Did that title pique your interest?It did mine when I first saw it on the internet. In fact, this little phenomenon has been popping up on food blogs all over the place lately. If you're like me you're probably wondering what could possibly possess all of the properties necessary so that just the item itself could be enough to magically transform into ice cream. Right? Apparently bananas.
I'll admit I was very skeptical. When I think of banana ice cream, I think of something more like THIS. And obviously a frozen banana isn't going to compare. But I have to say I was very surprised and very pleased with the results. Somehow whipping up frozen banana chunks creates some magical reaction and really does turn it into a creamy-smooth ice cream-like substance. Wanna see how?
One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream
Bananas can tend to get a bitter taste to them after freezing and it's intensified if they're under-ripe So definitely use very ripe bananas for this. They shouldn't be brown-mushy-banana-bread-ripe, but ripe. I found the best ones to be like the ones below, where the outsides were spotty but the insides weren't brown yet at all. They were super sweet.
Try it with about 3 medium bananas. Slice or dice into small pieces (to make the blending part easier) and place in the freezer. Place frozen banana chunks into a food processor.
Can you guess the next step? Ya, blend those babies up. Depending on the size of your food processor, the amount of bananas, and how frozen they are, you may have to stop it a few times and scrape and mush the mixture around. I've had to do that every time.
The first time I tried this I was concerned when my mixture never turned into anything resembling ice cream. It just looked like tiny little grains, much like couscous!
But all I had to do was grab a spatula and when I stirred them even the tiniest bit, ta-da!
Sure enough it was smooth, creamy, and looked just like ice cream!
Now looking like ice cream is one thing, but what about the taste and texture? I was very surprised to find that this stuff actually feels like ice cream in my mouth. It tastes like- let's be real here, bananas. But it's still quite delish. One of the great things you can do is add some mix-ins to the food processor along with bananas. Sure it won't make it "one" ingredient ice cream anymore, but it's sure yummy. I tried one batch with some cinnamon-sugar, one with a spoonful of peanut butter, and our personal favorite: a scoop of heaven. Er...I mean,
It's really amazing how much frozen bananas can resemble ice cream.
The true test? This one:
Not only was this 4 year-old super happy to be eating a treat, he had noooo idea it was just bananas. Muah ha ha ha ha. Total victory moment for Mommy. Plus I won super-mega-cool-Mom-points by saying, "Why yes son. Yes, you can have ice cream for breakfast today"
Try it out and let me know what you think! If you're trying to eat healthier this new year, this might be just the sweet treat to get you through those tough times when you really want this, this, this, or this!
If you are looking for some healthier frozen treat options, try these Frozen Pudding Pops (in 6 different flavors!) or go for a Sweet Fruit Sorbet
Also, don't forget to enter the current giveaway if you haven't done so. Click Here for a chance to win a full set of Wilton's new premium bakeware and VIP coupons from Betty Crocker!
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Genius!! Love this idea (and the blog)!!!
What a great idea. Love it. I am a banana holic LOL
Heads up about our $50 give away. Nothing to do but comment.
gafoodies.blogspot.com
This is totally MY post:) First, I LOOOVE bananas. I usually eat one every morning. Second, I'm getting my tonsils out in 2 wks and guess what...I think this will be my "ice cream" of choice. Yipee...a lot less calories. And third, my husband just bought me a food processor for my anniversary and it's dying to be used. I have no excuses now.
Oh what a wonderful idea! I always crave ice cream so this frozen bananas would be excellent for me whenever I crave ice cream. :)
Brilliant! I can't wait to try it out ~ like so many other recipes & ideas on your site! LOVE YOU two!!
that's awesome!
We have a gelato store in Princeton that sells "banana whip" which is exactly what you posted - frozen bananas. They use a machine from Italy to whip the bananas in a gelato form, but now I'm going to try your food processor method.
What a great idea!! I'm always craving something sweet after dinner, but don't want unhealthy ice cream. I will CERTAINLY be giving this a try.
Genius! My kids thank you.
We have been making Banana Ice cream in my omega juicer for about 8 years. I think it would work in a pasta extruder too. Frozen bananas in one side, soft serve banana ice cream cone out the other side. This is the only kind of ice cream my children had for years.
Extra bonus, an NONE fruit eating, I hate bananas preteen started eating bananas every day in this form. So, not only for the banana lover!
Cool mommy points are always a must. =) Reminds me of Bill Cosby's let them have chocolate cake for breakfast routine.
OMG, my son is gonna FLIP OUT! The kid eats 2-3 bananas per day. Perhaps this will nudge his sisters into eating some as well! Thanks!!
My siblings were intolerant to milk, so while I was growing up my parents would freeze bananas (whole) and run them through our Champion juicer with the blank. It made for yummy "ice cream". I have a Champion juicer and have done the same, but I think I might try my food processor next time I get a hankering for banana ice cream! It looks like the texture will resemble ice cream more this way.
What a genius idea! Thanks!
Okay. so no juicer.. no food processor.
What other options do I have to make this???
Sorry Ryley- not many! Some people have had luck using a really powerful blender like a Blendtec or Vitamix, but I don't even thing those work that well for this. You might just have to eat a frozen banana on a stick :)
Actually, you could try grating it with a cheese grater, and then stirring it up. That might actually work...
Wos amazing idea I am never ever going to throw away a black banana ever again.Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
I have some bananas on the counter that look just like yours. I was contemplating whether or not to throw them away, but now I have something to do with them. Thanks!
Wow... I had not heard about this!
I am going to have to get some nanners and let them get brownish just so I can give this a try!
I've read about this on other blogs and was intrigued but now that it was posted on this tried-and-true blog, I'll definitely be trying it. I've always loved banana milkshakes (frozen bananas and milk in the blender) so I'm sure this will be great. Can't wait to see if my fruit-hating two year old goes for it.
I wonder if I could put pureed bananas into the ice cream maker . . . hmmmm . . .
Yumm! I've made a "milkshake" using frozen banana and a bit of milk and a hand blender, but I've never tried straight bananas. It sounds delicious.
This would work great as a "trying-to-lose-my-baby-pounds" after pregnancy treat instead of something else I might make a grab for...like a candy bar...or real ice cream. This recipe will definitely be filed with my "to-make" recipes!
This looks great! I love, love ice cream and would eat it for just about every meal if I could. Has anyone else tried different add-ins? I'm thinking chocolate chips would be a good addition in the food processor. Maybe even a swirl of strawberry jelly by hand too. The possibilities are endless!!
Just tried this and it was great. I don't like bananas, but I liked this because it didn't have the texture of bananas. An added bonus to it being only one ingredient was that my 7 month old could eat food right out of Mommy's bowl--which made her very happy.
I think I'd freeze my bananas a little longer next time. Mine were only in the freezer about four hours. They mixed up smooth in the food processor, but were a bit more melty than if the bananas were frozen more.
We love banana ice cream! I buy around 15 pounds of bananas at a time when they go on sale because they're getting too ripe, then freeze them. We usually use soy milk too because I like them thinner. Cinnamon and Nutmeg make a "eggnog" tasting ice cream.
I had to be a jerk, but the phrase is "pique" your interest :)
Peak = mountain peak
Peek = to peek through the bushes at someone
Pique = to spark the interest of
:) Looks delish!
Chaviva- I definitely know the difference between all of the spellings! My mistake just means that 1. I'm writing my posts waaay too late at night, and 2. Kate isn't paying attention today because she's the resident grammar nazi around here! Thanks for pointing it out, I'll go edit!
By the way, did you mean "hate" to be a jerk? Because the word "had" doesn't make much sense in your sentence ;)
Wow, talk about a slip! I think I was subconsciously thinking of myself as a jerk :)
The editor gets edited!
You'll enjoy knowing that right before I clicked to submit my comment I noticed I wrote "I'm writing my posts way 'to' late at night" hahaha
This is so interesting! I will have to try making it for my kids, which is also the perfect excuse to now get myself a food processor. :)
I tried this last night and it was surprisingly delicious and ice cream like. Thanks for the fun and low cal recipe!
This is funny. I've been doing this exact thing for years. I got it as a tip from a dietitian several years ago. My favorite is to mix in some frozen strawberries or any berry for that matter. Also good, chopped raw almonds. Yummy!
OMG you guys just keep flooring me recipe after recipe :)This looks awesome. I heart bananas. This is soo going on my blog. With a HUGE shout out to you of course!
I made this ALL the time when my kids were small--on occassion I would add honey and vanilla mmmmm but IMO you must eat fast before it starts to melt!
Wow! What a neat idea! I always end up with 1/2 of my bananas looking like this before they get eaten at our house. You would think I would learn and just buy less...And I have been banned from making banana bread in my house since it never EVER turns out right. So this is a really neat alternative to throwing away all those bananas! Thanks for sharing!
We totally made this yesterday and it was good. Even my 2 year old that has NEVER eaten even pieces of bananas in her entire life ate the small portion we gave her.
Thanks for sharing!
I made this last night! It was pretty good. I could even share it with my 6 month old. He loved it! Thanks for posting this
I can't wait to try this. Especially with the nutella add in.
Oh yummy! I love bananas and I am going to definitely try this! I am going to mix coconut in mine because I love coconut and that goes well with bananas! Mmmmm
I was so excited to try this recipe, and then reading the comments, I was bummed to find out it probably wouldn't work without a food processor, a juicer or an insanely powerful blender.
I had already frozen my banana chunks, so I looked at my KitchenAid an thought "What could it hurt?"
It worked!! It was a tiny bit more "complicated" then a food processor, but really, all I had to do was break up big chunks and keep an eye on the speed.
The banana "ice cream" is amazing! I added a spoonful of Nutella, yum!!!
love your blog, love that banana ice cream is a breakfast food. Yeah
I really wish I had read this post before I threw away the brown bananas on my counter this morning! So excited to try this- we just started a new diet and the old brown bananas couldn't be made into banana bread- too many calories! Hooray for a low calorie sweet treat!!
Love it! I'll definitely be giving this a whirl! :) Ha-ha!
~ingrid
Sooooo good. I've made this 3x since reading your blog last week. My husband and I started a new diet and this works perfect for our sweet tooth moments.
Do you know if you can make ahead and store in the freezer?
Jennifer- so glad you've been enjoying this! I'm sure you could make this ahead of time and freeze it, but it would definitely get rock hard. You'd have to let it sit out before you could get a spoon into it!
LOVE THIS! I tried it this morning with my two kids (4 and 2 1/2) and it was a huge hit! We even put a few sprinkles on it to make it sparkly (as my kids say). My daughter (4) suggested we try it with raspberries next time too!
Thank you so much! It was just what we needed for an easy breakfast/snack while we are trying to move!
The Joy- my kids call sprinkles "sparkles" too! Love it, lol.
Love it. I'm trying to eat a little healthier and ice cream for breakfast last week really hit the spot. It was such a great after workout treat.
This is a totally awesome "dessert" for kids. I also feed this to my 6 month old nephew who is teething. It works great because the cold soothes the gums and it is only bananas so he can eat it!!
This is AWESOME - I've just shared it with all my friends.
For folks without a food processor: I did have to use a blender, and it did work. The only problem is that I had to blend it soooo long to get the banana chunks all smooth - so by the time it was done the consistency was closer to half-melted ice cream instead of like the scoop in your picture. But it was still delicious, and if this is the cost of having to use a blender, I can live with that. Next time I'll break the bananas into smaller chunks before freezing and see if that makes a difference.
THANK YOU!!!!
What an awesome idea!
I just tried it, and it really does taste like ice cream and even has the same texture!!
I even used super ripe bananas that had been frozen in their skins and it turned out great!
I love this!!! It was so good...thanks for such a great health snack idea!!
I was really excited about this idea since I'm really trying to focus on good, healthy snacks for our 2.5yo daughter. I just made this in our Ninja Blender and it didn't even take a few minutes. I was tempted to throw in some frozen blueberries or strawberries that was beside my ginormous bag of frozen banana chunks, but I decided to try it plain the first time. My little one loved it!!
This is a perfect recipe for my family, because any time our bananas start getting too mushy I break them up in pieces and throw them in a bag in the freezer. I figure this is a way better way to eat them than making banana bread or something yummy that likes my hips too much. :)
I haven't made this in awhile, but it's always a winner! I like to add frozen strawberries and sometimes a bit of yogurt. As long as there are enough bananas, it still has that ice cream-y consistency instead of going sherbet. I put it in a cone for my 2-year old and he loves it! I'm thrilled that it doesn't require an ice cream maker, as that won't make the top of my priority purchase list any time soon.
I came across this after seeing the frozen banana split squares post. Wow, this sounds so simple but delish. Gotta try this one soon!
Yes, I'm late to the party on this one but WOW! Made this for my kids for breakfast this morning and they loved it. I loved it too. Next time we'll be trying some mix-ins...stir in a little peanut butter for protein and that's a whole meal!
I just stumbled upon your blog today and am so excited! My son is allergic to wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tomatoes, and rice...and it's extremely difficult to find coconut milk ice cream that he can eat...and of course, he loves ice cream! :)
I am going to the store today to buy bananas to try this out for him! Can't wait to see how he loves it!!!
Oh! I am going to have to try the Nutella! We made banana ice cream with frozen bananas, honey and cream, but I will have to try this the next time I don't have cream on hand!
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