A Simple Frozen Banana Dessert

(2 servings)

A year or so ago I came across a posting about a single ingredient banana ice cream. I had forgotten about it until this weekend when I had a couple of very ripe bananas on my hands.

This is really simple if you have a food processor. It might work in a blender, but I haven't tried that. I made a chocolate coating for the ice cream and topped it with roughly chopped dry roasted cashews. Boy, was I amazed by how good this was! These bananas turned into the smoothest and creamiest ice cream ever. It was sweet enough and dairy free, and it really came down to just eating a banana or so.

If fat is an issue then don't bother with the chocolate coating or nuts. Bananas do contain a tiny amount of fat naturally. I looked it up, 1 g of fat in a 225 g serving.

banana ice cream
2-3 large very ripe bananas


chocolate coating
2 tbsp bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp virgin coconut oil (the kind for medium heat and solid in the jar)


4-5 dry roasted cashews, coarsely chopped

Peel the bananas and cut into slices. Place them inside a freezer bag and try to keep them in a single layer. Freeze overnight or until they are frozen solid.


Right before you remove the bananas from the freezer, make the chocolate coating.

Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil into a bowl. Set this over hot water or place it into the microwave and heat 10 seconds at a time until they begin to melt.

With either method, once most of the chocolate has melted about halfway or a bit more, remove it from the heat and continue to stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Set aside.

Remove the frozen bananas from the freezer and place the slices into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until they break up and then continue to pulse until they form a ball.

Remove the top and scrape down the sides. Break up the ball and distribute it evenly around the bottom of the bowl. Replace the top and continue to pulse until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Divide the ice cream between 2 bowls. Drizzle each with the chocolate coating (there's probably enough coating for 3 or 4 desserts; it hardens to a super thin shell the moment it hits the cold ice cream) and sprinkle each with the chopped nuts.

Enjoy.