If I had to choose my favorite flavor of ice cream, I’d easily choose cookies & cream. As I’m writing this, I just finished off a pint of Trader Joe’s light ice cream in this flavor 😋 But this banana ice cream is an amazing, healthy alternative when you don’t have your favorite light ice cream in the freezer.
Growing up, my family used to get half gallons of ice cream at the grocery store and it would be gone in like a day or two between the four of us. My parents would always try to hide it from me and my brother, but we always knew where to find it. When I got to choose the flavor, cookies & cream was my go to, while my mom was all about peanut butter cup and both my dad and brother were indifferent and would eat whatever flavor that was around.
My childhood home was across the street from Kroger, so my boyfriend and I would walk and grab ice cream and eat it out of the container. Living that close to a grocery store was a blessing and a curse. Whenever you had a sweet tooth, you were only a few steps away from the freezer aisle. What a life it was before I worried about every bite I put in my mouth.
Since I’m much more health conscious than I was back in high school, I’m always on the hunt to find or create healthier versions of my favorite desserts. That’s when this cookies & cream banana ice cream was born! With only three ingredients, this recipe can be a staple in your freezer and cure your late night sweet tooth without falling “off track.”
How to make banana ice cream
I recipe tested this banana ice cream while I was in Northern Michigan with my parents, boyfriend and his mom. The verdict was all positive reviews, my dad even went back for seconds and kept asking when the recipe was going to be live on the blog. I think he’s hooked 🤣
Anyone can make this recipe, it’s fool proof! As long as you have a food processor or a blender, you can whip this up in minutes. The hardest part is letting it re-freeze after blending!
I recommend cutting up the bananas and placing them in the freezer before you want to make the ice cream. I had my mom freeze the bananas days before I was headed home so they were ready whenever I wanted to whip these up. Maybe throw in some extra for smoothies or just to snack on. I absolutely love eating frozen banana 😋
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Cookies & Cream Healthy Banana Ice Cream
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 8 bananas
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk I like unsweetened vanilla almond milk but any will work
- 24 mini chocolate chip cookies Could opt for homemade or store bought
Instructions
- Unpeel and chop each banana in at least 4 pieces, placing flat in a freezer bag or arranging on a baking sheet. Once all bananas are in the bag or on a baking sheet, place in the freezer for at least 5 hours. This step can be done ahead of time.
- Add frozen bananas, non-dairy milk and half of the mini cookies to your food processor or high powered blender and blend for a few minutes. The mixture should be thick and mimic ice cream.
- Scoop/pour banana mixture into a large glass or plastic tupperware contrainer.
- Either chop the reamaining cookies with a knife or add to a ziplocl bag and crush with your hand or a rolling pin.
- Add crushed cookies to the top of the banana mixture and fold in.
- Place tupperware in the freezer for at least an hour. You can skip this step and eat immediately if you can't wait.
Notes
If you give this recipe a try, take a photo and share it on Instagram or Facebook tagging @BreatheSweatEat!