Banana Nice Cream
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A healthy twist on traditional ice cream, Banana Nice Cream is a creamy, rich, and delicious frozen dessert! Vegan and dairy-free friendly; Nice Cream is made with just a handful of ingredients. Mix in some additional ingredients to make a variety of fun and tasty flavors.
Banana Nice Cream
Banana Nice Cream is the frozen dessert you will want to add to your list of summer time treats. A healthy twist in traditional ice cream, Banana Nice Cream is a vegan and dairy-free option to the summer time classic. Don’t let the word healthy keep you from giving this creamy, rich goodness a try. Made with bananas and a handful of ingredients, nice cream is super easy to make. Mix in some additional ingredients to make a variety of fun and tasty flavors. Don’t forget some fun and classic toppings to complete your nice cream experience!
Ingredients needed to make Banana Nice Cream:
- Frozen Banana– Follow directions on how to freeze the bananas specifically to make nice cream. It does matter.
- Maple Syrup– For sweetening.
- Vanilla Extract– Adds flavor.
- Oat Milk– Or any milk of choice.
Equipment needed to make Banana Nice Cream:
- Large Baking Sheet Pan– To freeze banana slices on.
- Parchment Paper– For lining baking sheet pan to prevent bananas to sticking to it as they freeze.
- Food Processor– To blend all the ingredients together.
How to make Banana Nice Cream:
- Step 1– Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Peel and slice bananas into about 1/2 inch thick circles. Measure out 2 cups of sliced bananas which is about 3 bananas depending on how big they are. Layer each banana slice on prepped sheet pan making sure there’s room between them and they’re not touching. Freeze for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
- Step 2– Place frozen banana slices in a food processor. Add the rest of ingredients for which ever banana nice cream flavor you are making. Blend for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy texture is reached. For some of the flavors like chocolate and mint chocolate chip, some of the ingredients may get stuck on the side of the food processor. Open it and scrape the sides and continue to blend for another few seconds making sure all the ingredients are well blended into the banana. Use a spoon and give the banana nice cream a gentle stir making sure there aren’t any chunks left and that everything is well blended and smooth.
- Step 3– Depending on the temperature of your house and how long you have to blend the bananas to get it smooth and creamy, the bananas may start to thaw out a bit. If your nice cream seems to be too soft, place it on a freezer friendly container and freeze for 10-15 minutes.
- Step 4– Serve banana nice cream in a cone or bowl with your favorite toppings. Place any leftover banana nice cream in a freezer friendly container and keep frozen for 1-2 months. Allow frozen banana nice cream to thaw out on kitchen counter for 15 minutes to soften and be able to scoop out and serve. Enjoy!
Tips and Substitutions:
- Freeze bananas by slicing and layering them on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper- This is the best method for freezing bananas as it prevents them from clumping together as they freeze. It also makes it easier for bananas to blend making for a smoother and creamier nice cream.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight- The longer bananas freeze the creamier and richer nice cream they will make.
- Depending on the temperature of your house and how long you have to blend the bananas they may start to thaw out a bit– If your nice cream seems to be too soft, place it on a freezer friendly container and freeze for 10-15 minutes.
- Substitute for maple syrup- You can use honey if you don’t need nice cream to be vegan.
- Substitute for oat milk- Use any plant-based milk such as unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk.
Different Banana Nice Cream Flavors:
- Strawberry Nice Cream- Add frozen strawberries to banana nice cream for this classic flavor.
- Chocolate Nice Cream- My personal favorite! Just add some cacao powder for a chocolaty nice cream!
- Nut Butter Nice Cream- Use any nut butter of choice for a nutty flavored nice cream.
- Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream- Baby Spinach, Fresh Mint and Dark Chocolate Chips for another fan favorite flavor!
Toppings for your Nice Cream:
- Nuts or seeds
- Dark Chocolate
- Fresh Fruit
- Melted Chocolate
- Nut Butter
- Coconut Whipped Cream
- Coconut Chips
Banana Nice Cream FAQ’s:
What is Banana Nice Cream?
Banana “Nice Cream” or simply “Nice Cream” is a creamy frozen dessert made of bananas inspired by traditional ice cream. In contract to ice cream, nice cream is a vegan, sugar-free, dairy-free treat. It can be made with just bananas and other simple ingredients, or add more ingredients for a variation of flavors and fun toppings.
Does banana nice cream taste like banana?
If you are making plain banana nice cream, then yes it does taste like banana. However, it is still so creamy and delicious. If you are making banana nice cream and mixing it with other flavors, then those will overpower the banana and taste like the flavor you are making. For example, if you are making strawberry or chocolate banana nice cream, then your nice cream will taste like strawberry or chocolate.
What is the difference between nice cream and ice cream?
Even though the two are frozen treats, they are pretty different from each other since they are both made with different ingredients. While ice cream is made with dairy milk, banana nice cream is mostly made with plant-based milks. Traditional ice cream is also made with cream, sugar, and sometimes even eggs. While nice cream is made with frozen bananas, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and plant-based milk.
How do you freeze Bananas to make Nice Cream?
Rather than freezing your bananas whole or in chunks, you want to slice them and freeze the slices separated from each other. If you freeze the bananas whole, or cut them into chunks and then freeze them together, the bananas will get stuck together. This will then make them harder to get blended together in the food processor and will clump up instead of getting smooth and creamy. So here’s exactly how you want to freeze them:
- First line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Next slice your bananas and measure 2 cups of banana slices.
- Place banana slices on prepped sheet pan leaving room in between each slice. Preventing them from touching.
- Freeze bananas for at least 2 hours before making nice cream.
How to store and serve Banana Nice Cream:
After you have blended your frozen bananas, place your nice cream in a freezer friendly container. Keep frozen for up to 1-2 months.
Because this dessert is made with bananas, once it freezes it gets pretty hard. Take nice cream out of freezer and let it sit on your kitchen counter for about 15 minutes to soften. Once it is soft enough that you can scoop it out, serve in an ice cream cone or bowl as is or with your favorite toppings.
Did you like this Banana Nice Cream recipe? You may also like these other frozen treats recipes:
- Healthy Homemade Fudgsicles
- Peach Raspberry Sorbet
- Blackberry-Strawberry Popsicles
- Honeydew Cucumber Sorbet
- Fresh Fruit Popsicles
Banana Nice Cream
Ingredients
Regular Banana Nice Cream
- 2 cups sliced bananas
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup oat milk
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
- 1 cup sliced bananas
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup oat milk
Chocolate Banana Nice Cream
- 2 cups sliced bananas
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup oat milk
Nut Butter Banana Nice Cream
- 2 cups sliced bananas
- 6 tbsp creamy unsalted nut butter (almond butter, peanut butter, etc)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup oat milk
Mint Chocolate Chip Banana Nice Cream
- 2 cups sliced bananas
- 1/4 cup baby spinach
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup oat milk
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Peel and slice bananas into about 1/2 inch thick circles. Measure out 2 cups of sliced bananas which is about 3 bananas depending on how big they are. Layer each banana slice on prepped sheet pan making sure there's room between them and they're not touching. Freeze for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
Place frozen banana slices in a food processor. Add the rest of ingredients for which ever banana nice cream flavor you are making. Blend for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy texture is reached. For some of the flavors like chocolate and mint chocolate chip, some of the ingredients may get stuck on the side of the food processor. Open it and scrape the sides and continue to blend for another few seconds making sure all the ingredients are well blended into the banana. Use a spoon and give the banana nice cream a gentle stir making sure there aren't any chunks left and that everything is well blended and smooth.
Depending on the temperature of your house and how long you have to blend the bananas to get it smooth and creamy, the bananas may start to thaw out a bit. If your nice cream seems to be too soft, place it on a freezer friendly container and freeze for 10-15 minutes.
Serve banana nice cream in a cone or bowl with your favorite toppings. Place any leftover banana nice cream in a freezer friendly container and keep frozen for 1-2 months. Allow frozen banana nice cream to thaw out on kitchen counter for 15 minutes to soften and be able to scoop out and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips and Substitutions:
- Freeze bananas by slicing and layering them on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper- This is the best method for freezing bananas as it prevents them from clumping together as they freeze. It also makes it easier for bananas to blend making for a smoother and creamier nice cream.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight- The longer bananas freeze the creamier and richer nice cream they will make.
- Depending on the temperature of your house and how long you have to blend the bananas they may start to thaw out a bit– If your nice cream seems to be too soft, place it on a freezer friendly container and freeze for 10-15 minutes.
- Substitute for maple syrup- You can use honey if you don’t need nice cream to be vegan.
- Substitute for oat milk- Use any plant-based milk such as unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk.
*Number of total servings in estimated. Actual number of servings may vary depending on your own personal preference in portion sizes.
**Nutritional values shown are general guidelines for 1 serving using the ingredients listed above. These numbers do not reflect and may vary depending on substitutions, additions and/or different brands and/or other ingredients that may be used.
**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links and sponsored content. All the opinions are my own and I only recommend products I use in my own home with my own family.
