Recipe

Making Your Own Banana “Ice Cream”

By Nick Schmidt at Spoon University

In case you haven’t heard yet, making ice cream out of bananas is one of the latest trends to come out of the burgeoning vegan foodie scene.  Skeptical?  So was I.  But being the health-obsessed foodie that I am, I decided to give it a try a couple weeks ago at HipCityVeg and can report that it is definitely worth the hype.

And the good news just keeps getting better – you don’t have to trek all the way to Rittenhouse Square to experience the greatness that is banana whip. Here’s how you can make your own.

Prep time: 12 hours
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 12 hours and 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
Splash of liquid (any type of milk works best)

Directions:
1. Select the right bananas for your banana whip. Try to pick bananas that are starting to show some brown spots, as they are the ripe ones that will make your banana whip taste awesome.

2. Slice bananas and place slices in freezer overnight.

Slicing the bananas is IMPORTANT.  If you do not slice your bananas before freezing them, your blender will hate you, and you will hate the results (trust me).

3. Place bananas in blender along with a splash of liquid

I know, I know, I know – HipCityVeg’s banana whip is 100% banana and doesn’t have anything else in it.  That being said, I’ve gotten the best results using a little liquid (just a splash – you aren’t watering a plant).  This is especially important if you are using a blender rather than a food processor.  I used unsweetened vanilla coconut milk, but you can also use almond milk, soymilk, or even a little water.  Regular milk works too, but that kind of defeats its vegan purpose.

4.  Blend the bananas

I recommend starting off by pulsing the bananas in the blender or putting the blender on a relatively low setting. This will help prevent the banana slices from becoming too beaten. You will most likely have to scrape banana off the sides every now and then. When you’re done, it will look like soft serve.

5. Devour (It’s okay because it’s healthy. Right?)

Also, you can add anything else to the bananas that your heart desires; almond butter, coconut, cacao powder, berries, anything. You just made ice cream out of bananas – clearly the possibilities are endless.