Skip the dairy, fat and sugar — all with the magic of “nice cream.” The secret lies in the creamy sweetness of ripe bananas, frozen solid and then pureed. You’ll need a good blender and need to work quickly, so you can eat the nice cream while it has the texture of soft-serve. You can freeze the puree to eat later. Just spread it thinly in a storage tub so it softens evenly when you get it out to serve.

RD Tip: The colder a food is, the harder it is to taste the sugar, so foods taste sweeter at room temperature than if they are frozen. That’s one of the reasons ice cream has so much sugar: It’s served cold, so it needs more sugar to taste sweet. All this to say, your “nice cream” will taste sweeter and creamier if it is lightly frozen, instead of totally frozen.

Active time: 10 minutes | Total time: 8 hours

Chocolate N’Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp almond milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups (300g) sliced banana
• 1/4 cup (20g) unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

To prep the bananas, slice thinly and spread on a parchment-lined sheet pan, freeze until solid, then transfer to a zip-top bag until time to use.

For nice cream, place the almond milk and vanilla in a high-powered blender, then add the banana and cocoa. Blend, using a tamper if you have one, to press the banana into the blades. When the mixture is smooth, serve immediately or transfer to a storage tub and freeze for up to two days. 

Serves: 2 | Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 169; Total Fat: 3g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 7mg; Carbohydrate: 36g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Sugar: 19g; Protein: 4g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 694mg; Iron: 8%; Vitamin A: 2%; Vitamin C: 22%; Calcium: 4%

Originally published July 13, 2021; Updated July 2026