Chocolate Banana Ice Cream is made with only 4 ingredients and a blender – no ice cream maker required! This banana ice cream recipe is deliciously creamy, full of chocolate and so easy to make too!
Be sure to check out our updated collection of DELICIOUS COLD & FROZEN TREATS here!
Chocolate Banana Ice Cream is easily made in a blender with frozen bananas, cocoa powder, a little bit of sugar and cream. Who knew that such simple ingredients could make such amazing ice cream?!? This is one of those ice cream recipes that is so good for you, you can get away with eating ice cream for breakfast and not even feeling too bad about it.
How to make banana ice cream
Bananas are a great base for ice cream because they blend up so well into the perfect consistency for ice cream. They provide a lot of natural sweetness as well so you don’t have to add very much sugar at all to your ice cream.
The key to making banana ice cream is to freeze the bananas ahead of time so that they are frozen when you are making the ice cream.
How to freeze bananas
The easiest way to freeze bananas for banana ice cream is to peel the bananas and then cut each one into about 4-5 chunks. The smaller the pieces, the easier on your blender they will be. I just put all of the banana pieces into a ziplock bag and put them in the freezer at least a day before making the ice cream.
Putting the bananas right into the freezer in a bag does make them all stick together a little bit, but I’ve found it is pretty easy to break them apart when I’m ready to use them. If you prefer, you can lay the bananas out on a plate or cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap before placing in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once the banana chunks are frozen, you can place them in a freezer bag and they won’t stick together.
If you are pressed for time, you can slice the bananas into thinner pieces and then lay them out on a parchment lined plate or baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Thinner slices should only take 2 hours to freeze and then you can use them right away if needed.
Ingredients in Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
3 ripe bananas, cut into chunks and frozen ahead of time
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2-3 Tbsp sugar (the riper the bananas, the less sugar needed)
1/4 – 1/3 cup heavy cream (you can use milk instead, the ice cream will just be a little bit thinner, but the taste will be very similar)
How to make Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
Combine all 4 ingredients in a food processor or blender. If your blender is having a hard time mixing everything up, try adding a little bit more cream or milk and stirring it up with a spoon before turning the blender on again.
Blend until mixture is smooth and then transfer to an airtight container and then freeze until firm enough to scoop (about 4 hours).
Tips: Because the bananas are frozen when you make the ice cream, you actually can serve and eat it immediately after making it. Even before it is frozen, the mixture is pretty thick!
To freeze, I pour the ice cream into an 8X8 square pan because I have a lid for it which is convenient, and the ice cream freezes faster when it is spread out in a thinner layer. You can use any container though – a bread pan or a bowl would work well too. If you don’t have a lid for your container, place plastic wrap directly on top of the ice cream and then place another layer over the container before freezing to help prevent freezer burn.
Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
Chocolate Banana Ice Cream is made with only 4 ingredients and a blender, no ice cream maker required! This banana ice cream recipe is deliciously creamy, full of chocolate and so easy to make too!
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 4
Calories: 166kcal
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas cut into chunks and frozen ahead of time
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2-3 Tbsp sugar the riper the bananas, the less sugar needed
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup heavy cream you can use milk instead, the ice cream will just be a little bit thinner, but the taste will be very similar
Instructions
- Combine all 4 ingredients in a food processor or blender. If your blender is having a hard time mixing everything up, try adding a little bit more cream or milk and stirring it up with a spoon before turning the blender on again.
- Blend until mixture is smooth and then transfer to an airtight container and then freeze until firm enough to scoop (about 4 hours).
Video
Notes
Because the bananas are frozen when you make the ice cream, you actually can serve and eat it immediately after making it. Even before it is frozen, the mixture is pretty thick!
To freeze, I pour the ice cream into an 8X8 square pan because I have a lid for it which is convenient, and the ice cream freezes faster when it is spread out in a thinner layer. You can use any container though - a bread pan or a bowl would work well too. If you don't have a lid for your container, place plastic wrap directly on top of the ice cream and then place another layer over the container before freezing to help prevent freezer burn.
Nutrition
Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 410mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 275IU | Vitamin C: 7.7mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
Tried this recipe?Mention @jessicalovesbutter or tag #jessicalovesbutter!
Is Chocolate Banana Ice Cream healthy?
This banana ice cream recipe is actually pretty healthy because the main ingredient is bananas.
You only need to add a few tablespoons of sugar to the ice cream to sweeten it up. The more ripe the bananas are, the more sweet they are, so if you use bananas that are extremely ripe, you could probably get away with not even adding any sugar at all! You can also use a sugar substitute if you prefer.
The recipe calls for heavy cream because it gives the recipe more of an ice cream texture, but you can lighten the recipe up by using milk instead. The recipe will still be pretty thick and creamy just because of the bananas!
Is banana ice cream dairy free?
The recipe calls for cream, but this could easily be swapped out with almond milk or another dairy free milk substitute. I think coconut milk would be amazing in this recipe! Most of the creaminess in banana ice cream comes from the bananas, so it is easy to swap out the cream without noticing too much of a difference!
Chocolate Banana Ice Cream is creamy, delicious and easy to make! This banana ice cream recipe only requires 4 ingredients and can be made in a blender in just a few minutes!
Marie says
This recipe is great. The only thing I find is that adding normal white sugar makes the ice cream grainy. Maybe it would be better with castor sugar?
Nellie says
I’ve never tried with castor sugar, but let me know how it goes! I’ve never really noticed the ice cream being grainy, but you could also probably sweeten the ice cream with honey if you prefer that as well!
Imane says
Emm a question is it okay if u put oreo cookies instead of cocoa powder
Nellie says
I’m not sure the Oreo cookies would be a good substitute for the cocoa powder, but I think it would be great to add the cookies to the original recipe!