How To Make Creamy Ice Cream with Just One Ingredient!

By jeaninemg

Ingredients

• 1 large ripe banana

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from thekitchn.com

Preparation

Step 1

How To Make Creamy Ice Cream with Just One Ingredient! — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchen.

A few years ago I shared my favorite magic trick in the kitchen: creamy ice cream made with just one ingredient. Yes, that's right — just one ingredient, and no ice cream maker needed!

What is this one magic ingredient that can be whipped into rich and silky ice cream, with no additional dairy, sweeteners, or ingredients needed whatsoever?

If you guessed BANANA, congratulations! You're right! What? You didn't know that bananas can make pretty fabulous ice cream, all by themselves? Well, I didn't either until my sister mentioned that she had been freezing bananas and pureeing them into ice cream.

If you freeze a banana until solid, then whiz it up in a blender or food processor, it gets creamy and a little gooey, just like custard ice cream.

It makes creamy, rich ice cream, thanks to its high pectin content.

My sister has been experimenting with adding in another ingredient or two, like a tablespoon of peanut butter and another of honey, and since we first published this most basic of recipes, I've also played around with versions of banana ice cream that include Nutella, cocoa powder, and strawberry. (My favorite, though, has a touch of sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon.)

Makes 2 servings, about 1 cup

Blend the frozen banana pieces in a small food processor or powerful blender:

Keep blending — the banana will look crumbly:

Keep blending — the banana will look gooey:

Keep blending — the banana will look like oatmeal:

Suddenly, as the last bits of banana smooth out, you'll see the mixture shift from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream. (If adding any mix-ins, like peanut butter or chocolate chips, this is the moment to do it.)

We've found that a food processor works best for this, with enough room for the banana to get fully creamy and a little bit aerated. Some people do make it in a blender, but be careful; make sure your blender is powerful enough to process the frozen bananas.

Yes, you can make a bigger batch with more than one banana! Just make sure your food processor is big enough (and powerful enough).

Mix-in Ideas:

•Spoonful of peanut butter
•Drizzle of honey
•Handful of chocolate chips
•A few almonds
•Dollop of Nutella
•Scoop of cookie butter
•Tablespoon of cocoa powder
•Half a teaspoon of cinnamon, cardamom, or ginger