Sarah Jackson: Banana Pecan Butter Ice Cream: Vegan and Paleo

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Banana Pecan Butter Ice Cream: Vegan and Paleo

For many years now, I have resisted making ice cream out of bananas, because it seemed to me it would take nothing short of MAGIC to make ice cream out of bananas, and I am fresh out of magic.

But then my husband bought me some banana ice cream from a food stand in Laguna Beach, and it was smooth, creamy, and sweet, just like real ice cream, and I was converted right then and there. I decided to make my own banana ice cream, with a twist: I added salty nut butter. And you guys, that salt is the ticket to pleasure town.

This stuff is so easy, and it's the perfect dessert for all you folks adhering to Paleo, vegan, and anti-inflammatory diets.

Here's what you need:

Except, I was spacey when I took this photo, and I included the wrong salt. I used sea salt instead of Morton's iodized salt. I love putting sea salt in dessert!

You'll notice my nut butter (on the far left) is homemade. I made it by first roasting the nuts, and then blending them, with sea salt, in the food processor. Homemade nut butter is a game-changer.

INGREDIENTS:

4 very ripe bananas (with speckles!)
1/4 c. of nut butter, smooth or chunky (I used pecan, but peanut, almond, and cashew butter would be yummy, too!)*
1 TB of coconut oil
A pinch of salt

Optional mix-ins:

Chopped nuts (I used pecans)
Nut butter (to create a ripple effect with stripes of nut butter throughout, in addition to the nut butter mixed in)
Chocolate chips (you can make your own if you follow a Paleo diet!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice the bananas into 1/4-inch thick rounds, put them in a Ziploc bag in a single layer, and pop them in the freezer. Let them freeze overnight. These slices will make it much easier to blend your frozen bananas and will ensure a nice, consistently creamy texture.

2. Put the frozen banana medallions, nut butter, and coconut oil in your food processor or high-powered blender. Blend. Add the salt, to taste, and blend.

3. If you want to mix in nuts, chocolate chips, or extra nut butter, mix 'em in by hand.

4. I like eating the ice cream at this point, because I think its texture is ideal; but if you want to save it all for later, scoop it into a container and put it in the freezer.