I post ice cream recipes on this blog a lot, have you noticed? It’s fair to say that, other than white cake with white buttercream icing, ice cream is my favorite dessert. Clearly I eat it at all times of the year, even when it’s 30 degrees outside. You may or may not have already experienced the “ice creams” made with frozen bananas and zero dairies, such as this vegan Banana and Nut Butter “Ice Cream” , but if you haven’t, well, you’re missing out! You don’t need an ice cream maker for this delicious treat, all you need is a good food processor (or possibly a good blender, although I’m not sure how well a blender would work….it would have to be powerful!). Since it’s fall I thought I’d share this “fall harvest” version of the non-dairy “ice cream” recipe that I found on Jessie’s blog several weeks ago. Jessie made her’s using sweet potato, which I’m sure was delicious, but since I still had some butternut squash left from our summer garden I decided to use butternut squash. Behold, Winter Squash and Banana “Ice Cream”!
Winter Squash and Banana “Ice Cream” (Non-Dairy)
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, cooked, peeled and cubed to make ~1.5 cups **
- 2 large ripe bananas, sliced
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Freeze the cubed squash and the sliced bananas for at least 3 hours, or until they are frozen solid. Once frozen, take out of the freezer and, along with the other ingredients, add to a food processor. A process on and off until everything is blended and smooth (you will likely have to pulse for about 3 minutes, and yes, it will be loud!). Scrape the “ice cream” out of the food processor and serve right away.
- Whatever is not served can be frozen, but be aware that because of the very low fat and sugar content, this will freeze and become solid. In order to serve again on another day, you will need to take the “ice cream” out of the freezer about 30 minutes ahead of time to allow to thaw.
Notes
** If you are following a low FODMAPs diet you’ll want to stick to a smaller portion. One serving of this recipe provides slightly more than ¼th cup of butternut squash, which means it might cause symptoms in those who are sensitive to Oligos and Polyols. You could reduce the total amount of butternut squash in this recipe to 1 cup cubed if you’d like, which would make it a low FODMAPs recipe.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ⅕th of total recipe Calories: 111 Fat: 1.6 g Saturated fat: 1.3 g Sugar: 16.8 g Sodium: 4 mg Fiber: 2.1 Protein: 1 g
Nutrition Highlights: Under 150 calories, only 16.8 grams of sugar (and only ~ 5 grams are considered “added sugar”), an excellent source of vitamin C (20% Daily Value) and vitamin A (61% Daily Value)
I licked the bowl clean, it was so good. I may have even licked the blades. Kids, don’t try this at home.
I sprinkled some extra cinnamon on top, plus some pumpkin pie spice. I also added a dollop of coconut whipped “cream”, which can be made by freezing and whipping full fat coconut milk (put a can of coconut milk in the fridge to chill, take it out after 24 hours, flip it over, open and pour out whatever isn’t solid, then whip the remaining ~4-5 Tbsp. solid coconut milk in a chilled bowl. Whip for about 3 minutes on high, adding liquid Stevia for sweetness). It’s delicious.
As I mentioned in the recipe, this can definitely be put in the freezer, but beware, it gets very frozen (as in, solid). Because there is so little sugar and fat (and nothing artificial to make it smooth and creamy like many ice creams out there) it freezes quite easily. I suggest either making this on a day when you have company and you know it will all be consumed, or make sure to let it thaw for about 15 minutes before you eat any leftovers. I take out my leftovers and allow them to thaw on the counter, then break it apart into chunks, then mix it into Greek yogurt with berries. It’s a fun late-night snack.
So, if you’re like me and you crave sweet cold goodness at all times of the year, make this today. Try it with sweet potatoes if you’d like, or possibly even acorn squash (why not?!) and feel good knowing you are getting some vitamin A and vitamin C in your sweet treat. Real wholesome antioxidants with your dessert? Yeah, you simply can’t beat that!
