Though National Ice Cream Day is in July, sky-high August temperatures might have you craving cool, sweet treats. Whether you eat a vegan diet, a dairy free diet or are simply trying to incorporate more fresh fruit into your diet, frozen bananas are a simple, healthy and unpretentious way to get your summer dessert fix.
At the Smorgasburg Market in Brooklyn NY, Rob & Anna’s (raw bananas- get it?) provides an organic, vegan, unprocessed frozen banana dessert that boasts the same consistency and flavor of ice cream, but with no dairy or added sugar. While New Yorkers are lucky to have this option at their fingertips, the rest of us don’t have access to frozen banana “ice cream.”
For those who are craving a homemade banana-based treat, there are a few ways you can enjoy frozen bananas as a dessert, whether it’s dipped in yogurt and granola or coated in your favorite cereal.
Frozen bananas are great in smoothies and milkshakes, but if you have a blender or food processor you can make one-ingredient ice cream that tastes rich, creamy and sweet, like decadent ice cream.
To make your own frozen banana soft-serve ice cream at home, follow a few simple steps:
Peel your bananas. You’ll want to make sure your bananas are completely ripe at this point – no green tint on the peels. If your bananas are under ripe your “ice cream” may have a chalky taste.
Slice the bananas into small pieces. Cut your bananas into coins so that when you process them they will blend with ease.
Freeze the bananas. Freezing the banana slices before you blend them will lend to their creamy, dreamy texture.
Blend, blend, blend. This is the easy part – place your bananas in a food processor or blender and pulse until the bananas have reached a smooth consistency similar to soft-serve ice cream. Depending on the size of your blender or processor you may want to have a spatula handy to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Enjoy with your favorite sauce or topping. Fresh fruit and granola are great additions to banana soft-serve but we also like strawberry jam, chocolate fudge sauce or blueberry sauce.