Chunky Monkey Ice Cream made with bananas, dark chocolate chunks and walnuts, no ice cream maker required. This rich, creamy version of the popular Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is so easy to make!
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We love making ice cream in the summer (and the rest of the year too)! This Chunky Monkey Ice Cream recipe is so simple and I love that you don’t need an ice cream maker. You do blend it up with an electric mixer for a few minutes and it does need about 6-8 hours in the freezer, but it couldn’t be easier to make this delicious ice cream recipe.
WHAT IS CHUNKY MONKEY ICE CREAM?
Chunky Monkey Ice Cream was named by Ben & Jerry’s and has been a popular flavor since 1988! This ice cream is made with a vanilla base that is mixed with bananas, dark chocolate and walnuts. This rich and creamy frozen treat tastes a little bit like banana bread, but with chocolate! Drizzle some hot fudge on top and enjoy this absolutely decadent ice cream recipe.
INGREDIENTS IN CHUNKY MONKEY ICE CREAM
Heavy cream – The base of the ice cream is made with heavy cream. Make sure the cream is cold so that you can whip it before mixing in with the other ingredients.
Vanilla – A teaspoon of vanilla extract adds a delicious vanilla flavor to the ice cream. For best results, use real vanilla.
Salt – Just a little bit of salt helps the other flavors to pop.
Bananas – You will need 2 medium over ripe bananas to mash up and add to the ice cream.
Sweetened condensed milk – You will need a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk to add most of the sweetness to the ice cream recipe.
Dark chocolate chunks – Break up some dark chocolate into small chunks. You can use chocolate chips if you prefer, and you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate as well.
Walnuts – Chopped walnuts pair so well with bananas and chocolate. They add flavor and crunch to the ice cream. You can chop them yourself or do what I do and buy them pre-chopped.
HOW TO MAKE CHUNKY MONKEY ICE CREAM
Place a loaf pan into the freezer to chill (at least 1 hour).
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cold heavy cream, vanilla extra and salt until stiff peaks form.
Stir the mashed bananas and condensed milk into the cream mixture until just combined.
Reserve a handful of chocolate chunks and walnuts to garnish the top of the ice cream and mix the rest into the ice cream mixture.
Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and pour the ice cream into the loaf pan.
Sprinkle the reserved chocolate chunks and walnuts over the top of the ice cream.
Place in the freezer and chill for 6-8 hours in a level spot until the ice cream is set.
Eat the ice cream straight out of the loaf pan, or scoop into an ice cream cone or bowl. Drizzle a little hot fudge on top and enjoy!
Store any leftover ice cream in the freezer. To prevent freezer burn, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container or place a double layer of plastic wrap on top of the loaf pan.
CHUNKY MONKEY ICE CREAM
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 medium bananas mashed
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup dark chocolate chunks
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Place a loaf pan into the freezer to chill (at least 1 hour).
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cold heavy cream, vanilla extra and salt until stiff peaks form.
- Stir the mashed bananas and condensed milk into the cream mixture until just combined.
- Reserve a handful of chocolate chunks and walnuts to garnish the top of the ice cream and mix the rest into the ice cream mixture.
- Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and pour the ice cream into the loaf pan.
- Sprinkle the reserved chocolate chunks and walnuts over the top of the ice cream.
- Place in the freezer and chill for 6-8 hours in a level spot until the ice cream is set.
- Eat the ice cream straight out of the loaf pan, or scoop into an ice cream cone or bowl. Drizzle a little hot fudge on top and enjoy!
- Store any leftover ice cream in the freezer. To prevent freezer burn, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container or place a double layer of plastic wrap on top of the loaf pan.
Nutrition
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HOW DO YOU WHIP CREAM?
Whipping cream is easy to do, especially if you know a little trick! Use a metal bowl and freeze it for at least 30 minutes before whipping the cream. This cuts so much time from the process! Before I learned this trick, it would take 8-10 minutes of beating the cream before it would get stiff, but now it only takes 3-4 minutes!
Place the whipping cream in the bowl immediately after removing the bowl from the freezer. Use an electric mixer turned up fairly high to beat the whipped cream. The whipped cream is ready when stiff peaks form as you lift up the beaters.
Make sure to use a fairly large bowl, even if you don’t have much cream – it does tend to splatter if your bowl isn’t big enough! You can whip the cream a few hours or even a couple of days in advance – just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
BEST WAY TO SERVE CHUNKY MONKEY ICE CREAM
I love ice cream in a sugar cone, but ice cream is delicious in a bowl as well. Chunky Monkey Ice Cream tastes delicious with some hot fudge drizzled on top, and you can add a few more chopped walnuts on top as well.
How to store homemade ice cream
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for 3-4 weeks or store in the loaf pan with plastic wrap on top for up to 1 week.
LOVE ICE CREAM? HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM DESSERTS:
- Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
- Strawberry Ice Cream Pie
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake
- Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
- Strawberry Banana Ice Cream Float
- Peach Ice Cream
- Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
- Raspberry Ice Cream Pie
- Quick Strawberry Ice Cream
- Lemon Ice Cream Bars
- Homemade Oreo Ice Cream Cake
Chunky Monkey Ice Cream made with bananas, dark chocolate chunks and walnuts, no ice cream maker required. This rich, creamy version of the popular Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is so easy to make!
Terry says
How big is 1 serving, please,? And thanks for a recipe that doesn’t require an ice cream maker. Not all of us have them, nor the space to store them!
Nellie says
One serving is 1/2 cup. That’s pretty standard for ice cream, although I’m not sure I’ve ever only had 1/2 cup of ice cream!😉