1-Ingredient Paleo Ice Cream

Oh, wow. I cannot believe I’ve ignored you guys like this. This recipe for banana ‘ice cream’ is really tasty, dead simple to make, whips up quick, and lasts in the freezer for as long as you need it to. It’s cheap, too, averaging however much bananas cost where you live per serving. And it’s paleo. Have I mentioned it’s also good? And filling? And healthy? And lactose free? What are you waiting for?! Ice cream waits for no man!

A good friend of mine recently made the jump to paleo (ok, it was a few months ago now) and I realized I hadn’t posted a recipe for this yet for you guys. This ‘ice cream’ is fantastic. I made it pretty much all summer last year and ended up almost living on it when the days got so hot I didn’t want to move, let alone put anything in my mouth that wasn’t freezing.

Also? It’s toddler-approved. My girl has a munchkin who loves bananas – and this dessert. It’s making its way into heavy rotation at her house as a summertime treat to combat her little guy’s first summer dealing with crazy heat.

This ice cream is surprisingly creamy for having a single ingredient and has a light banana taste when made with no add-ins. I always add almond butter because I absolutely love it and usually honey and a generous pinch of flaky salt as well. If paleo marshmallow fluff existed, that would go in as well. Ooooh. Steve’s Original Paleo Krunch (or some other grainless granola) would be fantastic here. Cocoa nibs if you’re so inclined.

1-Ingredient Paleo Ice Cream

1 banana per serving

Add-ins: I usually use 1 Tbsp. almond butter + 1 tsp. honey + a big pinch of flaky salt per serving

Peel your banana, break into large pieces, and freeze at least an hour to overnight before starting.

Put your banana + any add-ins into your blender. Blend until it looks like soft-serve. At this point, your ice cream is entirely edible – but if you stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours, you will be rewarded with a rich, dense ice cream that is so satisfying you’ll never miss the dairy – or other ingredients.

Serves however many you want it to.

A note about blending: Don’t overload your blender. Just … don’t. Even if you have a Vitamix. Your blender doesn’t want to handle 9 bananas at once and you’ll have to dig out frozen and welded-together clumps of fruit before doing the right thing and blending 2 bananas at a time max. Just be patient and wait for the first bananas to do their thing before adding more. Of course this comes from experience. Experience and my wonderful, supportive DH giving a much-deserved ‘I told you so.’