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My family requests this blender ice cream recipe nearly every night. It’s fast and easy to make, and the results are thick, creamy ice cream. No ice cream maker needed!
At my house, we end every night with a sweet treat, and ice cream is always preferred. On the off chance I don’t have a Ninja creami pint in the freezer, we make blended nice cream!
This is my favorite hack for making ice cream on the fly because it’s quick and easy to make, and you don’t need any notice, special ingredients, or fancy kitchen gadgets. So long as you have frozen bananas, you’re ready to roll! Or, blend…
Why I love this recipe
- 3 ingredients. All you need are bananas, cocoa powder, and a nut or seed butter.
- Super healthy. It’s basically a smoothie but, like, in ice cream form.
- Wholesome. It’s dairy-free and easy to make nut-free!
- It’s so quick to make. As fast as you can blend a banana, THAT’S how fast you can make this ice cream.
- Hard scoop option. When I have an extra hour to spare, I like to make this blended ice cream a bit thicker and scoopable. More on that down below!
If you love homemade ice cream recipes like us, Try my coconut cream ice cream, protein ice cream, or matcha ice cream next!
Key ingredients
- Frozen bananas. You HAVE to use frozen banana for this recipe, as they’re the bulk of the ice cream base. I recommend chopping the frozen bananas to cut down on the blending time.
- Cocoa powder. Use a good quality cocoa powder to bring out the chocolate flavor. When I want to avoid any chocolate flavor, I use dark cocoa powder.
- Peanut butter. Aim to use smooth, drippy peanut butter with no added sugar or salt.
How to make ice cream in the blender
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Blend. Add the bananas to a high-powered blender and blend until broken up. Add the remaining ingredients and continue blending until smooth.
Step 2- Serve. Serve the ice cream in large bowls with desired toppings, and enjoy!
Arman’s recipe tips
- Nut-free. Use sunflower seed butter or tahini.
- Scrape the blender often. I try to stop every 10 seconds or so to scrape down the sides of the blender.
- Add sweetness. I rely on the bananas for the sweetness in this recipe, but if I want it a little sweeter, I’ll add 1-2 tablespoons of keto maple syrup (though any sweetener works).
- Taste and adjust. The beauty of this recipe is that you can taste it as you go and add anything you want!
- Add extracts. Add 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, almond extract, or peppermint extract to transform the flavor.
- Mix-ins. Gently fold in crushed cookies, jam, or candy buttons for extra flavor.
Frequently asked questions
Slice up your bananas into bite sized pieces and place them on a plate or lined baking sheet. Freeze until they’re firm, then store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Blender Ice Cream
Video
Ingredients
- 2 medium bananas frozen and chopped
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter can substitute for any nut or seed butter
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender or food processor, add your frozen bananas and blend for 10 seconds to lightly break apart. Add your peanut butter and cocoa powder and blend until just blended.
- Transfer to a bowl and enjoy soft serve style.
Notes
- Place a small loaf pan in the freezer. This can be done 1 hour beforehand or overnight.
- Add the ingredients and blend as directed.
- Transfer the mixture to the loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap.
- To ensure it doesn’t become too icy, lightly mix your ice cream every 20-30 minutes for the first hour.
- Strawberry banana. Omit the cocoa powder and add 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries.
- Mint chocolate chip. Omit the cocoa powder; add peppermint extract, chocolate chips, and optional green food coloring.
- Coffee. Add 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder.
- Mango. Omit the cocoa powder and add 1/2 cup of frozen mango cubes.
- Pineapple. Omit the cocoa powder and peanut butter, and add 1 cup of frozen pineapple.
- Blueberry lemon. Omit the cocoa powder and add ½ cup of frozen blueberries and the zest of 1 lemon.
Banana and cocoa are really good ice cream combination!
Looks totally tasty
New to this. Thank you sounds cool if u gotta do what u gotta do
i made this and it was really good, but i dont really like the peanut butter flavor so next time i think im gonna not put that in there but else wise, it was really good!!!
The best!! No better recipe for our family!
Did this and it actually worked! So excited. Used the Nutribullet 900, the medium speed one, and it worked just fine. No chuncks. ALSO, used CHEAP cocoa power from Aldi and it WAS NOT chalky. Again, was just fine. When I make it again I’m going to add just a smidge of sugar because cocoa powder isn’t the best tasting chocolate. But yes! This tasted like soft serve ice cream. It was great. I went to the gym and wanted some protein and fruit and so I quickly threw it together. Will be making this regularly.
I want to make this but add a coffee flavor……add dry espresso granules before blending? I found espresso chips (like choco chips but espresso flavor) so may have to do that instead. Thanks for a great sight!
If you use cottage cheese instead of bananas how much? Can I add protein powder and if so it would replace what? So pb would over Power this from what I read. I use natural pb?
Haven’t tried either of those so you’d need to experiment and see!
Awesome reward with minimal calories and great healthy ingredients. No need to buy icecream from the supermarket.
I would say that this serves one HUNGRY ME. 😛 Love that you don’t need a fancy churn blender for this recipe! Three ingredients recipes are some of my favorites!
Ok, I have to admit that I have tried banana ice cream and I just don’t care for it. I have found however, that I can replace the bananas with Cottage cheese, blend and do everything else the same and it comes out super creamy and soon yummy. I will try that with this ! Your pictures are amazing!
Love your recipes!!!
Sooo delicious…
I’ve done this before with peanut butter and it’s SO good. Regular ice cream makes my stomach hurt, so this is definitely a favorite of mine in the summer!