate Banana Ice cream is so easy to make with just 2 ingredients without the need for an ice cream maker. This chocolate nice cream is perfectly creamy and rich and makes a healthy dairy-free vegan substitute for traditional chocolate ice cream! Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free.
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Updated June 2020
Banana Nice Cream
Looking for an easy ice cream you can make at home during the summer but don’t have an ice cream maker? This Chocolate Banana Ice Cream is made with just a few simple ingredients and makes a yummy vegan banana ice cream that only calls for two main ingredients.
What is Nice Cream?
If you haven’t already heard of the banana ice cream trend, you are definitely going to love how simple it is to make! Nice cream really calls for one main ingredient. All you need to make a vegan ice cream recipe are some frozen bananas. Once you have your sliced frozen bananas, blend them up in a food processor or a high-speed blender. What you’ll get is a creamy soft serve ice cream that is totally guilt-free!
Plus, it’s completely dairy-free, paleo-friendly, sugar-free and can be customized into a ton of different flavors with add-ins you have in your kitchen.
Ingredients you need to make Banana Ice Cream
This chocolate banana ice cream only contains TWO ingredients.
We make a batch of this every few days and it’s such a great way to use up those extra ripe bananas sitting on the counter.
- Frozen Bananas to create optimal rich flavors. We like to use ripened spotty bananas for this frozen banana ice cream recipe.
- Cacao or cocoa powder for smooth notes of chocolate; use compliant brands if following paleo or keto diets
OPTIONAL:
- Vanilla extract – optional, but used for additional flavoring
- Liquid sweetener of your choice – we don’t typically add any sweeteners or sugars since we find this sweet enough but you can definitely add some to suite your taste. A few options: Maple syrup, honey (if not vegan), liquid monk fruit, sugar-free maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of your choice.
How to make Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
To make this frozen banana ice cream recipe without an ice cream maker:
- SLICE BANANAS: First, make sure you’ve got some really ripe brown spotty bananas. Do not try to use green or yellow bananas for any nice cream recipes as you will be pretty disappointed. Slice them up into one-inch thick coins.
- FREEZE BANANAS: Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Freeze for about one hour or until frozen.
- BLEND: Place the frozen banana slices and the cacao or cocoa powder plus optional vanilla and sweetener (if using) in a food processor or a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix or Blend-tec). Blend the ingredients together until the mixture resembles soft serve ice cream. Scrape the sides of the processor as needed. After a few minutes, the ice cream should have the correct creamy texture.
- EAT RIGHT AWAY OR FREEZE: Enjoy immediately or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour or until desired consistency.
A Few Tips For This Nice Cream
Here are a few tips to make the perfect chocolate banana ice cream every time:
Slice and freeze ripe bananas – Slicing them into smaller chunks helps the bananas blend easier once they are frozen. When you place the sliced bananas into the freezer, be sure to line the plate or tray with parchment paper or they might get stuck.
For a sweeter ice cream, use bananas that are very ripe. If you use unripe bananas, you may need to add a preferred sweetener, such as monk fruit sweetener, coconut sugar, or maple syrup.
Once frozen, toss into a food processor or a high powered blender (Vitamix, Blendtec etc.) – At first, the frozen bananas will turn into a crumbly texture and then all of a sudden, will transform into a dreamy-licious soft, and fluffy soft-serve ice cream texture.
Switch up your Banana Ice Cream Flavors
Play around with flavor combinations – Feel free to add some peanut butter for flavor and protein or toss in some honey or maple syrup if you want it sweeter.
Variations
Add some chopped frozen strawberries to make Strawberry Nice Cream
Throw in some sliced mango for a delicious Mango Nice Cream
Add a tablespoon or two of peanut butter for a yummy Peanut Butter Nice Cream (or any other nut butter you like)
Stir in some Edible Cookie Dough to make a delicious Cookie Dough Nice Cream
Add some chopped gluten-free cookies to make Cookies and Cream Nice Cream
Just a pinch of almond extract and a few shakes of sprinkles for a Cake Batter Nice Cream
Instead of cacao powder, melt some chocolate and add chocolate chips for a rich and creamy Chocolate Nice Cream
How long does this Vegan banana ice cream last?
If stored in an airtight container, then this homemade banana ice cream will last in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to enjoy this ice cream on a later day, just allow it to thaw on the counter for about 15 minutes prior to eating.
Other Ice Cream Recipes You might like:
This Chocolate Banana Ice cream is so easy to make with just two ingredients without the need for an ice cream maker. Perfectly creamy and rich and makes a healthy dairy-free vegan substitute for traditional chocolate ice cream!
- 3 large very ripe bananas , the spottier and brown the bananas, the better since they will be sweeter and you won't need to add any additional sweetener.
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder or sub with unsweetened cocao powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons liquid sweetener of choice
Slice the spotty brown bananas into 1-inch thick coins and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for at least 1 hour.
Place the frozen sliced bananas, cacao powder and optional vanilla and sweetener (if using) in a food processor (or a high-powered blender) and blend together until the mixture looks like soft serve ice cream, scraping the sides of the food processor as needed. After a few minutes, the mixture will resemble soft-serve ice cream.
Enjoy immediately or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour or until desired consistency.
