First and foremost…

Don’t throw away those ripe bananas!

When the banana is ripe, it will be soft, sweet, and ready to freeze.

Peel the bananas and slice. It really doesn’t matter what size as long as the pieces are small enough to blend.

Put the bananas in an airtight container. Place in a freezer-safe glass bowl or freezer bag.

Freeze until ready to use, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Pulse the frozen banana pieces in a food processor or blender. Transfer the frozen banana pieces into a food processor or high-speed blender. (The more powerful the better.) Pulse to break up.

Keep pulsing At first the banana pieces will look crumbly. I’ve found that sometimes adding a little cold water is helpful. Scrape down the sides of the blender.

Switch from pulsing to blending. At first it looks unappealing, but hang in there. Scrape down the sides of the blender.

This takes a little while. Keep blending. The banana will become smooth.

As the last bits of banana smooth out, you’ll see the mixture change from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream. (If additional mix-ins are desired, like peanut butter or chocolate chips, this is the time.)

Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid.

You can eat the ice cream immediately, which is my preference, or drink like a milkshake. You can also transfer it into the airtight container and freeze it until solid, like traditional ice cream.

Frozen Banana Ice Cream

Servings: 2
Time: 15 mins
Difficulty: easy
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Instructions

Peel the bananas and slice. I cut mine into four pieces. It really doesn’t matter what size as long as they are pieces are evenly sized and small enough to blend.
Put the bananas in an airtight container such as a freezer-safe glass bowl or freezer bag.
Freeze the banana pieces for at least 2 hours until ready to use, at least 2 hours or overnight.
Pulse the frozen banana pieces in a food processor or blender. From the freezer, transfer the frozen banana pieces into a food processor or high-speed blender (the more powerful the better). Pulse to break up.
Keep pulsing. At first the banana pieces will look crumbly. Sometimes a little cold water is needed. Scrape down the sides of the blender.
Switch to blending. It may look unappealing, but hang in there. Scrape down the sides of the blender.
Keep blending — this takes a little while. Keep blending. It will become smoother but still have chunks of banana. Scrape down the food processor.
Watch the magic! As the last bits of banana smooth out, you’ll see the mixture shift from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream. If additional mix-ins are desired, like peanut butter or chocolate chips, this is the time.
Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid or you can eat the soft ice cream immediately. If you transfer it back into the airtight container and freeze it until solid, like traditional ice cream.

Notes

Food processor vs. blender: It is likely that a food processor works best for this, as it is larger and allows for the banana to get quickly creamy and aerated. I make it in a blender, one banana at a time since my blender is not powerful enough to process several frozen bananas.

Mix-in Ideas
While the one-ingredient banana ice cream is low in calories and easy to make, it doesn’t take much effort to zhuzh it up by making it two– or even three– ingredient ice cream. Here are some mix-in ideas…