3-Ingredient Vanilla Nice Cream
Yes, I’m serious! This simple Nice Cream recipe calls for only 3 ingredients and a blender to make. Not to mention, it has all the flavor of traditional ice cream but none of the fat.
My first experience with nice cream was a few years ago, and I was shocked at how quick and easy it is to make! It really does take only a few ingredients and a blender. No ice cream churn is required at all.
You’ll love this recipe because it’s:
- Creamy and delicious
- Vegan & gluten-free
- Requires only 3 ingredients
- A one-step recipe that can be made in a blender or food processor
- Kid-friendly
What is nice cream?
The trending name for blender ice cream recipes like this is nice cream. The basic concept is blending frozen fruit in a blender or food processor until it has the exact texture of soft-serve ice cream.
What is vanilla nice cream made of?
The secret ingredient to this one-step Vanilla Nice Cream is frozen bananas. That’s really it! A combination of frozen bananas, plant milk, and vanilla extract in a blender really does make this amazing low-calorie vegan ice cream.
How to make ice cream with bananas
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
You are going to need to start with frozen bananas which is great because they have so much nutrition packed in them. Many grocery stores actually bag up the overripe or ugly bananas that have brown spots on them and sell them for really cheap. That’s when I like to grab them up.
Bring them home, peel them, and place them in a gallon-size freezer bag, and store them in the freezer. Some people slice theirs into circles or chunks, but I’ve never had a need for that, and freezing them whole after peeling works great.
When you’re ready to make nice cream, simply place three frozen bananas in your blender or food processor. They can be broken up into chunks before tossing them in, but I tend to leave them whole. If your blender isn’t pretty powerful, breaking them into chunks will help them process.
Add in the plant milk such as almond, soy, or another variety along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Blend until smooth or until it gets to the consistency you prefer. Blending should only take 1-minute or less in most cases.
I use a Vitamix blender for all of my recipes because no matter what I’m making, this high-powered blender will produce the exact result I’m looking for.
Serve it as is or top it with some of the great topping ideas below.
Topping ideas
- Dairy-free chocolate chips
- Crushed walnuts
- Shredded coconut
- Sliced bananas
- Fresh berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- Nut butter such as peanut or almond
- Vegan Caramel Sauce
Nice cream pro tips:
- It will be a soft-serve consistency which is how I like it. However, if you would like for it to be scoopable, simply place it in a freezer-safe container for a couple of hours.
- I like to add cocoa powder and a teaspoon of vanilla to mine to get a delicious healthy chocolate fix. Blend until nice and smooth.
- My blender has a tamper to press ingredients down to the blade while blending. If yours doesn’t have that, you’ll need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.
More vegan nice cream recipes:
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3-Ingredient Vanilla Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 medium large FROZEN bananas
- 1 tablespoon plant milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place three frozen bananas in your blender or food processor. They can be broken up into chunks before tossing them in, but I tend to leave them whole. If your blender isn’t pretty powerful, breaking them into chunks will help them process.
- Add in the plant milk such as almond, soy, or another variety along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Blend until smooth or until it gets to the consistency you prefer. Blending should only take 1-minute or less in most cases.
- I’ve listed some great topping options in the article above, along with in-process photos.
Equipment
Video
Notes
Nice cream pro tips:
- It will be a soft-serve consistency which is how I like it. However, if you would like for it to be scoopable, simply place it in a freezer-safe container for a couple of hours.
- I like to add cocoa powder and a teaspoon of vanilla to mine to get a delicious healthy chocolate fix. Blend until nice and smooth.
- My blender has a tamper to press ingredients down to the blade while blending. If yours doesn’t have that, you’ll need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
This Nice Cream sounds great but I can’t have bananas. Do you think it would work with applesauce? It’d probably be good, not sure the consistency would be creamy. 🙂
Hi Shirley- I haven’t heard of anyone making applesauce ice cream before. The frozen bananas are what give it the creaminess and sweetness.
@Shirley, pears might work. l would the leave out the milk, as it might add to much liquid. 🍐🍐🍐
@Shirley, frozen avocado might work really well as a replacement for the bananas
I love how easy this recipe is!
Do you have a plain pure vanilla recipe that you could share?
Thanks!
Hi Cindy- It really is a simple recipe, and we absolutely love it. Currently, these are the other nice cream flavors I have. Hope you find some you enjoy. https://eatplant-based.com/6-nice-cream-recipes/
Got myself a VM and am ready to go! How much cocoa powder would you add to the 3 frozen bananas? How would the VM do with frozen plant milk and frozen banana?
Hi Marge- Congrats on the new Vitamix! I absolutely love mine. For 3 frozen bananas, personally, I would use about 2 Tbsp cocoa powder. You might need to add just a little bit of liquid (even water) to get everything spinning. Or, you could always just use the tamper to push everything down to the blades. This is a link to my chocolate version. Hope you enjoy it! https://eatplant-based.com/chocolate-banana-nice-cream/