Roasted Banana Ice Cream
51 comments » 
I have been wanting to make roasted banana ice cream for what feels like forever. I finally got around to it this week and am totally smitten. If you love bananas, you will positively fall in love with this ice cream. It basically tastes like a frozen piece of banana bread. And it doesn’t take much more work to make, amazingly. The flavor of the bananas really shines through – clean and fresh. I am thinking that, just like with banana bread, some walnuts might be a great addition to this ice cream. I may whip up some candied walnuts to mix in next time. Banana makes for an easy base to play around with – fudge ripple, peanut butter swirl, candied nuts… all sorts of delicious possibilities!
This is by far the easiest ice cream I have yet to make. It is not custard-based, so there is no whisking and cooking egg yolks with milk and cream on the stove. You simply slice up a few bananas, toss them with sugar and butter and then pop them in the oven to roast. While they are roasting, you will want to bottle the smell and make a candle or air freshener out of it. Guaranteed. Your kitchen will smell like a fresh batch of bananas foster. Which smells delicious.
Once the bananas are out of the oven, you throw them into the blender with some milk and a few other ingredients, purée it together, and 30 seconds later your ice cream base is ready for its trip to the refrigerator to chill. Super easy!
This ice cream also makes a fabulous base for your very own banana split sundae. Top the ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. If you have crushed pineapple (which I didn’t have), throw that on top of the hot fudge. Or some melted peanut butter. Banana, peanut butter and hot fudge? Oh yes. I’m off to make that happen!
One year ago: Classic Lemonade
Two years ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie-Topped Brownies
Three years ago: Herbed-Baked Eggs
Roasted Banana Ice Cream
Yield: About 1 quart
Prep Time: 10 minutes (active), 8 hours (inactive)
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients:
3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted), cut into small pieces
1½ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon coarse saltDirections:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.
3. Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and purée until smooth.
4. Chill the mixture for at least 8 hour (or overnight) in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it to thin it out.
(Recipe from The Perfect Scoop
by David Lebovitz)
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This looks so delicious! Your recipes and photos always look so yummy. I can’t wait to try out this recipe for our Memorial Day bbq party. Apologies in advance if you have already answered this question: Can your ice cream be made without an ice cream maker?
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Michelle on May 27th, 2011 at 11:08 am
Hi Vicki, Yes! Here is the tutorial from last year on making ice cream without an ice cream maker: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/06/21/how-to-make-homemade-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-maker/
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Looks amazing! I LOVE banana ice cream
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very tempting, I am avoiding ice cream but I can’t resist when I see one lol ;p When I was younger but not too old I don’t care if I eat 1 pint in one sitting now I just get a half scoop because I am watching my diet and I am no longer young as before.
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On second thought…maybe I don’t want to save my pennies for an ice cream maker. Once I start, I’m not sure I would be able to finish.
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Not finish…stop. I’m not sure I would be able to stop [eating].
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I LOVE roasting my bananas- how brilliant to make ice cream with them!!!!
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This does look amazing! And adding a peanut butter ripple throughout would be out of this world! I want every single ice cream you have made.
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Looks better then my favorite Hagen Dazs!
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Yum! I’m all for adding peanut butter and hot fudge to this too!
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Yummmmmmmmmm!
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I’m dreaming of roasted bananas with butter and sugar.
Definite must try!
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That’s it. I need an ice cream maker.
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Mmmmm…this sounds so delicious and looks simple and quick!
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Yum! I love banana ice cream. Thanks for the great recipe. And, the best part? Since no one else in my family likes banana anything, I get to eat it all.
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I love bananas and I’m sure I’d love this ice cream! Wonderful photos yet again.
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Wow- wow.. wow.. this looks awesome!
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Fabulous, that is all I have to say about this!! Mmmmm!
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I’ve made this before, but it’s been years. Thanks for the reminder! I need to churn it up again!
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Not only does this sound delicious, but I love how easy it is to put together. Great recipe to kick off the summer, Michelle.
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I really need to get myself an ice cream maker ASAP! Looks delicious!
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I bookmarked this before I even finished reading the post. You had me at roasted banana but in ice cream form? Even better.
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OMG! This looks incredibly delicious! It would be perfect with my banana-caramel bread pudding! I usually do a cinnamon ice cream but this would be such a fun alternative! Thanks, Chris
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We are having guests at our summer cottage this weekend and I’m going to serve this ice cream. I think I will add a tablespoon or two of rum, just to play up the bananas foster theme. And maybe serve it with a hot caramel sauce. Thank you for the inspiration.
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Ooohh! I happen to have a love affair with bananas foster since our honeymoon. This looks like one I will have to try!
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I made banana pudding ice cream the other day and you first roast the bananas…it was life-changing ice cream, I swear! I’m going to try this next as I imagine it’s equally wonderful!
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I love this! Mmm roasted banana…
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I always make a banana fro yo…but I’ve never thought to roast the bananas… wow! Thank you soooo much for sharing that tip.
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I love banana ice cream!! What a great idea to roast the banana flavor, I want this with some caramel or fudge all over it. =)
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Never would have thought of this as an ice cream – but wow! This looks great!
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I love that it’s so easy. That egg-custard stuff is sometimes just too much work! This would be a big hit in our house!
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I made this ice cream too and loved it!
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Nice ice cream! I wonder if adding a slight bit of dark rum would be in order?
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omg thanks I so want to try this.
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Roasted bananas? First time I’ve ever heard about this, sounds yummy
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Roasting the banana first sounds like a great idea. It almost sounds as though you could make a bananas foster ice cream with this base. I am looking forward to trying this soon since we always seem to have a lot of banana around waiting to be used.
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Who knew? A little nutella swirl would be good too ….
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This sounds so incredible!! I love roasting bananas and this ice cream is like a match made in heaven.
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YUM! This looks incredible! I love anything banana so I know this is a winner in my books!
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Michelle,
Another winner! I was licking the blender clean and was almost tempted to lick the blades! lol Got it churned in the Cuisinart machine, frozen overnight and served to raves yesterday. I’m wonder what a Tbsp. or two of rum might do? I am also going to try this with roasted peaches and perhaps a splash of brandy. My ice cream maker has been on a shelf in the laundry room for two years, but not anymore. Thanks for your inspiring cooking.
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OMG- imagine it with the peanut butter patties from the mix-in section of The Perfect Scoop- that would be bananas (pun totally intended)!
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I just made this tonight, and my husband deemed it “amazing!”
I also added some chocolate chunks and roasted walnuts, a la “chunky monkey”.
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The mix is in the fridge chilling, and the ice cream canister is in the freezer freezing. My bananas only took about 25 minutes to cook, they were soft and the caramel from the butter and sugar was getting close to being over cooked as well. Instead of the vanilla & lemon juice I used 1 Tablespoon of dark rum. Lets see how it turns out! I”m excited!
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Melted peanut butter with ice cream! YUM! I really got to try this recipe out. My fiance is not such a fan of bananas though hmm but hehe got to try this one out still!
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Hi Michelle!
I just tested your Roasted Banana Ice Cream and it is really awesome! When I saw that Ice-Cream-Maker yesterday in the supermarket, I could not resist and buyed it. I wanted to test all the great ice cream recipes you posted here and I started with this one.
It is a really tasty ice cream and I know that I will nevermore buy any ice cream in the supermarket! A least until I tried all your recipes…
Greatings from Germany!
Carolin
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Tested and approved ! Hummm, this taste of banana and caramel… It’s just perfect !
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I love banana ice cream. This recipe is good with coconut milk too and toasted coconut. Thanks for a good recipe
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So yummy! I made it with a can of full fat coconut milk because I am .lactose intolerant, and tasting it makes me want to eat it now! Why must it chill!!!
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The flavor is so intense and delicious! A little spice such as cinnamon, clove or allspice could really give this an extra kick (:
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Hey Michelle,
I want to make this without an ice-cream maker and I was just wondering, do I break up the icicles after letting it freeze for 8 hours? Thanks!
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Michelle on October 10th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
I would probably do it every couple of hours to keep it creamy.
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