Freeze Your Overripe Bananas For Easy 4-Ingredient Chocolate Ice Cream

Yellow bananas developing brown flecks and soft spots usually mean a fresh loaf of banana bread, but it's not the only dessert that can come of this. Sure, the creaminess of overripe bananas makes for great quick bread, but the fruits are also the answer to a cold, sweet treat. The next time you get a bunch of ripe bananas, freeze them for a batch of chocolate ice cream.

Covering frozen bananas in chocolate is already a delicious way to make use of the fruits, but turning them into ice cream takes things to the next level. Bananas develop a deeper, more honeyed flavor as they ripen, and combining them with cocoa powder enhances the richness. Ripe bananas maintain their velvety texture while frozen, making them an excellent one-ingredient ice cream option; however, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and milk spruce up the treat with ease.

You can opt for any type of milk, but richer picks like whole milk, oat milk, or even heavy cream will give you a more decadent finish. After peeling the bananas, slice them up into bite-sized pieces and freeze them for a few hours, or overnight. Add the frozen chunks to a food processor or blender, along with vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and a splash of milk. Pulse the ingredients until they turn into a creamy mixture, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.

Elevate your chocolate banana ice cream with sweet add-ins

Only three extra ingredients can take your banana ice cream to the next level, but it never hurts to add something extra to make it pop. The creamy dessert has a tropical essence, and practically any type of rum will bring this out of chocolate banana ice cream. Spiced rum brings a warming element to the treat, infusing it with notes of molasses, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The earthy flavors add depth to the cocoa-infused dessert and perfectly complement brown butter caramel sauce.

No tropical treat is complete without coconut flakes, and the dessert topping can easily work its way into chocolate banana ice cream. You can sprinkle the flakes atop your ice cream scoops or fold them into the mixture while pulsing the ice cream. With each spoonful, the melting ice cream gives way to a nutty dose of sweet coconut. For a richer take, toast the coconut flakes before adding them to your ice cream.

To really enhance your chocolate banana ice cream, spring for flavored dairy when making it. A splash of chocolate or banana milk brings out the base flavors of the dessert, while strawberry milk adds a bright, fruitier spin to the treat. Greek yogurt adds a creamy touch, with vanilla or honey-flavored yogurt working well with the cocoa powder and bananas.

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