This recipe has been making the Healthy Living Blogs. I haven't tried it yet because I like the real stuff :)

Ooh, I like this idea. I'll have to try it. This time of year, my bananas go black so quickly so this is a perfect way to use them up. Thanks!

Can't wait to try this; I have a bunch of frozen bananas in the freezer and it's too hot to make banana bread!

Off to put bananas in the freezer...

In the wintertime when there's no good fruit in season, I make smoothies in the blender with frozen bananas, peanut butter, milk, and a squirt of chocolate syrup. I've always been amazed at how they taste like a milkshake with real ice cream!

Now if only I didn't hate bananas.

Phew- I was worried that the "one ingredient" would be non-dairy creamer.

I can hardly wait to ruin the entire healthy aspect by putting Magic Shell on a scoop of this...

tried it and it is yummy

Ah! There is a organic/health food type restaurant place on the boardwalk at home where this is their signature dessert! They call it a banana whip and you can get it with loads of different toppings. SO GOOD- just gets a bit gummy if you take ages to eat it.

They shove the bananas through this grinder thing and they come out on the other side looking like ice cream.

I've been making frozen banana and peanut butter protein smoothies (with milk added) for breakfast in the summer for years, but I've never tried it with just the bananas. The time to try is now I guess!

This is a pretty common dessert for "raw" dieters. @Loverachel - I probably saw the same grinder device used at a local vegan place. Not sure what it was.

one of my favorite snacks is frozen banana slices. Need to try this now. mmm

So that photo above is this banana ice "cream"? Can you confirm that please?

I have a lot of frozen bananas in my freezer which I usually use during the winter to make banana bread, cake, muffins, but they don't look like anything would make them turn into what you show above.

Sounds great! I've been making smoothies with frozen bananas and vanilla soy milk for years, but never thought to leave out the soy. I'll have to give this a try.

ohhhh I have banana's in the freezer and it is too hot to bake so now I can have an alternative to use them for - tell your sister thank you!

@Charlotte, yes, that is the banana "ice cream." That's what's so surprising about it: it gets all creamy like that after you run the frozen bananas through the food processor.

Oh my goodness! Yes! I have bananas in the fridge that were not handling the summer heat, and this is a great solution for them!

Emily

My mother did this in the mid-50s. She would serve the frozen banana "ice cream" on top of hot gingerbread, and was it wonderful.

I've been doing this for awhile, though not with just bananas - I freeze bananas in bite-size pieces then add them to crushed ice, milk (about enough to allow the ice to peak through), cinnamon, vanilla, and some sweetener. Frappe the mixture in a blender until smooth and it a hydrating, healthy "shake" that is less dense than just bananas.

Okay, Faith, so you must have re-frozen it and scooped it? Because in the description you say "soft serve" but that photo looks like regular ice cream to me. I WANT to believe, but before I go whirring up all my frozen bananas I want some reassurance that I'm going to get something that really is like ice cream. You took the picture, so I assume you can give me the details!

Awesome, now I just need bananas.

Can you then re-freeze the 'ice cream' after you've blended up the bananas?

Yes I've tried this and yes it's wonderful. It almost has the texture of soft serve ice cream.

I just made it and this is amazing!! I'm so surprised how creamy it is! I'm not one for "substitutes" or the made-healthy versions of things, but this is just excellent on it's own merits.

I'm also wondering how well it holds up if you blend it and then put it in the freezer- does it get rock-hard if you re-freeze? Must get more bananas and experiment.

OK, on the texture - I didn't mean to be misleading when I said soft serve, but yes, the texture is just like ice cream, with that almost gooey softness that comes in soft serve (as opposed to harder, stiffer custards). Subjective, though, I suppose.

Anyway, yes! You can blend it and re-freeze it. These particular scoops were part of a batch that has been frozen for a few days.

I love frozen green grapes. I wonder how chopped frozen grapes in the banana ice cream would be.

Faith--you're hilarious. I've been dreaming about ice cream with Magic Shell (which is a once-every-5-years treat for me) all day with our hot weather.

oh dear lord. I just tried it--I had to know if it was true... and IT IS. and I'm hard to please!!!

after discovering that yes, you can blend a frozen banana into amazingness, I added no more than a tablespoon of peanut butter and a couple spoonfuls of hot chocolate mix.

I think I need a cigarette.

Hahaha I'm just like the others- had to try it to believe. I had 6 frozen bananas in the freezer, waiting to be made into banana bread at some point. Anyway, I whipped them up in the blender and they created an AMAZING, delicious, creamy, HEALTHY snack that will accompany me through Top Chef tonight (don't u always get hungry watching it? i have to have a snack).

@Charlotte- it's true! Def worth a try. I'll be making this again in the future.

I am devastated. I hate, and man - do I mean HATE, bananas. Bleck. Oh well. I guess the old school way will have to work for me.

Bananas, dates, almond milk, and almond butter...oh my!

Yum! I'm on a cleanse right now so this looks perfect! One question though. Did you freeze the frozen banana goo after you pureed it to make it look so perfect in the photos?

Wow! Off to try this. Always have some leftover bananas.

I made this last night with a teaspoon of peanut butter and it was amazing! So easy and it tasted so good! I love the idea to add chocolate - I bet you could add plain cocoa powder since it's already sweet from the banana.

do you think this would work with other frozen fruit - or what is special about bananas?

If you use 7oz of bananas, you get 5 grams of fiber from this frozen deliciousness! That's not too shabby for such a tasty treat!

Oh my god, THANK YOU! I always have leftover, over-ripe bananas but never have the foresight to do anything with them so they always end up in the trash. Now I can just move them to the freezer!

LOVE THIS**!
As a happy vegan, I have been doing this for years!
Just peel (slightly overripe) bananas and freeze whole in freezer, then puree as needed.
Try adding frozen melons (like honeydew) to the bananas for added flavour along with protein powder, carob & hemp seeds to make it super duper healthy! Yummy!

I've been doing this for quite a few years now, and banana can be used as a base to get the creamy texture. I add frozen berries, frozen peaches frozen ANY fruit.. making sure you always have at least 1/2 the quantity of banana total.
For a special treat I like to add chocolate chips, or make a chocolate ganache and pour it over like a sunday. YUM! and healthy :)

To make a health great shake just add any of those non dairy beverages such as rice milk, almond milk etc

The grinder thingy is probably a Vita-Mix. All the range among health-foody types. Apparently they are much better than blenders. Kat James (author of The Truth About Beauty) says she uses it to make "ice cream" from all kinds of frozen fruit.

you can add other ingredients for flavor, check out my recipe:
http://marmotasaidatoca.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/ultimate-banana-ice-cream/
enjoy!

Waiting for the bananas to freeze

I've tried this after reading about it on tons of healthy food blogs, and I have to say it's pretty good. The key is to really whip it in the food processor, for a good 3-5 minutes, and don't put too many bananas in at once!

Holy cow. I'm not that fond of bananas in any form other than how they normally come, but I think I might have to try this. Neat!

http://www.abreadaday.com

I have got to try this. I am going to tell my sister, but I doubt she will try it. I wish I could attach an hilarious photo I took of her freezer contents when I visited her earlier this summer. Three huge containers of Blue Bunny chocolate ice cream and two small packages of Smart Ones frozen dinners! Too funny....

Yeah, a month or two ago, someone showed me how to have bananas be an egg substitute when baking. So it's not hard to imagine that this would work.

I just read the same recipe a few days ago in Annabel Karmel's latest cookbook for children's food (my girlfriend often makes fresh food for our 10-month old son from AK's books). If you can get your hands on 'First Meals And More: Your Questions Answered' then check the recipe ('far-too-easy banana ice cream') out on page 119.

Do you peel first and then freeze, and if so do you cut them up first to smaller pieces?

emily7: The creaminess of this dish is a bit specific to bananas. Bananas are one of the few fruits that contain a bit of fat (about 1 gram of fat per cup or so) which can make the blended finished product very smooth and creamy.

Most other fruits that you work with will make a lovely sorbet, but will not have the creamy, soft-serve texture of the whipped frozen bananas.

I hope this helps. I found out the hard way about the bit of fat by adding a chopped banana to my famous sangria. The acidity of the wine and other fruits made the banana slices turn into a mushy gelatinous mess in my otherwise wonderful summer punch. Big mistake...

a scoop of this over a hot waffle with maple syrup would be such an awesome special-occasion brunch dish....

Excellent idea!

There's another fruit that makes a superb, creamy, luscious one-ingredient ice cream: mamey! Never heard of it? Read more here:

http://www.sustainablesuppers.com/mamey/

This is awesome! Thanks for the trick.
http://budgetfoodie.typepad.com

Fairh, you really never heard of this before? My mom made this all the time, probably because of my dad's dairy allergy. I assumed everybody knew about banana ice cream.

And to the banana-haters out there: try it before you knock it. I'm not a huge banana fan and I love this stuff. Much more mild than fresh bananas.

Did I say I LOVE this stuff??

Nice, this would have been great for my father who loved ice cream but, could not eat it due to a heart condition.

I'm sure in time many variations i.e., additions to make other flavors will come out. Vegans, are very creative people : )

I just busted a gut laughing about the one that said, "Now if I just didn't hate bananas."

Meanwhile, Pixie, I love me some frozen grapes, too! They're such a perfect little treat. Meanwhile, I wanna ruin my grapes with some Magic Shell!

I'm about to go away for the weekend, but I almost wish I'd be home so I could freeze some bananas!

I love this idea. Can't wait to try it. I wonder if it will work with avocados? What about Bacon?

So I read this post, ran to the store and bought bananas and popped them into the freezer a few days later.. just like the instructions said. What the instructions neglected to mention was the part where you should peel them first. I didn't see the comment saying to peel them first.. I think I'm the first person to use a knife to peel a banana haha!

I have a magic bullet.. I don't know if anyone else feels the same way, but I hate that thing.. I tried to use it to make this and it didn't work at all. The tiny bit it did make was good though! But I did let my bananas sit for a bit, and I tend to like my bananas a bit green. I see someone said to use overripe.. but I'd say put them in in the state that you enjoy them at.. because I don't like them overripe, and they taste exactly the same as they do fresh!

I just finished making and eating this delicious treat! I'm a fan!!!
(My boyfriend just said, "Mmmm...I would not have expected this!")

Being down with the flu, I was overjoyed to discover this BRAT-friendly cold thing. Now I wonder if the grinder attachment on a stand mixer (which demolishes cranberries for cranberry relish) might work, too?

I guess correctly! I just saw this on Rachael Ray the other day. I must try this...

So I tried this with frozen mixed berries - Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries and the outcome is a nice sorbet.....since I like a little tarty sorbets I did not add any sugar/honey.

I wonder how this would work with other sweet plantains. I have a bunch of platanos islas that are starting to get super ripe, and I don't feel like frying them.

I've been making smoothies with the platanos, frozen strawberries and drinkable vanilla yogurt.. it's delish!

WHOA THIS IS DELICIOUS. i just did it. can't believe it. try it! i added a little maple syrup and some almonds on top...awesome

Holy cow, I finally made this. It's an ice cream miracle....but....given that I did 4 or 5 bananas and it only made a serving for one (or a tiny serving for two) I wouldn't call this an economical way to make ice cream, monetarily or calorically. But it's a delicious frosty treat and definitely something I would do with KIDS!

it is economical when you consider the fruit would be thrown out if not used somehow.
I've done it and added a bit of Milo, strawberries and a large dash of Brandy.

Good tucker it was as well.

wow! this is cool. will have to try tonight!

I'm thinking Chunky Monkey (my favorite)!!!

I am wondering if this would work with my mini-food processor...sounds lovely with chocolate sauce...

@emtdmt, yes - I use a little food processor too. It's a 3-cup model and it works just fine with this recipe.

Ugh... too bad I'm allergic to bananas :-(

I did a variation of this recipe from a baby cookbook called "Simply Natural Baby Food" by Cathe Olson. The recipe adds a very ripe, (unfrozen) mashed avocado to the frozen banana. When our kids were little we called it "Mermaid Ice Cream" and it was a great way to get another healthy veggie into them.

For those who say it only tastes like pureed banannas and not ice cream add a 1/4 cup of orange juice for every banana. Add some vanilla extract to that and its not a bad substitute to ice cream.

It was amazing! worked for me with a little PB and soymilk. This is going into regular rotation in our kitchen!
Beth

I made some with greek yogurt and a teeny bit of plain soymilk. so yummy!

I don't think I'd like the flavour of replica watches with bananas. But, I bet my Ninja processor would chop 'em. I'm gonna try the banana ice cream with my ninja. I made ice cubes with coconut milk, and ground them up with a little sugar into a heavenly slushy. I'll add one or two to the banana.

Just don't let previously frozen bananas thaw completely, they turn into soup!

Good point, amy_e!

The other luscious, creamy one-ingredient ice cream:

http://www.hollyhickman.com/mamey/

It's INCREDIBLE. Especially if you add a smidgeon of coconut milk. Mamma mia...

Woops! Link didn't work:

http://www.hollyhickman.com/mamey

How long does it take to blend?

I guess I'm one of the few that didn't like this recipe. It gave me nausea! One of the worst i have ever tried. And i love Bananas. i'll just stick with regular ice cream...

emily7: try frozen mango.

I put forzen mango with a little bit of milk and vanilla (I know...3 ingredients...) into the blender and it is just like ice-cream. The problem is that you may get addicted to it.

I am so bookmarking your blog. First the Lemon Sticky Buns (which sold very well at my Great American Bake Sale for Share Our Strength - sans icing), now this! You're developing a fan club on Twitter - you should check in more often. :-D

Renee J. (@RJFlamingo on Twitter)

Just saw this great idea--I love miracle treats! Frozen persimmons are another one-ingredient dessert. I'm sending the banana idea to my gluten-and-dairy-free daughter right now!

The recepie is as awsome as the flat bowl ugly. I looks like some moulded fast food container out of the trash. What on earth makes chef/cooks/food lovers like you use such a container for photographic purpose? Sorry to be sarcastic but for me food is something very visual. You wouldn't put the final ice cream in there so why the fresh fruit ?

My banana ice cream turned out icy rather than creamy. Help!!

Tried this last night, and it turned out PERFECT! I also added the pb and cocoa powder after I had it blended. It was absolutely delish and my husband loved it too.
I think some of the problems people have had is that they have not read the recipe/directions properly. I see all these questions that are explained above. For instance "do I peel the banana first?" (yes, she wrote to peel the banana and cut into chunks) or to freeze for 1-2 hours (not use old frozen bananas) I just read and did it using a food processor and it worked exactly as mentioned. I will be making MORE and freezing (as she also wrote) in a tupperware container for hard scoopable icecream later.

THANK YOU! I shared this with all my friends!

One other comment- I used two bananas- about a tablespoon of peanut butter and cocoa powder. It made the right amount for two people. I was shocked that someone said they used 4 or 5 bananas and it was only a serving for 1??? I thought it was extremely economic and low fat.
1 banana, low fat pb and cocoa powder? (not cocoa mix)

Amazing! I'm in the allergic to dairy category and I love bananas so I'm definitely trying this! :)

http://prettysweetlife.com/

OMG it really works! Tastes so good, too!

A-effin'-mazing!
I just made it. The cool thing was that the bananas were only 29 cents a pound at Ralphs.

Wow ! That recipe was my perk for the day ! Great quick fix for a sweet tooth.

YUM good thing I just bought a food processor!!!!
I'm totally going to drop globs of melted peanut butter in it before I put it in the freezer. Yummmm.

Man i just tried this and it tasted bad. Maybe i am doing something wrong how long can the banana be frozen and how ripe should it be? I even tried it with a table spoon of PB and didn't taste any peanut butter....

I had never heard of this before. I made it last night and MAGIC! Husband poured a bit of honey on top of his - I had coconut on top of mine. Fabulous and just magical :)

I've tried this recipe. And it's VERY rich. It's delicious, but I would suggest to eat a very small amount cuz the taste of banana is so strong.

this is also great with a little bit of cocoa powder!

roasting the bananas with a little brown sugar first is even better...you know, if the oven is already on for some reason unimaginable in this late June heat...
(hat tip to David Lebovitz 'The Perfect Scoop' for turning me on to banana ice cream)

wow, thats amazing...can't wait to try it! I think I'll add crunchy PB :)

I usually blend together frozen bananas, frozen strawberries and some soy yogurt for a low cal smoothie. Smoothie recipe and photos here: http://unkannyadventure.blogspot.com/2010/07/recipe-vegetarian-tacos.html

Finally tried this, not that good, I don't get what the big deal is. Might try it with other frozen fruit.

My mum used to make this professionally in restaurants in Australia, she used to call it Frozen Fruits Ice-Cream. You can use banana, mango, papaya, any fruit you can think of. You can also add carob, for a chocolatey extra. Its very healthy and VERY delicious.

I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. Thank you for posting this recipe. I just made it after dreaming about it for days and it's fantastic. Plus it'll be a healthy dessert for me and my dessert-oholic 3-year-old!

Wow...I just discovered this from a link on Use Real Butter, and made it with a bit of cocoa powder. Sooooo delicious!!

After seeing this posted over at Use Real Butter I decided to give Nicecream a try. I gussied mine up with peanut butter and cocoa powder...unfreaking believable. I can see this becoming a regular treat at our house.

Oh. My. Goodness. Just tried it with a pinch of cinnamon and I can't BELIEVE how good it is. and I HATE bananas once they start to get brown spots... usually I like mine a little green on the tips but this... You just saved X number of bananas from languishing in my freezer until I "Make banana bread one day..."

The problem that no one has mentioned is that bananas are the most concentrated form of calories in the fruit world, a combination of intense carbohydrate and starch. So do not think this recipe will make you loose weight. You might as well go for full cream traditional ice cream

AusIceCream,
You may be right about bananas compared to other fruit. However, you elide over the fact that, while bananas appear to have about 1 calorie per gram, regular vanilla ice cream has about 2 calories per gram. Half of those ice cream calories come from fat.
You also get a decent doses of vitamins B6 and C, potassium and dietary fiber with the banana.

I have a strong dislike for bananas, and I just made this and liked it (I added vanilla and cinnamon). Then again, I have always avoided eggplant too and am right now making the eggplant caviar recipe. The dogs are looking at me like the body snatchers have invaded....

I love this "Chunky Monkey" style - just mix in some walnuts and chocolate chunks after you blend. Yum!

This is utterly gorgeous. So much so that I photographed the entire process and blogged it for myself on my own site :)

http://www.davidmcclelland-photography.com/archives/982

Dave

I can't believe that the frozen banana slices really turned into ice cream consistency! I added a spoon of peanut butter... yum!

excellent idea! i never keep ice cream around but usually have bananas. can't wait to try it.

I tried this yesterday, and it's INCREDIBLE!! Thank you immensely! Why didn't I know about this before?

AWESOME!! So glad you posted this. This is our super easy way to make raw icecream. I have many other raw, vegan recipes but I still like this one just as much as the others that are more complicated.
Peace and Raw Health,
Elizabeth

Don't forget kids: there are approx 100 calories per banana!

Not trying to burst anyone's bubble, but banana's are not the healthiest food you could be eating. 24 grams of carbs, most of it sugar means banana's are not good for diabetics or people trying to lose weight. Its not going to stop ME from eating banana's of course, but they really are a desert item so don't kid yourselves. :)

Even real Ice cream has health befits with calcium and protein, but eating too much isn't good for your health.

Another ice cream alternative for vegans and the lactose intolerant is coconut milk ice cream. Its super creamy and delicious, but still a desert item. :)

I did it yesterday and I added some frozen strawberries I had frozen separately, it's one of the best things I discovered online!

Amazing, simply amazing. I am the world's biggest cynic, and this worked, it was as advertised, and it is amazing.

I added some chilled evaporated milk I had on hand to make lemon ice cream -- I LOVE ICE CREAM! -- and added a few spoonsful to get the mixture going, as noted above. Worked like a charm and voila, in no time, banana ice cream.

How does it taste after being frozen, anyone know? No matter, it won't last long in the freezer.

Carbs, calories? Give me a break, you shouldn't be on an ice cream page if you're worried about those. Go look for a spinach page.

Thank you, thank you, this is an amazing recipe!

I once made homemade ice cream with avocado and lime from. It was very labour intensive, but reading this I can't help but think that some avocado and lime juice would be a delicious addition - and the avocado really helps keep things creamy.

I will have to try it soon! Let's see if my little inversion blender is up to the task...

Ahem. *from a vegetarian cookbook

It definitely worked - even with an imersion blender, but wasn't so nice after it had been back in the freezer. For immediate consumption only, I'd say.

You can really take this recipe to the next level by blending it with medjool dates: http://www.my-healthy-eating-secrets.com/simple-dessert-recipes.html

This is a Brilliant find after reading this post I had to try it for myself. I am now in love and on my way to the store to get more banana's

I can't wait to try this and seriously, the concern about calories? Its not just about calories, bananas are high in fiber and a good source of potassium & vitamin C. This is also a great dessert for those who don't eat dairy because of lactose intolerance or other dietary concerns.

Yeah, if you eat a bunch of the "banana ice cream" then you'd get a whole lot of calories but I say just eat a scoop or two in moderation, just like you would with anything else. I'd think with the fiber it'd be a lot more filling.

I have to say that I agree with @meskarune- Bananas are pretty high on the glycemic index, which essentially means that they're not really all that "sugar free"... I mean, no fruit is really, but if you're looking to cut out sugar in your diet, this may not be the best bet.

However, it is tasty. And it probably is healthier in some regards to regular ice cream. :)

http://www.unprofessionalcookery.tumblr.com

Great,classic recipe. It seems like you post this every two weeks because of it's awesomeness...jk

Does anyone know if this works with any other ingredient? I've been making this for years and was wondering if anyone experimented with any other fruits in the same manner to see if it had a similar constistency to ice cream like frozen bananas do.

I have been doing this since Oct, 2009 when this same article, with the same photos, was first posted. It is delicious, and I suppose worth a second posting.

oh, and I forgot to mention that due to the high-sugar nature of bananas, this is a dessert to be eaten in moderation. Much more nutritious than ice-cream, but very, very sweet. Not exactly the "free food" weight watchers would have one believe...

People, there was nothing in the original post that made claims that this was "diet" or "low-cal" or anything like that. Basically, it was easy and delicious and dairy-free. How about y'all keep your diet/calorie/fat gram obsessions to yourselves instead of lecturing the internet about it?

Love it! Just got June's InStyle magazine, and there's apparently a counter device made specifically for this...glad to know my normal equipment can handle it. ;)

I love the people who are saying "it looks like ice cream and has the texture of ice cream, but it still tastes like bananas"! Haha! OF COURSE IT DOES! It's frozen BANANAS! Oy vey....

Sounds yummy, I'm freezing bananas now!

Haha, just tried it a few minutes ago. It's delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this :)

Made it a while back, hated it. Love bananas, banana ice cream and milkshakes. No idea what went wrong here but the aftertaste was weird.

I just made this! I am gluten/dairy intolerant and pretty much allergic to everything in the boxed GF/DF meals. For the first time in the 6 months Ive had to be 100% free I actually enjoyed a dessert!! Thanks so much for the post! Tomorrow I am going to add fresh blackberries to top it off! I made some for my mother too and she is put crushed Vanilla Waffers on hers (Oh I wish I could do that!).
LOVE IT!

i did this with a fork and totally was worth it

has anyone tried adding some nutella when blending the bananas?

Just made this-it's absolutely gorgeous. I added half a low fat natural yogurt and a couple of drops of vanilla extract for two bananas. Perfect pud for anyone on a diet! Thanks :-)

Wow! I'd been wondering what to do with the bananas I've had to throw out in the past. This is GREAT! I did know that if you put them in the fridge after they start to get speckely, the skin turns black but they are still good.

Finally tried it recently! Really amazing - it works! I tried it plain and made it with unsweetened cocoa powder and nutella - really good!

I made it! http://carissabyers.blogspot.com/2011/07/banana-ice-cream.html

Mashing up a rip banana and adding something else (peanut butter, cocoa, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, fruit, coffee.. you name it!) and then sticking it in a freezer pop mold is also easy and delicious, with less mess!

I made this. Tasted a little too much like bananas for my liking, but I'm thinking that if I don't let them get quite as black I might like it more. I added brown sugar and honey. Next time I will play around with adding cocca powder. I do love the texture.

I just had to try this out, but not with banana. This method works using any soft fruit like strawberries, peaches, blueberries that have been frozen in bite sized pieces to make a "sorbet". I am definitely going to be adding this recipe (with my tweaks and with a link to you) to my blogs (http://YourNotSoProfessionalPersonalChef.blogspot.com/), because it fits in all my catergories: soy, milk, egg, wheat and nut-free! :) Thanks for much for sharing!

OMG! definitely going to do me what one of those...hmmm....yummy...

http://dominicanillinois.universityhotelnetwork.com/

The Champion Juicer is perfect for this... but not just frozen bananas...freeze pineapple or strawberries... i don't think these two would work the same in a blender or food processor... just push them through the Champion Juicer... they both come out like smooth creamy ice cream.

Hi
Thanks for the Recipe. I made it yesterday and then put it on my blog. it was delicious !!!!!!
This is my blogs name:

http://agis-world.blogspot.com/2011/09/banana-ice-cream.html

So delicious! My 2 year old son and I made it today and it was a hit. He loved it!

Check out his reaction!
http://www.heartbykerry.com/2011/10/one-ingredient-healthy-ice-cream.html

Hi Faith,
Great stuff- have been seeing this recipe around the blogosphere but like your intro. and photos the best (honestly!). In fact, have your sister's friends (with all the various minimalist diets) contact me, I'd love one of them to write a guest post about how they do it for my site!
One little suggestion to add to the recipe: be sure to let the bananas get really ripe- like banana-bread ripe, then slice and freeze.
Depending on consistency, once in blender you may want to add a little dairy-free milk for lubrication, but if they're not TOO frozen they should be good as is.
Thanks!
Michael of No Flour, No Sugar Diet

Slicing then freezing is the key!
Also you can add berries and applejuice and blend further to get a smoothie without the ice.

Melted caramel goes along way with this too then it's almost Dulce de Leche. Vanilla Essence/bean is interesting added to it to ( use real please!! - it makes a HUGE difference ).

So easy, healthy and delicious!

Yep I make banana ice cream, a chef on TV made ice cream with frozen banana and buttermilk a few years back. I've done it with nut butters too for ice cream, it's so quick and easy and saves waste on bananas (used to be always happening to me!) or love frozen bananas in smoothies

Bananas have a lot of sugar so this isn't really sugar free, right? I'm on a candida diet and they say bananas are a big no.

My daughter was insistent about having ice cream for breakfast. Being 2 she wasn't receptive to any of my reasoning or suggestions of other breakfast items. Finally, I remembered reading this post. She had banana and a splash of coconut milk ice cream for breakfast. Thanks for saving the day!

OH MY GOD, i just made this with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter on top, light whipped cream and a Coconut Thin. Yum!!!! I think it turned out perfect. I did it in a food processor with 3 frozen, sliced bananas. I did have to keep opening it and pushing the moosh down. But it stayed frozen. I was afraid of doing it too long in that it would start getting warm like the Vita-Mix does, so it was only about 2 minutes or so. My 6 year old really liked it, too. Hubby is not here, but I will make it again!
Thank you for this YUMMY recipe!

too bad i hate bananas. this would have been a healthy/cheap alternative when i'm craving the bad stuff.

you can also do this with mangos...delicious!

Single ingredient desserts are fantastic for a rotation diet as well as all the others you mentioned. Will definitely add this to our offerings at Topia Inn! I like the advice on using coconut milk and mangoes as well. Looking forward to more culinary adventure!

I added Greek yogurt and the ice cream became softer :-)

WTF did I do wrong??? This was so awful! First the blender wouldn't move and it took forever to puree the frozen banana slices. I had to add a little milk to get it moving.

I finally got them pureed, but after I re-chilled the pureed bananas in the freezer, they turned brown and did not even freeze. The whole thing tastes like an icky, slimy, sickenly sweet, slushy mess!

What's worse, is that I mixed my favorite cookies in to make a cookies & cream variation. The cookies never softened and the puree never froze, so now I have this disaster of crumbled cookies floating around in this...gross, gooey mess!

I'm new at making things. Please feel free to tell me what I did wrong.

Tried this last night - have never been so disappointed. Used one banana cut into small pieces frozen for about an hour. My Cuisinart wouldn't even pretend to move. After repeatedly trying to push it around and my food processor making the most scary noises, I gave up.

Ok, admittedly, I didn't read v carefully so ended up doing this in reverse. Pureed room temperature bananas and froze them in an ice cream maker (tho I think you could also just freeze the puree straight up). I also added a few shots of bourbon and some cinnamon. Not quite the same thing as ice cream but definitely a delicious, frozen treat!

can't believe it!!
so genius!

@Faith, Wow! Thanks for posting this ... must try it. Magic Shell sounds great ... didn't someone post a 'healthy" recipe for Magic Shell using dark chocolate & coconut oil or milk or something (must find that in my bookmarks!)?

Love frozen bananas for smoothies. This morning's breakfast was a chocolate banana protein smoothie made with banana, almond/coconut milk, Greek yogurt, hemp protein (Trader Joe's chocolate flavor), honey, almonds & chia seeds ...yu-ummm! Thanks to Faith & everyone that shared their own techniques & recipes here in the comments! Can't wait to try them.

Yep, frozen bananas are my old standby for creamy smoothies. Frozen strawberries and bananas, a scoop of yogurt, a splash of OJ and almond milk. Tastes just like a Starburst :o)

Every year in Austin Texas at the TCEA (technology conference) - a little shop called the Tiki hut sold a great drink. It was the pureed bananas and then some coffee flavoring and probably a ton of sugar. I've played with this tons of times, freeze the banana long so you have some hand space for manipulating it, add a splash of milk or yogurt or almond milk to give you the little liquid you need. It's delicious with peanut butter but I like to add a tablespoon or so of instant decaf coffee. We don't do caffine but it makes for a great coffee flavored ice cream!

An apetizing recipe for Icecream. Worth trying. open also to variation

Brownish bananas have more flavour and are cheaper. Lemon juice - about a half for two bananas really kicks up the flavour. I'm going to try coffee from the above post next time.

Get new friends.
Eat real ice cream.
Let the vegan, gluten, allergic hippies starve.

I know this is not as cool as one ingredient, but avocado does the same thing - you need to mash it first though, add a good blob of honey and the juice of a lemon or two and then freeze it. Most excellent when topped with pistachio nuts. (found this in a 70's cookbook and tried it just for the weird factor when my kids were still young enough to be entertained by weird - and thought avocados were invented for making guacamole - but it tasted so good it was a staple for a while).

I've said it before. And I'll say it again. This is just frozen, pureed fruit. Basically, a sugar-less sorbet. You can use just about any fruit and get a comparable result.

This is NOT by any stretch of the imagination "ice cream." That requires the presence of cream.

FAITH DURAND-

Have no fear, I believe you can have your Magic Shell and not feel so guilty about it.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream from Columbus, OH, has a recipe using only
dark chocolate and coconut oil

Here's the recipe...
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/06/bombebasticks

I've been using frozen, ripe nanners as a base for smoothies forever. DELICIOUS.

I have been eating this for a while. I didn't read through all of the comments, so pardon me if the following combination has been stated. I prepare it with some cocoa powder, a bit of peanut butter, some maple syrup or honey and almond milk or coconut milk (the prepared variety that is intended to replace dairy milk). This is so fulfilling and so healthy. Another great option for over ripe bananas!

"That's the sort of thing you discover," she sighed, "when all your friends are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-allergic, and you're on a sugar-free diet."

Bananas are not sugar-free. Some have compared eating a banana to eating a donut.

sorry but bananas are not ice cream.. you can call it ice cream if you want.. but its really just frozen banana.. and for those of us who happen to be allergic to bananas .. its not a possibility

Just tried recipe for first time. 3 frozen bananas ..left them on counter for ten minutes so slightly thawed . Put them in my blender - mix then purée . Added 2 tbs. peanut butter. Best soft serve I ever had. Made quite a bit Put rest in small cups in freezer to see how it is frozen. Thanks for a great way to use overripe bananas.

oh the perfect recipe for me

You can make a similar ice cream out of any frozen fruit easily with a juice maker. I think banana has the best texture, but pineapple is delicious!

Can someone PLEASE discover another wonder fruit. I'm allergic to bananas, and I'm sick of all these amazing things you can do with them. :(

And...now I see Growing Green's comment. So, pineapple you say?

Tried it, it still tasted like a regular bananas, and I broke my hand-blender.

:(

On a side note, the gummy-ness was kind of disgusting after the second spoonful.
Stick to the regular thing.

I used the chopper attachment of my Braun hand blender - it worked perfectly! Creamy, smooth... what a great treat!

what other fruit can you do this with?

i didn't leave the bananas frozen long enough but it still tasted kinda good but more like a milkshake than ice cream.

My first attempt (1/3 frozen banana, 2/3 mango) had a few frozen chunks in it, but left me convinced to give it a second try by cuttung smaller pieces. I am using a handheld blender that has an attachment with a bigger blade in a blender bowl. I just ate the 2nd test and will never ever buy industrial icecream. Thank you guys for this inspiration.

Great idea!

I love this idea! As an alternative and if you want to use fresh bananas, you can put one banana in a blender, add ice cubes, milk and your favorite sweetener - I also like it with strawberries!

I made this with half a dozen bananas just half an hour ago and it's ALL GONE. Brilliant recipe! And it works wonderfully for Bombay because we have warm weather; plus we get bananas year-round! LOVE <3 <3 Need to try peanut butter and nutella versions next!

Dang my fiance cannot have this. Bananas are a big no no on a renal failure diet.