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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I was looking for another way to use up some ripe bananas that I had on the counter, and this recipe was a perfect alternative to banana bread during these hot, summer days! It was absolutely delicious! I used one can of full-fat coconut milk (Taste of Thai brand) instead of regular milk and it was perfect. Just a hint of coconut in the end result. My bananas were also way past the point of slicing, which ended up not being a problem. However, I did notice that when the bananas were caramelizing, they didn’t get as deep of a caramel color as the pictures, but it didn’t matter. Great recipe – once again!
This recipe is delicious! I was too lazy to freeze my ice cream maker so I put the blended mixture straight into popsicle moulds. They came out perfectly and they’re so creamy!
Hi Jenn,
I was initially going use my bananas to make your coconut/pecan banana bread, but stumbled upon this recipe, so my bananas are really overly ripe. There’s one that cannot hold up to being sliced…LOL. Using the bananas for this ice cream recipe, do I need to reduce the time for the caramelization process?
No, I think you can stick to the timing in the recipe. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Just made this …wow fabulous- really creamy with great banana flavour …
think it will become one of my husbands (a banana fiend) favourites!
Followed recipe but substituted cup of skimmed milk and 1/2 cup double cream for the whole milk and used dark brown sugar ( as it was all I had) rather than light .
Thank you .. ! another one to add to our list to make 🙂
Wow…absolutely brilliant recipe. Used Elmlea Double and oat milk instead of milk and it was amazing!! Consistency was soooo smooth and it tasted divine. Super impressed!! Thanks for sharing!!
Could I put the bananas in the oven by themselves and blend them with maple syrup in the food processor instead of baking with brown sugar For a healthier alternative?
Sure, Bri, I think that would work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Is this really much healthier..?
I’ve made this a couple of times now and each time it’s better than I remember from the previous time. Today I made the “Elvis” version by adding chopped chocolate covered peanuts and bacon. The chocolate keeps the peanuts from softening, and the bacon?…do I really need to explain? 😁
Oh yum…
Loved this ice cream. I did use 1 cup skim and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Worked really well and very creamy.
I really want to try this, but I don’t have an ice cream maker. Can I just freeze it?
Unfortunately, that won’t work — you really need an ice cream machine for this one — sorry! I do have a few no-churn ice cream recipes if you want to check those out.
Jenn,
THANK YOU. WOW, this was divine. I will forever let my bananas ripen so that I can whip this FABU recipe up. I was so inspired I actually swapped out some ingredients and tried it with 1 cup Vanilla whey protein shake liquid and 1/2 cup greek yogurt and swerve brown sugar with the bananas and swerve powdered with the liquids and the remaining ingredients from your recipe. The final result out of the ice cream machine, smooth and creamy, next day out of freezer, much harder had to let it sit out a bit to soften up but still delicious. Not true ice cream as in your original recipe but a wonderful alternative. THANK YOU so much for this recipe.
Cheers
D