Banana Pudding Ice Cream

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It’s summa summa summa-time! That means banana pudding ice cream.

When I think about summer treats I think about the typical things, strawberry shortcake, blended coffee drinks, treats from the ice cream trucks that seem to be ever present, good bbq and banana pudding.

What’s your favorite summer treat?

So there’s this ice cream shop not too far from my in-laws’ house, that (before this recipe) made the best banana pudding ice cream. It was actually where I realized this flavor was a thing. Well, since that place is in a completely different state, I had to get to work creating my own version because I needed to be able to have this on demand…no plane reservation required.

I’m super excited to share this with you. I’ve been testing it since last summer and I’ve FINALLY figured out the recipe. This is now the greatest banana pudding ice cream I’ve ever had. Really.

Now listen, I wouldn’t say it was the best if it wasn’t. I’m a humble gal’. But to date this really is the best banana pudding ice cream I’ve ever tasted.

You’ve got that sweet cream with the fruitiness of the banana and the indulgence of the nilla wafer. And if you do it right, you’ll get some of those flavors in each and every bite. Amazing!

Let’s get started!

Below I’ve made a table listing all of the equipment that you’ll need to make any ice cream. First, and most important, is an ice cream machine. I use the KitchenAid ice cream attachment, and I love it, I’ll link to it right here. It’s so simple to use and it really does churn out an amazing product. If you already have a KitchenAid, I’d highly recommend this, it will NOT disappoint. Everything else is listed below.

But back to the ice cream.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is get your mixture ready to go. The order you add the ingredients is important, because you want to make sure that sugar dissolves.

To do this we warm our half and half (I just did it in the microwave for 30 seconds) and then add the dark brown sugar, white sugar, and salt to that. Next we’ll add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and mashed banana.

Viola. Put that mixture in the refrigerator to cool. Now you should have one remaining banana. This step is optional, but if you want banana chunks in your banana pudding ice cream (i.e, you’re on team banana instead of team wafer), cut the banana into chunks, or really thin slices, and store in the refrigerator. If you’re omitting this step, just increase the amount of wafters you use by 1/2 a cup.

When your mixture has cooled (this won’t take long because there was only one warm ingredient), pour into your ice cream machine and use as directed.

In the last 5 minutes of churning, add the mini or crushed nilla wafers, and the banana slices you have hanging out in the freezer.

Remove from the ice cream machine and store in an airtight container. They actually make really cool ice cream storage containers, I’ll link to that here.

Ok, so now your ice cream is in the freezer, and this is the hard part.

Now you have to wait.

You know how in normal banana pudding (the un-ice-cream kind), you have to wait for that window where the wafers change from crunchy to soft-baked cookie texture? Well that’s what we’re waiting for here. That, and the flavors taste much better if you eat this as an ice cream consistency instead of a soft-serve consistency.

I’d suggest waiting overnight, but if you can’t contain your excitement, at least wait four hours.

Please…do it for the wafers. 🙂

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you this week. Enjoy this delicious summer treat. But most of all, enjoy the people that you get to share it with.

Make life sweet, and learn all you can.