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I always have bananas in my kitchen. It’s a must. I try to buy them on a regular basis so that I have ripe ones I can use in oatmeal or as a snack, and extra ripe ones that I can freeze for smoothies. Basically, there are bananas all over the place at all times!
When I go to the market here in Oaxaca I have to ask for my bananas from behind the counter. This is usually how the scene goes:
“Can I have some bananas please?” -Me
“Sure, how many?” -Market Man
“Umm, that bunch there looks good.” -Me
“Ok, how many, four or five?” -Market Man
“Ugh, no, the whole bunch.” -Me
(Followed by a confused look from the Market Man because there’s at least ten bananas in the bunch.)
I really want the whole bunch, Market Man!
And I never run out of things to make with bananas- banana bread (obvi), smoothies (duh), whipped banana oatmeal (so creamy!), and my latest… banana ice cream.
I’ve made banana soft serve lots of times. For banana soft serve you throw some frozen banana chunks in a food processor with a touch of milk and whatever mix-ins you want and you’re good to go. You don’t need to freeze the mixture again like with this ice cream. But I was ready for a change from my usual soft serve.
I wanted something with a consistency closer to ice cream, but I didn’t want it to be icy which bananas have a tendency to do when frozen. My trick? A tablespoon of rum! The rum keeps everything from freezing completely so you still have a scoopable ice cream texture, and you really can’t taste it. With a touch of brown sugar, lots of cinnamon, and some chopped toasted pecans this ice cream totally reminds me of banana bread. Now I want to make rum banana bread!
I topped my ice cream with some homemade pecan butter that was just made of roasted pecans, cinnamon and a touch of sea salt. I think pecan butter is in the running for one of my favorite nut butters. It’s so creamy and seriously addicting. Have you tried it yet?
This Banana Bread Ice Cream was gone in less than a week, and with good reason! I think it’s time to make some more with all the bananas lying around my apartment.
What’s a food that you always, always have in your kitchen?
- 7 large ripe bananas, peeled, chopped and frozen overnight
- 1 tablespoon rum
- ½ tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup chopped roasted pecans
- Toppings: pecan butter (optional)
- Let bananas thaw for about 5 minutes and then add to a food processor or blender and blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times if necessary
- Add rum, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt and blend to incorporate.
- Spoon mixture into a container and stir chopped pecans into the mixture.
- Freeze overnight, or until completely frozen.
- Let thaw slightly before serving and top with pecan butter.
Pecans are my fave nut, so though I’ve never tried pecan butter I have no doubt I’d love it. Actually I have a TON of pecans right now…hmmm. Looks good!
I highly recommend putting them to use in some pecan butter and/or this ice cream. Or both! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, Chrissy!