I have a confession to make.

I’ve been making ice cream…

WITHOUT an ice cream machine… From ONE ingredient… And it’s HEALTHY.

And the worst part?

I haven’t shared it with you until now!

What’s the secret?

Frozen Bananas!

All I can say is whoever thought of blending frozen bananas to make ice cream is genius. The first time I saw this floating around on Instagram and kept seeing mouth watering pictures of “NiceCream,” I didn’t know what to expect. The more I looked though, the more delicious it sounded. There were SO MANY creative combinations and I was becoming more and more eager to try it. I froze a few bananas and blended them up and I really was so surprised by how similar to real ice cream it was, just without the guilt!

You HAVE TO try it, it’s the perfect go-to when you want to satisfy a hankering for ice cream, but don’t want to go overboard. Plus, you can have as much of it as you want and ultimately, you’re just having fruit. How amazing is that?!

You don’t really need a recipe for this, just peel some bananas, cut them up and freeze for a few hours, or overnight, until they are completely frozen. Then simply blend them up with a bit of water or juice and add your favorite mix-ins.

For this post, I just wanted to share the basic version that I topped with a delicious vegan magic-shell chocolate sauce, but really the possibilities are endless. You can add dates for a bit more natural sweetness, cocoa powder for chocolate “nice” cream, cinnamon for that classic combination, or other fruits or nut butters for unlimited flavor options. Oh, and Nutella. ? I think that’s my favorite combo to date.

And if all that wasn’t reason enough to try this out, another great perk: no ice cream machine required, just a blender or food processor!

Dairy Ice Cream, (I love you, I really do) beware, you’re going to have some stiff competition with this one.

I sound like I’m getting paid for this, don’t I?! I promise, I’m not!! I’m just genuinely excited about it….

Banana “Nice” Cream & Peanut Butter Chocolate Sauce

2 Servings

For the Chocolate Sauce

2 tbsp Coconut Oil

2 tbsp Maple Syrup

1 tbsp Peanut Butter

2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

For the “Nice” Cream

2 Bananas, peeled, cut up and frozen*

2 tbsp Lemon Juice or Water

Prepare the chocolate sauce first because once the ice cream is made, you will want to serve it immediately.

In a small pot or microwave safe bowl, put the coconut oil, peanut butter and maple syrup then heat until the coconut oil melts. Whisk to combine then add in the cocoa powder, whisking until smooth.

In a blender or food processor, blend the banana and liquid of choice (really anything can be used) until it becomes smooth and creamy. If the bananas have been in the freezer for more than 8 hours, you may have to thaw them a bit before blending.

Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the ice cream and enjoy!

Tips: I like to keep chopped bananas in the freezer so that I can make this any time. I also freeze any excess fruits I may have on hand to make different flavor combinations. Third, I love using lemon juice no matter what flavor combination I’m going for because of the contrast and brightness it adds to the banana.

*Note: The sweetness of your ice cream (without adding sugar or sweeteners) depends on the ripeness of your bananas. I like to freeze them when they are bright yellow with only a few brown spots, but for more sweetness and banana flavor, freeze them when they are at their ripest.