Mint Chocolate Chip Banana Ice Cream

Name: Mint Chocolate Chip Banana Ice Cream
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 185 min
Ingredients: 3 frozen bananas (cut into chunks); 1/4 cup maple syrup; 3/4 cup mint-flavoured dark chocolate chips or chunks (use vegan and gluten free if needed); 12 to 15 mint leaves (roughly chopped); 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (or to taste)

Published: August 14, 2017 Updated: June 9, 2022 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 38 Comments

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This mint chocolate chip banana ice cream couldn’t be easier! Frozen bananas make the most amazing creamy ice cream (or nice cream). With chocolate, mint extract and fresh mint, this homemade ice cream recipe is a real treat! Such a great alternative to regular ice cream!

Scoops of mint chocolate banana ice cream with fresh mint in a bowl.

Hi everyone! How’s it going? What a lovely week hubby and I had! We had a little staycation vacation and the weather was fabulous! Like, the best summer we’ve had in years. We were tourists in our own province, doing lots of sightseeing and checking out tons of restaurants.

And super exciting news is that just last week I was featured on Food Bloggers of Canada! There’s a little Q & A so check it out if you wanna know a little more about me!

Have you ever heard of nice cream or banana ice cream? Apparently, it’s all the rage now and all the cool kids are eating it. I actually don’t know if that’s true, but we’re gonna pretend that they are. But, honestly, do we even care?

I am loving this mint chocolate banana ice cream. I can get my ice cream fix without having to indulge in a bazillion calories, which totally works for me cause I really don’t want to have to work out extra in the summer!

How To Make It

The prep for this mint chocolate banana ice cream was only about 5 minutes. I experimented with this recipe for a bit and am super happy with the result.

When I initially made this, I put way too much mint extract in there. Let me tell you, too much of a good thing is definitely not a good thing. It was way too minty, I’m talking fresh minty breath for days minty. When too much mint is added it tastes bitter and nobody wants that! To make banana ice cream all you have to do is:

Place frozen bananas (cut into chunks) in a food processor and process, stopping to scrape sides of processor as necessary with a spatula. It will be crumbly at first but will blend into a creamy consistency. That’s it!

If you are making mint chocolate banana ice cream (like I did here), after the bananas are processed, add maple syrup, mint leaves, chocolate and mint extract and process again.

Enjoy now as a soft serve or freeze for a few hours for a firmer ice cream (what I recommend). Full details are in the recipe card below.

Collage of steps to flavoured banana ice cream in a food processor.

Do I Have To Use Frozen Bananas?

I get it, you want this banana ice cream now and you don’t have frozen bananas. I highly recommend using frozen bananas and do not recommend using fresh bananas. Frozen bananas is what makes this banana ice cream super creamy.

It takes a few hours to freeze bananas for ice cream. Ensure that the bananas are peeled and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet so they don’t clump together when freezing.

After frozen, if you are not using the bananas right away, store in a freezer bag until ready to use. I recommend using within a couple of months.

Does It Taste Good?

Um, yes! Every time I make banana ice cream it always amazes me how creamy it is. I practically never buy regular ice cream lately. It’s a great alternative to regular ice cream when you want to mix things up.

How To Make Banana Ice Cream Soft

So, if you go the route whereas you freeze for a firmer ice cream, it will harden (like ice cream would). To soften, leave on the countertop for 5 to 10 minutes before digging it.

Close-up of mint chocolate banana ice cream garnished with fresh mint.

Tips for Making This Recipe

Like mentioned above, use frozen bananas.
For banana ice cream, you want bananas that are ripe, but not too ripe. The more ripe they are, the more banana flavour your banana ice cream will have (not a bad thing, but just a head’s up).
Depending on how powerful your processor is, the time may vary to process the mixture into a creamy consistency (but should take no more than a few minutes). If you want to make things a little easier on your processor, add the tiniest bit of almond milk or milk to the frozen bananas when processing (start with a couple of tablespoons).
Don’t over process or it will become too soft. Did you make it too soft? No worries! Pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze for a few hours.
I used fresh mint from our garden here. It’s thriving so well. I mean, I’ll never use it all before the season ends. Of course with all that mint lying around, I opted to use actual fresh mint in this banana ice cream with just a touch of mint extract to really bump it up. If you don’t want to use fresh mint or can’t access, feel free to use just mint extract. I would recommend starting with a ¾ teaspoon and taste accordingly. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t take out.

More Frozen Desserts

What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Hands down, it’s mint chocolate chip for me. Close is chocolate chip cookie dough and strawberry. But, really, can you go wrong with any flavour?

If you make this mint chocolate banana ice cream, be sure to leave a comment below!