Banana Nice Cream With Cookie Dough

2 Servings
5 min

Banana ice cream, often called nice cream, is a perfect way to create a cold creamy treat and use up bananas. Today, I’m making an easy sweet, luscious, and creamy cookie dough banana nice cream that has hints of vanilla and the best vegan cookie dough chunks!


icon As always, step-by-step photos and a how-to video are found here:

https://tyberrymuch.com/cookie-dough-nice-cream/

vegan cookie dough ice cream in a sugar cone

why we love this cookie dough nice cream

This recipe is basically a healthy version of cookie dough ice cream that could honestly be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! It’s a great way to use up extra bananas too. Y


The edible cookie dough is dairy-free, eggless, and vegan friendly and tastes just like Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough chunks that I always find myself trying to dig out of the ice cream tub. I’ve also included substitutions to make an equally delicious gluten-free version of the edible cookie dough.


what is nice cream?

Before we begin, let’s talk about what in the world nice cream is. If you’ve never heard of nice cream, it’s short for banana ice cream!


It’s made with just 2 ingredients- frozen bananas and some type of milk (dairy-free in our case). By whipping or blending frozen bananas, you can create a healthy, incredibly creamy, sugar-free, and dairy-free ice cream base!

nice cream in a loaf pan

why this recipe works

You don’t need an ice cream maker to create this recipe, so it’s completely no-churn. However, you will need a powerful blender or a food processor.


I prefer to use my mini food processor that came with my immersion blender. It’s the perfect size for 2-3 servings, it takes less time to blend everything up, and it’s easier to get all the nice cream out of the container (as opposed to a deep blender jar).


This recipe uses frozen, slightly ripened bananas which are already sweet and coconut milk to create the healthy, dairy-free ice cream base.


When blended together, the coconut milk helps balance the banana taste and creates a smooth creamy, dreamy texture.

a scoop of cookie dough banana ice cream in a sugar cone

nice cream faq

How ripe should the bananas be?

To help minimize the banana taste, I prefer using bananas that are just starting to ripen. The bananas are still a lighter yellow and only have a few spots on them (versus dark yellow and very spotty bananas).


What does this banana nice cream taste like?

This nice cream has a subtle banana flavor (if you use the bananas mentioned above), with hints of vanilla and creamy coconut. The cookie dough provides bursts of chocolatey sweetness.


Why does the flour for the cookie dough need to be heat treated?

All-purpose flour is raw and can have harmful bacteria in it like E. coli. Because we aren’t baking the cookie dough, it’s important to heat treat it by zapping it in the microwave or baking it for a few minutes before mixing it into the dough. This kills the bacteria and makes it safe to eat! If you’d rather not heat treat the flour, you can use oat flour made from rolled oats.


Can this cookie dough be made into cookies?

This cookie dough doesn’t have any leavening agents in it, so I don’t recommend using it to bake cookies.


Is a food processor or a blender better for banana ice cream?

For this recipe, I prefer to use my mini food processor that came with my immersion blender. It’s the perfect size for 2-3 servings, it takes less time to blend everything up than a full-sized food processor. It’s also easier to get all the ice cream out of the container (as opposed to a deep blender jar).

Banana Nice Cream With Cookie Dough
Recipe details
  • 2  Servings
  • Prep time: 5 Minutes Cook time: 0 Minutes Total time: 5 min
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Ingredients
Edible Cookie Dough:
  • ¼ cup softened vegan butter, salted (or sub softened coconut oil)
  • 3 tbsp packed light brown sugar, or sub coconut sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup heat-treated flour, or sub finely ground oat flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup mini vegan chocolate chips
Vanilla Base:
  • 2 semi-ripe bananas, sliced into ¼” discs and frozen solid (see notes)
  • 2-3 tbsp full-fat coconut milk, or other dairy-free milk
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, or 1 split vanilla bean
Instructions
To Make the Cookie Dough:
* If using all-purpose flour, it is important to heat treat it before making the cookie dough. This kills the bacteria in the flour and makes it safe to eat raw. Microwave the flour on high for 1 minute. Or spread the flour on a baking dish and bake it at 300F for 5 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 160F.
In a small bowl combine the softened vegan butter (or softened coconut oil), brown sugar, and vanilla. Cream the mixture until it becomes fluffy. 
Sprinkle in the heat-treated flour (or the oat flour) and salt. Mix to combine into a rollable dough. It will look scraggly at first but keep mixing and it will come together into a smooth cookie dough. If the dough is too dry, add a ½ tsp of dairy-free milk at a time until it comes together into a thick but smooth cookie dough.
Stir in the mini vegan chocolate chips.
Using a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon, scoop the dough and roll it into ¼” balls. Place the balls on a plate or small baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to firm up.
This cookie dough recipe will make about double the amount you'll need for two servings. The extra can be frozen in a freezer-proof baggie for up to 3 months.
To Make the Nice Cream:
In a high-speed blender or a food processor (I prefer using a mini food processor), add the sliced frozen bananas, 1 tbsp of coconut milk, and vanilla extract. 
Blend on high until the bananas are smooth and creamy. This should take about 2-3 minutes depending on your blender/food processor.
Add more coconut milk as needed, 1 tbsp at a time. The bananas will look like sand granules at first, but keep blending and it will become super creamy.
Remove the cookie dough balls from the freezer and mix as many as you’d like into the nice cream.
Scoop and serve immediately! 
You can also transfer the nice cream to a small loaf pan, cover it with plastic, and freeze it for 1-2 days. Nice cream has the best consistency when made fresh though. 
Tips
  • Freezing the Bananas
  • About 2 hours (pref. overnight) before making the nice cream, peel and slice 2 semi-ripe bananas into ¼”-½” discs. I prefer slicing them into thinner pieces because they freeze faster and it makes them easier to blend. 
  • Place the bananas in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray or plate, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place them in the freezer for about 2 hours. Once the bananas are frozen, they can be transferred to a freezer-proof baggie or an air-tight container and they won’t stick to each other.
  • Banana Ripeness
  • For this recipe, I prefer using bananas that are just starting to ripen. The bananas are still a lighter yellow and only have a few spots on them (versus dark yellow and very spotty bananas). 
  • Using bananas at this stage helps minimize the ‘banana’ taste but still creates a smooth and creamy nice cream.
Thank You Berry Much
Want more details about this and other recipes? Check out more here!
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