So here’s a little back story on this “ice cream.” After getting married many years ago, my husband and I came to the conclusion that we needed to step it up and become a little more healthy. We went out and bought ourselves a nice juicing machine. Thinking this juicer was our key to becoming more healthy, we began juicing everything in sight. Fruits, veggies, and even some garlic, onions, ginger and radishes (all I can say is get a great perfume and some breath mints), everything.
One day we were flipping through the manual one day we saw a few recipes for whole fruit “ice cream” or sorbet, made with frozen fruit. Anything with the words ice cream in it had us hooked. 😉 So, we froze a bunch of bananas and “juiced” them the next day. It was FANTASTIC! Creamy, sweet but still healthy. Even after experimenting with other fruits the plain, slightly brown-spotted bananas made the best ice cream. It has been a win for us ever since.
Get ready for this ingredient lineup… bananas. That’s it! All you need is a bunch of frozen bananas. Toppings like peanut butter or chocolate sauce and chopped peanuts are optional (and recommended from me).
The best bananas for this are the ones that are starting to go brown. These ones are sweet but not over ripe. It make the ice cream perfectly sweet and sooo creamy without tasting over ripe. If you freeze green bananas the ice cream won’t be as sweet or creamy. To freeze, peel the bananas and place in a freezer Ziploc bag. Freeze until hard. I usually freeze them the night before.
When you’re ready, pull the frozen bananas out of the freezer and using your juicer with the attachment that allows everything to pass through the machine (or a Vitamix bender). We have an Omega juicer and love it.
If the bananas are frozen solid (right out of the freezer) they will come out looking and feeling a little “dry.”
If you allow them to thaw for just a few minutes they will come out a bit softer. In the end, the ice cream will end up about the same consistency whether you let the frozen bananas thaw slightly or not.
Once the bananas have been juiced, stir until they become smooth and creamy. It should look something like this.
Scoop the banana ice cream into serving dishes or freeze for later. When we make this, we can’t resist and eat it immediately. I personally like the softened texture compared to completely frozen.
If you’d like to go more healthy with toppings, try heating a scoop of peanut butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds. It will melt the peanut butter enough that you can drizzle it over the banana ice cream.
Top it with some chopped peanuts, grab a spoon and you’re set. BUT…
if you’re ok with a bit of unhealthy, try microwaving 1 tablespoons chocolate with 1 tablespoon cream to make a simple chocolate ganache sauce. The Chocolate compliments the banana so well.
I’m more of a peanut butter lover and my husband is more of a chocolate lover but our little misses would prefer this ice cream Plain Jane style. Any way you have it, it’s sure to satisfy that sweet tooth while staying on the healthier side of things.
Are you looking for healthier alternatives? What’s your favorite healthy sweet treat?
Healthy Banana Ice Cream
Yield:
4 servings (1/2 cup)
Prep Time:
5 minutes
Total Time:
5 minutes
This ice cream is so creamy and full of natural sweetness. It's sure to satisfy your sweet tooth while staying on the healthier side of things.
Ingredients
- 4 bananas, frozen
- peanut butter, optional
- chocolate sauce, optional
- chopped peanuts, optional
Instructions
- Peel ripe bananas and place in freezer ziploc bag. Freeze until hard or overnight.
- Using a juicer with an attachment that allows everything to pass through the machine (or a vitamix blender), grind bananas.
- Mix banana until smooth and creamy.
- Serve or freeze for later.
Notes
Peanut butter sauce- microwave a scoop of peanut butter for 15-30 seconds. Simple Chocolate ganache sauce- microwave 1 Tablespoon chocolate and 1 Tablespoon cream for 15 seconds. Stir until combine.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 servings with PB or Chocolate sauce Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 181Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 47mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 4gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g
If you’re looking for another great recipe you can make with a juicer like the Omega, check this Carrot Citrus Sunrise Mocktail. It’s healthy and delicious on any morning!
This looks so good! I love that it’s a healthier alternative to your usual ice cream. It’s definitely something that I’ll make for the kids! It’s a nice after school treat.
Oh I love this. We make banana ice-cream often. My girls freeze all kinds of fruits and make healthy ice cream. This looks so good.
I make banana nice cream a lot too, and like you I prefer it a little soft serve than totally frozen. Great with fruit like berries and a sprinkle of nuts
I have never had banana ice cream. My son loves to order it when we go to Bruster’s. I am going to give this healthy version a try for my boys!
what a great idea! And it looks fantastic! I’d go for peanut butter and peanuts on top for sure. yum, or even some caramel right? yum again.
Love this! I sadly have a food intolerance to bananas but my kids love them and they love ice cream, so I know they’d love this recipe!
Omg I’m in shock that the only ingredient you need is bananas to make the ice cream. Now I want to run out and get a juicer haha.
That would be so good right about now. I have a sweet tooth anyhow, and some banana ice cream would be good right about now.
I love the idea of mixing the peanut butter right in. Yum!
I love banana ice cream. I blend the banana first, mix it with the peanutbutter then frozen it until reach the texture of ice cream. Next time when I want to make it I will use your technique.
Thanks Silvia!
Thanks Nicole!
We’ve tried making “ice cream” with other fruits like strawberries, pineapple, mango, peach but the banana is the most creamy and sweet of them all. No need to add any cream or sugar. You can definitely play around with the toppings to make it that much more fabulous though. Doing a fruit sauce like this 5-Minute Simple Berry Syrup ( https://kitchencents.com/5-minute-simple-berry-syrup/ ) would be awesome and a little whipped coconut cream. YUM!
Thanks Heather!
Thanks Joanna!
It’s pretty sweet! We love our Omega juicer. 🙂
Thanks Courteney!
This looks so yummy! I don’t really buy ice cream because I’m trying to be healthier but I really want to make my own
OMG this makes me want a juicer more! I never would have thought to use a juicer to make the ice cream.
Yumm. I love homemade ice cream. I will be bookmarking this recipe for later on.
I adore banana ice cream. It tastes as good as the real thing and is so much better for you.
This is screaming my name. This looks so delicious, and I love that it’s simple and healthy!
This is the best dessert I’ve seen in a long time! It’s so easy, and healthy. My kids love bananas and peanut butter so this will be a serious hit after dinner tomorrow night!
This looks so good. I’ve been craving banana pudding but this is close! I wonder if my ninja could handle this.
I love making this! I’m currently doing Weight Watchers and, on the program, a blended up fruit like a banana is 8 points. (Whereas if you ate it by itself, it’s 0 points because it’s fruit). Basically, the blender is doing all the work/putting in all the energy that your body would be doing had you eaten it whole. So, I tend to eat my bananas whole now. But, I do love this as an alternative to ice cream if I’m not doing the whole WW thing!
I love that everyone makes ice cream from bananas now. I’m more of a savory than a sweet, so I very rarely eat ice cream, but I eat a banana every day!
I use frozen bananas in smoothies, but I never thought to make stand-alone ice cream from just bananas. I’m going to try it tonight. Thanks!
This looks so delicious, and pretty healthy! I would love to make this soon.
We do this regularly but our technique is different. This looks good and creamy.
OMG, I never would have thought to make ice cream with a juicer. It’s too chilly to try this weekend, but will do so once it warms up.
I love how this tastes like ice-cream but its bananas. The healthy (hidden) part of this is crazy! I wonder what else we could do to make this super fabulous?
I have never even thought of doing that but what a great alternative. SO much more healthy than real ice cream, yet a similar consistency. Looks yummy!
I love homemade ice cream. Unfortunately, I am not a banana fan though!
Yum! Such an interesting flavor also, my dad would love it!
Alix | http://www.apintsizedlifeblog.com
This looks so good!!! I love the idea of making a healthy ice cream, I bet my kids wouldn’t be able to tell the difference at all.
This looks really good, we would love to try this for a treat night at our house.
This looks divine. My family is bananas for bananas. We can’t get enough of them.
Oh my gosh yum this sounds absolutely delicious! I would have never though of making this but am so glad to have the recipe.
This looks delicious. I actually have frozen banana in the freezer ready to be used!
My kids love banana so I’m going to try this at home. i am sure they’re going to love this!
Belle | One Awesome Momma