Rich, smooth, creamy mango banana ice cream that is healthy enough to eat for breakfast! All the texture/flavour of real ice cream with none of the guilt!
Who doesn't love ice cream? And now that the weather is warming up it's a perfect time to indulge!
Except that with this ice cream you will feel like you are indulging in a rich, smooth, creamy dessert when in fact you are just eating a bowl of fruit! How good is that? It's so healthy that you can even enjoy it for breakfast!
Even better news is that you don't need an ice cream maker. A food processor or a powerful blender will do the job perfectly.
I am a big fan of Melissa King's blog My Whole Food Life and this recipe is loosely adapted from her very delicious 5 Minute Banana Ice Cream.
Mango Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 ripe mangos
- 1 banana
- 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- Optional - A few drops of liquid sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, vegan honey, stevia, or agave will all be fine)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Peel and cut the mangos into cubes.
- Peel and slice a banana
- Put the mango and the banana pieces on a small baking sheet lined with a silpat or baking parchment).
- Freeze (I always do this at least the day before I make my ice cream but you could probably get away with a few hours before). Once they have been in the freezer and gone solid you can either use them right way or transfer them to a freezer bag or container of some kind if you are leaving them longer. This will ensure they don't get freezer burn. Bear in mind that if you skip this step and just put the fresh pieces of fruit in a container together then freeze them, they will stick together and be difficult to prise apart making it a struggle to fit them in the bowl of your food processor/blender.
- When you are ready to make your ice cream place your frozen fruit into the bowl of a food processor or powerful blender (if it is stuck in the container just run a little warm water over the outside of the container. This will loosen it enough for you to get it out).
- Add your non-dairy milk and blend/process until smooth. I use a Cuisinart food processor and mine took 3 - 4 minutes.
- It will look like it's never going to go ice-creamy but stick with it. You might need to stop it throughout to push it down the sides and stir it around a bit.
- After a few minutes you will have a smooth, creamy ice cream.
- Give it a little taste to check the sweetness. Often there is no need to add any sweetener but it depends on the sweetness of the mangos so feel free to add a few drops of liquid Stevia, maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of choice to suit your tastes. Just process for a minute after you add it.
NUTRITION
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Deana Stone says
I froze 3 over ripe bananas,1 half large mango2 tablespoons of sweet and condensed milk and a pinch of cinnamon. Perfect.... served it with raw pecan halves.
Cathy says
Is it possible to blend the bananas, mango and coconut milk together then freeze this mixture in a plastic tub and serve when needed?
A Virtual Vegan says
If you do it that way it becomes extremely hard, like rock. You would need to defrost it for a long while before you could serve scoop it. This recipe is designed to be made and eaten right away.
Rita C. Donnell says
Ripe mangos really awesome!! Can I use any other beyond banana? Thanks for excellent sharing
A Virtual Vegan says
Any frozen fruit will create "nice-cream". Berries, pineapple, the mango on its own. Using banana adds a little extra creaminess though which is nice. My favourite is just frozen banana with some nut butter thrown in. Peanut butter, cashew or almond. Then some chocolate chips at the end!
Raspberries with some fresh mint are nice too. Have fun experimenting!
Mary Couzens says
Froze my fruit in a heavy glass cassorle dish with a lid and had to chip at it a bit, but found running warm water over the bottom of the dish helped me chip out larger chunks of fruit. Didn't use any sweetner at all, but substituted Provamel Bio Organic Coconut Rice milk and it came out perfect, like Gelato. Took me right back to Italy!
A Virtual Vegan says
I recommend freezing the fruit in a single layer on a baking sheet with parchment paper, then transferring to a bag or container once frozen. It makes the process so much easier. No chipping is required! I'm so glad you enjoyed it though. It really is like gelato!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
We love mangoes so much! I might try this in my Yonanas machine. I never use that thing enough.
A Virtual Vegan says
I do too. I eat so many of them! It would work great in your Yonanas machine I'm sure. ????
dishofdailylife says
What a yummy summer treat! We've still got some hot days ahead so this will be fun to try! Thanks for sharing it with us at #FoodieFriDIY...sending some foodie love your way and I will be sharing this yummy recipe on my Facebook page on Monday afternoon...we'd love to have you stop by! :) Hope you are having a great weekend!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! So glad you like it. It is so simple and easy to make and so very healthy. The perfect guilt free summer treat!
M&M says
This recipe is easy, great & flavorful. I omitted the sugar and ensured that the mangoes were very ripe before preparing this dessert. In the excitement of trying this recipe, I froze the fruits in a container and it froze into that shape.... I found myself "chipping" at the frozen fruit in order to place in the blender. It may be wise to freeze the fruit separated or in an ice cube tray. Otherwise, this has a thumbs up!
melmcdonald2 says
Thanks for your feedback M&M. I am glad you enjoyed the ice cream and am sorry that you had trouble with your frozen fruit. I have amended the directions to make them a little clearer so hopefully the same thing won't happen to anybody else.