Chocolate Nut (or Seed) Butter Banana Frozen Treats

June 21, 2018

By Anna Varriano

These dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free (other than the natural sugars in the bananas) frozen treats are super easy to make and a perfect way to use up very ripe bananas! You can make them up in popsicle molds for a classic casual fudgesicle-like summer treat, or in muffin tins or other fancier molds to serve them up as a more formal dessert. Feel free to experiment with this recipe by adding your own favourite flavours … maybe some cayenne pepper, or chopped up nuts, or even some fresh summer herbs such as mint. This recipe makes about 12 popsicles or 12 ‘muffins’.

You Will Need:

  • 3 large and very ripe bananas
  • 1 cup of unsweetened non-dairy milk (e.g. cashew, almond, coconut, etc). I used a vanilla flavoured almond milk this time around. You can use your favourite flavour.
  • 1/2 cup of your favourite nut and/or seed butter. I used peanut butter this time.
  • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon or any spice you think would add a great flavour (optional and not pictured above – but highly recommended if you like cinnamon)
  • 1/2 cup of raw cocoa nibs or mini dark chocolate chips (optional and not pictured above – but highly recommended if you like chocolate)

Step 1: Blend

Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth with the chocolate chips/cocoa nibs still in chunks. You can add all or some of the cocoa nibs/chocolate chips in after blending the other ingredients if you want a chunkier treat.

Step 2:  Freeze

Pour the mixture into popsicle molds or muffin tins. Line the muffin tins with silicon liners or plastic wrap so the frozen treats can be easily removed. Freeze for 1 to 2 hours, depending on how soft or hard you like your ice cream. If you opt to use muffin tins, and you’re not planning to serve the treats right away, freeze them for longer – at least 3 hours – so they are frozen solid. Then remove them from the tin (and the plastic wrap or silicon liners) and put them in a freezer bag so that they don’t get freezer burn. You may want to wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer bag. I like to write the date on the bag so I know how long they’ve been in the freezer (as if they’d be in there too long!!!).

Step 3: Serve

Note that while the popsicle option is ready to enjoy right out of the freezer, the muffin tin option will need 5 minutes or so at room temperature so that it gets soft enough to eat with a spoon. You can fancy it up by adding toppings – use your imagination – edible flowers, fresh herbs, chopped up nuts, shredded coconut …. you get the idea! I’ve topped this batch with toasted pine nuts (left over from pesto I made a few days ago), fresh mint and a chive flower from the garden, and some shredded coconut!

Enjoy!

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