Let's state the obvious first: Banana ice cream is not ice cream. But itisa dairy-free, fat-free, vegan, refined-sugar-free dessert (or, TBH, a totally solid breakfast) that only takes one ingredient to make—unsurprisingly, that ingredient is bananas! Frozen ones, specifically, which get whirled in a blender and transform from weird banana crumbles into an unbelievably creamy, froyo-like texture before your eyes. Aside from being healthy, it's a pretty cool party trick.
Once you know how to make banana ice cream, the mix-in options are limitless. To keep it simple, you could blend in cocoa or carob powder along with the bananas for a simple chocolate ice cream—but we're partial to gooey, crunchy mix-ins. Make a healthier "chunky monkey" ice cream by folding in cooled toasted walnuts and dark chocolate chips, or swirl room-temperature saltedcaramel sauceand pecans into the base, or addpeanut butter and jellyfor a nostalgic treat.
Slice the ripe bananas
The key to a super-sweet banana ice cream is aperfectly ripe banana—that means that the sugars in the fruit will be fully developed, and it's at peak deliciousness. When you've got them right where you want them, thinly slice up 4 bananas (you could leave them whole, but slicing will be easier on your food processor, and helps the ice cream blend evenly and quickly while staying frozen).
Freeze the slices
You could definitely just dump the banana slices into a freezer bag and freeze them in a big lump, but they'll stick together, defeating the purpose of slicing them in the first place. The most efficient way to freeze the slices is spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet for a couple hours until they firm up,thendropping the pre-frozen slices into a bag. This way, they'll freeze separately rather than fuse together. Let the banana slices freeze until completely solid—at least overnight.
