4 Easy Recipes For Choco-Banana “Ice-Cream”

DID YOU KNOW that you can make a delicious “ice cream” from frozen bananas?  It’s not dairy-based. It’s not loaded with fat, sugar, cholesterol and sodium either. No, this “choco-banana ice-cream” is an almost guilt-free treat. 

Here’s all you need to know…

NB: If you don’t like (or can’t eat) bananas then sadly, this recipe is not for you.

Choco-Banana Ice-Cream Basic Recipe

• 1 medium or large frozen banana (cut into small pieces)
• 1-2 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 – 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (I use Pic’s Peanut Butter)
• Up to ¼ cup almond milk 

What to do:

Ensure that your banana pieces are small. If they are large and hard, they can get caught under the blades and jam them.

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. 

The mixture quickly becomes thick and creamy and you’ll probably need to stop the blender and push it down a few times during the blending process. 

Scoop the mixture out into a dessert bowl to eat immediately as a soft-serve treat. OR pop it into a container and freeze for a more solidly frozen dessert.

Serves 1

Choco-Banana Ice-Cream Fruity Variations

Pineapple-Choco Ice-Cream

• 1x basic ice-cream recipe plus
• ½ cup raw, frozen pineapple pieces
• ¼-½ fresh avocado
• Add more almond milk if needed.

Blend and freeze all ingredients as per the basic recipe instructions.

Serves 2

Berry-Choco Ice-Cream

• 1x basic ice-cream recipe plus
• ½ – 1 cup of raw, frozen raspberries, boysenberries, strawberries, blueberries or a berry mixture
• ¼-½ fresh avocado
• Add another ¼ cup of almond milk.

Blend and freeze all ingredients as per the basic recipe instructions.

Serves 2

No-Blender Choco-Banana Ice-Cream

It’s perfectly possible to make banana ice-cream without a blender. Here’s how:

• 1 fresh, ripe banana
• 1-2 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 – 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 
• 1-2 tbsp yoghurt (I use De Winkel’s Acidophilus Yoghurt)

What to do:

Place the fresh, ripe banana in a dessert bowl. 

Mash the banana with a fork until it has a creamy, smooth texture. You don’t want lumps in it.

Add the cacao powder, peanut butter and yoghurt and mix well.

Tip the mixture into a container. If you want it to be a soft-serve dessert, freeze it for 1-2 hours. If you want it to be solid, freeze it for 8-12 hours. 

Serves 1

Choco-Banana Ice-Cream Vegetable Smoothie

If you want to be super-healthy you can even try adding a few vegetables to your choco-banana “ice-cream.” Warning — this is not as sweet as your fruit-only “ice-cream” and it can be an acquired taste. You might want to get used to the sweeter variations before you try adding a few vegetables.

• 1 large frozen banana (cut into small pieces)
• 2-3 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 – 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 
• ¼ – ½  cup of almond milk (if you use frozen vegetables you’ll need more milk)

Then add one or more of these smoothie ingredients to the blender. This is a good way to use up a few leftover cooked cauliflower or carrots.

• 2-3 cooked cauliflower florets (fresh or frozen)
• 1-2 tbsp cooked quinoa
• ¼ cup grated courgette (fresh or frozen)
• 1-2 tbsp cooked carrots
• 1-2 tbsp natural, acidophilus yoghurt
• 1-2 tbsp chickpeas
• 1 tbsp protein powder
• Include some pineapple or berries as per the fruity variations

Blend and freeze all ingredients as per the basic recipe instructions.

All variations of choco-banana ice-cream keep well in the freezer.

Notes and Substitutions

Use fresh bananas instead of frozen. The mixture will blend far more easily in the blender but you will have to freeze it to make “ice-cream.”

Swap cacao powder for cocoa powder: — cocoa powder is cheaper but the raw cacao powder contains more antioxidants.

Swap the almond milk for soy or coconut milk. Check the carton labels of alternative milk brands. Some have all sorts of additives. Others are exactly as the name implies.

Nut-free: Omit the peanut butter and use soy milk.

Vegan/Dairy-free: Omit the yoghurt or use coconut yoghurt. Use pea protein powder.

Bananas contain a fair amount of fructose so this is not a sugar-free treat. However, they are high in potassium, fibre and vitamins B6 and C so they provide more nutritional value and less fat than cream. 

Avocados make the mixture creamier and add a good dollop of Vitamin K, and Omega 3 essential fatty acids. I’ve found that frozen avocado doesn’t mix well in a blender so I use fresh avo if possible. Alternatively, I soften a frozen piece of avocado in the microwave before blending.

Keep a container of peeled bananas, avocados and cooked vegetable chunks in the freezer. That way you’ll be able to whip up choco-banana ice-cream whenever you want. 

My blender has a tamper tool which makes it easy to push the ice-cream down and keep it mixing. If you don’t have one, you’ll probably need to stop the blender a few times to push the mixture down. A food processor would work well too, although I haven’t tried it.

Which choco-banana ice-cream variation is your favourite? Share your recommendations in the comments below.

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Keep an eye out for more farm favourites coming soon.