Easy Ice Cream using Bananas and Extracts for flavor

Are you bananas about bananas? Maybe you love ice cream but are lactose intolerant? Or maybe you want a healthier dessert? This may be your new favorite frozen treat. All you need is frozen bananas and your favorite extract, and a blender (or just your hand/spoon).

Now you can make this as healthy or as luxurious as you want. Let’s start with the basics though.

You need bananas. Specifically, REALLY, REALLY ripe bananas. The ones groceries throw in a bag for banana bread (or gasp- toss out). Black spots are good, lots of black spots will be better. When you take the peel off you want it to open almost effortlessly and you want to smell the sweetness.

I keep mine to a serving of one banana per person (a banana is a serving, it’s not going to look as big after you blend/mush it but it’s still a serving!) Put it in the freezer for at least 12 hours. You can freeze bananas for months, so if you are planning to do this often, just buy tons of bananas and keep a stock of them

Okay, so bananas are a pretty neutral food, especially when frozen. I like eating just the bananas, but here are Ideas for flavors with no or very little added calories:

Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon
Almond
Coconut
Rum extract
Pumpkin spice (available around Autumn)
Cocoa Powder (or dark cocoa if you’re into that)

Really whatever extract you adore can work

Other (less diet friendly) ideas:
Maple syrup
Honey
Kahlua or other creamy alcohols
Candy morsels (praline, chocolate chips)
Peanut Butter

You get the idea. Almost anything you will find in regular ice cream

Now, if you want to make it creamier you can add a tbsp of milk or heavy whipping cream, but now you’re defeating the purpose (unless you’re trying to get someone to eat more bananas).

Once your bananas are frozen, put them in the blender with your chosen ingredients (start with just a tablespoon, it depends on the size or amount of bananas and how big of a batch you are making, and it’s a personal preference. Some people want to taste the banana, others want to mask it completely).

Blend on the lowest setting or you can use a potato masher, arm power (once they thaw our just a tad).

Spoon into a cone or bowl. Add some sprinkles- ice cream is never complete without the sprinkles.