If you haven't yet tried or made nice cream, now's the time. It's unbelievably easy, and it's a healthier (and dare I say more delicious!!?) way to use up your overripe bananas than banana bread. This no-churn Cherry Nice Cream will have you ditching the regular calorie-, sugar-, and fat- laden frozen treats for good.
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Summer is finally here, and this is the perfect treat to finish up your day. Treat your body right with this frozen dessert that's both delicious and heart healthy!
Since we're using bananas as our base, we don't even need any added sugar or other sweeteners, so this cherry nice cream is also a good way to get another serving or two of fruit in your day! Dare I say you could even have it for breakfast?! These Mango Pops are another great frozen treat.
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Heart Health Benefits of Cherry Nice Cream
Our recipe base is bananas. Bananas sometimes get a bad rap because of their sugar content. Not to worry, though. The sugar in bananas, and all fruit, is naturally occurring sugar, and not the kind of sugar we need to be very worried about.
Added sugar is a problem when we eat too much of it (most of us do). Check out my video explaining:
Bananas are also a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamins B6 and C. They are an excellent snack, and a their creamy texture makes this recipe seem like soft serve.
Cherries are light on calories, but deliver big on flavor! Their dark color indicates a high antioxidant content (1), as is true for all berries. They also are a good source of fiber and vitamin C. They may help reduce the risk for chronic inflammatory related conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers (2).
You've no doubt heard how great almonds are for your heart! This is owed mainly to their high vitamin E content, which is a potent antioxidant. It also plays a role in immune function, as well as helping to inhibit platelet aggregation in blood vessels (reducing your risk of atherosclerosis and blood clots). Eating almonds has been shown to help lower LDL cholesterol, while also maintaining stable HDL levels (3).
Almonds are also good sources of magnesium, copper, and manganese. But you only need a little bit of these babies! Just a small handful will run you about 200 calories.
Ingredients
We start with simple, whole ingredients. Only four of them, and one is optional!
- Bananas
- Cherries
- Almonds
- Corn starch
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This no-churn cherry ice cream is a breeze. No ice cream maker needed!
- Step 1: Slice and freeze the bananas for at least an hour.
- Step 2: Add all the ingredients to a food processor.
- Step 3: Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed.
- Step 4: Roughly chop the almonds.
- Step 5: Scoop the nice cream into a freezer safe container, and stir in half of the almonds.
- Step 6: Smooth out the top, and sprinkle with remaining almonds. Freeze for at least an hour, until solid and scoopable.
Hint: the bananas can be frozen a day or more in advance, and using frozen cherries makes the nice cream easy and fast!
Substitutions
The sky is the limit with nice cream. Here are some basic substitutions.
- Fruit - the banana is necessary for the creamy texture, but sub any other fruit for the cherries you like - blueberries, raspberries, mango, or pineapple come to mind
- Nuts - use any nuts you want, or go nut free
- Corn starch - it's there for texture, but you can leave it out completely
Equipment
To make this banana cherry ice cream, you will need a food processor or blender. I find my food processor works better than a blender for this task, but either will work.
You'll also need a knife and cutting board, a tray for freezing the bananas, measuring cups/spoons, and a freezer safe container for storing the nice cream.
Storage
Store cherry nice cream with almonds in a freezer safe container with a lid, in the freezer, for up to 3 months.
Pro tip
The cornstarch helps prevent large ice crystals from forming, so the nice cream stays a little softer and easier to scoop. But you should still move it to the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before you intend to serve it once it's frozen solid. That way it will have more of a soft serve consistency.
FAQ
Nice cream is a frozen treat that uses bananas as a base, to mimic the consistency of soft serve ice cream without added sugar or dairy.
That's what we use the cornstarch for. That will prevent large ice crystals from forming, allowing for a smoother consistency. For a softer nice cream, move it to the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before serving.
Related
Looking for other desserts recipes? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with cherry nice cream:
Reader Review
"What a wonderful treat this is. I Love, Love, Love it. It is more tasty to me than Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream..."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Recipe
Cherry Nice Cream with Almonds
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Bananas
- 2 cups Cherries pitted and frozen
- 2 teaspoon Corn Starch (optional)
- ½ cup Toasted Almonds chopped
Instructions
- Slice the bananas and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze them for at least an hour.
- Add bananas, cherries, and corn starch to a food processor or blender, and process on high until creamy.
- Spread into a freezer-safe dish, and stir in half the chopped almonds. Sprinkle the other half over the top.
- Freeze at least an hour, or until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutrition information is an estimate, and will change based on the brand and individual ingredients and amounts you use. This is provided for your convenience only.
Food safety
Safety is our top priority in the kitchen! Always keep these tips in mind.
- Wash hands before touching food, and after touching raw meat, your hair, face, pets, etc.
- Thoroughly wash all produce, including thick skins and rinds, before cutting and using in this recipe
- Use cutting boards, knives, and other equipment that have been thoroughly washed and sanitized, especially if they have been used for raw meat before
- Keep Cherry Nice Cream frozen at all times, and discard if out of refrigeration longer than 2 hours (or 1 hour in hot weather)
Nilda Bergmann says
What a wonderful treat this is. I Love, Love, Love it. It is more tasty to me than Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream because I'm not really fond of Vanilla Ice Cream.
I've tried a version of this recipe before but it lacked flavor because its ingredients were only frozen bananas and honey. I never thought of adding additional fruit to take it up a level. Thanks so much.
Laura Yautz says
Thanks, Nilda! I'm glad you found a new taste treat! 🙂
Paula says
Tried this last week and loved it! I added a bit of natural cherry juice to give it more cherry flavor. Even our 8 year old grandson thought it was awesome!
Laura Yautz says
Thanks for trying it! So glad you liked it! Great idea adding cherry juice. The sky is the limit with Nice Cream!
sheenam @ thetwincookingproject says
such a stunning shot. this looks so easy and yummy.
Laura Yautz says
Thanks so much! 🙂