Old-Fashioned Homemade Banana Ice Cream (2024)

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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 creamfor 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 of our homemade ice cream recipes, including strawberry ice cream andold fashioned vanilla 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. I'd written this recipe down after talking withmy mom, and it tastes just like Dad's old fashioned banana ice cream. My boys give it a thumbs up too; that's when I really know it's good.

Ingredients You'll Need:

To make this banana ice cream recipe, you'll need a few ingredients on hand…

• Large Eggs – You'll need the whole egg, yolks and all. If you choose to use raw eggs to make old fashioned banana ice cream, do keep in mind that consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, oreggsmay increase your risk of food borne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions. But we have personally always used raw eggs and have never had any problem. That said, some people prefer to temper and heat the eggs up to at least 160ºF in order to prevent any possible food poisoning. This is a great guide onhow and why to temper eggs for custard-based ice creams. You can temper the eggs with the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk in this recipe, following the instructions in the post that I linked to above. Then just whisk everything else in as I explain in the recipe card below. If you'd rather make an egg-free version, my vanilla ice cream no eggs can easily be converted to banana ice cream.
• Cane Sugar – You can also use granulated sugar.
• Vanilla Extract – Use a really good dark vanilla extract, real vanilla if possible.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk – Now here's one instance when my mom and dad have always used a brand name product, or they used to anyway. 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.
• Sea Salt – I prefer to use Redmond Real Salt.
• Bananas
• Whole Milk – Although you can use2% milkor1% milkin a pinch, I highly recommend that you usewhole milk, because it will make your ice cream much more creamy. You can even use Half-and-Half to get a creamier texture.
• Crushed Ice and 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.

• Mixeror Blender – A mixer or blender will ensure you mix everything together really well. A blender is less messy and possibly quicker.
• 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 toice cream accessories and toolsfor 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

Homemade banana ice cream with milk is a pretty simple mixture. Most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand.

How to Mix up Old-Fashioned Banana Ice Cream

1. The first step is to cream the eggs and the sugar together.

2. Next add in the vanilla extract.

3. Then mix in your sweetened condensed milk.

4. Then mix in the evaporated milk.

5. Next you'll add in a good-sized dash of sea salt.

6. Lastly, peel and mash the bananas; then mix them into the liquid ice cream mixture.

7. Pour the mixture into the metal canister of your ice cream freezer.

8. 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.

See Also

Strawberry Banana Smoothie BowlEasy + Healthy Peanut Butter Granola BarsIs TikTok Cloud Bread Worth the Effort?Hot Honey & Basil Pepperoni Pizza Dip | Ambitious Kitchen

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Alternately with the ice, add 2-3 cups of rock salt, making sure to top itoff with rock salt.

4. 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 makerwill stop churning; and you need to unplug it immediately.
5. 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 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.

Expert Tips and FAQ's

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 mixingstrawberry jamorblackberry jaminto our ice cream.
• Chocolate Syrup,Butterscotch Topping,Caramel Topping, etc. – Withwhipped creamand acherryon top.
• Oreo Cookies– I especially love crushing upOreo Minis.
• Chocolate candies – LikeM&M's,Snickers,Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and more.
• Brownies or Cookies

You can actually use leftovers to make the most delicious gf ice cream sandwiches ever.

More Ice Cream Recipes

If you love this old-fashioned homemade banana ice cream recipe as much as we do, you'll love these recipes too…

• Old-fashioned homemade chocolate ice cream
• Homemade Butterfinger ice cream
• Oreo mint ice cream recipe
• Fruity Pebbles ice cream

If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a reviewin the comment sectionfurther down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. And subscribe to my email list too!