Banana nice cream (instant ice cream)

A creamy ice cream made from a single ingredient: frozen banana! Blended, it turns into a soft-serve texture, with no added sugar, no cream and no ice cream machine. Nice cream is the healthy, quick and fun dessert to make with children, and you can customise it endlessly.

Preparation: 5 min  |  Cooking: 0 min  |  Servings: 2  |  Difficulty: Very easy

Calculated per serving from the Anses Ciqual 2025 values for each ingredient, based on the quantities in the list. Household measures (spoonfuls, pieces) use average weights. 163 kcal · 2 g protein · 36 g carbohydrate · 1 g fat

Ingredients

• 3 ripe frozen bananas
• 2 tbsp milk or plant-based drink
• cocoa, red berries or vanilla (your choice)

Method

1. Slice the ripe bananas and freeze them for at least 3 hours (ideally overnight).
2. Put the frozen slices in a powerful blender with a little milk.
3. Blend, scraping down the sides regularly, until smooth and creamy.
4. Eat straight away for a soft-serve texture, or put back in the freezer for 30 minutes for a firmer ice cream.

Nutritional benefits

Nice cream proves that a frozen dessert can be 100% fruit: a single frozen banana, blended, gives a creamy texture with no added sugar, cream or additives, unlike shop-bought ice creams. Banana provides potassium, fibre and natural sugar. It is a very low-calorie dessert, vegan and lactose-free, ideal for children and for a healthy ice cream craving in summer.

Variations and substitutions

• Chocolate: add 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa.
• Fruity: blend with red berries, mango or peach.
• Peanut butter: one spoonful for an indulgent version.
• Toppings: granola, fresh fruit, dark chocolate shavings.

Storage and making ahead

Nice cream is best eaten just blended (soft-serve texture). You can store it in the freezer in a container, but take it out 10 minutes beforehand so it becomes creamy again. Always keep some frozen bananas ready for a last-minute dessert.

💡 Good to know

The secret: VERY ripe (spotted) bananas that are well frozen, and a blender powerful enough. Be patient when blending: the texture goes from grainy to creamy after about a minute.

Read also

Discover more children’s recipes · healthy & balanced recipes · vegan recipes · lactose-free recipes.

The foods in this recipe: bananas · milk · plant-based drink · red berries · vanilla.

You will also like these recipes: Banana oat cookies (2 ingredients) · Apple and pear compote with no added sugar · Banana and blueberry smoothie.