One of the challenges I enjoy most–both as a coach and with friends–is persuading newcomers to raw foods that there is a divine-tasting natural equivalent for for every man made concoction on earth. For every bottle of Gatorade there is a cup of young coconut water; for every dab of cream cheese there is a smear of avocado and salt; for every glass of chocolate milk there is a cup of carrot-romaine juice; for every muffin or cookie there is a soft, satisfying bite of baked kabocha squash (HEAB, I know you’re grinning right now).
To me, nothing embodies this truth more than the following recipe. I hesitate to call it a recipe, even, because it’s so damn simple.
Back in my pre-vegan days, I, like so many girls, was obsessed with “healthy” soft-serve ice creams – Tasti-D-Lite, Crema Lita, etc. (I’m sure that if I would have loooved Pinkberry, too, but it appeared on the scene long after I went vegan!) If my friends and clients are any indication, the stuff is like crack for many NYC ladies! And that’s OK: it’s definitely a healthy upgrade from, say, Haagen-Daaz. But it’s still not necessarily the best or most natural snack option out there—especially since lots of women tend to eat it as a meal in and of itself! (Note to my sistas everywhere: a cup of froyo is not nourishing enough for a meal!)
Well, if you’re into the pinkberry or Red Mango, boy, do I have a treat for you. It’s the best soft serve ice cream you’ll ever taste, but it’s 100% raw, 100% vegan, 100% unprocessed, and 100% delicious. It’s also kid-friendly and ridiculously simple to make.
Friends, behold banana soft serve.
That’s right. Who knew that frozen bananas could, if given a spin in the food processor, rival the best fro-yo in town? Well believe me, they do. Once you try this recipe, I guarantee you’ll crave it instead of your usual ice cream—at least some of the time.
It couldn’t be more simple. Take 2-3 frozen bananas (you can freeze them in ziplock bags or in tupperware), like so (this was about 2 and a half):
And throw them in your food processor (I’ve tried this in a Vitamix, but the results weren’t great — you could also use certain juicers). Then turn the processor on and let it run for about five minutes, stopping every now and then to scrape it down. The bananas should get increasingly light, fluffy, and smooth. By the time you’re done, they’ll resemble a creamy bowl of soft serve, like so:
Scoop them into a bowl and prepare to marvel!
If you’re really feeling decadent, make some raw chocolate “syrup” by combining 2 tablespoons of agave nectar with 1 tablespoon raw or dark cocoa powder:
Drizzle it on top of the frozen bananas, and voila:
It’s a dessert or afternoon treat to rival the best sundaes and scoops out there. Really, I can’t begin to do justice to how delicious this is! Even if you don’t eat a lot of fruit, it’s worth treating yourself to this one every now and then. Trust me. It’s also a sweet treat you can feel great feeding your kids. Dairy and soy and preservative free ice cream? Yes please!!
So what are you waiting for? Stop reading, and start freezing those bananas you’ve got sitting on the counter.
You guys can thank me later 
Have a beautiful, sunny Saturday.
xo
I'm a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, a former book editor, and a post-baccalaureate pre-med student at Georgetown University. I'm passionate about helping people to discover and enjoy plant based foods in a simple and healthy way. My name is pronounced like "Jenna." 
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I absolutely loved this recipe!! Its so easy! I used a little food chopper/mini food processor thing I had at my house so I had to scoop it out a lot to make a larger batch. Everyone really loved it! I posted it on my blog (galaxyfitnessclub.wordpress.com & westmorelandathleticclub.wordpress.com) as well linking back to you! (your pictures turned out a 100000x better than mine! that may be just because you made it better!) But either way great recipe thanks so much!!
This is one of my faves and I often have a big bowl of “ice cream” for dinner. Not for dessert, but *as* dinner.
I do strawberry ice cream, peach ice cream, blackberry ice cream, raspberry ice cream, etc. as well. Three frozen bananas and a bag of frozen fruit make flavored ice creams. Strawberry is definitely my favorite!
@sparrow, do you also put them in a food processor or a blender?
I use the food processor as well — and toss in any frozen fruit I have around. Frozen cherries are my favorite with the bananas
So good. I just made a small batch and I want more. I melted some peanut butter and drizzled it on top too!
Soo amazing!! I actually made it in the blender with almond milk and almond butter!! it looked like a smoothie so i put it in a container , threw some rasp ans blueberries and into the freezer.
Yum yum!! The idea of the chocolate syrup is great!! I’ll try it!!
This is sooo so good!!! After making it once, I was addicted. I add a splash of almond milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg and puree in my mini food processor. Serve w almond butter or peanut butter, and a dollop of nonfat whipped cream (I am not completely vegan as of yet!) This post most definitely changed my life
Wow, this is by far the best alternative to icecream!!! I’ve made this with some honey and chocolate chips or cocoa powder and the result was awesome! Now I want to eat this everyday! I also mentioned about it in my blog referring to you. Thanks a lot!
http://kitchenimpromptu.com/sour-cherry-peach-ice-cream-and-my-new-favorite/
Banana soft-serve is the absolute healthiest, tastiest and smartest ice cream substitution ever made. Really. And it tastes delicious
yep. changed my life. i’ve had it for dinner 3 nights in a row. thank you!
Oh. My. Goodness. I just made this, and it was so fluffy and creamy and melty and AWESOME! I had to add a little almond milk, though, since my food processor sounded like it was about to eject the banana chunks. Yum! I’m definitely going to experiment with different mix-ins! Great and fast dessert!
I made this and then had to post it on my blog. Thank you, so much for sharing.
OH WOW!! Yup, you were right, super yummy!! And so easy.
Holy Moly! I just stumbled upon this and it looks amazing. I think I’m going to try some within the hour.
OMG, Are you kidding me? This is SOOOOOOO good. I am an ice cream/fro yo addict. I mean serious addict. Everyday. Now, I found something just as good and healthy? Are you kidding?
Thanks!!!
i put some roasted almonds and raisins in it… awesome! thanks for sharing
I’ve been making this almost everyday for the last few weeks! Ah, it’s amazing. I use the Vitamix and it works absolutely perfectly!
Hmmm, I was so hopeful! But I find bananas absolutely repulsive. One of my few food phobias. Ah well.
Thank you for this site.I have pased it on to my friends all over the world. I have never seen any recipes for soft serve even in the Food Processor books. If you mix fruits, my suggestion is only one part banana to three parts of something else lest the banana take over the flavor. With banana by itself you are expecting the strong flavor. Works well with Mango and Durian (that stinky smelly fruit of the Orient which I love).
gross get a life
You are not well,NEED TO EAT RTEAL FOOD ! Have a great day!
REAL FOOD REMEMBER-GET WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am about to try it out right now!! I will let you know how it turns out! Thanks
Finally got around to trying this after 100 years. Awesome! At first, I was a little afraid of the “grated” banana my processor seemed to be making, but with patience, I triumphed. Enjoyed by all. Thank you.
Looks good will have to try it
my comment just disappeared. weird
incredible…have only had it once with a spoonful of peanut butter….making it again tonight and think i will add some raspberries..and i can’t leave out that bit of peanut butter :O ..amazing…now i am thinking of the chocolate syrup on top of the peanut butter banana ice cream ..mMM
Wow this was SO GOOD!!!!
i have always been wanting to make the banana soft serve but don’t have a vitamix…do u think a blender would work?!
This did change my life. I am not vegan, nor raw, but I’m always looking for healthful snacks and desserts. AMAZING!
I am ridiculously excited about trying this recipe. My nephew is always asking me for ice-cream, and obviously I don’t want to fill him up with sugar and fat. I am thrilled to try this out on him. I am hoping he will think I have suddenly become very, very cool.
If only I liked banana flavored stuff…..this would be awesome.
I am not a fan of bananas but made this for my boyfriend… NOW, I am a banana scream fan!!!
ThanksGena! I have frozen bananas in my freezer. Think I may have tried this once in my Vitamix without success . I do love frozen strawberries, bananas and almond milk as a protein smoothie with protein powder. 5 minutes sounds like a long processing time but I will try it.
Had this at a raw foods counter once and it was delicious!
Karen
Thank you Gena for all your great recipes! I tried this one tonight. Pretty good but I think because I used over ripe bananas. I have always frozen these for shakes and they have been fine. How ripe should the bananas be? Also, I remind myself to create a new habit and peel the bananas before I freeze them. Off to search your website more for say a yummy raw pie. Any ideas? I still have your juice recipes tagged and will go back to the grapefruit one tomorrow morning. Loved it!
Karen
I’m going to make this SAT night with friends! Thanks so much. We’ll top with other healthiness! Thank you so much for the great post!
I’m making this for my boo this weekend cause she has an insane ice cream weakness. But she’s mildly allergic to bananas, so I was wondering if there was any other fruit or vegetable that I could use that would produce the same results….
I found out you can try it with papaya: http://tinyurl.com/3ou2hly The person who tried it is a fan of Gena too!
I think mangoes may work (since they’re dense sort of dense), and I’ll try the mango idea tomorrow morning.
Maybe cantaloupe and honey dew melons work too…they’re sort of like papayas, right?
The cooked food I struggle with missing most is coffee. Over the last year or so I’ve experimented with a number of cacao based concoctions to satisfy my cravings, and this is my decadent favourite:
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup macadamias
* 4 dates
* 2 teaspoons agave nectar
* 1 tablespoon cacao powder
* 1 1/2 cups of water
Method
Blend all ingredients on high until creamy. Makes about 2 cups.
I serve it in a coffee cup with saucer so I can replicate the atmosphere of my habit – this is often what I’m missing the most anyway!
Tasty! I’d never give up coffee, but this is cool.
You’re my hero!
Its amazing how easy it is and taste great! my husband adds natural peanut butter
That looks AMAZING!!! This treat will surely convert my dairy obsessed friends!
This was way easy to make and tasted incredibly good! And the best part of it for me is that it doesn’t require NUTS (which all other ice cream recipes seem to call for). This is pure fruit, love it! Low in fat and calories, easy to digest… thanks a mil
This sounds yummy and nice and unprocessed. Bananas are fat-free and chock full of potassium. However, from a strictly calorically-speaking standpoint, you’d be better off eating ice cream than 2-3 bananas. The fruit alone would be roughly 240-360 calories and would count as 4-6 servings of fruit because of the high sugar content.
Oh. my. heavens. I am so excited!! I’ve recently taken dairy and refined (and nearly all natural) sweeteners out of my diet–needless to say, I’ve been looking for a special treat that fits both of these criteria. Thank you!!
If you add some almond milk to them they blend easier in the Vitamix. My kids love it
I can’t wait ti try this recipe! I think you could add a little vanilla extract to it.
I make something similar to this . . . read it in one of my books.
I take frozen strawberries and run them through my Omega juicer (with the blank in) and then run a banana through it.
I run it through about 3 times and it mixes together as the most awesome strawberry banana ice cream!
I’ve done with other frozen fruits too, but for me the strawberries are the best!
LOOOVE IT – at the moment my favorite is banana and mango RAW ice-cream…to make an even more fluffy result ad some coconut water.
Wow. I can’t believe how creamy this is! It really *is* like ice cream. You’re right – this will absolutely change my life. Thank you!!!
This post did change my life. Now, I must eat one of these everyday! Good ol’ potassium (and some calcium since I put in 1/4 cup of milk)!
@Anonymous (March 1, 2011 at 9:03 pm), actually, it’d be better eating the bananas because they’re full of potassium and are fruit, and the sugar is natural sugar and is released to the body slower than refined (white) sugar, and plus, this could help with reaching the ‘Five A Day’.
You said what I was thinking
I was wary of using our mini food processor because I doubt it would be capable of this, but I tried it (granted my mom yelled at me because it has such a sharp blade lol) and it’s AMAZING!! I melted some all-natural peanut butter in the microwave for topping, and that really made it. Thank you SO much!!!!
I made this today with a little cacao and coconut milk. SO GOOD!!!
I follow many food blogs. I love to cook bake you name it. I have to this day never commented on a food blog (except my best friends). This is so very life changing and delicious that I just had too. Seriously how can this just be frozen bananas? It is like magic. I have been buying discounted old bananas from the farmers market and making this all the time. Cheap, amazing, and healthy.
I just got the “yonanas” maker…only $50. The commercial has been playing on TV. The consistency is thicker and much more like ice cream than the food processor which was much more gooey and takes a while to make and scrape off the sides again and again. The yonanas twirls up like soft serve right into your bowl and it took only 60 seconds to make a serving for 2. Still LOVE my food processor…gazpacho last night (yum), but for ice cream the yonanas machine is definitely better. Well worth the price.
thanks for the tip! That looks like a neat machine to try!
We LOVE banana soft serve!! We’ve had it over grilled necterines before and it was awesome!! We also enjoy just sprinkling a few blueberries on top or a cut up strawberry! Thanks for the awesome, life-changing recipe!
do I need to thaw the bananas first? because once i put them straight from the frezer in the blender and the blender broke (its not a Vitamix but a powerful Kenwood)
No, you don’t thaw the bananas, that defeats the purpose.
Depends on the blender… it works perfectly well in a food processor.
Gena, this is superb! As soon as I read this, I froze several bananas. I love froyo, but didn’t know that banana can be this good. Even my 15 months baby love it! Thank you… I can say good bye to the expensive and full of sugar ice cream & froyo!
I’ve been doing this awhile now.. love it.. my bf on the other hand thinks it just tastes like frozen baby food.
I make a crust of crushed almonds and a little maple syrup (to hold the nuts together) then pour the blended frozen bananas into the crust and refreeze for a yummy guilt free pie!
Brilliant…love this idea.
HOLY COW! this looks so amazing and so easy i cannot even believe it! also i cannot wait to try! i have a random question for you… and maybe you have blogged about this already, so if you have the link to my answer that’d be great
what or why made you decide to go vegan?
MMM! We just happened to have some frozen bananas in the freezer so as soon as I read this I ran down to the kitchen to make some! It’s fantastic and I even made the drizzle to go with it (although my dark cocoa was a bit lumpy so it didn’t blend as nicely as I’d like it to) I was amazed by how tasteful it was! Btw, this is my first specifically raw recipe as a baby raw eater =D
Just shared this on my FB page (http://www.facebook.com/realkidseatspinach)… I love your blog! I always have frozen bananas on hand for smoothies, now I’ll have to try them on their own. My son is a banana freak & will be in heaven!
Aargh. I’m sure this is good, but as someone who is allergic to bananas, it’s a little frustrating to read another “miracle recipe” that involves this fruit.
You might want to try coconut milk, which you can blend similarly with just a little sweetener. There’s a few recipes to be found and it’s remarkably easy.
WOW I have just been overcome with the urge to pick up banana’s…which I will be stopping at the market tomorrow afterwork to try this for tuesday night…YUM!!!
i have a yonanas
<3 but yea its amazing stuff i agree with the other person talking about it 
except mine doesnt swirl hmmm wonder why 
i don’t know how i happened upon this page but it IS a life changer! i made this last night and added in a scoop of peanut butter at the end to swirl. it was UNBELIEVABLE. my meat-eating boyfriend and i were close to spoon-sparring for the last bite. thanks for sharing!
I love this ice cream treat!!!
Such a guiltless dessert and I like to make a raw crumble/ sprinkles
On mine with 6-8 honey dates and half a cup of coconut and put
It through the food processor and they stick to each other as a crumble
It is sooo yummy on top of banana ice cream!!
Ok, this is a keeper….modified recipe adding 1 tbls of organic vanilla extract.. YUMMY…thank you for the contribution
Uh, frozen mashed bananas do not equal ice cream. But I guess if your senses of taste and smell are so far gone that you think carrot juice is the equivalent of chocolate milk, it’d be pretty easy to make this mistake. And I don’t blame you for being confused, your brain probably isn’t functioning properly with all those nutrients you’re not getting from your vegan diet.
crazy_hippy, I believe the word ‘alternative’ was used. And I just made it for the first time ever, it is quite good, and the texture is just like ice cream. But obviously if you hate the idea, this post will not, in fact, change your life.
i ate this for breakfast. with a swirl of almond butter. i ate ice cream for breakfast, with none of the guilt!
Wow!
This actually looks amazing (I say actually because I’m usually a sucker for processed, crappy, “non-real” food!). I’m interested in finding recipes like this that are wholesome, real, healthy, and super-easy to make.
Thanks for posting!
Nick
OMG! i just made this because i’ve really started loving bananas and i don’t want to eat ice cream cause i’m trying to go vegan. This is SO good! now i’m gonna go freeze a ton of bananas cause i think this is gonna be made a lot at my house now
A cup of carrot-romaine juice is not a substitute for chocolate milk….
One of the first recipes of yours I’ve tried, and am blown out of the water. I told everyone I know and diverted them to your site for more recipes. I can’t wait to try different variations!
Thanks so much for the work you do!
I made this tonight for dessert…..It was a hit!!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I don’t really like it plain, but with almond butter, it is good, fzn blueberries makes it nice, but with fzn raspberries it is soooooo good! Love it!
Back in the early to mid-90s, my boss used to have meetings with someone high-up at Burberry (possibly the CEO?). He had a Champion Juicer in his office and used to make this with bananas ALL THE TIME. My boss loved it so much that he bought a Champion juicer for our office, and we made this quite often at work. You are absolutely correct, it’s beyond belief how delicious it is!
I love this. I am just getting started on my blog about sweets and adding a healthy recipe after each sweet I review. I am definitely going to reference this blog and this post in my soft-serve post! Thanks for the wonderful recipes! What an awesome site!
There is a GOD!! WOO HOO!! I can’t wait to try this!!
Mmmmm! We tried this one time about two years ago and loved it! We’re not vegans, and we both hate the crazy noise of the blender, so we haven’t tried it since, but we can definitely agree with everyone who says this is a wonderful idea. Toppings also help enhance the treat — fruit, nuts, sauces, et cetera. Loved it all.
This is an easy and delicious recipe! I used grounds from brewed Crio Bru instead of cocoa. It added a nice crunch and same great cocoa flavor.
Thank you so much for this post, it totally did change my life
please cut them first cuz they are hard as rocks if frozen solid lol oh and i’m always using a blender, i bet it takes more time but the results are the same 
just wanted to share how i’ve been making it – i let the bananas sit out for a while a get lots of brown spots on them before i freeze them, the resulting soft serve will taste less “banana-y”
I also love to add in a whack load of frozen strawberries and it just makes it so amazing, and a bright pink! but it has to be frozen strawberries and it would be the bestest if you frozen them yourself on a cookie sheet
if you add a cup of water, it will come out more sherbety
Thanks again! and for any doubters, i say try it and you will believe my friend, you will.
Awesome recipe! I am a fro yo fanatic and now will have this instead!
Absolutely love this recipe! I like to make a chocolate sauce out of raw cacao powder and coconut oil, and then pour it over the top of the ice cream. The chocolate sauce hardens when it gets cold and forms kind of a shell around the ice cream, not unlike the Dairy Queen chocolate sauce!
Great googly moogly! This is definitely getting made at my house! And the chocolate sauce, aww, you just don’t know…
(Yay! =) )
Making this… Sounds so yummy and I love bananas! One thing to point out, AGAVE NECTAR IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU! it’s not natural nor is it raw. It’s not even from the agave plant. Agave nectar is refined from a root vegetable so it’s full of starch. It also has more fructose than HFCS. Here’s an article about it: http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/. Just thought you should know as a person who is following the raw and vegan lifestyle. I’m not raw or vegan myself but I do eat quality food that is hormone/antibiotic free, organic, and locally grown.
Thanks so much for this recipe!! It was absolutely incredible! Imma sweet freak and this recipe is the best banana ice cream ever!! Thanks
Am I the only person that BROKE my food processor trying to do this? I was really looking forward to trying it, but as soon as I turned it on, the whole lid broke and flew off. Not gonna try it in the new one.
That is unusual! What kind of processor do you have??
Life is too short not to eat this every night! Far superior to sad cow ice cream–
AGREE!
Yum! I can’t wait to try it! It sounds so versatile and healthy! Thanks for sharing!
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