Pumpkin N’ice Cream Recipe
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This vegan pumpkin n’ice cream is dairy-free and satisfies your pumpkin cravings for Fall!
I love pumpkin. It’s just so versatile. There aren’t many other veggies that are so full of potential. Pumpkins can be anything from breakfast to dinner or dessert! You just can’t lose with pumpkin. And it’s so good for you! In fact, I would go so far as to say that this may be one of the most nutrient-dense ice creams on the planet! How’s that for being humble?
Many of you know that a lot of my recipes for ice cream are banana-based. Bananas offer a creamy texture that we are so used to in regular ice cream but allow us to avoid unhealthy fat (for those who want lower-fat eating plans) and even dairy for those who are sensitive. But the best part is that you can significantly reduce the amount of sugar you have to add to get the level of sweetness you would expect from ice cream. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather get my sugar intake from fruit than from a bag of sugar, even if it’s a bag of clean sugar. And while this does contain some maple syrup, it’s much less than you would have to add to regular ice cream. So that, in a nutshell, is why I keep doing these banana ice cream recipes. I will say that if you want to reduce the amount of maple syrup, I recommend switching to honey instead and using maybe a 1/4 cup or so. The great thing is you can adjust to taste after blending and before freezing!
I have, however, gotten emails and Facebook postings from people who dislike or are allergic to bananas. For those people, I highly recommend substituting the bananas with frozen mango. The flavor will be slightly different, but not so much so that it won’t still taste like pumpkin ice cream. Enjoy!
Is Pumpkin Ice Cream Gluten Free?
While some pumpkin ice creams might not be, this one certainly is. It’s dairy-free and egg-free, too!
How Do You Freeze Bananas?
At least a day before you want to make your ice cream, peel and slice a bunch of bananas. Cut them into chunks -usually about ½-1 inch thick- and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze them overnight. To store the frozen bananas, simply transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and return the bag to the freezer. Then, proceed with the recipe below.
What Is Pumpkin Spice Made Of?
While everyone’s recipe is slightly different, a good pumpkin spice will typically include a blend of ground cinnamon cloves, ginger, and nutmeg.
RECIPE NOTES:
This does freeze pretty hard. When removing it from the freezer, let it sit on the counter for a bit before trying to dig into it. Also, I went a little light on the spices, so if you prefer a stronger flavor, feel free to add more. That’s what is great about this recipe. You can taste it before you freeze it to adjust it to your own taste! Also, just because this has already been asked, yes… you can taste the bananas. There is no way around that. But again, adjust the flavor before freezing to something you enjoy.
That being said if you want to minimize the banana flavor, make sure you use just barely ripe bananas. Avoid bananas with any brown spots at all. If they have just finished turning from green to yellow, they are probably perfect for limiting the amount of banana flavor in this healthy pumpkin ice cream recipe.
More Healthy Ice Cream Recipes
Pumpkin N’ice Cream Recipe Card
Vegan Pumpkin Banana Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium bananas, sliced and frozen overnight
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 ½ tsp. pumpkin spice, no sugar added if purchased
Instructions
- Using a food processor, blend the bananas, pumpkin, maple syrup, and pumpkin spice thoroughly.
- Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 24 hours.
What size pumpkin purée is needed for this recipe? Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks 🙂
Michelle – I’m not sure I understand the question. The recipe calls for 1 cup. Did you mean something else?
One question – in the directions you say put all the listed ingredients in a food processor but you seem to have added another ingredients in the instructions (pumpkin) as well as pumpkin puree. Is that correct or a mistake?
Anne – Just a typo. I listed the pumpkin twice. Thanks
Does this freeze rock hard after 24 hours or maintain ice cream consistency?
Melissa – It gets a little hard, but not rock hard.
Just made this this morning. Delish! My 8yr old son said he doesn’t like pumpkin, I said just try it and he loved it!
Shannon – Fantastic! 🙂
I am currently making this but it tastes mostly of bananas! What can I do to make it sweeter or more like pumpkin? I added more spice already
Nicole – Well it is a banana based ice cream. But a large part will depend on how ripe your bananas were. The riper they are, the more like banana the finished ice cream will taste. You can always double up on the recipe, but use not-so-ripe bananas to even out the flavor a bit.
Unfortunately, the bananas were completely over-powering. I made sure to pick out EXTREMELY GREEN bananas and only had to use 2.5 with my cup of pumpkin. My family was disappointed that the pumpkin flavor was entirely lost.
Erin – I’m so sorry! I’ll have to try the recipe again. The flavor in mine was perfect!
It sounds like you want them to be extremely ripe (brown)- not green- right?
Anna – No. You want them yellow. Not brown at all
Yes! Yes! Yes! I’ve pinned this to my Pumpkin Recipes board and I can’t wait to give it a try!
Xo, Jenn Pilgrim
TNP – My pleasure! 🙂
Just made this (reduced by 1/3) and LOVE it!!! I do have a Vitamix, but it struggled mightily when I used frozen pumpkin as well as frozen bananas. I did add plain kefir for liquid to help blend, plus I add it wherever I can for the probiotics. So I made a cultured version of this and I can’t wait for my kids to try it. If you have a Vitamix, you don’t even need to freeze it. Better than any Starbucks frozen drink. Thank you! (And, yes, I can taste the banana more than the pumpkin, but not overpowering for me. I love frozen banana anyway.)
Laurel – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Please tell me if we have to bake the pumpkin for the pure ore is raw?
Deea – If you have a raw pumpkin, then yes. You need to cook it first and puree it. I used canned though. Whatever works best for you.
I love pumpkin but it’s very hard to find canned pumpkin where I live….would butternut squash puréed work in this recipe? I’ve substituted butternut for pumpkin in other recipes, such as muffins/pie/etc….but never in a frozen recipe.
Amanda – I don’t see why not, it should work just fine so long as it’s nicely pureed. Otherwise, it may be come a texture issue. Other than that, I’m sure it’ll work well.
Love, love this! now stop me from eating the whole thing! will try the other ice cream recipes!
Lisa – I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I accidentally used the whole can of pumpkin:/ and had 5 over ripe bananas. It’s more orange than the picture but it’s sooooo tasty! I will try it again with underripe bananas next time to hide it from a friend that hates bananas;) where can I find your other banana based ice cream recipes?
Courtny C – Most of my ice cream recipes are banana based. Just check my ice cream section under Desserts in the recipe index.
If we do not have a food processor, how effective would a blender be?
Lourdes – It could work, but you might have to work in smaller batches if your blender is not that big and be sure everything gets properly blended. A little more work, but totally doable.
Thank you so much for this delicious treat. Just made it. Wish I knew about it earlier!!! Tastes wonderful! !!
Debra – Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it! 😀
This was an awesome recipe…you can certainly taste the banana-but it’s an awesome combo nonetheless…i added some extra cinnamon which helped with the pumpkin pie flavor (in my opinion)…my three year old and one year old and going to town on the batch I just made…thank you for this recipe!!!
Amanda S. – My pleasure! 🙂
Maybe the banana haters could try subbing avocado?
Sadie – Hmmm. Not sure how the avocado would taste with the pumpkin spice though. But mango is supposed to be a really good sub for bananas. I’d have to play around with avocado to see what the flavors do.
I am going to try the avacado
I was so excited when I found this recipe. I LOVE everything pumpkin!! I made this last night, following the directions and took it out less than 24 hrs and it has frozen solid!! Any tips to keep this from happening? My freezer is at the lowest setting but it seems with all banana based ice creams or sorbet they freeze, and the only way to eat them is by putting them in the fridge and eating them in liquid form 🙁 Any tips would be great 🙂
Tasha – Definitely reduce the initial freezing time to accommodate your own freezer. But beyond that, you could always try freezing this in ice cube trays. When you are ready to eat, simply pop them in a food processor to get it back to the proper consistency. Though you may need a little liquid initially so you don’t kill your processor.
Any idea how long this would stay good in the freezer for after it is made? Or should all of it be eaten after the 24 hours of freezing time?
Thanks!
Shelby – It didn’t last long around my house, but I’m guessing it would keep well up to about a week or two if it’s packaged well.
If your freezing the end product what is the purpose of freezing the bananas over night? I am in a hurry to try this and do not want to wait for the bananas to freeze just to freeze them again…
Miah – Because if you put them in a processor when they are not frozen, all you get is mush. You can certainly try it, but I can’t say how it will turn out.
Can you use reduced sugar maple syrup instead of pure maple syrup to reduce the sugar content? Being Diabetic I don’t want to use that much syrup. Love pumpkin and am always looking for new ways to use it.
Jo – Only if you don’t mind it not being clean. If you want to go that route, it would almost be better to use something like real stevia (not Truvia or the other fake blends) and just reduce the amount of maple syrup. Just a suggestion though. Do what works for ya! 😀