Banana Nice Cream
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Here’s a nice cream recipe that keeps things simple while satisfying your sweet tooth. It’s smooth, creamy, and tastes just like chocolate soft serve. Plus, you only need three ingredients and 5 minutes to make it!
This chocolate nice cream is what I make when I’m dreaming of something sweet and creamy. It tastes just like chocolate soft serve — smooth, rich, and spoonable — thanks to frozen bananas blended until they turn silky and ice-cream-like. The first time I made it, I was honestly a little amazed at how close it gets to the real thing.
I start with ripe, spotty bananas for natural sweetness and that classic soft-serve texture. Cocoa powder gives it a deep chocolate flavor, and almond butter melts right in, adding richness and a creamy body. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, a splash of almond milk will help it blend up super smooth.
I like serving it right away while it’s perfectly soft, then finishing it with chopped almonds, chocolate chunks, or mini chips for a little texture. I make this often as an after-school snack or an easy after-dinner dessert, and it’s one my whole family genuinely loves — simple, comforting, and always a hit.
Tip: switch up the almond butter for peanut butter, as I do in my banana chocolate ice cream!
Tips for the best nice cream
Nice cream is my go-to treat, and while it’s simple to make, there are a few tricks that make it truly great. Here are my best tips for perfect, creamy nice cream every time:
- Use a powerful blender or food processor: A high-speed blender (like a Vitamix) or a food processor fitted with an S-blade has the power needed to turn frozen bananas into a smooth, soft-serve–like texture.
- Pause and scrape as needed: Nice cream is thick, so you’ll likely need to stop once or twice to scrape down the sides and use the tamper or a spatula to push everything toward the blade.
- Let the bananas soften slightly: Frozen bananas are essential, but letting them sit out for about 5 minutes makes them much easier to blend while still keeping that creamy texture.
More nice cream flavors to try
To switch up the flavor of your banana nice cream, try one of these ideas:
- Berry banana nice cream: leave out the cocoa powder and use a ½ cup of frozen berries like strawberries, blueberry, or raspberries (or a mix).
- Cherry chocolate nice cream: add a ½ cup of frozen cherries and blend until smooth.
- Chocolate peanut butter nice cream: swap the almond butter for smooth peanut butter for that classic Reese’s flavor combo.
Banana Nice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium frozen bananas
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup almond milk (only use if you don't have a high-powered blender)
- Chopped almonds and chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Slice the bananas into coins and freeze them overnight on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.4 medium frozen bananas
- Place the frozen bananas, cocoa powder, and almond butter in your high-powered blender or your food processor. Note: if you are using your food processor, you will need to add some almond milk to help it blend. Start with ¼ cup and add more as needed.½ cup cocoa powder, ¼ cup almond butter, ¼ cup almond milk
- Blend on high until smooth, using your plunger to help push the bananas to the bottom of the blender.
- Serve immediately with any or all of the toppings or freeze for 3-4 hours for a scoopable consistency.Chopped almonds and chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
I enjoyed this recipe. It was too chocolaty for my taste so I added another banana, ice and almonds and re-blended. But I am still grateful for a great recipe. Next time I’ll just use 3 Tbls. Cocoa but adding the almonds was wonderful because my favorite ice cream is chocolate almond. Thank you for sharing.
Amazing. I make this all the time for my family because my daughter has a dairy allergy. The last time I served it to my mother-in-law she asked me “What brand of ice cream was it, because it was so good?”
That’s amazing! Your story totally made my day!!
Ha ha me too!! That’s why I have to find lighter versions lol. 🙂
Thank you for this super delightful ice-cream!
It’s gone be my summer hit! I want to try with mixing other fruits
I did it my way with fresh liquid cream instead of almond butter with I didn’t have and work perfectly.
next time I try with coco milk
You are so welcome!!
Hey Kristen from a fellow Canadian! Stumbled upon your blog – gotta love nice cream! A nice cream diet this summer sounds like the perfect meal plan to me 😉 Now if the weather only warmed up 😉
So nice to ‘meet’ you! I’m with you on the weather warming up. We deserve some sunshine!!
I read the recipe and thought it was a lot of cocoa powder but I was still drooling at the thought of this vegan treat. Then I read your note for a single serving and see that the proportion of cocoa powder to almond butter is not consistent. Please correct whichever one is in error.
I enjoy your blog and recipes. I am not strictly vegan, but find that vegan foods are easiest for me to digest.
The recipe was the correct one! It’s really nice and chocolaty.