Chocolate Banana Ice Cream, or “nice cream,” tastes just like chocolate soft serve, except it’s super healthy, dairy-free and made with 3 simple ingredients: bananas, almond milk, and cocoa powder. Delicious on its own, even better with a peanut butter maple drizzle.
You’re going to love this
Just like soft serve ice cream. You know that smooth and creamy texture of soft-serve, right when it starts to get a little melty around the edges? That’s exactly what the texture of chocolate banana ice cream is like.
So chocolatey. This banana ice cream gets all of its chocolatiness from cocoa powder, which give it a deep, dark, rich chocolate flavor. You’ll swear you’re eating chocolate ice cream.
No processed sugar. The only ingredients in this chocolate nice cream are bananas, unsweetened almond milk, and cocoa powder. And the peanut butter drizzle is just peanut powder and maple syrup. So there’s no added sugar — unless, of course, you top your ice cream with chocolate chips like me :).
Easy. If you have a high powered blender or food processor, it’s all you need to whip up your homemade nice cream. Just throw in your bananas, cocoa, and almond milk, and the next thing you know: ice cream!
Healthy. Chocolate ice cream doesn’t have to be a “sometimes” treat anymore. You could have this everyday if you wanted to. It’s fat free, dairy free, gluten free, free from processed sugar, and a source of fiber, vitamin C,
Dairy-free ice cream. Sure, there are plenty of dairy-free ice cream choices out there — but there’s just so much *stuff* in them. When you’re trying to eat healthy, it’s nice to have a handle on the ingredients you’re actually consuming.
The best way to eat bananas. If you’re trying to get more potassium into your diet, but you don’t like eating bananas — or bananas seem too filling, I totally get you. I would never in a million years just sit down and eat four bananas. But I am certain the only thing keeping me from eating four bananas' worth of nice cream in under five minutes is brain freeze.
Peanut butter drizzle. Not that it needs it, but I went ahead and made a peanut butter maple drizzle to go over this chocolate nice cream because ice cream should be decadent. And this is. And don’t worry, it’s perfectly healthy. It’s made from peanut powder and pure maple syrup.
3 simple ingredients. Yes, you can make chocolate ice cream with just bananas, cocoa powder, and almond milk. A dash of salt is optional, but I recommend it to bring out its full flavor. So I guess that's 4 ingredients...
How to Prepare Your Bananas for Banana Ice Cream
When your bananas start to turn brown and speckley, peel and slice them into 1-inch pieces, then throw them in the freezer. I use a large zip-top bag so I can spread out the bananas in a single layer and lay it flat in my freezer. Let the bananas freeze fully — at least 4-6 hours.
I have tried using bananas that were ripe enough for banana bread — you know, on the verge of turning black and really soft — but I didn’t care for the flavor at all. I found the perfect sweet spot for using bananas for nice cream is when the peel is fully speckled.
How to Make Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
Place frozen banana slices, cocoa powder, almond milk, and a dash of salt (optional) in a food processor or high-powered blender.
Process on high for 3-5 minutes, stopping from time to time to scrape down the sides. If the bananas are slow to break down, you can pulse your food processor on and off a few times to get things moving.
Serve right away— it will be the perfect soft serve consistency. If you are looking for scoopable nice cream, store it covered in the freezer for 2 hours. Then you can scoop it into cones or build sundaes.
Peanut Butter Maple Drizzle
To make your own chocolate peanut butter revel ice cream, add a drizzle of Peanut Butter Maple Drizzle.
4 tablespoons of peanut butter powder (or 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter)
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
2-4 tablespoons of water, as needed (1-2 tablespoons if using creamy peanut butter)
Stir the peanut butter powder and maple syrup together. Add water until the peanut butter sauce reaches the right drizzling consistency.
For extra crunch, add chocolate chips, nuts, toffee pieces, or your favorite ice cream toppings.
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Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
- 6 slightly overripe bananas
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
- dash salt (optional)
Peanut Butter Maple Drizzle
- 4 tablespoons powdered peanut butter (or 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2-4 tablespoons water, as needed (1-2 tablespoons if using creamy peanut butter)
Instructions
Prepare Your Bananas for Banana Ice Cream
- When your bananas start to turn brown and speckley, peel and slice them into 1-inch pieces, then throw them in the freezer. I use a large zip-top bag so I can spread out the bananas in a single layer and lay it flat in my freezer. Let the bananas freeze fully — at least 4-6 hours.
How to Make Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
- Place frozen banana slices, cocoa powder, almond milk, and a dash of salt in a food processor or high-powered blender.
- Process on high for 3-5 minutes, stopping from time to time to scrape down the sides. If the bananas are slow to break down, you can pulse your food processor on and off a few times to get things moving.
- Serve right away— it will be the perfect soft serve consistency. If you are looking for scoopable nice cream, store it covered in the freezer for 2 hours. Then you can scoop it into cones or build sundaes.
Peanut Butter Maple Drizzle
- Stir the peanut butter powder and maple syrup together. Add water until the peanut butter sauce reaches the right drizzling consistency.
Nutrition
Recipe Essentials
Food Processor
This Cuisinart food processor is a workhorse. It’s super durable and can easily stand up to crushing firmly frozen bananas like a champ. This food processor is my go-to for making everything from this banana ice cream recipe to hummus to salsa.
Fiestaware ramekin
Isn’t that yellow ice cream dish adorable? It’s a Fiestaware ramekin, and it’s the perfect size for serving scoops of ice cream. Fiestaware is available in a full rainbow of colors, so you can get all the same or a mix-and-match set (that’s what I have.). This green one is pretty :).
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