Dish of the Week: One-ingredient banana purée ice cream

Banana purée ice cream serves as a healthy alternative to sweet, sugary desserts. The dish only requires three frozen bananas and a blender or food processor.

By Anna Hecht

Delectable ice cream made from a single ingredient, and it’s healthy? I didn’t believe it either — until I tried it for myself. To make one-ingredient banana purée ice cream, all you need is three frozen bananas, a blender or food processor and an insatiable appetite.

Now, I’m not saying that this soft serve-style banana pureé necessarily competes with ice cream from Coldstone Creamery or the Ron Burgundy-inspired Ben & Jerry’s flavor “Scotchy Scotch Scotch.” But it sure hits the spot when I am craving something cold and sweet. An added bonus? This deliciously creamy ice cream imitation fell right in line with my New Year’s resolution to eat sweets only sometimes instead of all the time.

The first step to concocting your own at-home ice cream is to peel and freeze the well-ripened bananas on a plate (or in a Ziplock bag, as I did) for one to two hours. Or, you can throw some of the bananas in the freezer ahead of time, but be sure to let them thaw for about 15 minutes before blending.

Once your bananas are partially thawed, break them into smaller sections and place them inside the blender. Then, alternate between pressing the “purée” setting on your blender and the “ice crush” setting until the bananas have reached a whipped, applesauce-like consistency. While blending, it’s also helpful to stop every 30 seconds or so and scrape the inside walls of the blender, to push the puréed banana back down toward the blade.

After your “ice cream” has reached the perfect, custard-like consistency, grab a spatula, scoop it into a bowl and voilà! You have your very own gooey goodness that proves frozen bananas are good for more than just dipping in chocolate. Enjoy!

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Anna is a junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].