How to make homemade banana ice cream, my favorite frozen dessert recipe ever. Easy to make, it's chock full of creamy fresh banana flavor!
Homemade banana ice cream was always a special treat growing up in my family. We made ice cream for any type of get together in the summertime, and church ice cream socials in our little country church were a big event back then.
I remember my dad and my grandpa making ice cream at the same time, competing to see whose ice cream was better.
Grandpa had the old hand crank ice cream maker, and somehow I always got stuck turning that crank. “Goofball, get to work!” Grandpa would say.
While I love every flavor with our homemade ice cream recipes, including strawberry ice cream, vanilla ice cream, and cookies and cream ice cream, there is something special about my dad's banana homemade ice cream.
While my recipe may differ just a bit from Dad's, it's pretty similar if not the same. Amounts can sometimes differ; but I'd written this recipe down awhile ago after talking with my mom, and it tastes just like Dad's homemade ice cream.
My boys give it a thumbs up too; that's when I really know it's good.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my ice cream making tips, important cooking info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the banana ice cream recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED:
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Evaporated milk
- Salt
- Bananas
- Whole milk
- Ice
- Rock salt – You can find rock salt at the grocery store and online. But I recommend looking for the bigger bulk bag at your local hardware store or feed store, because it will be much more affordable.
Remember, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED:
Mixer – A mixer will ensure you mix everything together really well.
Ice Cream Freezer with Motor or Ice Cream Maker with Hand Crank – This is an ice cream maker recipe, so you’ll need a maker/freezer.
Food Storage Containers – We use dishes similar to these to store our ice cream in the freezer, especially when we have a big batch.
Ice Cream Scoop – Can’t have ice cream without a scooper.
Be sure to check out our complete guide to ice cream accessories and tools for making the best homemade ice cream and/or hosting your own ice cream social. It's the ultimate list for every ice cream lover's kitchen. My friend Linda also has a beautiful post dedicated to ice cream social ideas.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BANANA ICE CREAM
Banana flavored ice cream is a pretty simple mixture. Most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand.
HOW TO MIX UP OLD-FASHIONED BANANA ICE CREAM
- The first step is to cream the eggs and the sugar together.
- Next add in the vanilla extract.
- Then mix in your sweetened condensed milk.
- Then mix in the evaporated milk.
- Next you'll add in a good-sized dash of salt.
- Lastly, peel and smash the bananas,; then mix them into the liquid ice cream mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the metal canister of your ice cream freezer.
- Then finish topping it off with whole milk, making sure to fill it about 3/4 of the way full, leaving room for expansion as it freezes.
HOW TO FREEZE ICE CREAM IN AN ICE CREAM MAKER
Now that your ice cream maker's canister is full of liquid ice cream mixture, you're ready to start the freezing process.
- Put the lid on, and place the canister down into the bucket of your ice cream maker. Then attach the motor, clamp it on, and plug the ice cream maker in to get the motor running.
- Gradually pour crushed ice around the canister. Tip: You can add up to a gallon of water if needed, as well. We sometimes do this because our motor will seize up. Adding a bit of water will help it keep turning.
- Alternately with the ice, add 2-3 cups of rock salt, making sure to top it off with rock salt.
- Let the motor run until it stops, which signals that the ice cream is completely frozen. Once the ice cream is frozen, the motor on your ice cream maker will stop churning; and you need to unplug it immediately.
- Wipe any excess ice or rock salt off the lid and out from around the top of the canister. Then remove the lid and the churning paddle, and serve immediately.
If you're not ready to serve it up just yet, you can always leave the lid on (removing the motor), top it off with ice, and place a towel or two over it to kind of insulate it and keep it cold.
DOES IT MATTER WHICH CANNED MILK I USE?
Now here's one instance when my mom and dad have always used a brand name product, or they used to anyway; it's been awhile since we've made this all together at their place.
Mom (and Grandma) always insisted on Eagle Brand and Milnot.
In fact, when I wrote this recipe down, I was told that if you're using Milnot evaporated milk, only use 2 cans; if you're using a generic brand, use 3 cans.
Dan and I always just use 2 cans of whatever type of sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk we have on hand, usually Aldi's brand. And it works just fine.
So I recommend just using 2 cans of whatever brand you have on hand, unless you want to try Mom and Grandma's tried and true method with Eagle Brand and Milnot.
FAVORITE MIX-INS FOR BANANA ICE CREAM
There are so many things you can mix into your ice cream to make it even more fun, especially with kids.
- Fruit or Fruit Jam – We especially love mixing strawberry jam or blackberry jam into our ice cream.
- Chocolate Syrup, Butterscotch Topping, Caramel Topping, etc. – With whipped cream and a cherry on top.
- Oreo Cookies – I especially love crushing up Oreo Minis.
- Chocolate candies – Like M&M's, Snickers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and more.
- Brownies or Cookies
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER BANANA ICE CREAM
We always have a lot of leftover ice cream when we make it homemade, so we purchased some of these freezer containers to hold all the leftovers. They're big enough to hold 2-3+ servings of ice cream.
Then we just stick them down in the freezer. If you have an upright, I'd place the containers on the shelves, rather than in the door, so the ice cream doesn't melt or have a higher risk of freezer burn.
Homemade ice cream usually keeps for up to about a month in the freezer. You can actually use leftovers to make the most delicious gf ice cream sandwiches ever.
GET THE PRINTABLE RECIPE
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Homemade Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
Ice Cream:
- 6 eggs*
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 can 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cans 24 ounces evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 bananas
- 6 cups whole milk*
Freezing Supplies:
- 16 pounds ice crushed
- 3 cups rock salt*
Instructions
- Cream (or mix) the eggs and the sugar together.
- Add in the vanilla extract.
- Mix in the sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk.
- Then add in a good-sized dash, or teaspoon, of salt.
- Peel and smash the bananas; then mix them into the liquid ice cream mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the metal canister of your ice cream maker.
- Then finish topping it off with whole milk, making sure to fill it about 3/4 of the way full, leaving room for expansion as it freezes.
- Put the lid on, and place the canister down into the bucket of your ice cream maker. Then attach the motor, clamp it on, and plug the ice cream maker in to get the motor running.
- Gradually, pour crushed ice around the canister. Tip: You can add up to a gallon of water if needed, as well. We sometimes do this because our motor will seize up. Adding a bit of water will help it keep turning.
- Alternately with the ice, add 2-3 cups of rock salt, making sure to top it off with rock salt.
- Let the motor run until it stops, which signals that the ice cream is completely frozen. Once the ice cream is frozen, the motor on your ice cream maker will stop churning; and you need to unplug it immediately.
- Wipe any excess ice or rock salt off the lid and out from around the top of the canister; then remove the lid and the churning paddle, and serve immediately. If you're not ready to serve it up just yet, you can always leave the lid on (removing the motor), top it off with ice, and place a towel or two over it to kind of insulate it and keep it cold.
So it says to add 2 24oz evaporated milk? shouldn’t it say to use 2 cans 12oz evaporated milk, couldn’t fit more than 1 1/2 cups of whole milk in my gallon electric metal mixing canister.
That was my question too and went with 2cans 24 total, came out great!
Added instant banana pudding drove it home
Renee, that’s weird. I regularly use 2 24oz. cans of the evaporated milk, and it all fits in my 4 qt. canister very well. Are you sure that you didn’t somehow add more?