Banana Ice Cream
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Learn how to make homemade banana ice cream that’s rich, creamy, and packed with the caramelized sweetness of roasted bananas—all without the fuss of a traditional custard base!
The first time I tried real banana ice cream, made from actual bananas, was at Berthillon, the renowned ice cream shop on Île St-Louis in Paris. This banana ice cream recipe, adapted from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, is the closest I’ve come to recreating that taste memory—in fact, it’s even better!
What I love about homemade banana ice cream is that it’s naturally lower in fat than most ice cream flavors. The puréed bananas give it a thick, creamy texture without the need for eggs or heavy cream—it’s lighter but still totally indulgent. So if you’ve got a few extra-ripe bananas on the counter, and you’ve already done the banana bread thing, this recipe is a delicious change of pace.
“The perfect summer dessert—so much creaminess without all the fat. We sometimes sprinkle chocolate chips on top for fun. (My kids call it nice cream!) 😆”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Banana Ice Cream
- OVERRIPE BANANAS – The base of the ice cream mixture; use brown, spotty bananas for the most intense, sweet banana flavor.
- BUTTER & LIGHT BROWN SUGAR – Melt together to create a rich caramel sauce that enhances the roasted bananas and gives the ice cream deeper flavor.
- WHOLE MILK – Makes the ice cream creamy and smooth. If needed, sub with 1 cup low-fat or skim milk plus ½ cup heavy cream.
- GRANULATED SUGAR, VANILLA EXTRACT & LEMON JUICE – Granulated sugar sweetens the base, vanilla adds warmth, and lemon juice brightens everything up.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Slice and coat the bananas. Slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir until the sugar melts into a caramel-like coating.
Step 2: Bake. Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring once, until the bananas are soft and deeply golden.
Step 3: Blend while warm. Immediately transfer the hot caramelized bananas to a blender or food processor—don’t wait too long or the caramelized sugar will harden.
Step 4: Add the remaining ingredients. Add the milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, then process until the mixture is completely smooth.
Step 5: Chill, then churn. Refrigerate the mixture until cold (starting with a cold base helps it freeze faster and ensures a smooth, creamy texture), then churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Step 6: Freeze until scoopable. The ice cream will be soft straight from the machine; for a firmer texture, transfer it to a container and freeze for a few hours. Let sit at room temp for a few minutes to soften before scooping. The ice cream keeps well in the freezer for up to 1 week.
Want to take it up a notch? Try stirring in one (or more) of these extras toward the end of the ice cream maker’s cycle for a fun twist:
- A handful of semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
- A spoonful or two of creamy peanut butter or Nutella
- A ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- A handful toasted chopped nuts (my faves are pecans or walnuts)
Other Frozen Treats You May Like
Banana Ice Cream
This homemade banana ice cream is naturally low in fat but big on flavor.
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized overripe bananas, peeled
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish until the sugar dissolves into a wet caramel-colored coating. Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are soft and golden brown.
- Immediately transfer the bananas and caramel syrup into a blender or food processor (if you wait too long, the caramel will begin to harden). Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and purée until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.
- Give the mixture a quick whisk, then freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer soft ice cream to plastic container and chill for a few hours until firm. Scoop and serve.
- Note: My only issue with this recipe is that it makes a rather small quantity of ice cream. If you double it, it makes 6 cups of ice cream base, which is too much for most standard ice cream machines. I have two bowls for my ice cream maker so I typically double the recipe and freeze it in two batches. If you only have one bowl and want to double the recipe, you can save half the base in the refrigerator overnight, then re-freeze your bowl for the second batch.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Serving size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 169
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Sugar: 26 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 79 mg
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Do I have to use over ripe bananas-
I hate over ripe bananas-
Would just ripe bananas work for this recipe?
Hi Teresa, using ripe bananas will work, but the ice cream won’t be quite as sweet or flavorful since overripe bananas have more natural sugars and stronger flavor.
This looks amazing! Has anyone tried this in the Ninja Creami machine? I’ve made ice cream with just bananas and sugar, and it’s amazing, but I would like more of a Bananas Foster taste. I’m thinking I could just add in the caramelized bananas as a mix in. Has anyone tried it?
I made this with frozen overripe bananas and the ice cream has a nice consistency but tastes like… overripe bananas.
The perfect summer dessert—so much creaminess without all the fat. We sometimes sprinkle chocolate chips on top for fun. (My kids call it nice cream!) 😆
Jenn, your ice cream recipes challenged me to spring for an ice cream maker! AND WOW–this Caramelized Banana offering is OUT OF THIS WORLD! And as you observe in the introduction, no eggs, no cream?! It’s a cinch to make. This ice cream recipe is DEFINITELY a KEEPER and will easily become a quick go-to whenever ice cream is the request!
PERFECT SIMPLE WAY TO MAKE ICE CREAM WITHOUT AN ICE CREAM MAKER
This recipe looks wonderful, and I will be making it soon. Meanwhile, I noticed several posting wondering how to make it without an ice cream maker. I’ve done a lot of internet searching to find a good method and, at last, I found it on Handle the Heat (search for how to make ice cream without a machine). The 4th method described (using a food processor) gave perfect results so I’m no longer thinking of buying an ice cream maker. The method:
Make any ice cream base according to the recipe directions.
When cool, pour into a ziptop bag, squeeze out all air, and seal.
Freeze, lying flat, until solid (overnight was good).
Remove from freezer and break into chunks small enough to fit into the bowl of your food processor or a high-powered blender (I cooled my bowl & blade for half an hour in the fridge first)
Pulse until completely smooth (it will eventually look like crumbs but will soon become smooth and creamy). For a simple vanilla ice cream, this took about 4 minutes for me.
If adding mix-ins, either fold them in or pulse until desired consistency is reached, then pour into an airtight container.
Cover and freeze until ready to serve.
I will be making this enticing banana ice cream using this processor method next week, and will report on how it turns out.
This recipe is a keeper! I live in Hawaii and periodically I have tons of bananas when my trees produce. They are called apple bananas and are naturally more tart than what you would buy in a store. I did follow the recipe but also added some toasted walnuts and most of a delicious dark chocolate bar from Manoa Chocolate Company. I also snuck in a scant 2 TBLs of some very nice rum my husband bought on a trip to the Carribean. WOW, this was sooooooo delicious!
Amazing recipe, the caramelised bananas are soooo good!