What is the ice cream with bananas called?

Do you ever get a craving for something sweet after you’ve finished dinner? Maybe you want a bowl of ice cream but you don’t have any in the freezer?

You are in luck! I’ve worked closely with SWEAT’s nutrition team on a healthy and nutritious alternative! If you haven’t heard of nice cream yet, I’m about to introduce you to your new favourite dessert. 

Learn how to make: 

There are so many reasons to enjoy nice cream. You can whip it up with just a few ingredients and you don’t even need an ice cream maker. 

What is nice cream?

Also known as banana ice cream, nice cream is made by blending frozen bananas until they resemble soft serve. You end up with a bowl of dairy-free dessert that is sweet and has a texture like ice cream.

While nice cream is usually made using frozen bananas, you can also make nice cream from other frozen fruit, like frozen mango or strawberries! 

The best thing about nice cream is that it is a much healthier alternative — and a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth. 

It is super simple to make nice cream at home, which means that you can have a healthy dessert in minutes! 

You can choose to add different ingredients to nice cream to create your own flavour combinations. This means you can tweak the flavour to match what you’re craving that day!

Follow the nice cream recipe ideas below and I’m sure you will love them as much as I do!

If you’re a big fan of a fruity sorbet, using a banana nice cream base is a great healthy option! 

Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 1-2
Dietary preferences: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 medium banana, peeled, chopped and frozen
• 65g (½ cup) frozen raspberries
• 1 tsp coconut sugar
• 250ml (1 cup) coconut water

Method: 

1. Place the banana, raspberries, coconut sugar and coconut water in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately. 

Raspberries are so delicious in this recipe but you can try whichever fruit you like. You might like to use mixed berries or kiwifruit to add more vitamin-rich ingredients and lots of colour!

It’s no secret that I love mango and this is another healthy, totally yummy way to enjoy it!

Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 1-2
Dietary preferences: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free

Ingredients:

• 1 medium banana, peeled, chopped and frozen
• 75g (½ cup) frozen mango pieces
• 125ml (½ cup) coconut milk. 
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 5-6 (10g) macadamia nuts, chopped

Method:

1. Place the banana, mango, coconut milk and maple syrup in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy. 
2. To serve, place the nice cream in a bowl or cup. Sprinkle over the chopped macadamia nuts and serve immediately. 

Adding coconut milk to this nice cream recipe not only makes it extra creamy but it also helps your blender to process the frozen banana chunks more easily.

There is something so refreshing about mint but you might not think to add it to dessert. This is the encouragement you need to try it!

Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 1-2
Dietary preferences: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ medium bananas, peeled, chopped and frozen
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 125 ml (½ cup) coconut milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp cacao nibs

Method:

1. Place the banana, cacao powder, mint, coconut milk and maple syrup in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy. 
2. To serve, place the nice cream in a bowl or cup and sprinkle over the cacao nibs. Serve immediately. 

Cacao nibs are nature’s dark chocolate! They make a great topping for smoothie bowls, yoghurt, and nice cream.

This nice cream recipe has an interesting texture from the shredded coconut. Try adding in vanilla essence and top it with nuts or cacao nibs for extra flavour. 

Total time: 10 mins + overnight freezing time
Serves: 1-2
Dietary preferences: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free

Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe bananas, peeled, chopped and frozen
• 1 tbsp shredded coconut
• Nuts & cinnamon to top

Method:

1. Place frozen banana pieces in a high-powered blender. 2. Blend until banana starts to look like soft serve ice cream, then add in the coconut. 

3. To serve, place the nice cream in a bowl or cup and sprinkle with nuts. Serve immediately or store for later in the freezer for more of an ice cream consistency. 

Choose ripe bananas! Ripe or overripe bananas make for a sweeter nice cream. Next time you have some bananas that ripen too quickly, you can either make them into my healthy banana bread or banana nice cream! 

If you want to try out a nice cream recipe but you aren’t planning to eat it right away, it can be made ahead of time. Pop it into an airtight container and store the nice cream in the freezer — it can last for up to a week. 

Also, make sure you use a blender that can handle frozen fruit chunks. Handheld or stick blenders aren’t the best to make nice cream because often they don’t have enough power. If you notice that your blender is struggling, try dividing the frozen fruit into smaller portions

In the process of conducting our blender review, we came upon the challenge of banana ice cream (also called “nice cream”), which can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing! Think chunky ice cream, runny ice cream, blender fatigue, and everything in between.

We learned a lot in the process, which we’ve distilled here in this ULTIMATE Guide to Banana Ice Cream, plus 10 easy and delicious flavors to try!

What is Nice Cream?

Banana ice cream, also referred to as “nice cream,” is a super simple, plant-based version of ice cream made with a base of just 1 ingredient: bananas!

It’s typically made in either a blender or food processor depending on the equipment available and your priorities (total time, hands-on time, quantity, etc.). We share the pros and cons of each method below!

Tips for Success

• Use ripe, spotty bananas for best flavor/sweetness
• Peel and slice into 1/2-inch slices instead of large chunks, which can be more difficult to blend
• Freeze in a single layer to prevent large clumps (parchment paper on a baking sheet is our favorite way to prevent sticking to the pan!)
• If you’re having trouble blending, let the banana thaw for a few minutes. This will allow it to soften and become easier to blend. Alternatively, you could add 1 Tbsp (15 ml) at a time of dairy-free milk to encourage blending. But be careful with this method as it’s the fastest way to get runny banana ice cream.
• For true “ice cream” texture vs. soft serve, simply spread into a Tupperware or loaf pan and freeze for 2-3 hours. Then scoop with an ice cream scoop! If too firm, let thaw 15-30 minutes to soften.

Food Processor vs. High-Speed Blender

Using either a food processor or a blender will work for making banana ice cream.

For best texture, we prefer a blender, but for an easier-to-master method, a food processor is the way to go!

Food Processor

• Generally takes a bit longer (5 minutes vs 2-3 minutes in a blender).
• Requires occasional babysitting. Otherwise, relatively hands-off.
• Not quite as smooth — can be a bit more difficult to fully blend and ensure there is no chunkiness.

Blender

• Fast! High-speed blenders (especially a Vitamix) with a tamper can make banana nice cream in 2-3 minutes, or depending on the motor power and skill, even 1 minute!
• Requires babysitting and using the tamper the whole time.
• Can be aggravating to the motor, and can sometimes require stopping for breaks.
• Can make larger quantities.

We’ve had success with both the Vitamix 5200 and Kitchenaid KSB8270FP Pro Line Series. See our full blender review here.

Flavors

The flavor options for banana ice cream are endless! For most flavors, you can simply add the flavors after the bananas have already been turned into “nice cream”:

1. Vanilla (1 tsp vanilla extract)
2. Green Dream (1 tsp spirulina + 1-2 tsp matcha)
3. Chocolate (2 Tbsp cacao or cocoa powder)
4. Chocolate Nut Butter (2 Tbsp cacao butter + 2 Tbsp nut butter)
5. Peanut Butter (2-3 Tbsp peanut butter or other nut butter or choice)
6. Chocolate Tahini (see this recipe)
7. Cookie Dough (see this recipe)

But for the following flavors, add the fruit at the same time as the bananas:

1. Strawberry (1 cup frozen strawberries)
2. Berry (1 cup frozen mixed berries)
3. Sea Salt Caramel (4-6 soaked pitted dates + healthy pinch sea salt)

Toppings

If you’ve ever been to an ice cream shop where you get to choose your toppings, you know there are so many different options! The same applies here.

Some of our favorite topping ideas include:

• Sliced fresh fruit (such as kiwi, banana, or berries)
• Cacao nibs
• Nut butter
• Shredded coconut
• Seed cycling mixes

We hope you LOVE this ice cream! It’s:CreamyFluffySweetFruityRefreshing

& Delicious!

It’s perfect any time you’re craving a healthier dessert (or when you need to use up extra bananas)! It would also be fun as a homemade ice cream bar, allowing everyone to customize with different flavors and toppings.

More Banana Dessert Recipes

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Cuisine Dessert, Gluten-Free, Vegan

Does it keep? Best when fresh

• 2 ½ cups sliced frozen ripe banana (~2 medium-large bananas as recipe is written — adjust amount if adjusting serving size // the riper, the sweeter)
• 1-2 tsp maple syrup or other sweetener of choice (optional)

• Vanilla (base recipe + 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• Strawberry (base recipe + 1 cup frozen strawberries, organic when possible)
• Berry (base recipe + 1 cup frozen mixed berries)
• Green Dream (base recipe + 1 tsp spirulina + 1-2 tsp matcha)
• Chocolate (base recipe + 2 Tbsp cacao or cocoa powder)
• Chocolate Nut Butter (base recipe + 2 Tbsp cacao powder + 2 Tbsp nut butter)
• Peanut Butter (base recipe + 2-3 Tbsp peanut butter or other nut butter of choice)
• Chocolate Tahini
• Sea Salt Caramel (4-6 soaked pitted dates + healthy pinch sea salt)
• Cookie Dough

• Be sure to start with ripe and spotty bananas. Peel and slice into 1/2-inch slices for easier blending (large chunks tax the motor). Then add to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm (3-4 hours or overnight).

• Add sliced frozen bananas to a food processor fitted with an “S” blade. Then blend for 4-5 minutes or until completely smooth, fluffy, and blended. You’ll need to stop occasionally to stir and scrape the sides. You’ll be left with a soft serve texture. See “FREEZING” below for freezing tips.

• Add sliced frozen bananas to a high-speed blender, our most recommended model being the Vitamix 5200 for ultimate control and its powerful motor. (The Kitchenaid KSB8270FP Pro Line Series works well, too.) Turn the Vitamix dial to its lowest setting and ensure the switch is flipped to “Variable” NOT “High” to start with. It’s too much to jump the motor from 0-100 that fast.

• Once it’s started blending, quickly switch from “Variable” to “High” speed and use the tamper to press down and stir/agitate the bananas, which should turn into soft-serve texture banana ice cream quite quickly. If the motor seems to be struggling, stop and pause momentarily. Be sure to switch back to low speed / “Variable,” then switch to “High” speed every time to protect the motor.

• Adding flavor to your nice cream is easy! For every flavor besides strawberry, berry, or Salted Caramel, simply add the recommended amounts of each ingredient to your ice cream at this time and blend until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If making strawberry or berry, we recommend adding them at the beginning with the unblended bananas for best texture.

• At this point you have soft-serve texture banana ice cream. To get more of a scoopable ice cream texture, simply spread into a Tupperware or parchment-lined loaf pan and freeze for 2-3 hours. Then scoop with an ice cream scoop! If too firm, let thaw 15-30 minutes to soften.

• Best when fresh. See freezing instructions above. Frozen banana ice cream should keep for up to 1 month if well covered, though we find it’s best when used within the first week.

*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with 2 medium bananas and without optional ingredients.
*Prep time does not include slicing and freezing bananas.

Serving: 1 servings Calories: 105 Carbohydrates: 26.9 g Protein: 1.3 g Fat: 0.4 g Saturated Fat: 0.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.09 g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 1 mg Potassium: 422 mg Fiber: 3.1 g Sugar: 14.4 g Vitamin A: 75.52 IU Vitamin C: 10.27 mg Calcium: 5.9 mg Iron: 0.31 mg

Reader Interactions