Nice Cream

FMM: I made a peach nice cream. It was pretty good, although it does use a lot of fruit. Made 2 pints, and definitely could be served as soft serve. I needed to use almost 1/4 cup more almond milk than the amount listed below, and added a drizzle of honey. The peach flavor comes through, but is not real strong. I added a little more honey on top of the nice cream when I ate it and it seemed to bring out the peach flavore a little more. One thing I didn't like, after freezing it was hard as a rock; not like ice cream at all. After letting it warm up I was able to stir it enough to make it sort of like soft serve ice cream, but really it was more like a slushy. Using dairy milk would probably make a difference in texture, but it would still not be like ice cream. I think the best way to eat this is right after making it in the blender. One other thing I would try is to put it in the blender again after freezing it.

Nice cream is a healthy, dairy-free frozen dessert made by blending frozen fruit—most commonly ripe bananas—into a creamy, soft-serve consistency. Because it contains no added sugars, dairy, or artificial ingredients, it serves as a nutritious alternative to traditional ice cream.

• The Base: Frozen, chopped bananas provide a rich, starchy, and naturally creamy texture when processed.
• No Special Equipment: You only need a food processor or a high-speed blender.
• Add-ins: Mix in frozen berries, mango, cocoa powder, peanut butter, or a splash of plant-based milk for different flavors.

There are 2 main ways to serve nice cream:

• Soft serve: this is the more classic way to serve nice cream — straight out of the food processor. It has the consistency of soft serve and is ready to go in 5 minutes.
• Ice cream: if you’re more of an ice cream consistency kind of person, transfer the nice cream into a bread pan and freeze it for around 1-2 hours. It will be just frozen enough to scoop it like ice cream.

Basic Nice Cream Recipe

4 cups frozen banana slices, ~6 large bananas
2-4 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk, any kind of milk will work

Place frozen banana slices and 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk into a high-speed food processor or blender.

Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes stopping to scrape the sides every so often.

If your blender is having a hard time blending the bananas, add more almond milk by the tablespoon.

Once pureed together, your banana nice cream should be like a super thick smoothie or soft serve. Option to eat immediately or to transfer to a parchment-lined bread pan to freeze for later.

Freeze it like ice cream: Freeze banana nice cream for 1 to 2 hours so that it hardens enough to scoop like ice cream, but isn't too hard that you can't scoop it.

Pro Tips for Nice Cream

• Use frozen bananas: Make sure your bananas are completely frozen before you blend it in the food processor.
• Do not over process: Be careful not to blend the nice cream in the food processor for too long or it will be too melted / thin in consistency to scoop.
• Cover before freezing: If you do decide to freeze the nice cream be sure to cover the container tightly to avoid freezer burn.

Variations: They all start with a banana base as this is what make them "creamy."

• Strawberry Banana: 3 cups frozen banana pieces (3 large bananas), 1 cup frozen sliced or halved strawberries. Makes 1 quart. Another recipe uses equal amounts.
• Strawberry Lemonade: 1 lemon, pulp plus 2 tsp. zest, plus more lemon juice if needed, 3 cups frozen banana pieces (3 large bananas), 1 cup frozen sliced or halved strawberries. Makes 1 quart
• Chocolate Strawberry: 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries, plus more for garnish (strain juice if needed); 3 ripe medium bananas, sliced and frozen (about 3 1/2 cups); 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk; 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; Flaky sea salt for garnish (optional). Top with more strawberries, if desired.
• Strawberry Chocolate Chunk (or Raspberry): Blend 4 medium bananas, peeled, frozen and cut into 1-inch chunks (3 cups), 8 ounces frozen strawberries (2 1/3 cups), 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (optional), Dash sea salt. Once blended, stir in 1 ounce unsweetened dark chocolate, chopped. Makes 1 quart
• Blueberry: 2 cups frozen banana pieces (~3 large bananas) 4 cups frozen blueberries. Makes 6 cups
• Cherry Chocolate Chip: 4 medium-sized bananas, cut into 1-inch pieces and frozen, 1 cup frozen cherries, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, as needed, 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips. Makes 1 quart
• Cherry-Almond: 4 cups frozen banana pieces (4 large bananas), 1/4 cup unsweetened, unflavored almond milk, plus more if needed, 3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract, 5 1/2 cups pitted and chopped fresh or frozen pitted sweet cherries, thawed. Makes 1 quart
• * Peach: 2 cups frozen sliced peaches (8 oz.), 2 bananas, peeled, broken into chunks, and frozen, 1/2 cup unsweetened, unflavored plant milk, such as almond, soy, cashew, or rice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or pure vanilla extract (optional). Makes 1 quart
  
• Mango: 4 cups frozen mango chunks, or 4 medium mangoes (3 lb.), peeled and cut into large chunks, 1 banana, cut into large chunks, Ground cardamom or paprika (optional). Makes 6 cups
• Mexican Chocolate: Combine 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Whisk in 1/3 cup boiling water; let cool. Blend with 4 large frozen bananas, broken into pieces (4 cups), 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Makes 1 quart
• Vanilla with Real Vanilla Bean: Scrape seeds from 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, 5 medium bananas, peeled, sliced, and frozen, 1/4 to 1/2 cup unsweetened plant-based milk. Makes 4 1/2 cups
• Lemon Cheesecake Nice Cream - uses cottage cheese
• Blueberry Muffin Banana Nice Cream (contains oatmeal)

Other Flavoring Additions

Mint Chip – add 1/4 teaspoon mint extract and 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips.
2 to 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, cacao powder, or carob powder
1 to 2 tablespoons nut butter
1/4 cup frozen acai purée
1/4 to 1/2 cup passionfruit purée
1/2 to 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon or cardamom
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond, lemon, or coconut extract
1–2 tablespoons citrus (lemon, lime, or orange) juice
1–2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, rosemary, mint, or lemon verbena
1–2 teaspoons rose or orange flower water