Healthy Bananas Foster Ice Cream (+ Video!)
Did someone just say, Healthy Bananas Foster Ice Cream?!? Bananas Foster + Ice Cream have officially been PUT TOGETHER?!? Quick, someone get me a hyperventilation bag.
I used to be pretty old fashioned when it came to ice cream. I went with Cookies ‘n’ Cream or Vanilla… that was IT. When (and if) I was ever feeling adventurous, I would go for Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Yes, that was me stepping out of my comfort zone *rolls eyes*
So you can probably guess that I wasn’t the brains behind thinking of this particular ice cream — my sister was! I asked my family if they wanted me to make them a specific ice cream flavor and my sister blurted out, “BANANAS FOSTER!”
At first I had no idea what was in a classic Bananas Foster so I was a bit intimidated. It sounded fancy. But, it sounded a lot tastier than what my dad wanted (Pistachio Ice Cream) and much less daunting than what my mom wanted (Creme Brûlée Ice Cream). Hey, I know I’ve been baking for over 10 years, but I’m still no magician in the kitchen. Creme Brûlée Ice Cream is asking A LOT, mom! 😉
Anyways, I did my research and I learned that Bananas Foster is typically made with sliced bananas, LOTS of butter and brown sugar, and then some rum. I felt a little bit better about this unique ice cream flavor endeavor and got to developing the recipe.
This Healthy Bananas Foster Ice Cream took three trials to perfect…
1st Trial:
Surprisingly this trial was a success! I posted the recipe back in 2013, but felt like it could use a bit of work and simplification (I used a lot of ingredients and the recipe had too many steps… in case you wanted to check it out, I provided the old recipe in the “Notes” section of the recipe box below).
2nd Trial:
In an attempt to simplify the recipe, I created a huge disaster. I thought it was a good idea to reduce the almond milk and increase the bananas and xanthan gum. I definitely didn’t use enough bananas because this “ice cream” wasn’t sweet at all. It was rock hard and icy too.
3rd Trial:
Instead of using almond milk, I swapped it with my Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk. What a good decision that was! It provided both a creamier texture and a sweeter flavor. Instead of using rum (I ran out), I decided to use bourbon instead. I also increased the amount of alcohol from 2 tbs to ⅓ cup. You still can’t taste it, but it makes for a better textured ice cream.
After churning and freezing, I spooned myself a big bite, and guess what.
IT’S FREAKIN’ DELICIOUS!
Healthy Bananas Foster Caramel Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups Homemade Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 5 Large Bananas (very ripe)
- ⅓ cup Bourbon (or Dark Rum to keep it traditional)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Natural Butter Flavor
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
- ½ tsp Ground Turmeric
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Freeze your ice cream maker bowl for 24+ hours (I used my KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, xanthan gum, turmeric, and salt.
- In a blender (I used my Vitamix), add the bananas, condensed milk, bourbon (or rum), vanilla extract, and butter flavor. Puree until completely smooth.
- With the blender running, slowly add the dry ingredients. Puree until completely smooth, then increase speed to high for 30 seconds.
- Place the frozen ice cream maker attachment onto the stand mixer and turn on the "stir" speed. Pour ice cream mixture into the ice cream maker and churn until thickened slightly (it won't turn into ice cream just yet, this step is just to make sure the ice cream doesn't form ice crystals).
- Pour the ice cream mixture into a freezer-proof dish (I used a 9x5" ceramic loaf pan). Freeze until it's the consistency you prefer (~3-5 hours). Serve with Homemade Caramel Sauce and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- This recipe above is the new and improved recipe. However, in case you wanted to try the old version instead, I'm providing it here:
- 3½ cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- 1 cup Mashed Bananas, very ripe
- ½ cup Homemade Caramel Sauce
- 2 tbs Rum
- 2 tsp Stevia Extract
- 1 tsp Natural Butter Flavor
- ½ tsp Banana Flavor
- 42g (2 scoops) Vanilla Brown Rice Protein Powder
- 2 tbs Organic Corn Starch
- ½ tsp Xanthan Gum
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
Yup, only 200 calories for a ¾ cup serving! Compared to a ¾ cup serving of Ben & Jerry’s Banana Split Ice Cream, my Healthy Bananas Foster Ice Cream has:
- 175 less calories
- 10g less fat
- 32g less sugar (that’s 8 teaspoons of sugar you’re saving!)
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Watch me make this Healthy Bananas Foster Ice Cream!
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This Healthy Bananas Foster Ice Cream is the bomb. No one believed it was refined sugar free, vegan, and 100% healthy! Try it for yourself and you’ll see why.
Bookmark this recipe and make it this weekend. Or, you could just make it right now 😉
Enjoy!
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
This. Looks. Unbelievable.
Refined sugar free ice cream with caramel sauce and bananas? I need an ice cream maker.
I just need one.
pinning this! It looks so phenomenal! 🙂
Yes, you definitely need an ice cream maker! It was definitely the best investment I’ve ever made, seriously 🙂
And thanks for pinning!
-Jess
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Heyo!
I don’t have the patience to make the caramel sauce…do you think this would work with (thick) honey or maple syrup?
Cannot wait to make this.
Also…how might one make this if one does not own an ice-cream maker?
<3
Zosia-
Oh totally, I didn’t even think about that! Pure maple syrup sounds like a great addition to banana, mmmmm.
I haven’t tried making this without an ice cream maker but the only thing the machine really does is incorporate more air into the ice cream for a smoother/softer texture. To incorporate more air into the mixture without the machine, I would recommend just whisking the “batter” in the mixer for a longer period of time (let’s say, 2-3 minutes in both step #5 and step #7). Imagine you’re making an egg white meringue, the longer you whip it, the more air you incorporate!
I hope this works, and I hope you love the honey/maple syrup addition 🙂
-Jess
I always know it’s one of your recipes in tastespotting/foodgawker because you’re the only person who still bangs the tired old “guilt-free” food drum. Seriously, every food is guilt free when treated appropriately. Boring. Give it up.
Hey Karen,
I didn’t mean to offend you at all but I call the ice cream guilt-free because it really is. I certainly don’t think all food is guilt-free either so I think it’s important to differentiate that… white sugar isn’t guilt-free, bleached AP flour isn’t guilt-free, trans fats aren’t guilt-free (in fact they are incredibly unhealthy and dangerous). I only get 140 characters to describe what’s in the photo on FoodGawker and TasteSpotting so I’m going to use that space to call the recipe what it really is. I think the main point is just the recipe and its ingredients, not what I describe it as and not what others describe it as 🙂
-Jess
This ice cream recipe looks super tasty! Can’t wait to feature it on our site 🙂
boooo Karen! ‘thumbs down’
Jess! this is insane! love your ice-cream recipes, i love dwb and i love you for creating it! 🙂
thanks heaps for sharing!
look forward to more of your delicious recipes! especially the ice-cream ones 🙂
Haha thanks Dan!! 😉
And so glad you like the recipes, I’m totally glad to share them with people who appreciate them, like you!
-Jess
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I love the caramel action shots!
I am not quite legal to bourbon, but boy do I wish I could try this recipe! It looks absolutely incredible!
Hey, it’s almost Summer where I live… totally would like to cool down with this little gem, looks amazing 🙂 Never heard of butter extract before – great recipe! Think I need to get myself an ice cream maker.
Looks good but this isn’t banana fosters. Banana fosters is made by using a vanilla ice cream base and then cooking bananas with brown sugar in a pan until caramalized and then mixing that with the ice cream base. Still looks yummy but this is more like nice cream with condensed milk. If anything it’s just banana flavored ice cream.