My creamy, easy-to-make Vanilla Nice Cream is a dreamy, delicious, and much healthier treat to enjoy any night of the week! Blend frozen bananas with a little milk and vanilla to make an ice cream alternative the whole family is sure to love!
Sweet, delicious, and ridiculously creamy – you won’t believe this Vanilla Nice Cream is made just from bananas!
Banana ice cream, or 'Nice Cream', is an incredible frozen treat that was initially created as a vegan ice cream substitute. It uses a base of ripe, frozen bananas that are blended with other ingredients to turn it into a treat that tastes just like ice cream!
In my recipe, I’ll keep it simple with a little milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt so it’s as delicious as your favorite ice cream shop!
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This vanilla nice cream recipe whips up super-fast, too! It only has 3 ingredients (the milk is optional) and takes about 5 minutes to get this amazing treat on your taste buds! Prep your bananas ahead of time to make this recipe as simple as possible.
Kids will love it too! This nice cream recipe is so sweet and delicious on its own, but you can also use this recipe as a base and add their favorite ingredients or even a drop of food coloring to make a yummy dessert they’ll be sure to love!
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
So Quick! 5 minutes for a bowl of nice cream – how easy is that? My straightforward recipe makes this easy frozen dessert come together faster than it takes to go buy a pint of ice cream!
It’s Healthy! Because we’re using a base of bananas, this nice cream is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber!
It’s Versatile! You can eat it on its own, add other flavorings or fruit, or add toppings to make a nice cream smoothie bowl – either way, you’re going to love it! `
🥘 Ingredients
My creamy, dreamy nice cream is a frozen treat that you’re going to make all the time! It calls for 2-3 large bananas which makes 1 generous serving, or 2 small servings.
- Bananas – You want these bananas to be frozen and ripe (browned and spotted) so that they’re perfectly sweet and blend well. (See Tips & Recipe Notes)
- Milk (Or Milk Alternative) – For this recipe, you can use regular dairy milk or your favorite milk alternative to suit your dietary needs!
- Vanilla Extract – Try to use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor! You can also use half of a vanilla bean or a little vanilla paste for a more intense flavor.
- Salt – This ingredient is optional but recommended to balance the flavors. You’re just using a pinch, so regular table salt or sea salt works perfectly.
🔪 Instructions
This vanilla nice cream is so easy to make! Make sure you freeze your bananas at least the night before to have the best texture.
- Freeze the bananas. Using 3 large, nicely browned, and leopard-spotted bananas, peel and cut them into 5-6 chunks each and place the banana pieces into an airtight freezer storage bag or container. Let freeze overnight.
- Prep the nice cream. Set your frozen banana chunks out for about 5 minutes while you prep everything else. Grab a food processor, blender, Vitamix, or even an immersion blender (if you have a large cup for blending).
- Make the nice cream. Place the banana chunks from the 3 large bananas into your food processor along with ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract (or vanilla bean or vanilla paste) and a pinch of salt. Blend until you reach a soft serve-like consistency, adding ½ tablespoon of milk if needed.
- Serve! Serve the nice cream immediately once it reaches the proper soft-serve consistency. You can also freeze for at least 30 minutes before serving with an ice cream scoop for a more traditional ice cream-like consistency. Enjoy!
This incredible, luxuriously creamy vanilla nice cream is absolutely perfect on its own or served with some fresh fruit like raspberries or peach slices for extra deliciousness. You can even try drizzling a little caramel sauce or hot fudge to dress it up as you would your favorite sundae!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
Try freezing batches of ripe bananas so you have them on hand whenever you’re craving nice cream!
- If you’re like me, you always have those one or two bananas that turn brown before you can get to them! Don’t toss them – chop them up and store in a freezer bag so you always have frozen bananas on hand for this recipe!
There are commercial nice cream makers on the market, but you can make this recipe easily using a blender or food processor!
- The secret to a perfect blend is to let the bananas soften for a few minutes before blending so they have the easiest time blending and creamiest texture.
The consistency of this healthier ice cream is like soft serve, but you can make it more scoopable!
- Once you’re done blending the nice cream, transfer it into a wide container or loaf-pan and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- When it’s frozen, break out the ice cream scoop and you can serve it just like traditional ice cream!
🥡 Storing
Storing this vanilla nice cream is so easy! If you have extra, simply store it in a freezer-safe container or a loaf pan, cover tightly with an airtight lid or plastic wrap, and place it in the freezer.
When you’re ready to have more, it’ll be perfectly scoop-able like regular ice cream! You can also leave it out for 5 to 15 minutes so it can soften up if you prefer a softer texture.
Because this is a frozen treat, it’s best to hold the nice cream (even if it’s just taking a few minutes between making and serving it) in the freezer, not on the counter or the fridge so it doesn’t melt on you!
When stored properly, the nice cream will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Any milk alternative will work with this recipe! But for the mildest flavor, try using coconut, cashew, or almond. You’ll use very little in this recipe so no matter milk-substitute you use, it’ll be perfect!
This vanilla nice cream is the perfect versatile base to make whatever flavor nice cream you enjoy! Try adding other frozen fruit to the nice cream like pineapple or berries, add cocoa powder or chocolate syrup to the mix for a chocolatey delight, or even add peanut butter to make a nutty nice cream that’s out of this world!
If you want to use this base for a smoothie bowl, try adding fresh sliced strawberries or other fruit, granola or chopped nuts, and a little almond butter to make it a perfect wholesome breakfast or snack!
If you want to try this recipe but either are allergic to bananas or don’t like them, try making this recipe with frozen mango chunks! Mangoes provide a creamy texture just like bananas, though the flavor is more pronounced. If you love tropical flavors like mango though, it’ll be the perfect substitution!
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📖 Recipe Card
Vanilla Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas (overripe browned bananas, peeled and frozen in advance)
- ½ tablespoon milk (or milk of choice, if needed)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean or vanilla paste)
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Freeze the Bananas
- To start out, wait until your bananas are nicely browned and leopard-spotted. Peel and cut into 5-6 chunks then place the banana pieces into an airtight freezer storage bag or container.
Make Your Nice Cream
- Set your frozen bananas out for about 5 minutes while you prep everything else needed. Grab a food processor, blender, vitamix, or even an immersion blender if you have a great big cup for blending. *There are easy commercial nice cream makers, but this is pretty simple without them!
- Place the banana chunks from 3 large bananas into your food processor along with a vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Blend until you reach a soft-serve consistency, adding milk as needed if you want.
- Serve immediately once the nice cream reaches a soft-serve consistency, or freeze for at least 30 minutes before serving with an ice cream scoop (for a more ice cream-like consistency).
Notes
- Freeze batches of your browned bananas in advance that way they're always ready to go when you want some nice cream!
- 2-3 large bananas are one generous serving or two small servings of nice cream.
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