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
OMG…that looks amazing! I am putting my bananas in the freezer now!!!!
THANKS!
OMG how did I miss this post!!!!!!!! So making this!
[...] I confess that I don’t have a food processor. However, after seeing Sarah and Gena’s banana soft serve via the food processor, I am seriously considering selling a kidney and getting [...]
I can’t believe the texture of that “ice cream” - it looks sooo creamy and smooth it’s almost like something else HAS to be in there. Definitely trying this tonight!
Yes! This post did change my life!!!! I had high hopes for this little treat and we were all amazed! Me and the kids cannot stop talking about it! Thank you for sharing! It is absolutely amazing!
[...] and I shared a bowl of banana soft serve yesterday afternoon too. This deliciousness is only one of the many reasons why I adore [...]
Okay, I just made this and I was SHOCKED at how good it was! Totally tasted like ice cream or frozen yogurt! So creamy!!!
Thanks for a nice, healthy, dairy free dessert!
[...] Ice Cream….You have to Try this! Jump to Comments When I first read this post over on Gena’s blog, Choosing Raw, I just knew that I had to take the bananas I had sitting [...]
[...] nice alternative would be to serve the now-famous banana soft serve over your berries. [...]
[...] the best was yet to come. You know, I’m always up for life-changing opportunities, and when Gena presented one the other day and Kath confirmed how amazing it truly was, I knew I [...]
Um… WOW! Saw this made on a few other blogs and had to make it myself within the hour.
YUM! I had mine with PB and Co. White Chocolate PB on top. Delicious!
Amazing! So glad you like
This was really amazing! Thank you for this inspired bit of goodness.
I must be doing something wrong because mine didn’t work. My bananas just hung out on the side of the food processor no matter how many times I scraped it down. Any ideas?
How odd! Try to break the bananas apart before you dump them in the processor: don’t have them all in a giant frozen mass.
[...] I made VeggieGirl’s Blondies with peanut butter and carob chips and served them alongside raw banana ice-cream…. Gena, it did change my life. A CD and dog friendly dessert. Me & The Birthday [...]
oh my goodness. I have bananas that need to be frozen, so I know what I will be doing
Made it last night. Loved it - it is crazy good!
[...] 1/2 cup leftover raw banana ice-cream [...]
YUM! Banana milkshakes are a family favorite but so loaded with calories we don’t have them often. This was just as good! Thanks for the great idea- we’ll be having these all the time now!
I am making this ASAP. Sounds delicious!!
<3 jess
[...] It was life changing. [...]
Gena,
Should I let the bananas thaw a bit before putting them in the processor? The last time I tried putting frozen stuff in the processor (bananas & strawberries), i thought it was going to jump off the counter! Do I just need to wait it out?
Thanks!
Jess
[...] for the funnest food of the day, I made Gena’s Banana Froyo! I had frozen about 2 and a half bananas the other day and actually had to use a blender because my [...]
I made this tonight, I added some cacoa powder, vanilla and agave and it made the best chocolate ice cream, thank you!!!
[...] to dig into, so I pitted some of those and then topped them with the raw chocolate syrup I saw on this post of Gena’s. It took a little work to get the cocoa dissolved in the agave nectar, but it was [...]
[...] was odd but wonderful. I wanted to make this. But it didn’t work out. And to no fault of the lovely Gena. See, you’re supposed to [...]
This looks awesome. I’ve tried this in my Vitamix and did not get great results. I will have to try it in my food processor now. Thanks for sharing.
[...] the title of my post refers to the latest craze in blogworld: raw banana ice cream. I love how everyone is jumping on this and finding out how delicious it is! Not only would my [...]
[...] yes! Yesterday’s raw banana ice cream! Oh goodness this was delicious. Especially topped with organic peanut butter. [...]
[...] recipes ever, all you need are some frozen bananas. This idea was taken from this raw food blog: Choosing Raw. Take 2-3 peeled frozen bananas (you can cut them before freezing) and put them in a food [...]
I saw this over on Eating Bender and I’m glad I did! I’m going to put my bananas in the freezer tonight
I have a feeling that after I try this, I won’t need real ice cream anymore!
I tried this last night! I put my own spin on it, and posted the review in my blog - but I definitely intend on making it again. SOON!
[...] for Grace, banana soft serve is on the B.R.A.T. diet. She grabbed a bowl with a smug, crumb-encrusted [...]
I made it two times so far after reading about it on KERF’s site. It’s yummy indeed, and so simple. To mix it easier, the second time I added some liquid and the result was as great!
I just made this for the first time and love it! I was just wondering, would this work with any other kind of frozen fruit?
[...] When I came home I wanted a snack! I knew we were going to Costco later and I thought I could wait and get a nonfat frozen yogurt there but then I remembered I always get a stomach ache afterward. So I decided to satisfy my craving with Gena’s raw banana soft serve! [...]
[...] Raw banana soft serve has been sweeping the blogosphere! If you haven’t enjoyed it yet, get busy. [...]
[...] this isn’t your typical diner food, of course. In my banana soft serve post, I mentioned that I think there’s a delicious, all natural equivalent for nearly every dish to [...]
Looks delish. Dr Weil actually has a similar recipe this too. I believe he slices the banana though, puts on a plate to freeze for maybe 20 minutes, then froths it in the food processor. It was quite yummy too.
[...] WW pasta we picked up this morning from a neighborhood Italian market, salad, bread, red wine, and banana soft serve for dessert. It was AMAZING. I am just so lucky to have such amazing friends, especially ones [...]
[...] and try the banana “ice cream” I read about on KERF, that she learned about from Gena. I threw one banana in the food processor with about a tsp vanilla extract, and topped that with a [...]
I can’t wait to try this. Can you do it in a high quality blender?
[...] that’s some raw banana soft serve, thanks to Gena. This recipe is genius. If you haven’t made it yet, then what are you waiting [...]
[...] came home hunngrry and I knew only one thing was gonna work: Gena’s raw banana soft-serve. She really wasn’t kidding when she said that the recipe was going to change our lives. [...]
[...] Rather than cake, the girls memorialized the occasion with a little banana soft serve. [...]
[...] cream. For those of you unfamiliar with the bliss that is banana ice cream, check out Gena’s post– it will change your life! I discovered banana ice cream about a year ago, when I challenged [...]
Wow!!! I had frozen some banana’s to munch on but never thought about making an ice cream. How creative and simple..thanks..can’t wait to try it.
Blessings and Joy,
Sid
omg, this was unbelievable! thanks so much for such an awesome idea.
[...] and made not one, but two raw delights. When Gena titled her recipe for Banana Soft Serve “This post will change your life” She was NOT joking. I don’t take ice cream lightly, it is truly one of the great [...]
[...] recipe from one of my favorite sites, http://www.choosingraw.com/this-post-will-change-your-life/#mce_temp_url#. It’s for “banana soft serve” and was SO easy to make and tasted DELICIOUS and [...]
[...] however, love the creaminess of ice cream and yogurt! Recently, Gena over at Choosing Raw posted a banana soft-serve ice cream alternative that I’ve been dying to try [...]
[...] for dessert, I decided to try Gena’s Banana Soft-Serve which has been circulating around the blog world. A humorous side note, though…I told my [...]
[...] a comment on this post describing your favorite healthy adaptation of a typically unhealthy recipe (Gena’s banana soft serve instead of ice cream, for example. Which I still need to try!!! Perhaps today?!). You don’t [...]
[...] about this community is that people try new things together – almond butter, breakfast cookies, banana soft serve – but this can also be a drawback. I think that it’s easy to get caught up in blog trends and [...]
[...] included a Redenbacher mini-bag of kettle corn goodness, along with a failed attempt at the soft serve everyone is going loco about. I don’t think I had enough frozen bananas, and I think I [...]
[...] I’m having a mid-afternoon moment of excitement! My friend Danielle just let me know that banana soft serve got a shout in Glamour online! Hooray for raw love around the [...]
[...] and mid-afternoon took a snack break. Am I ever happy I did! I FINALLY got around to making Miss Gena’s raw banana soft serve, which has totally taken the blog world by storm and apparently I’m a little late in the [...]
I saw this over at Ashleys site (dancing through life) it sounds sooooo yummy, I have bananas in the freezer all of the time but usually just eat them … I am so going to be trying this…I have never thought about raw food until now. I must make more effort! :o)
[...] also tried out the Banana Soft Serve recipe from Choosing Raw that I came across the other day. I froze the banana chunks a few days ago and [...]
[...] dinner, I decided to finally use up the frozen bananas I have had in the freezer for a week to make Gena’s infamous raw banana soft serve. First step: scrub out the food processor. Next step: pulse frozen [...]
Tried it, loved it!! I just wish I had a better blender.
[...] a bit I plan to whip up the unbelievable banana magic that seems to be spreading through blogworld like the plague. Although this stuff may be even [...]
I started doing that when I first read Fit For Life, about 6 years ago. I also make a raspberry version, with frozen raspberries and just enough almond milk to make it creamy. Add a little bit of stevia or agave, and when I’m feeling decadent, some cocoa nibs. Yum!
This looks incredible - I’ve been on the fence about investing in a food processor, and will have to run out and buy one so that I can make this! I think you’re on to the next food blogger recipe with a cult following - a la Green Monster!
Just had to say thank you - I haven’t yet tried it as soft serve, as I am recovering from a broken jaw, but yesterday used this as the basis for a “banana bread shake” and it was amazing.
[...] Gena, you need to compile your own cookbook! You’ve got a real knack for [...]
[...] Therapy & Raw Banana Ice Cream I’ll start out with a photo of the raw banana ice cream I made for dessert tonight. Yesterday, I broke two whole bananas into small chunks and threw them [...]
[...] an effort to use up some old bananas (after freezing 376372 of them for banana soft serve), I made some vegan banana blueberry spelt muffins. I used the Lower Fat Banana Bread recipe from [...]
[...] Am I being dramatic? Make some and you’ll see that, if anything, I’m being modest about Gena’s banana soft serve. [...]
Yes, your banana soft serve has changed my life!
We all love it, but the toddler usually eats it fast enough to get the most… (I have only a mini food processor, so I can only make a little bit at a time, but I think it’s about time for a “real” food processor.)
Thanks for making summer so yummy!
[...] I threw some bananas in the freezer in preparation to test out the famous banana soft serve. In a moment of insanity, I thought “why peel the bananas first? I’ll just peel them [...]
[...] but I wasn’t done with the machine just went. I decided to make more of Gena’s banana soft serve but this time I threw in some frozen mango chunks at the [...]
I’ve been making banana “ice cream” for years! It’s my favorite summer dessert. I love sprinkling a little cinnamon and nutmeg on top. Last summer I found a place that actually sold banana ice cream. They make it right in front of you in the food processor as well. Pretty cool stuff! I also love to eat just the frozen banana as a “popsicle”.
[...] is for… ice cream. Try this easy, healthy and DELICIOUS raw ice cream [...]
I am so freezing bananas ASAP and making this. Great post!
[...] update will be… banana ice cream! I saw this “recipe” on KERF who got it from Choosing Raw, and I had some bananas I wasn’t going to eat before they went bad, so I stuck them in the [...]
[...] had some Amazing Grass today and it was delicious! First, I made banana soft serve, which is completely amazing and I can’t wait to make more eat but the boat [...]
[...] seeds, and crumbled Morningstar black bean burger) And finalmente, you know I got involved in some banana soft serve action. Green tea cinnamon-banana soft serve topped with peanut butter: And on the side, [...]
[...] idea comes from raw foodie, Gena, and as her post title indicates – this recipe really WILL change your life! All you do is take [...]
[...] friend was over for a bit and it was time to spread the banana soft serve excitement around! [...]
[...] last week’s episode of True Blood. Midway through watching it I decided that I wanted to give the raw banana soft serve, that I’ve been reading about all over the place, a [...]
[...] think if Oprah new about Banana Soft Serve it would be on her list of favorite [...]
[...] into a tart dish and froze. It came out so delicious and easy to slice. Served them both alongside Gena’s banana soft serve and a spoonful of fresh berries from the farmers market (which Chris threw into his side of the [...]
[...] dinner I had the Grilled Tilapia with steamed veggies, OH and some beer For desert I made some of Gena’s Banana Soft Serve. It was soooo good all you have to do is throw some frozen bananas in a food processor until it [...]
I did it! Not only is this a great snack with a lot of possibilities to jazz it up, but I now have a perfect way to use bananas that are too mushy for my taste.
It’s in the freezer now and I can get a scoop out after my walk, toss on a few berries and cover the potassium and phytochemical requirements of my daily diet…genius
[...] banana soft serve is easy to make. You can get it done by following these 3 simple [...]
[...] Bananas (I’m finally gonna cave and make Gena’s soft serve) [...]
[...] dessert I combined two of the latest trends in the blog world, banana soft serve “ice cream” and [...]
The banana recipe sounds yummy! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks,
[...] seems to be raving about this Banana Soft Serve, which as best I can tell was created by Gena at Choosing Raw. It’s a really complicated recipe… [...]
[...] then the banana soft serve from the sweet Gena, View Full [...]
Finally made this tonight for the first time for Hubby and me. Added a few drops of vanilla, about a tablespoon of rice milk and a few sprinkles of cinnamon to one very ripe and one just ripe frozen banana. YUM!!! Next time will not use an overly ripe banana, and may add coconut chips then sprinkle with crushed walnuts. Can see lots of possibilities with this as the base . . . oh, and my parrot absolutely loved it, too!
[...] Gena’s Banana Soft Serve, which has been taking the blogosphere by storm in recent weeks. I finally got a chance to try it [...]
[...] freezer — can you see where this is going?? — and blended up some green tea cinnamon banana soft-serve. I served the ice cream in the coconut shell topped with a bit of peanut butter and a hazelnut dark [...]
[...] night I made this. Holy heavens… it was AMAZING! I topped mine with some mini chocolate chips and felt like [...]
I just had to drop you a line and let you know how much I’ve been enjoying this treat. I serve it to my son almost daily. I mix it up with chocolate sauce or berries or peanut butter, and he devours it. Anytime you can get a two year old to eat fruits and veggies is a big plus, so thanks for this! I made it when he had a play group over last week and the kids ALL loved in, so much so that one mom called to ask specifically what kind of ice cream I fed the kids, because her child was refusing to eat any other kind.
[...] soft serve was pretty good. I don’t think I would go so far as to say it changed my life, but I will probably make it again. This is certainly a good alternative to regular ice cream, but [...]
[...] yes. That’s the infamous banana softserve. Can you believe that creamy decadent bowl came from 2 bananas being whipped around in a food [...]
[...] to my banana soft serve (with 1/2 a coconut, peanut butter, and a hazelnut chocolate ball): Do you speak any languages [...]
So after the title of the post I had to try this recipe, and what can I say? It is a-freakin’-mazing!
The second time I made it I created an even more decadent treat by adding 1 or 2 teaspoons of raw cacao powder and a teaspoon of raw vanilla powder. It tasted just like soft-serve chocolate ice cream (but better, because it is raw and delish!) Thanks for the very simple, but wonderful recipe!
awesome!
did you make the chocolate syrup with the food processor too? because when i try to mix cocoa powder with agave, it doesn’t mix, it just becomes clumpy.