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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Comments
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Very excited to try this recipe. I want to use a Cream and Milk mixture. What would the ratio be?
Hi Laura, I’d use half of each. Enjoy!
Any suggestions to make this dairy-free? I saw that someone used almond milk but added “barista blend” and i’m not sure what that is or if I can find it.
Hi Bonnie, I think almond milk will work. You can read about Barista Blend almond milk here.
Almond milk worked very well, thanks, and everyone loved the ice cream. Now I’m curious about coconut milk. I saw that someone else asked about that and wondered if there was any follow-up. Also wondering if/how/when I could add crushed graham crackers to this. Thanks for your guidance.
Glad to hear the almond milk worked well! (And I’ll let others weigh in if they’ve tried this with coconut milk.) If you’d like to incorporate graham crackers into this, I’d recommend going this route. I think they’ll get soggy if you just incorporate them into the ice cream. Hope that helps!
Did you add the cream also along with the Almond milk? I am dairy free.
I tried this over the weekend, and it worked brilliantly. I made double the quantity, and let the mixture chill in the fridge overnight before putting it in the ice cream machine.
I didn’t adulterate the first batch, and it was fabulous. For the second, I added some small pieces of high-cocoa content dark chocolate and a splash of dark rum. It was even better, although the rum did make it difficult to get the ice cream to set, so I did have to put the bowl of the ice cream maker back in the freezer for a while.
I so would love to make this ice cream, but I have no ice cream maker. I have a Vitamix, do you think I can use it ?
Hi Ramya, Unfortunately, you really need an ice cream machine for this one. Sorry!
Can I use a Ninja Creami machine for this? It seems like if I am freezing it in the pint containers that come with the Creami machine, it would work the same way. Thanks.
Hi Sheila, I’m not familiar with the Creami machine so I can’t say for sure, but based on what I read about it online, I think it should work. I’d love to hear how the ice cream comes out if you make it in that!
Since you have a Vitamix, which is a good thing, may want to splurge just and purchase the Cuisinart Ice Creami
I made this recipe for the first time yesterday and it turned out wonderful! I don’t even know if I had ever even had banana ice cream before, but if so, the caramelized bananas made this memorable! By mistake, I received 18 bananas from a grocery delivery service. I expected only 5 or 7. This recipe was a great way of using a lot instead of making the usual banana nut muffins or bread. I doubled this recipe. I wish I had tripled it. I have an old-style bucket type ice cream maker where you use ice and salt. The metal canister could easily have held a tripled recipe. Even my two William’s Sonoma ice cream containers, together, could have handled a triple batch.
I followed this recipe to the “T”. No deviations. No add-ins. The result is a creamy delicious banana perfection! I don’t know why some commenters attempts failed. I would not put that blame on this recipe. The only things I’ll emphasize is that it is important to work quickly at transferring the caramelized bananas into the blender and quickly adding the milk, etc. and blending well. I also think chilling that mix thoroughly (at least 4 hours) before putting in the ice cream maker is important. I found the oven temp and time just right for caramelizing my bananas. Those who say theirs burnt, maybe should consider their oven and/or the pan they caramelized them in as possible culprits. Or the banana slices size? It’s definitely important to stir the mix at least once or twice during the baking, when you can gauge the caramelization status. I used a Pyrex lasagna pan. My oven can sometimes be a bit “slow” so to speak. Perhaps the 400 F was too high for some people’s ovens?
Maybe this made no major difference, but I make my own brown sugar using white granulated and blackstrap molasses. I happen to think it’s more delicious, cheaper, and longer-lasting (doesn’t harden easily) than store-bought brown sugar.
I did also make a homemade wet walnut topping for this ice cream. Delicious!
This was absolutely delicious! Wonderful texture and great-tasting. I’ve had the recipe on hand a couple years and so glad I finally made it. I added some raisins soaked in bit of rum and some toasted walnuts for my 1st batch. I can see taking it in my directions with add-in’s. Many thanks for a great recipe.
AMAZING! I am not one to eat bananas but I can promise I will be buying them more regularly now! I am excited to try this with strawberries, pineapple sauce and chocolate as a banana split. Very good and so easy to make!
I used this recipe in a GCSE investigation into how to add more fibre to the diet. Worked really well. Personally would have put more sugar in to make it more sweet but the recipe used both complex and simple skills. I served it with brownies to make a delicious dessert.
Really recommend.
Disappointing – I followed the directions exactly, and it turned out a lot like whipped frozen bananas. Not at all creamy. Not really delicious either.
What is the nutritional value for this recipe please?
Hi Teague, I just added the nutritional information to the recipe. 🙂