Homemade No-Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream
On the last official weekend of summer, and giving this recipe a few tries with small changes here and there, I am thrilled to share! Better late than never! This fun recipe has brought joy to so many people that have tried it at our social and family gatherings (its a hit for summer pool days!). Some people may find that banana pudding as ice cream is a little *unconventional* – to be honest the only reason I decided to try banana pudding ice cream was that the ingredients that are traditionally used in my favorite banana pudding recipe; which can be found at this link here, are also classic ingredients used to make no-churn ice cream batters.
No churn means no ice cream machine is required, or tricky on the stove-off the stove egg custards. Which means that once you mix the batter and allow your ice cream to sit in the freezer, you are DONE (yay).
If you make this recipe at home for your loved ones, tag me, post it, show love! I take a lot of pride creating and testing recipes and always feel so much joy when I see others enjoying some of my favorite recipes! Let’s get into it:
Fresh Pureed Bananas
You can’t have banana pudding anything without fresh bananas – however bananas will brown over time, and my concern was if I mashed them, the hard chunks of banana wouldn’t match the texture of the creamy ice cream. I also wanted the actual ice cream batter to be super smooth and the only mix-in to be the Nilla Wafers.
I decided to puree the bananas, that would be significantly easier to mix into the batter. With a mini food processor and using older bananas with some brown, similar to what you would use for banana bread for optimal banana flavor and sweetness. The banana flavor is 100% authentic and you can truly taste that in the ice cream which is the BEST part.
Heavy Whipping Cream
Heavy cream is essential in this recipe and cannot be replaced with milk. High-fat whipping cream (heavy whipping cream) with 38% fat content or higher is perfect! It will double in volume and hold stiff peaks. You can find fat percentages on the carton of cream. Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold cream on medium/high speed until soft peaks form, roughly 3 minutes. You are looking for just thickened cream at this point that is not too firm. I like to refrigerate the bowl before I start mixing to help keep everything cold while it is being whisked. Be sure that you whisk the heavy cream in a separate bowl, this will be added last.
Cold Sweetened Condensed Milk
Cold condensed milk is a key detail/ingredient and there is no substitute. It makes the ice cream softer and scoop-able. You can use fat-free or low sugar if you wish. But if we are going to make ice cream – I say, go all the way with the sweetened! I recommend if you know you are going to make this recipe, go ahead and put the condensed milk in the fridge the day before.
Mini Nilla Wafers
If you can find them, I recommend using the mini Nilla Wafers – you don’t have to crush them as aggressively. Normal size Nilla Wafers work just as well, simply crush until you feel the size is appropriate and as they say – “measure with your heart.” Some people want more or less Nilla Wafers in their pudding/ice cream so do what will make you and your tastebuds happy – but in my opinion, you can never have too many Nilla Wafers!
Combine the cold sweetened condense milk, cream cheese, jello mix, purred bananas into a bowl and mix. Add in crushed Nilla Wafers or whole mini Nilla Wafers. After adding the Nilla Wafers, FOLD in your heavy whipping cream with a baking spatula.
Once everything is combined add into a freezer safe container – and top with some Nilla Wafers and cover. It will need to freeze for anywhere from 6-8 hours, so plan accordingly. After it has sat in the freezer and firmed up, remove allow to sit out at room temperature for 5 minutes so it is easier to scoop, or simply run your scooper under hot water, serve, and enjoy!
Homemade No-Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream
Ingredients
Instructions
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In a stand mixer whip the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Place your whipped cream in the fridge till you are ready.
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In a second bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, and instant pudding.
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Puree 3 bananas in a blender or food processor (cut off the ends to avoid having solid chunks in ice cream mix)
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Add pureed bananas to the sweetened condensed milk combination. Stir until incorporated.
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Add the crushed (or whole) wafers and mix.
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Fold the banana mixture into the whipping cream.
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Pour into a freezer safe dish (top if desired).
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Cover thoroughly and freeze for at least 6 hours.
