How to Make the Best Almond Butter Banana Ice Cream

I know you’ve had brown bananas on your counter. Do you use them or toss them? The answer: use them for something sweet and tasty.

“You waste life when you waste good food.”

It’s officially summer, and the heat out here in Colorado has been insane (and I’m guessing for the rest of you as well), so I wanted to share this easy treat to cool off. Homemade almond butter banana ice cream. Seriously folks, it’s so simple and only requires a food processor.

If you’re anything like me, you don’t dare eat those bananas that are super brown and soft and you know will make you gag if you take a bite. Usually I use those smooshy bananas to make dog treats since my dogs LOVE them and eat anything. But a few years ago I saw someone use them to make homemade ice cream and I knew I had to try this.

I’m not the biggest sweets person and don’t really ever buy ice cream but I have always loved banana ice cream. It makes me think of Strickland’s Frozen Custard in Akron, Ohio. Trust me folks, it’s the best soft serve ice cream in the world and they always have a flavor of the day. I remember as a kid always hoping it was the day of banana. My favorite! And this homemade ice-cream reminds me so much of their soft serve goodness, only with far less ingredients and sugar. It’s an easy way to stay cool, fix that sweet tooth, and use those overly rip bananas that you’re about to throw away.

If you’re new to this adventure, here’s your step-by-step instructions on how to make this mind-blowing ice cream.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas

• ¼ cup almond milk, original unsweetened

• 2 tablespoons almond butter (or peanut butter)

• 1-2 tablespoons honey

• See below for optional toppings  

 Instructions

First start with 3 ripe bananas. You need to make sure they are super ripe, sweet and soft. The peels should be a little brown on the outside.

Peel the banana and slice into about ½” rounds. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just get that baby sliced up fairly even.

Place the bananas in a container and place in the freezer until frozen, about 2+ hours or until solid. I’ve even forgot I had them in the freezer before and left for a few weeks. Don’t worry, they’ll last.

Once frozen, transfer bananas to a food processor and pulse until they are crumbled or smashed. Scrape down the sides of the food processor to make sure everything gets pulsed.

Add milk, almond butter and honey and continue blending until the mixture is smooth and creamy like your favorite soft-serve ice cream.

Based on the texture you like, you may need to add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.

You can eat right away, like I do, or transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid, like my hubby likes.

Notes

• You can make bigger batches with more than 3 ripe bananas. Just be sure your food processor is big and powerful enough.

• While you can make this ice cream with bananas only, a big part of the delightfulness is the ability to add whatever ingredients you want. This recipe includes my favorites, but you can add so many things, like:

  • Chocolate chips

  • Almonds

  • Walnuts

  • Granola

  • Nutella

  • Cocoa powder

  • Cinnamon

  • Fruit

There it is friends. So easy, tastes sweet, and turns something unwanted (browning bananas) into something you’ll crave.  

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Did you make this recipe?

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