Ripe banana are roasted until extra sweet with this Caramelized Banana Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. It’s dairy free, paleo, vegan and mostly fruit sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup which pairs so well with the banana. Add that to a touch of vanilla bean and this ice cream becomes a go to recipe that’s over the top with my Coconut Caramel Sauce.
This ice cream continues to baffle me with it’s deep complexity and addicting flavor! The whole idea came about during a conversation with a good friend. First we were talking about alternative sweeteners, which lead to her telling me that she loves roasted bananas for dessert. I thought roasted bananas sounded like a good base for ice cream, and we were off and running with ideas for spices and toppings!
My next thought was to add cardamom or maybe even cinnamon. But I ended up going with vanilla bean, (it’s my favorite spice). I used the entire vanilla bean in the base of this ice cream – that’s right, the whole pod (not just the seeds) gets blended up for incredible depth of flavor.
If you’re using a high powered blender like a Vitamix, you don’t even need to strain your ice cream base. The pieces of vanilla bean are so small you don’t notice them. But you can run the ice cream base through a fine mesh sieve if you’d like!
Tip: Try to buy your vanilla beans from the bulk spice section in your local health food store. It’s much cheaper, and you can buy them as you need them for best freshness! For me the price difference is about $1.50 each (at the health food store) vs. $4.00 each at the grocery store spice section!
Let’s talk about how to make this Caramelized Banana Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!
For the bananas, peel and cut them in half lengthwise. Then brush them with a small amount of avocado oil and place them flat side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brushing them with oil is critical. Otherwise they tend to stick to the parchment paper in a sticky gooey mess!
After you’ve roasted them, they’ll be a nice golden brown.
Once you have your caramelized bananas, place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Feel free to strain the mixture if you think your blender didn’t quite get it smooth.
It’s really important to thoroughly chill your ice cream base before freezing it because the bananas are still warm from the oven. Otherwise, your freezer canister will melt before your ice cream is completely frozen.
When your ice cream is done churning in the machine, it will look like the above left hand photo. If you dip a spoon in, the ice cream will be more set up. It should tay on the spoon, and not slide right off. Finally, transfer the ice cream to a container and place it in the freezer for a firmer texture.
Important note: This ice cream will turn rock hard after it’s fully frozen. But you can simply place it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before eating it for the best softened texture. Once you’ve softened it again the texture does remain in tact, it just gets too hard to eat when it’s fully frozen!
And… while this ice cream is perfectly good on it’s own, I never know when to leave ‘perfectly good’ alone. So of course there’s caramel sauce too! Since caramel sauce is such a good basic recipe to have around, I’m giving it to you as a separate recipe. This Double Salted Coconut Caramel Sauce is a must make because it goes with so many desserts!!
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Caramelized Banana Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ripe banana are roasted until extra sweet with this Caramelized Banana Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. It’s dairy free, paleo, vegan and mostly fruit sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup which pairs so well with the banana. Add that to a touch of vanilla bean and this ice cream becomes a go to recipe that’s over the top with my Coconut Caramel Sauce.
Ingredients
4 ripe bananas, yellow with a few black spots
1 teaspoon avocado oil for brushing
1 – 13.5 ounce refrigerated can coconut milk (Native Forest is great)
1 additional refrigerated can of coconut milk, cream skimmed from the top of the can
1 whole vanilla bean, cut into 1/2” pieces
1/3 cup Grade A maple syrup (more or less to taste depending on how ripe the bananas are)
1/4 Teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Peel and cut the bananas in half lengthwise. Lightly brush them with avocado oil and place them flat side down on the parchment paper.
Roast them until golden, 15-20 minutes, being sure to check often towards the end of the baking time.
When the bananas are caramelized, set them aside until they’re cool enough to touch.
Meanwhile add the rest of the ingredients to the blender. Just to clarify, you’re using 1 whole can of refrigerated coconut milk + only the cream from the second can of coconut milk. You can reserve the extra coconut liquid for another use like a smoothie.
When the bananas have cooled, add them to the blender with the rest of the ingredients, and blend until smooth. Strain the ice cream through a fine mesh strainer if your’s isn’t completely smooth, (I didn’t need to strain mine).
Thoroughly chill the ice cream base in the refrigerator, 3-4 hours, before freezing.
Freeze the ice cream according to your machine’s instructions. This recipe is sized for a 2 quart ice cream machine. The ice cream is finished when it starts to set up, and it will stay on a spoon without sliding right off.
Transfer the ice cream to a container, and place it in the freezer for a firmer texture.
This ice cream will freeze hard as a rock after it’s fully frozen, and you’ll need to soften it for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator before eating.
Notes
The prep time is about how long it takes to blend the ice cream and freeze it in your machine (most of the time in this recipe is hands off work). You’ll need to factor in another 3-4 hours to chill the ice cream base.
This ice cream is great served with my Double Coconut Caramel Sauce!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
I can’t believe I am just finding your site!
Can I just use a can of coconut cream instead of skimming the cream from a can of coconut milk?
If so, how much should I use?
Hi Kari,
This sounds delicious……I have a quick question — I don’t have an ice cream machine/maker, would I just put the chilled ice cream in my mix master for a bit, then freeze it ? or what do you recommend ? Many thanks for sharing these great recipes 🙂
I would try blending the caramelized (cooled) bananas and vanilla bean with just enough coconut milk so that it will blend into a smooth puree. Then I would whip the remainder of the coconut milk plus the coconut cream in your stand mixer, and finally fold the pureed banana mixture into the whipped coconut cream along with the other ingredients called for, and place it in the freezer. If you take the ice cream out of the freezer every hour or so and give it a good stir that will help the texture as well. If you’re whipping coconut milk, it’s really important that it’s the Native Forest brand because other brands don’t always whip very well, (and make sure your cans of coconut milk have been refrigerated)! The texture won’t be quite as smooth, but it’s still pretty good. This is the method I use whenever I’m somewhere without an ice cream maker! Let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂
When will you be posting the Caramel Sauce recipe?
It’s already posted, thanks for asking though because it reminded me to put in a link in for the caramel to this ice cream post! It’s a Double Coconut Salted Caramel Sauce and I think you’re going to love it! 🙂
This looks amazing!
Is there any way it could be made without an ice cream machine?
The texture is never quite the same, but I described a method for ice cream without an ice cream maker in the above comments, and I’m sending you an email as well! 🙂
Thank you!!
oh my! this looks so delicious.
Thanks Dina, hope you like it! 🙂
Oh my, with so many of us avoiding all those bad sugars, it’s nice to see recipes like this to satisfy that sweet tooth without the processed junk. I have never made my own “ice cream” before but I love how this recipe is rooted in bananas, yay!
And vanilla bean anything make me weak in the knees!
Can’t wait to see your recipe for the sauce =)
Ummm Yum! I cannot wait to make this, and the sauce that you will be posting soon!
I hope you love it as much as we do! The best part about this ice cream is you don’t even have to feel guilty about eating too much sugar! 🙂
I was about to say the same thing as Willi because that caramel sauce looks amazing. So you’d better share the recipe soon! 😉
I know, it’s terrible to post one without the other but caramel sauce is just too good of a basic – it needs it’s own recipe! 🙂
Not fair Kari. You topped it with a fantastic looking syrup. What is it?
It’s Double Coconut Vanilla Salted Caramel Sauce, and I’m giving you the recipe really soon! Sorry to make you wait! 🙂