It’s hard to believe January is almost over. Is time flying by or is it just me?
I know it’s still winter but who can resist a great ice cream – especially when it’s so easy to put together! This is for us who don’t have an ice cream maker or are just too lazy to use one. All you need to do is blend and freeze.
If you follow this blog you know that I love using bananas as a base for my ice creams. Like this Almond Chunky Monkey Ice Cream or this Banana Cherry Garcia Soft Serve. Bananas are inexpensive and when fully ripe are as sweet as can be. And they can be dressed up many ways like this Butter Maple Pecan Ice Cream.
Butter Pecan Maple Ice Cream
I used to love butter pecan ice cream and now can still enjoy it in a way that is beneficial to myself and tastes great without using any dairy produces. It’s a win for me and the animals – my favorite kind!
All you need is a few bananas, almond butter, tahini, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and pecans. Blend them together, let it freeze a few hours and voila, you have yourself a most deliciously, decadent and healthy raw, vegan ice cream.
I hope you find it as good as I do!
BUTTER MAPLE PECAN ICE CREAM
Rich, decadent butter maple pecan ice cream made with wholesome plant-based ingredients!
- Prep Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: Serves 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 large or 4 small ripe bananas, frozen or unfrozen*
- 1/2 cup raw almond butter
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, to taste
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- 2 teaspoons or so vanilla extract
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
Place ingredients, except for the pecans, in food processor/high speed blender and process, scraping down the sides as needed, until creamy and combined. Taste for sweetness, adding more maple syrup if needed. Stir in pecans. Place in air tight container and keep in the freezer for at least 6 hours to harden. Let sit for about 10 minutes or so to soften before scooping into serving bowls.
Makes about 4 cups.
NOTES:
If using frozen bananas, you can serve right away as it will be a soft serve ice cream. Or store in freezer to harden completely as above.
As with any of my recipes, adjust flavors to your own taste…I have made this using 1/4 cup almond butter along with just a few tablespoons of maple syrup and tahini with great success. I have also used less pecans. So feel to play around with the ingredient amounts.
Naomi says
Hi,
This looks amazing, but my boyfriend is allergic to nuts. Is there any substitute for the almond butter that doesn’t involve nuts? I read in the comments that someone made it without nut butter entirely, but they said the result wasn’t ideal.
Thanks!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Hi Naomi, great question! I would suggest sunflower butter or tahini. Would love to know how it goes!
Maureen Cram says
Second comment! Just made this again for our delayed Thanksgiving Dinner which will now be on December 26! Going to eat it with pumpkin pie.
People making this need to taste as they go. Everyone’s taste buds are different. I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and didn’t use the cinnamon. Also depends on how many bananas you have. I just had a bag full of chopped frozen pieces. I used lots of pecans which I toasted and then added to my food processor when everything else was all whipped in to roughly chop them.
Thanks again for such a great recipe :).
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Thank you so much for the feedback! I think this would be fantastic with pumpkin pie. It’s making me hungry as I type.
You are so right about tasting as you go. Even today, my taste buds may be a little different and change it up. I love your suggestions and really need to make this again soon.
Happy Holidays to you and yours! Cheers :)
Maureen Cram says
Wow! this is amazing. We ate nearly all of it last night for dessert! And it is winter here in South Africa :). Have posted a link to my local vegan FB page in SA. Thanks for such a great and healthy recipe.
Sroesser says
Can I leave out the tahini I'm not a fan of it.
julie@thesimpleveganista says
The tahini gives it that creamy ice cream texture. I would suggest using cashew or almond butter in its place (preferably raw or one with minimal ingredients). The tahini is very mellow once everything is mixed together. You may like here but if you don't use it for anything else then it may not be worth purchasing it just for this recipe. Tahini does take some time to adjust to but once you do it's really delicious and so versatile. Hope you enjoy the ice cream. Would love to know how it went. Cheers :)
Anonymous says
I havent had any icecream in ages as milk doesnt agree with me these days….but I have just made some from your beautiful recipe and put it in the freezer for tomorrow night…cant wait! thank you so much!
Leane @ We See Freely says
This looks absolutely delicious. Bananas and maple syrup have a special place in my heart ;)
My mom loves butter pecan ice cream and I can't wait to make this for her!
Thank you for sharing :-)
Julie S says
Hi, mine did not set, I followed the instructions…blended all in blendtec, stirred in nuts and let set for 6+ hours, it turned out more like soft serve than ice cream…could you suggest ways I could correct this?
julie@thesimpleveganista says
Sometimes it will need to set overnight. Let it rest up to 24 hours if needed and it should set by then. Hope it has set for you by now!
Anonymous says
Really loved this recipe- thanks!
Christina Thornburg says
Is there anything I can use other than Banana's? I don't like them at all.
julie@thesimpleveganista says
You could try a cashew based cream instead of the bananas. The only thing is I haven't tried it and don't know exactly how much cashew you would need to make this right. The banana flavor it pretty faint but if your very sensitive to them then try another recipe. I'll work on some cashew or almond based ice creams soon!
Anonymous says
do you absolutely need the maple syrup or are the bananas sweet enough?
julie@thesimpleveganista says
You can try without. If you have some coconut sugar that might be a nice addition too, use the lesser amount (although it may not dissolve). Let me know how it goes if you decide to give it a try!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
If you decide to use coconut sugar…dissolve it wtih a little water before using…
Really would love to know how it goes if you decide to not use the maple! :)
Cherry Sharp says
Just tried this reciepe literally seconds ago. Didn't have ANY nut butters, so I went without. Sadly it would have been been better it with it. Luckily, I loved it anyway! I think the almond butter would have mild out the banana flavour a bit, which was very persistent in my batch.
This was a fantastic butter pecan inspired banana ice cream. Will definitely make again. Could you brew up a mint chocolate chip banana ice cream please?
BTW, this is my absolute favourite vegan website. So inspiring. Keep up the great work!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
Glad you loved this even without it being perfect! I've was thinking about doing a mint chocolate chip banana ice cream a few months ago. I will step it up and get on it soon!
Thank you for the kind words! Warm hugs :)
Amanda L Grossman says
I just whipped up a batch (using trans fat and hydrogenated oil-free peanut butter instead of almond butter as we did not have any on hand), and ate a mug full as soft serve. Delicious!!!! You can't tell it's not regular ice-cream! Very rich tasting as well. Thanks.
julie@thesimpleveganista says
Sounds delicious! I'm so glad you loved it…I need to make this again soon!
Anonymous says
Just made this and I'm in love. I can't wait for it to set up in the freezer…I imagine it will only get better. Thanks for the post, it's a keeper.
julie@thesimpleveganista says
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this! I was a tad worried that maybe my taste buds were off when eating this. I'm so glad to know that I am not alone and this it is a keeper. Cheers :)
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
I'm intrigued by the tahini in this, but it looks so so good!!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
I've made this a few times and it is an interesting addition. I find the tahini to be very subtle and enjoyable. I'm not sure if I have just adjusted to the flavors as I haven't had anyone try it other than myself. With the one review above I'm not sure if this is a universal flavor. If you try it out, I would love to know your thoughts. :)
Anonymous says
Tried this – it was yuck, sorry. Strange, given we use frozen bananas daily in our smoothies. Flavour was just way too sweet and strong for us (Australians). Oh well. PS: why is the word "butter" in the title. Shouldn't it be called "Banana Maple Pecan Icecream?" Eating clean and lots of raw has given us a much blander palate I think.
julie@thesimpleveganista says
Sorry you didn't like it. It does have a rich and somewhat unusual flavor, especially with the tahini. And all you need it a little. I will change the maple syrup to 1/4 cup with adding to taste as needed just to be sure others start with less sweetness. If using fully ripe banana's one may not need to use as much pure maple syrup.
I do like your name for it too…I was thinking butter from the almond butter.
Thanks for the feedback. My other banana ice creams are much more mellow so give those a try, I'm sure you'll enjoy those.
Maybe others will chime in with their thoughts. This may still need to be a work in progress. ;)
Anonymous says
Wow that looks amazing. Thank you for sharing with us. I can't wait to try it as well as your other Vegan Ice Creams! :)
Mary Beth says
Can't wait to make this, I have all the ingredients going to whip up in my vitamix :)
julie@thesimpleveganista says
Perfect, your all set…enjoy!
steph says
This looks amazing! I can't wait to try it. I have an icecream maker (and love it), but am always on the look out for icecream maker free recipes. Yum!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
I would love to get an ice cream maker in the future. This works surprisingly well until then. Hope you get a chance to try it out soon. :)