Healthy Strawberry Banana Ice Cream (No Machine!) – Step by Step

2-ingredient ice cream (aka nice cream) made with delicious strawberries and bananas. No ice cream machine needed and ready in no time. So easy and healthy! The perfect spring and summer treat.

You know the feeling when you want to eat “something good”, a little treat BUT you don’t feel like actually cooking or baking, are too lazy to go out and buy something AND, in addition to all these criteria, you also want this treat to be guilt free?

I’ve been there – so.many.times! And my little finger tells me I’m not the only one 😉

Luckily, I’m humbly presenting you with a solution to our struggle today. In the form of ice cream. Guilt-free, easy, 2-ingredient ice cream. Sounds nice, huh?

Okay, let’s see how it’s done!

How to make strawberry banana ice-cream – Step by step

First, slice some ripe bananas (so they’re sweet and full of flavor) and strawberries (step 1). 

Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and pop them in the freezer for about 2 hours (step 2).

Once they’re frozen, place the fruits in your food processor (step 3) If the fruits are stuck on the sheet, let it sit on the counter for a couple of minutes before lifting the baking paper.

Start the food processor and process until it’s nice and smooth. The mixture will go through different stages: “crumbly” (step 4), part crumbly part smooth (step 5) and finally, smooth (step 6). 

At the end, it should have a smooth, soft-serve consistency (step 7). It takes a while to reach the perfect texture – don’t worry, it’s normal. Keep pulsing until you create ice cream magic!

You can eat it straight away as a soft-serve, but if you want a firmer, more ice-cream like texture, transfer the mixture to a metal container – I used a loaf pan – and freeze for about 3 to 4 hours or until firm (step 8).  

It will be hard straight out of the freezer so let it sit on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping and enjoying!

Can you make banana ice cream aka nice cream in a blender?

Well, yes and no. You can make banana ice cream in a high speed blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec but if you just have a basic blender, the frozen fruits will be too hard to process.

I have this KitchenAid blender, which is pretty strong, and I still need to add a little bit of milk or another liquid to get it going. It’s not smooth and easy as using a food processor.

Unless you have a high speed blender, I would recommend using a powerful food processor instead. I have this Magimix one and I LOVE it.

Banana Ice Cream / Nice Cream variations

I love the strawberry/banana combo, but know that you can make hundreds of different flavor combo with the same frozen banana base! Here are a few idea for you to play around:

• Very Berry: bananas + a mix of frozen berries
• Peach: bananas + peach + a pinch a ginger
• Pina Colada: bananas + coconut milk + pineapple
• Chocolate Peanut Butter: bananas + peanut butter + cocoa powder

A few last tips!

• Make sure to use ripe bananas. Not ripe bananas won’t be sweet enough and taste funky.
• Next time you have a bunch of ripe bananas sitting on your counter, peel them, cut them and freeze them for a banana ice cream later!
• This recipe is perfect to use strawberries that are past their prime and that you no longer want to eat “as is”.
• As mentioned above, make sure to use a powerful food processor that can handle frozen fruits (they are very hard).

If you tried this strawberry banana ice cream, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

5 from 10 votes

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Healthy Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

2-ingredient ice cream (aka nice cream) made with delicious strawberries and bananas. No ice cream machine needed and ready in no time. So easy and healthy! The perfect spring and summer treat.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy ice cream, nice cream, strawberry banana ice cream

Prep Time 15 minutes

Freezing time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 94 kcal

Ingredients

• 4 bananas large and very ripe
• 1 lb / 450 g fresh strawberries ripe

Instructions

1. Peel the bananas and cut them into slices. Hulled the strawberries and slice them as well. 

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (to prevent the fruits for sticking to the baking sheet). Arrange the fruits in a single layer. Place in the freezer and freeze for 2 hours or until fully frozen. 

3. When the fruits are frozen, place them in the bowl of your food processor. Process until the mixture is creamy and smooth, scraping down the edges of the bowl as needed. It while take a while to reach the right consistency - don't worry, it's normal (see the different steps pictured above).

4. Serve immediately for a soft-serve consistency (picture #7 above). If you prefer a harder, more ice-cream like consistency, transfer mixture into a 1.5-litre-capacity metal container (I used a loaf pan) and freeze for 3-4 hours or until firm. It will be hard straight out of the freezer so let it sit on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping and enjoying!

5. If you're not eating everything, keep the leftovers in the freezer, covered with plastic wrap. 

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Amount Per Serving (1 /6th)

Calories 94

% Daily Value*

Sodium 1mg0%

Potassium 397mg11%

Carbohydrates 23g8%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 13g14%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 60IU1%

Vitamin C 51.3mg62%

Calcium 16mg2%

Iron 0.5mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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• Coconut Berry Popsicles
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