Vegan Banana Ice Cream

This rich and creamy Vegan Banana Ice Cream is simple to make and delightfully indulgent. Eat it right from the blender or transfer it and freeze for a scoopable treat with real food ingredients and no refined sugar.

Jump to:

• What I Love about this Vegan Banana Ice Cream
• Ingredient Notes & Possible Substitutions
• How to Freeze Bananas for Ice Cream
• What Equipment is Needed
• How to Make Vegan Banana Ice Cream
• Flavor Ideas 
• Storage
• Making This Recipe AIP-Compliant
• Dietitian Notes
• Recipe Tips
• Try These Other Healthier Treats
• Did you try this Vegan Banana Ice Cream?
• 📖 Recipe

What is better than ice cream on a hot summer day? This Vegan Banana Ice Cream is creamy, silky, and free of refined sugar and dairy. It can be frozen and scooped onto cones or in to bowls and topped with all your favorite toppings!

The notes of this ice cream are subtle, but you can taste the bananas and coconut. It pairs well with flavors like caramel, peanut butter, and chocolate.

Looking for other fun vegan recipes? Try this Berry Chia Seed Pudding, this Carrot Cake Chia Pudding, or this Vegan Watermelon Salad.

How to Freeze Bananas for Ice Cream

Generally, I freeze ripe bananas by peeling, breaking them into chunks and placing them in a resealable freezer bag. For banana ice cream recipes, I prefer to slice them before freezing because they tend to blend easier this way.

To do this, slice ripe bananas and lay them out on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Place the pan in the freezer for about 2 hours. Once frozen, transfer to a gallon-sized freezer bag and store in the freezer overnight or until ready to use.

What Equipment is Needed

You don't need much to complete this recipe! A good blender is really the most important piece of equipment. I use a Vitamix, but have also had good results with a Ninja blender. Because the Vitamix blade is short and low, you will need to scrape the sides more throughout the blending process.

Apart from a blender, a sheet pan to freeze the bananas, a rubber spatula to scrape the sides as you go, and a glass Tupperware container or bread pan for freezing is all you will need.

How to Make Vegan Banana Ice Cream

1. Place all ingredients in a large high-powered blender. Blend until smooth, scraping the sides of the pitcher with a rubber spatula as needed. Make sure all the coconut oil gets properly blended!
2. Serve immediately for soft serve or transfer to a parchment lined bread pan or glass Tupperware container and freeze for at least 3 hours for a scoopable ice cream.

Flavor Ideas 

This Vegan Banana Ice Cream is delicious on its own but also goes well with so many different mix-in’s and toppings. Here are some other tasty flavor ideas to add to the ice cream before freezing:

• Banana Walnut - Add ¼ teaspoon of cardamon before blending. Then mix in ¼ cup of crushed walnuts to the ice cream after blending.
• Banana Peanut Butter Crunch - Add 2 tablespoons of crushed peanuts and swirl in ⅓ cup of salty, unsweetened peanut butter to the ice cream after blending. Do not mix the peanut butter in entirely so there is a ribbon of peanut butter when scooping.
• Triple Chocolate - Add 1 tablespoon of unsweetened dark cocoa powder to the ice cream before blending. Then mix in your favorite chopped chocolate bar, chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, and a swirl of vegan chocolate syrup. Semi-sweet or dark chocolate works best because the ice cream is fairly sweet already. 

Storage

If I plan to store the ice cream for a longer period, I will use a glass Tupperware container with a lid. I like these Pyrex containers with the snapping lids. When stored in the freezer, the ice cream will save for 1-2 weeks. To enjoy, simple thaw on the counter for about 10 minutes so that it is easier to scoop.

Making This Recipe AIP-Compliant

What is AIP?

AIP (Autoimmune Paleo) is an elimination diet used to help those with autoimmune conditions figure out what potentially immunogenic foods may be triggering an immune response.

Autoimmune illnesses are tricky because symptoms can manifest in many ways. Food triggers are extremely common for people with autoimmune illnesses, but stress, environmental allergens, and other lifestyle triggers may also play a role.

Common allergenic foods are removed on the AIP diet, like eggs, soy, nuts, dairy, and gluten. In addition, other potentially immunogenic foods are also removed. These include things like seeds, all grains, nightshades (peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, etc.), and seed-based oils.

Usually, people will see an improvement in symptoms after initiating an AIP protocol. After the improvements plateau, a gut rebuilding phase is ideal. Thereis a lot of evidence suggesting that autoimmune illnesses are linked to gut permeability.

After supporting gut health, the individual following the AIP protocol should consider reintroducing foods. This needs to be strategic. Only one food type should be introduced at a time. Starting with the least likely to cause a reaction.

Here are some resources for following an AIP elimination diet.

How to Make This Recipe AIP

By omitting the vanilla bean powder in this recipe, you can make this banana ice cream AIP-compliant. Be sure to select coconut cream that is free of gaur gum, and skip any additional mix-ins or toppings that might conflict with the diet.

Toppings like shredded coconut, cinnamon, chopped dates, and whipped maple syrup are all AIP-friendly options!

📖 Recipe