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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Hello! This recipes sounds great and seems accidentally vegan. Have you tried it with vegan butter, non-dairy milk? I would love to try the caramelized vegan version. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks for your time!
Hi Rose, I haven’t tried it with either of those so I can’t say for sure. The texture will definitely not be as rich with the almond milk, but I think it’s worth a try. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi! This recipe sounds delicious! So once you transfer the cooled/refrigerated mixture to the ice cream maker do you let it freeze or are you supposed to put it in the ice cream maker and turn it on to let it mix and freeze? Not sure if I am explaining myself correctly but just trying to understand why ice cream maker is necessary, is it due to frozen bowl helping to freeze it or process of turning on ice cream maker to mix and then freeze again? Thank you. I love all of your recipes and really want to try this one!
Hi Steph, First you put the mixture in the machine to churn. It will turn into a soft serve-like texture. After that, you’ll transfer it to a different bowl or container to chill until firm. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy if you make it!
Brilliant! I almost didn’t make the ice cream, the caramelized bananas were so tempting by themselves But did make the recipe, as written. Wouldn’t change a thing, except would definitely double it next time. Have both your cookbooks, as well as the weekly emails, and haven’t made a loser yet! Thanks Jenn!
The ice cream was bananas! I was following the recipe but found it already a bit too sweet with just the brown sugar so I skipped the white sugar then added more fresh bananas so that I could have a full 3 cups of ice cream base. 3 medium bananas = 390g for me, then added an extra 190g of fresh bananas, blended everything in a Vitamix, the ice cream turned out so delicious and smooth!
Hi Jenn. I had some v.ripe bananas to use up. I just got an ice-cream machine and yr caramelised banana recipe was my first go. OMG😍amazing. Thank you so much. I found Jersey milk discounted / short dated and I grated caramel choc on the surface of 6 ice-cream bars which I find easier to unmold than scooping when set. Will be making this a lot. Sue, former chef, 68yrs old, still experimenting. Love yr site.
🙂 Glad you enjoyed the ice cream!
Jen, could I thaw frozen bananas for this recipe?
Thanks,
Phyllis
Sure, Phyllis, frozen bananas will work. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Well, with great success, I have made this recipe (quadrupled the quantities because I had a dozen over ripe bananas). I don’t have an ice-cream maker, so I took the two containers out of the freezer every 1-2 hours to beat the ice-cream. The result was a firm, thick and creamy tasting ice-cream/gelato. I’m not a fan of bananas, but I am a big fan of this ice-cream. Thank you for this quick and easy recipe.
Thank you so much for your ‘no machine’ recipe. I’ve been looking for one around the net but only found recipes for ice-cream makers or large blenders.
I’ve used frozen sliced bananas with great success, but it took a toll on my hand-held blender, even though it’s metal.
I’m making caramel/banana tart for Christmas, and Jenn’s recipe along with your know-how will be a treat as an accompaniment.
Have a safe and wonderful Christmas and New Year!
OMG, so so good. I followed the recipe for preparation but made this without the sugar and no dairy. I used maple syrup and a little melted butter in place of the sugar and I used coconut milk and coconut cream (from Trader Joe’s) and it is Ah-mazing! Honestly better than most store bought ice cream seriously.
How much maple syrup did you sub for the sugar?
Hi Jenn, I plan to double this recipe as we purchased a large capacity ice cream maker. However, most of the ice cream recipes I’ve historically used are from NYT, and call for a 1:2 ratio of milk to heavy cream. Do you think this would taste alright if I did 1 cup milk, 2 cups cream instead of just milk? Thanks!
Hi Emily, Yes, that should work; it will just be richer and thicker. (I use the milk here because the bananas already add a fair amount of thickness to the ice cream.) Please LMK how it turns out.
Heavenly ✨