3-Ingredient Vanilla Nice Cream
Yes, I’m serious! This simple Vanilla 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. It is vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free.
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.
Since creating this recipe, I have come up with other delicious varieties of vegan ice cream including this fruity nice cream, my mango lime nice cream, and our favorite chocolate dairy-free nice cream you can add peanut butter to any of them for an extra rich flavor. We even have 4 amazing veggie and fruit smoothies from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
What is nice cream?
Vegan nice cream is typically made from frozen bananas as the base, blended until creamy. You can customize it by adding other fruits, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, or nut butters for different flavors, all while keeping it dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free.
Reasons you will love nice cream
- Dairy-Free and Creamy: Enjoy a rich and creamy treat without any dairy. Vegan nice cream is made entirely from plant-based ingredients, making it a perfect option for those who are lactose intolerant or follow a vegan diet.
- Gluten-Free and Guilt-Free: Indulge in vegan nice cream knowing it’s gluten-free and made from whole, natural ingredients. It’s a delicious dessert option that won’t compromise your dietary needs.
- Naturally Sweetened and Sugar-Free: Satisfy your sweet tooth without added sugars. Vegan nice cream is often sweetened naturally with fruits like bananas, making it a healthy alternative to traditional ice cream.
- Quick and Easy to Make: Whip up vegan nice cream in just minutes using simple ingredients you likely already have at home. It’s a convenient and healthy dessert that’s perfect for any time of day.
How to make vanilla nice cream
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, 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. We keep them on hand at all times to make this recipe and our vegan chocolate nice cream as well as these other 6 vegan healthy ice cream recipes.
STEP #1: 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.
STEP #2: 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.
STEP #3: 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 butter or almond butter
- Vegan Caramel Sauce
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven’t tried any of these, but some people have made it with frozen avocado, pears, or applesauce.
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.
There are lots! On this website, we have recipes for chocolate banana nice cream, fruity nice cream, and mango lime dairy-free nice cream.
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.
es, you can store vegan nice cream in the freezer. After blending, place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to a week. For the best texture, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving to soften slightly.
More Vegan Ice Cream Flavors
If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it by rating it and leaving a comment. We love to hear from you!
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.
Video
Notes
- Scoopable: 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.
- Chocolate: 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. I even came up with a chocolate version of nice cream.
- Blending: 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.
- Bananas: A few folks have asked if it can be made without bananas as the base. I haven’t tried any of these, but some people have made it with frozen avocado, pears, or applesauce.
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…
I’m cooking-challenged but this was so easy, even I could do it. Ended up with something more like icy, sugar-free pudding but after freezing: voila! Nice cream. This is going to make a long hot summer easier to take.
I have made many variations but use a mini food processor so base is -one frozen chopped up banana, then options like: 1/4 c raspberries or other fresh fruit, or TBSP Dark cacao and maple syrup.
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/
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/
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