Mocha Banana Ice Cream

Name: Mocha Banana Ice Cream
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 large bananas (frozen and sliced); 1 tbsp creamy pecan butter (or natural nut or seed butter of choice); 2 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened); 1 tbsp instant espresso coffee granules (or instant coffee granules (dry)); 2 tbsp almond milk (or non-dairy or dairy of choice (just enough to allow the food processor to get the ingredients moving.)); 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional - adjust to your level of sweetness.)

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Vegan Mocha Banana Ice Cream is creamy rich with instant espresso and cocoa powder blended with frozen bananas for an easy guilt free recipe for soft serve “Nice” cream.

Scoop of Mocha Banana Ice Cream in a ice cream scooper in a black and white ceramic bowl.

Jump to:

Why you are going to love Mocha Banana Ice Cream
Healthy Enough to Eat for Breakfast!
What is Nice Cream?
No Churn
Good Caffeine Buzz
Add Homemade Roasted Pecan Butter
How to make Banana Nice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker?
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Summertime Treats
Kid Friendly Options
Mocha Banana Ice Cream

Why you are going to love Mocha Banana Ice Cream

CHOCOLATELY

BOOST of CAFFEINE

CREAMY

FROZEN CAFFE MOCHA

SMOOTH

VEGAN

DAIRY FREE

REFINED SUGAR FREE

GLUTEN FREE

NO ICECREAM MAKER REQUIRED

ALL NATURAL

HEALTHY ENOUGH TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST

DESSERT to DIE FOR!

Chocolate espresso nice cream ingredients of banana, nut butter, cocoa powder and espresso on a cutting board labeled.

Healthy Enough to Eat for Breakfast!

This Chocolate Nice Cream is so healthy you could literally eat it for breakfast, as a matter of fact we did right after this photo shoot. Let’s take a little closer look at the ingredients in this delicious healthy ice cream.

Espresso – we drink this every morning, so it has to be breakfast oriented.
Bananas – great topper for cereal or in our Gluten-free Cardamom Banana Pancakes so essentially a breakfast item.
Almond Milk – dairy free and great on top of cereal
Cocoa powder – a great low-calorie option to add to oatmeal and smoothies like our Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie.
Optional Natural Maple Syrup – great on pancakes so that rules as a breakfast item – only if you need it but try going sugar free.
All-Natural nut or seed butter – great on toast

So, there you go folks! Eat Mocha Banana Ice Cream for breakfast or any time you want a cool and lightly sweet and healthy dessert or snack.

2 cups of chocolate pudding in glass dishes with a dollop of coconut whipped topping and a holiday scene.

What is Nice Cream?

Nice cream has the consistency of regular ice cream but uses ripe frozen bananas or other frozen fruit as the base whipped up in either a food processor or in a blender. Frozen fruits give this nice cream recipe the texture of creamy ice cream. The riper your bananas are, the sweeter your nice cream will be. If you want to try this recipe with different fruits, be sure to try our Red White and Blue Healthy Sorbets.

However, it is a healthier option because generally speaking there is not any sugar added as the fruit or bananas are naturally sweet. The frozen bananas give this Chocolate Espresso Nice Cream its creamy frozen ice cream texture and natural sweetness. If you like Matcha, be sure to try our Matcha Banana Strawberry Ice Cream Cups.

No Churn

You do not need an ice cream maker for this dessert. If you want to eat your nice cream right away, it has a soft serve texture. However, we froze ours in the freezer for 4 hours covered to give it that firmer scoopable ice cream texture.

You can literally add anything your heart desires into nice cream like other frozen fruits, nut or seed butters and other essence or flavorings. If you want a delicious crunchy topping, be sure to make our homemade magic shell from our Chocolate Covered Frozen Fruit recipe.

Today, we were craving something like a good old Starbucks Iced Mocha Cappuccino without all the guilt. Instead of using eggs, cream and loads of sugar like in a traditional ice cream, we chose to make a healthy Mocha Banana Ice Cream instead. Nice Cream is an awesome invention, especially when you want so cool off on these hot and muggy days but still want to eat healthy.

Triple scoop of Mocha banana ice cream in a glass bowl topped with toasted pecans.

Good Caffeine Buzz

Are you a coffee or tea drinker? We are both, but our days always start out with an strong espresso or a pumpkin spice coffee latte. Actually, maybe 2 or 3 espressos depending on how much midnight oil we have been burning the day before. Our Mid-day slump around 2-3pm and a delicious espresso soaked tiramisu sure hits the spot. . That is when that 3^rd espresso sure comes in handy.

However, today the temperature is soaring, and we have the perfect treat to save the day that is cold instead of hot. We used an espresso instant coffee in this frozen treat recipe. However, you could also use regular instant coffee granules as well.

If you like the combination of coffee and “Nice Cream”, you are going to love our recipe for our Cardamom Ginger Butternut Affogato. This is a lovely ending to a meal using frozen naturally sweet butternut squash and spices as the nice cream base. As you can see, nice cream can be made with any fruit or sweet vegetable as the base. Crazy, right? Don’t knock it until you try it.

Nice cream in a high stemmed crystal bowl.

Add Homemade Roasted Pecan Butter

Required? Absolutely not! However, a little dollop of homemade all-natural roasted pecan butter makes this chocolate espresso banana ice cream extra smooth, delicious and decadent.

We made our own roasted pecan butter. Yes, we sure did. Super easy to do just add your stovetop or oven roasted pecan to a food processor and keep blending until smooth. You may also use all-natural almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter or even macadamia nut butter in this Chocolate Pecan Butter Banana Ice Cream. Seed butters like sunflower and roasted pumpkin seed butter are also delicious. The possibilities are endless.

Step by step how to add the ingredients into the blender.

How to make Banana Nice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker?

You can also use a standard food processor or blender with at least 700 to 800 watts but you will need to be more patient and stir often. In addition, maybe even cut up your bananas in a smaller size or add a little bit more non-dairy liquid to get it going.

Mocha Banana Ice Cream soft serve getting poured into a black and white ceramic bowl.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

How long can you keep banana ice cream?

Banana ice cream “nice cream” can be eaten immediately for a frozen soft served texture. If you prefer your Frozen banana nice cream in a scoopable texture, freeze for at least 2-4 hours covered. It can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months in a sealable container, if you have leftovers. When you are ready to enjoy your banana nice cream recipe, take it out of the freezer, remove the cover and allow to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes so it is scoopable.

What is the best way to freeze bananas?

We have all been there. You buy a few bananas and leave them out on the counter and before you can eat them all they start to turn brown. Just remove the outer peel and leave them whole and place in a freezer safe container. Now when you want to make a smoothie or easy banana ice cream recipe you are ready to go. Bananas can be frozen up to 3 months.

Do you need an ice cream maker to make banana ice cream?

No! You will need either a heavy-duty food processor or blender that can go up to 700-800 watts or higher to pulverize the frozen banana slices to make nice cream. You will need to scrape down the sides of the food processor or blender often during this process.

Close up shot of nice cream in an ice cream scoop.

Summertime Treats

You can freeze this recipe for about 2 - 4 hours if you like your ice cream in scoop, but we love the soft serve melty ice-cream. Hey, have you tried our No churn Mango Swirl Ice Cream? We also used just the natural sweetness of mangos for this refreshing tropical dessert.

Today it is 96 degrees F (35 degrees C) in the shade. Trust us that is hot and doubly humid. The best way to cool off is a bowl of this delicious Mocha Banana Ice Cream. It melts fast in this heat but it sure hits the spot. When it is scorching hot out we also love our Honey Cardamom Cantaloupe Sorbet as it is super refreshing, uses in season muskmelon and takes just a minute to whip together. Rainbow Fruit and Yogurt Layered Ice Cream and Strawberries with Cream Cheese Filling are some of our favorite summertime desserts.

Kid Friendly Options

Please take extra good care during this hot weather, drink extra fluids, stay cool and out of the sun. You can also freeze this chocolate soft serve in popsicle or ice pop molds and freeze over night for a treat for the kids or the big kids (The Parents). If you want to make this recipe kid friendly, just omit the espresso or try our Avocado Ice Candy or Banana Popsicles. Try our Banana Spring Rolls made in the air fryer for an easy summer treat that won't heat up the house.

Ok, the heat index is rising by the minute and our ice cream is melted so we are going to call it a wrap and eat the props.

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Mocha Banana Ice Cream

Vegan Mocha Banana Ice Cream is creamy rich with instant espresso and cocoa powder blended with frozen bananas for an easy guilt free recipe for soft serve “Nice” cream.

5 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5

Total Time: 5

Servings:

Calories: 190kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Equipment

▢
High Powered Food processor or blender

Ingredients

▢ 2 large bananas frozen and sliced
▢ 1 tablespoon creamy pecan butter or natural nut or seed butter of choice
▢ 2 tablespoon cocoa powder unsweetened
▢ 1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee granules or instant coffee granules (dry)
▢ 2 tablespoon almond milk or non-dairy or dairy of choice (just enough to allow the food processor to get the ingredients moving.)
▢ 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional - adjust to your level of sweetness.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Homemade Pecan Butter (skip to step 3 if using another nut/seed butter)

If you want to make your own homemade pecan butter… (if not, skip to the 3rd step) just add 2 cup of raw pecans to a pan and toast for about 5 minutes until toasty brown and delicious nutty aroma develops. Be careful not to burn them, cook over medium heat. Remove pecans from pan and allow to completely cool.
In a heavy-duty food processor, blend your cooled toasted pecans until smooth. You will have to periodically scrape down the side of the food processor. It took us about 8 minutes to achieve a creamy pecan butter.Makes 1 cup toasted pecan butter. Store extra in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Mocha Banana Ice Cream

In a high-powered food processor, add frozen sliced bananas, natural pecan butter (or natural CREAMY nut butter/seed butter of choice), cocoa powder, instant espresso coffee granules and 1-2 tablespoons of almond milk (or non-dairy or dairy of choice). Place the lid on the food processor.
Blend the Chocolate Pecan Butter Frozen Banana mixture until smooth and creamy. You will need to periodically stop your food processor and open the lid to push down the mixture from the sides to get it all incorporated. If your food processor or blender is having difficulty getting the mixture going add another tablespoon of non-dairy or dairy of choice, just to get it moving. All food processors and blenders have a different wattage.You need to use a high powered food processor or blender for this recipe.
Serve as soft serve immediately or freeze for 2-4 hours covered or overnight for scoopable ice cream. Garnish with toasted crushed pecans if desired and Enjoy! If you decide to freeze your mocha banana ice cream, place it at room temperature for about 15 minutes to make it easier to scoop.

Notes

If you have a high-powered food processor or blender then you can make this guilt free ice cream without an ice cream maker. The more wattage and power, the better you will be able to pulse through frozen bananas. We used a Ninja Kitchen system and it goes up to 1500 watts for this recipe. You can use a standard food processor or blender with at least 700 to 800 watts, but you will need to be more patient and stir often. In addition, maybe even cut up your bananas in a smaller size or add a little bit more non-dairy liquid to get it going.

You can serve your Mocha Banana Ice Cream right away with a soft serve consistency. If you prefer a scoopable nice cream freeze it covered between 2-4 hours. You can store your nice cream in the freezer in a sealed container for up to 3 months. However, you will need to set your nice cream on the counter at room temperature for about 15 minutes to make it easier to scoop.

We used a little homemade creamy pecan butter in our recipe but all delicious with any natural creamy nut butter (ie. almond, peanut, macadamia, etc.) or seed butters like sunflower or pumpkin seed butter.

Instant Espresso coffee granules or instant coffee granules are a delicious rich addition to this recipe, especially if you are a coffee lover.

If you want to make this recipe for the kids, just omit the espresso. Instead this recipe will be a chocolate banana nice cream with a little nut butter. Did you know that you can also place this mixture into popsicle molds and enjoy a mocha banana ice cream popsicle? How fun is that! Enjoy and stay cool.

Nutrition

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Mocha Banana Ice Cream

Why you are going to love Mocha Banana Ice Cream

Healthy Enough to Eat for Breakfast!

What is Nice Cream?

No Churn

Good Caffeine Buzz

Add Homemade Roasted Pecan Butter

How to make Banana Nice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker?

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Summertime Treats

Kid Friendly Options