July 10, 2022

Grandma’s Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Classic southern dessert meets ice cream to create a new delicious summertime treat! Serve at your next backyard party for an easy and frugal dessert that is enjoyed by both kids and adults!

Banana pudding is a nostalgic dessert for me. Every Christmas, Easter or sometimes even Thanksgiving, my Grandma makes a giant bowl of this sweet treat. It’s one of those desserts that will always be special to me because it is my Grandma’s specialty.

As I was brainstorming ideas for this week’s recipe, I also happened to come across my Grandma’s old vanilla ice cream recipe. Banana pudding? Ice cream? Why not mash the two together into one delightful summertime dessert? After a bit of testing, here you have it: fresh banana-vanilla ice cream with crushed vanilla wafer cookies! Let’s take a look at the ingredients and why this recipe is an easy and surprisingly cheaper option for homemade ice cream.

Ingredients

While I usually post healthy recipes with wholesome ingredients, this banana pudding ice cream is not one of them! The ingredients in this recipe are simple, easy-to-find and relatively cheap, however, which makes this a great “normal” dessert to make for a group. Thousands of homemade ice cream recipes exist on the internet, but often they call for expensive ingredients like heavy cream, half-and-half or eggs. Although this ice cream is not nearly as creamy, rich or thick as other banana ice cream recipes might be, this recipe is a more affordable option and, it is lower in fat and calories, despite it not being healthy!

Whole Milk~This is the main component of the ice cream. I do not recommend using any lower percentage milk than whole because, the lower the fat content of milk used, the thinner and icier the ice cream will be. Because we’re only using whole milk in this recipe, the ice cream will have a very soft consistency. If you wish to have creamier, thicker ice cream, you could substitute half of the milk for half-and-half or heavy cream. However, be warned that cream is much more expensive than milk and the cost of your homemade ice cream can add up quickly.

Evaporated Milk~Creates a smoother texture without adding all the fat that heavy cream would add. It’s also cheaper to use than heavy cream.

White Sugar~Sugar is important in this recipe for developing the correct consistency. I highly recommend that you do not omit any sugar or try to substitute with different sweeteners.

Bananas~Add delicious, non-artificial flavor and extra sweetness to the ice cream. And, for an extra bonus, they’re inexpensive and a high source of potassium!

Salt and Vanilla Extract~These ingredients may be small in amount but make a huge impact on flavor. Although you are free to use whatever you have on hand, good quality vanilla extract does make a difference here. And, if you happen to have vanilla beans in your pantry, scraping the seeds of one pod into your ice cream base wouldn’t hurt either! But, don’t worry about buying expensive ingredients if you do not already have them. This recipe is all about frugality!

Vanilla Wafers~(Not pictured above) These add a nice crunch while also bringing home the flavor and elements of banana pudding.

The Dance

This ice cream recipe is super simple and the base comes together within five minutes! Just mash the bananas, stir together all the ingredients in a large bowl, add the base to a 1/2 gallon ice cream machine and begin churning.

While the ice cream churns, pulse the vanilla wafers in a food processor or add them to a ziploc bag and pound the cookies with a rolling pin or large spoon. You want the cookies to look like this:

Once the ice cream finishes churning, stir in the crushed cookies and enjoy immediately. And let the banana/vanilla flavors bring you back to childhood and Grandma’s delicious banana pudding…