This rich, creamy, and amazingly tasty cookies n cream nice cream is an easy frozen dessert that the whole family will love! Soft-serve consistency banana nice cream combines with deliciously crunchy, creamy chunks of Oreo cookies to make the best healthy-ish ice cream there is!
This simple and easy cookies n cream nice cream is a scrumptious frozen treat that is sure to delight your tastebuds!
Cookies n cream nice cream is a creamy and chocolatey treat that is a surprisingly healthier dessert. It will satisfy your sweet tooth perfectly while also keeping you guilt-free!
The short list of ingredients makes preparation go quickly. Once you make it the first time and see how easy it is, you’ll be coming back to this recipe again and again!
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❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
Simple Ingredients! This recipe is so easy to make and such a breeze! With a little preparation, it's easy to always have everything on hand!
It’s Healthy! So many types of ice cream don’t have the healthiest ingredients. With cookies n cream nice cream, you’ll be eating a frozen banana ice cream base. It’s rich in potassium and fiber, and low in sodium and added sugars! Oh, yeah, and you'll know EXACTLY what's in it!
So Yummy! The dessert is cool and refreshing, with just a touch of Oreos to mix in and make it fun! Tempt your picky eaters with this nice cream flavor!
🥘 Ingredients
There are only a few simple ingredients in this dessert, but they all come together beautifully to create a healthy and homemade version of ice cream!
Bananas - Make sure your frozen bananas are very ripe by ensuring that the outer peel is brown and spotted. The riper the banana, the sweeter the flavor!
Milk (or Milk Alternative) - Dairy milk will give a flavor that most resembles traditional ice cream. However, milk alternatives such as almond milk or oat milk work well as a substitute and are perfect for those who have dietary restrictions. You don’t have to add it, but it will help to make the frozen bananas even creamier.
Vanilla Extract - Substitutions can be made using vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste, or you don’t have to add it at all since this ingredient is optional. However, vanilla extract adds the perfect touch of vanilla to the nice cream so it’s highly recommended.
Salt - A little salt is used to help balance the sweet flavors in the ice cream.
Oreo Cookie - You can use regular Oreos or mini Oreos. Like more cookies and less cream in your nice cream? Try using Oreo Thins instead! Whichever Oreo you use, it is the KEY ingredient for this easy dessert!
🔪 Instructions
Step one definitely requires the most amount of time. However, with a little planning and preparation, you can have frozen bananas on hand and ready to use at any time! Cookies n cream nice cream is the perfect dish to whip up for you, and a plus one, since this recipe yields 2 servings.
- To start out, wait until your bananas are nicely browned and leopard-spotted then freeze the bananas. Make sure that you have 3 large, ripe bananas to make the nice cream. Peel and cut each banana into 5-6 chunks, then place the banana pieces into an airtight freezer storage bag or container.
- Set your 3 frozen bananas out for about 5 minutes while you prepare everything else that you’ll need to make the dessert. Grab some type of blender (this could be a blender, food processor, vitamix, or even an immersion blender if you have a great big cup for blending.)
*Commercial nice cream makers are available, but they’re not totally necessary to make the nice cream! - Place the banana chunks from 3 large bananas into your food processor (or another kitchen device) along with an optional ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Blend until you reach a soft-serve consistency, adding ½ tablespoon milk as needed if you want.
- Stir in the crushed 1-2 Oreo cookie(s) once the nice cream reaches a soft-serve consistency
- Serve immediately, or freeze for at least 30 minutes before serving with an ice cream scoop (for a more ice cream-like consistency).
This dish makes a great dessert for 2! Feel free to eat this at any time of the day for a cool and refreshing treat sprinkled with crumbly and chocolatey Oreos.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
Stock up on frozen bananas.
- Because it can take some time for bananas to ripen, any time you have bananas that become brown and spotted before you can eat them, you should store them in the freezer for later use.
- Be sure to peel the bananas, cut them up, and put them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Then, you’ll always have them on hand and be ready to make cookies n nice cream in a flash!
Set frozen bananas out to thaw slightly.
- To ensure your nice cream is smooth and creamy, set the bananas out on your counter. Allow them to thaw for about 5 minutes at room temperature before making your nice cream.
Process the frozen banana chunks in batches.
- Some of you may run into issues with your blender being small. To solve this problem, simply process the bananas in batches!
- It also helps to cut the bananas into about 1-inch slices before freezing. That way, processing the bananas will go faster and be much easier on your machine of choice.
🥡 Storing
If you happen to have any nice cream left over, the best way to preserve its cool and creamy texture is to freeze it. Place the cookies n cream nice cream in either a freezer-safe container or a loaf pan covered with an airtight lid or plastic wrap.
Then, stick your container of nice cream directly in the freezer. So simple!
When you’re ready to eat more of the delicious treat, just take it out of the freezer and serve! If you’d like to let it soften so scooping is a little easier, you can leave the nice cream out for about 5 minutes before serving.
Keep in mind that because you originally began with frozen bananas to make the nice cream, you will want to limit the amount of time that it’s at room temperature. When you are not actively making or serving the nice cream, stick it in the freezer to preserve the texture.
To ensure the best texture and flavor, cookies n nice cream should be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. The texture and flavor can start to deteriorate after this point.
❓ Recipe FAQs
If you’re missing Oreos in your pantry, then chocolate wafers, chocolate sugar wafers, or chocolate graham crackers can be used instead!
Traditional ice cream uses cow’s milk. However, since this isn’t your traditional ice cream, a variety of substitutes can be used! Depending on your dietary restrictions and what you have on hand, you can use soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, macadamia milk, oat milk, or another dairy alternative! It won’t have a huge effect on the flavor since a minimal amount is needed.
Most of the ingredients are already vegan-friendly! The only ingredients people might be concerned about are the milk and Oreos.
As stated above, there are numerous dairy alternatives that you can choose from and the Oreos are already dairy-free and completely vegan-friendly as-is!
📖 Recipe Card
Cookies N Cream Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas (overripe browned bananas, peeled and frozen in advance)
- ½ tablespoon milk (or milk of choice, if needed)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
- 1-2 Oreo Cookies (or a small bag of mini Oreos, crushed)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Freeze the Bananas
- To start out, wait until your bananas are nicely browned and leopard-spotted. Peel and cut into 5-6 chunks then place the banana pieces into an airtight freezer storage bag or container.
Make Your Nice Cream
- Set your frozen bananas out for about 5 minutes while you prep everything else needed. Grab a food processor, blender, vitamix, or even an immersion blender if you have a great big cup for blending. *There are easy commercial nice cream makers, but this is pretty simple without them!
- Place the banana chunks from 3 large bananas into your food processor along with optional vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Blend until you reach a soft-serve consistency, adding milk as needed if you want.
- Stir in the crushed Oreo cookie(s) once the nice cream reaches a soft-serve consistency then serve immediately, or freeze for at least 30 minutes before serving with an ice cream scoop (for a more ice cream-like consistency).
Notes
- Freeze batches of your browned bananas in advance that way they're always ready to go when you want some nice cream!
- 2-3 large bananas are one generous serving or two small servings of nice cream.
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