Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
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From David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, this banana ice cream is one of the best homemade ice creams I’ve ever made.
The first time I tried true banana ice cream, made from real bananas, was at Berthillon, the renowned ice cream shop on Île St-Louis in Paris. This version, adapted from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop and made with caramelized roasted bananas, is rich and creamy, and brings back all those delicious taste memories. What’s great about banana ice cream is its naturally low fat content. The pureed bananas give it a thick, creamy texture without any eggs or heavy cream—making it a lighter yet utterly satisfying treat.
What You’ll Need To Make Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
- Overripe Bananas: Provide intense banana flavor and natural sweetness to the ice cream, further enhanced by caramelization during cooking.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds a rich caramel-like sweetness to the ice cream, complementing the flavor of the bananas.
- Butter: Combined with the brown sugar, it forms a rich caramel sauce that coats the bananas, infusing them with deep flavor and adding complexity to the ice cream.
- Whole Milk: Contributes to the creamy texture of the ice cream, ensuring a smooth, indulgent consistency. If you have them on hand, you can substitute 1 cup of low-fat or skim milk plus 1/2 cup of heavy cream for the milk.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the ice cream base and helps to balance the flavors.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds depth and enhances the overall flavor profile of the ice cream.
- Lemon Juice: Brightens the flavors and provides a subtle tangy contrast to the sweetness of the bananas and caramel.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and combine them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish.
Stir until the sugar dissolves into a wet caramel-colored coating.
Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are soft and golden brown.
Immediately transfer the caramelized bananas to a blender or food processor (if you wait too long, the caramel will start to harden).
Add the milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt.
Process until the mixture is completely smooth.
Chill the mixture in the refrigerator, then freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
As with most homemade ice creams, the mixture will not get completely firm in the machine. It’s best to transfer the creamy ice cream to a container and freeze it for a few hours until firm enough to scoop.
Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
To make the most flavorful banana ice cream, it’s important to use very ripe bananas. To ripen bananas quickly, store them in a loosely sealed brown paper bag. If you have other fruit on hand (an apple works well) put it in the bag with the bananas. The ethylene gas the fruit gives off will circulate in the bag and ripen the bananas within 24 to 36 hours. Just check them periodically to see how they’re coming along.
Unfortunately not—to achieve the wonderful creamy texture, an ice cream machine is required. If you don’t have one yet, it’s worth considering, as homemade ice creams, yogurts, and sorbets are a joy to make. That said, if you’re not ready to buy an ice cream machine, you can still enjoy homemade no-churn ice creams, including key lime pie ice cream, Vietnamese coffee ice cream, and Oreo cheesecake ice cream.
Yep, the ice cream will keep, tightly covered, for up to 1 week. Before serving, let it sit out on the countertop for a bit to soften enough to scoop.
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Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
From David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, this banana ice cream is one of the best homemade ice creams I’ve ever made.
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized overripe bananas, peeled
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish until the sugar dissolves into a wet caramel-colored coating. Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are soft and golden brown.
- Immediately transfer the bananas and caramel syrup into a blender or food processor (if you wait too long, the caramel will begin to harden). Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and purée until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.
- Give the mixture a quick whisk, then freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer soft ice cream to plastic container and chill for a few hours until firm. Scoop and serve.
- Note: My only issue with this recipe is that it makes a rather small quantity of ice cream. If you double it, it makes 6 cups of ice cream base, which is too much for most standard ice cream machines. I have two bowls for my ice cream maker so I typically double the recipe and freeze it in two batches. If you only have one bowl and want to double the recipe, you can save half the base in the refrigerator overnight, then re-freeze your bowl for the second batch.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Serving size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 169
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Sugar: 26 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 79 mg
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Fantastic recipe, I made this last night everyone absolutely loved it! Definitely using this recipe many more times, thanks
Oh my word!!! I thought it would be good but I didn’t think it was going to be utterly divine!! I didn’t have whole milk so I improvised with 1cup 1% milk and 1/2 cup of half & half. I used frozen bananas because I always have them on hand now. I’ll never throw away bananas again. I split the batch into 2 servings and I was ‘almost’ not able to finish eating it. Rest assured I managed. Totally rich and scrumptious!!! And it truely did have that deep baked banana bread flavor. Many thanks Jen!!
All I can say is you have to try this it’s awesome.
You have the best banana recipes!
Wow – love this ice cream! What a great way to use ripe bananas. This was my first time on your site and I had to try this – it was easy and delicious – thanks so much!!
I made this ice cream for a group of friends after a delicious dinner (that I got from this site). I may have cooked the banana’s too long because they took on almost a burnt caramel taste. Everyone like it but they felt almost too done for me. I think I would just cook a little shorter on time. (That is strictly a problem on my side, definitely not the recipe.)
Very rich flavor. I made a single batch, and it made about 8 large scoops. At first I thought it didn’t make enough, but it’s so rich, one scoop is very satisfying. Yummmmm.
I had several recipes that did not turn out, they were “icy”. I think because I used 18% instead of 35% in the other recipes. Needless to say I was almost ready to throw in the ice cream scooper BUT this recipe worked out amazing, in texture and taste!!! Everyone loved it. I have to double the recipe next time!!
Glad you enjoyed it, Tarbo. This is one of my favorites 🙂
I cannot WAIT to make this variation of banana icecream using my new Cuisinart icecream maker. Yay!
This was my first try at ice cream and we loved it! This is an amazing recipe and was so easy. Thanks for sharing it!
I’ve heard great thinks about the “Scoop”. I just ordered Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, which also has gotten great reviews. Thanks for posting this recipe, plan to make this weekend.
Jay