The peak of summer is the perfect time for a simple fruit ice cream and this Strawberry Banana Ice Cream is simple and delicious. All you need are four simple ingredients and a few minutes to make a healthy ice cream everyone will love!
Recipe: $3.84 | Per Serving: $0.64 | Makes: 6 servings
This recipe was originally published in July of 2015. It has been updated for clarity, variations, and with new photos. Enjoy!
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You guys know all about the 1-ingredient banana "nice creams" of the world. To me, bananas on their own don’t really scream “ice cream,” but if you pair it with other flavors, it honestly works super well!
This recipe is based on the Banana and Strawberry Ice Cream from the cookbook Nom Nom Paleo Cookbook: Food For Humans, which I love!
This recipe makes about 6 servings of healthy real fruit ice cream, without even a hint of coconut flavor. I swear! It's so good, and just 4 ingredients!
Why You Will Love This Strawberry Banana Ice Cream Recipe
- Creamy, Flavorful, and Customizable: The bananas blend up so creamy as a base, and you can pair this with a variety of fruits - or even chocolate!
- Affordable. The most exciting part is that this is really inexpensive way to make healthy homemade ice cream. Sure, spending $4 on a dessert won't be in everyone's budget, but it's better for you and in some cases, cheaper than a container of ice cream.
- 4 Ingredients: All you need are FOUR simple ingredients to make a batch of this homemade ice cream.
Ingredients
Here's a look at the simple ingredients you need to make this real fruit ice cream recipe.
- Banana: Use ripe bananas. The riper they are, the better. I like using fresh bananas, which I break into pieces and freeze overnight, but frozen bananas will also work.
- Strawberries: Use frozen here - they're cheaper and easier. Frozen berries go straight to the freezer after processing which means they are quite fresh and full of flavor. They're usually cheaper, and don't require any prep.
- Coconut milk or cream: Both work fine but the cream will make a thicker and richer frozen fruit ice cream. Be sure it's chilled ahead of time. Make your own homemade creamy coconut milk for this recipe!
- Vanilla extract: Be sure to use pure extract for the best flavor.
Variations and Dietary Modifications
- Different Flavors: I have a chocolate banana milkshake recipe, as well as a mango frozen yogurt recipe, and I think either of these flavors would work well in a healthy ice cream recipe for a banana-based ice cream! Feel free to use whichever flavor combinations you prefer here.
- Coconut Milk: If you're not sold on coconut milk, feel free to use a full fat dairy product (milk or cream), or another non-dairy milk. However, none of the other non-dairy milks were quite as good, since coconut really provides both fattiness and sweetness, which you cannot get from other non-dairy milks.
How to Make Banana Ice Cream with Strawberries
Step 1: Ripen your bananas. Make sure you've allowed your bananas plenty of time to ripen for a sweeter flavor.
Step 2: Prep the fruit. Cut the bananas and strawberries into pieces and freeze overnight. I like to place them on a parchment-lined baking tray so they're easy to break up.
Step 3: Add to a food processor. Place all the ingredients in your food processor.
Step 4: Blend and serve. Blend the frozen fruit for 1.5-2 minutes or until creamy and smooth.
Expert Tips
- Make Popsicles: If you prefer some creamy popsicles pour the blended mixture into your favorite popsicle molds and freeze until solid.
- Store: Store any leftovers in the freezer for up to a week. Longer than that and the flavor begins to fade a bit.
- Pink Color. It's most vibrant when freshly made and the pink will fade a bit as it sits in the freezer.
- Serve: Let your banana nice cream sit at room temperature for 10-20 minutes after it's fully frozen to allow to soften a bit.
Recipe FAQs
You can but bananas have a natural creaminess when frozen and blended and go a long way in creating the consistency of ice cream. You may find other fruits aren't as creamy. Mango is the only fruit that I find will perform in a similar way so you could use it in place of the banana to create different flavor combinations.
Yes and no. This works best in a food processor because the frozen fruit is quite thick and hard. The food processor has larger blades and more space for the fruit to move around and blend smoothly. I have definitely made this in a blender, so it can be done! But a food processor is my top choice.
More Fruit Dessert Recipes
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Strawberry and Banana Ice Cream (No Machine!)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces peeled ripe bananas about 3 medium bananas
- 12 ounces frozen strawberries
- ½ cup coconut milk or cream both work fine - the cream is richer and thicker
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- If using fresh fruit, cut bananas and strawberries into 1-inch pieces and freeze for 2 hours, or overnight.
- Add all ingredients - frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, coconut milk, and vanilla extract - to the food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth and fully combined.
- Serve immediately as soft-serve, or scoop into a container and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Can you use an ice cram machine for this recipe?
That is a great question, and I would say probably. I've never tried it, but if you blend all the ingredients and then use them in the ice cream machine, it should probably work!
Thanks :)