The Most Amazing One-Ingredient Ice Cream!
March 28, 2012 15 Comments
OMG! I’m obsessed! Obsessed with my newest discovery of one-ingredient banana ice cream. Yes, it’s just bananas and it’s as creamily smooth as soft serve ice cream.
I readily admit that I’m an ice cream addict. I’m pretty sure that it runs in my family as my brother and sister are severely afflicted as well so I think it’s safe to blame genetics on this misfortune.
The other night during one of my “CHRISTINA NEEDS ICE CREAM RIGHT NOW!” moments, I downed an entire pint of this stuff.
It was just what the doctor ordered! The only problem is that it was 10pm at night and consuming large amounts of sugar late at night keeps me up. So as I lay in bed well after midnight with my heart racing and not a wink of shut-eye in sight, my late night ice cream binge wasn’t looking like such a hot decision after all. Sadly, I know this about myself—how sugar affects me. And I clearly knew how late it was, yet could not stop eating the sweet creamy bliss. *sigh*
However, I’m thinking that this holy-mother-of-god-amazing invention of only-banana ice cream just might be my savior to late night cravings since fruit sugar (fructose) does not affect blood sugar levels the way that refined sugar (glucose) does!
Also, I must clarify. When I say ice “cream” I am, of course, referring to those of the non-dairy variety, which I dare say are better than the kind made from a lactating bovine. And with the overwhelming number of different companies producing such a wide variety of flavors it’s hard not to find at least a couple that you will love. You have choices from coconut to soy, almond, cashew, and rice based ice creams—so, yeah, lots to choose from. That Nada Moo kind I had the other night was awesome and I want to try other flavors of it, but my favorite kind that’s available nationally is Ginger Cookie Caramel Coconut Bliss. Sooooo good! Almond Dream is also another great brand and I actually love the straight up vanilla one. And if you’re in the Bay Area you cannot miss trying Scream Ice Cream—it takes the cake (heh) as best ice cream in the world and makes me salivate just thinking about it.
Somehow I missed the internet craze about this banana ice cream when it initially hit as it seems to have been all the rage a number of months ago. Apparently there is even a special banana ice cream making machine on the market. I don’t mean to knock it, but if you have a food processor this tool is completely superfluous and just another unnecessary kitchen gadget. You’re just blending bananas!
Ok. Ok. Enough chit chat. Onward with how to make this mother of all inventions!
You first want to slice some ripe bananas and stick them in the freezer until frozen (I like to wait a day to make sure they’re solid.) Then you throw them in your food processor.
And start to process…you’ll see it turn to chunks and then start to get a bit smoother.
After blending a few minutes more it’ll start to get even creamier. I like to periodically turn on the machine and scrape down the side and spread out any chunks so that it gets evenly pureed.
I really love it at the stage in the above photo on the right, but you can continue blending until it’s even creamier like the one below.
I’ve noticed that if you don’t add any additional fruit to your ice cream, when you refreeze it maintains that soft creamy consistency. However, if you add strawberries, for example, the refrozen version becomes harder and tastes more like sorbet.
I also enjoyed topping it with chocolate sauce, strawberries, and toasted coconut.
Oy…clearly, I’m very inexperienced at photographing frozen foods because, in retrospect I realize that I should have frozen the plate and then let this trio sit in the freezer for a few minutes before photographing it—meltytown!
One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
- at least 2 frozen bananas (or banana slices)
- (optional) splash of vanilla
Puree Bananas: If they’re not already sliced, I recommend chopping up your frozen bananas before putting them in the food processer. Once you have slices, whirl away for several minutes until you have something akin to soft-serve ice cream. Feel free to sample along the way as you’re scraping down the sides of the bowl 🙂
Also, feel free to experiment with adding other flavors or foods to the mixture. So far I’ve tried:
- berries
- coconut and coconut milk
- molasses and cookies
- sunbutter (which was heaven for me—it’s funny, though, that the combination of the two oxidized to create an unappetizing grey color to whatever parts were exposed to air)
- chocolate
- OMG pumpkin!
Fruit of Adventure 
OK, Christina, Kiah alerted me to this post–she’s already frozen some bananas and I’m going to buy some today today. This looks SOOOO good! Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
Ooooh, excellent, Kathy!!! I cannot wait to hear how you like it!!
YAY for sharing this. I missed the hullabaloo a few months ago too!
No problem, Linda! It’s quite amazing so I hope you get a chance to try it!
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I found this post via Kathy’s blog this morning, and am definitely keen to try this out. It looks so easy and so healthy too!
Hi Reggie! Yes, it’s all of those things! Easy and healthy and delicious! I can’t wait to hear how you like it!
Hi
I’m also here via Kathy’s blog. I’m intrigued! Ice cream without any other ingredient and no ice cream maker? Can’t wait to try it
Ooooh, I can’t wait to hear what you think when you do, Rosie! It’s fascinating how whipped and creamy the frozen banana becomes!
I found your post through Kathy’s blog! Wow! I love ice cream but alas am lactose intolerant; have made my way through soy, almond and rice milk with shades of allergies and finally Podunk Al stocked Coconut milk and I have consumed large quantities with no ill effects. I eat as much organic as I can find. Somehow it takes years for the south to catch on; kinda like the War Between the States; we still believe that the South won.
Can’t wait to try this out!
Hi Linda! It’s a bummer to hear you’ve developed various sensitivities to other non-dairy milks in addition to lactose 😦 but it’s awesome to hear that coconut milk seems to be working. Also, there are a few other non-dairy beverages on the market these days, like flax and sunflower milk (both of which are awesome!) as well as numerous others. Not sure if your stores stock these, though, but they might be willing to try carrying them if you ask 🙂
I’m so glad to hear you’re going to give the banana ice cream a try! It’s amazing how well it works! And how healthy it is!! 🙂 I hope you like it.
Oh, thank you, I did not know about the flax and sunflower milk. I will certainly ask this week when I shop.
I’ll be a regular here to find out what is going on!
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forgot to add a splash of vanilla…but these came out so nice, creamy smooth! My daughter loved it and gave her three little scoops without feeling guilty or bad! Fun healthy foods are so guilt free 🙂
Yay! So glad to hear that you and your daughter loved it! I agree that it’s great to be able to feed our children a sweet healthy treat that they love without having to feel guilty.