Make Vegan Ice Cream Yourself: A Simple Nice Cream Recipe

When the temperatures rise, so does the desire for ice cream. But it doesn’t always have to be the usual chocolate or vanilla ice cream. Equally delicious is “Nicecream” – an ice cream made from frozen bananas. It is fixed and can be spiced up in many ways.

The “Nicecream” (“nice cream”) – also called “Nana Cream” (from “banana”) – is becoming increasingly popular. No wonder: the ice cream is so “nice” above all because it is based on a natural ingredient with frozen bananas and contains no additives such as flavor enhancers or preservatives.

In addition, Nicecream, which has a consistency reminiscent of soft ice cream, is free of industrial sugar and is usually vegan. After all, she manages without eggs and milk. Because most recipes rely on plant milk or water to be able to puree the frozen bananas better.

In addition, Nicecream is quick and easy to prepare and can be varied with many other fruits or toppings. All you need for the basic recipe are some overripe bananas. The fruits may already be covered with black-brown spots. Because the riper the bananas, the sweeter and creamier the end product will be. Nicecream is therefore ideal for using up leftover bananas.

Fast, easy, and delicious: Nicecream recipe

For two bowls of Nicecream you need:

• 4 ripe bananas
• board and knife
• blender or blender
• 2-3 tablespoons plant-based milk (e.g. almond, soy, coconut or oat milk) or water (optional)
• Freezer bag or Tupperware

That’s how it works:

1. Cut the bananas on a cutting board into slices about 1.5 centimeters thick so that they are easier to puree later.
2. Put the banana slices in a freezer bag or in a Tupperware box and place the fruit in the freezer.
3. They should stay there for about six hours. Better: freeze overnight.
4. Take the frozen bananas out of the freezer and let them thaw for five minutes – unless you have a high-speed blender that can handle hard-frozen chunks of fruit.
5. Now put the bananas in the blender or in a tall blender cup and start blending. If you’re having trouble breaking the bananas down, you can add a dash of plant-based milk or water. But note:
6. The more liquid you use, the more liquid the consistency will be.
7. Mash the bananas until they have a creamy consistency. Work as low speed as possible.

What else fits in Nicecream?

Preparing a nice cream is not rocket science. If the basic recipe is too boring for you, you can refine the ice cream: for example with mint leaves or fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. Chocolate sprinkles/graters, coconut flakes, or nuts such as almonds, peanuts, or walnuts also make the nice cream more appetizing.

Spices such as cinnamon or vanilla also bring more flavor variety. Even seeds such as linseed and chia seeds go well with Nicecream: They have the advantage that they keep you full for longer thanks to their high fiber and protein content.

Tip: Ripe bananas already have a lot of sugar in the form of fructose, so additional sugar is usually not needed.

Recipe for a chocolate ice cream

Choco-Nicecream is a good choice for chocolate fans – a figure-friendly alternative to chocolate ice cream. For two servings you need the following ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas
• 2-3 tablespoons plant-based milk or water (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½-1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 2 tsp grated dark chocolate and/or ½-1 tbsp chocolate sauce

This is how it works:

Slice the bananas and freeze them for a good six hours (see basic recipe)
Take the bananas out of the freezer and let them thaw for five minutes.
Puree the bananas with a blender or hand blender until creamy. The frozen pieces of fruit can be chopped even better with a little plant-based milk or water.
Now add the cocoa powder and, if you like, some vanilla extract. Then puree the mass again until it gets a nice chocolaty colour.
Put the nice cream in bowls and decorate with chocolate sprinkles and/or chocolate sauce.

Make vegan ice cream yourself: This is how the berry nice cream works

If you prefer something fruitier, you can also mix the frozen bananas with other frozen fruits. Berries such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or strawberries are particularly good: Depending on your taste, you can use just one type or puree them all together.

The basic recipe remains the same. The only difference is that you put the frozen berries in the blender with the bananas. The amount of berries depends entirely on your preferences. For example, you can mix four frozen bananas with 250-500 grams of berry mix.

Tip: Alternatively, you can use frozen cherries, mango pieces or even avocados with the bananas to make a nice cream.

Nice cream without bananas

If you don’t like the taste of bananas, you can use other fruits. An alternative is frozen mangoes. There are also nice cream recipes with strawberries or pineapple as the base fruit.

However, all these fruits have a high water content. Therefore, the end product is significantly less creamy than the “original”. You can mix the basic fruit with other fruits as you wish.

Preparing nice cream: more tips

Eat right away: the ice cream tastes best freshly prepared. If it is frozen again, the sweetness and creaminess are lost.
Save nice cream: If you have pureed the dessert for too long and the consistency is more like a smoothie, you can either add a few pieces of fruit or put the mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes. The ice cream becomes firmer again – but loses some of its creaminess.
Note the date: If you freeze the banana slices and do not want to use them the next day, you can note the date on the freezer bag or Tupperware. Because bananas can only be stored in the freezer for about three to four months.