DESSERT RECIPES

Five-Minute Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Updated

A quick banana soft-serve made by blending frozen bananas until creamy, then folding in chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Three ingredients, no ice cream maker needed.

Prep
5 min
Cook
0 min
Total
5 min
Yield
2 servings
Illustration of Five-Minute Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

This is the simplest frozen dessert in the KitchenSimplicity archive: frozen banana pieces whirled in a food processor turn thick, smooth and scoopable, much like soft-serve. Walnuts and chocolate chips stirred in at the end give it the banana, nut and chocolate mix that the nickname chunky monkey usually describes. There is no cream, no custard and no churning involved.

Make it as an after-school snack, a last-minute dessert, or any time a bunch of bananas is about to get too ripe. The only planning required is peeling and freezing the bananas ahead of time, so it is worth keeping a bag of sliced bananas in the freezer.

Tips

  • Use bananas that are yellow with a few brown freckles. Very dark, overripe bananas taste strong and turn the ice cream grayish.
  • Toasting the walnuts in a dry skillet for 3 to 4 minutes deepens their flavor; let them cool before folding them in.
  • Leftovers freeze rock hard. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, or pulse briefly in the food processor, before serving.
  • A high-powered blender works too; use the tamper and add a tablespoon of milk only if the blades stall.

Five-Minute Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Prep
5 min
Cook
0 min
Total
5 min
Yield
2 servings

Ingredients

  • For the ice cream:
  • 3 ripe bananas (about 350 g peeled), sliced and frozen
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons (20 g) chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
  • Optional peanut butter version:
  • 3 tablespoons (48 g) creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon (5 g) shredded coconut

Steps

  1. Ahead of time, peel the bananas, cut them into 1/2-inch coins and freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray until solid, at least 4 hours. Transfer to a freezer bag once firm.
  2. Put the frozen banana slices in a food processor. Pulse a few times to break them up, then process until completely smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. For the peanut butter version, add the peanut butter and coconut with the bananas.
  3. If the bananas stay crumbly, let the bowl sit for 1 to 2 minutes so they soften slightly, then process again.
  4. Scrape the banana mixture into a bowl and fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips with a spatula.
  5. Serve right away as soft-serve, or spread it in a small container and freeze for 30 to 60 minutes for a firmer, scoopable texture.

More recipes: Dessert Recipes · All recipes