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Prepare yourself to be transported to a beach surrounded by turquoise waters with a tropical dessert in hand. This piña colada nice cream will surely satisfy your sweet tooth morning, noon, and night!
Table of Contents
📖 About
If you’ve ever been on vacation in the tropics, you’ve probably cooled down with a piña colada at some point. If that sounds familiar, we’re sure just reading the title of this post gets you excited.
For those of you that haven’t, fasten your seatbelts because we’re about to change your life for the better.
We’re two people that definitely enjoy an ice cold piña colada at any time of the day. There’s something about creamy coconut milk mixed with the sweet, tangy flavor of pineapple that makes this pairing perfect for each other.
We wanted to create a piña colada dessert that will live in your freezer. We love making frozen treats to have on hand, especially for hot, sunny days. If you have healthier treats prepared ahead of time, it makes it easier to choose them over highly processed options.
You can never go wrong with nice cream. Frozen, creamy, dairy-free, and way cheaper than the store-bought stuff. Plus, with only 4 ingredients and a few minutes of prep, you’ll be enjoying this in no time!
We know once you try our piña colada nice cream, you’ll quickly become hooked. It’s time to make a bowl of this, kick back, and escape to a tropical destination in your own home!
🍲 Key ingredients
- Banana: the key to any nice cream is extra ripe frozen bananas. You know those dark-spotted bananas most people want to throw away? Those are the ones we’re talking about! So, if you ever forget about your bananas and they start getting dark spots, peel ’em and throw ’em in the freezer. The riper the banana, the sweeter they’ll be, which is what makes them so dangerous in this recipe. Plus, did you know bananas have a ton of health benefits other than containing potassium? You’ll also receive about 10% of your daily fiber needs in a single banana!
- Coconut milk: if the bananas didn’t make this recipe creamy enough, adding coconut milk will do the trick. The higher fat percentage of canned coconut milk makes this recipe a similar consistency to dairy-based ice cream. We also toast coconut shreds to give this recipe an extra nutty flavor. And if you need even more reasons to add coconut to your foods, just one cup will give you 110% of your daily manganese needs, which is an essential nutrient that aids in normal brain functioning.
- Pineapple: naturally sweet, exceptionally good, and so addicting. Pineapple is one of those fruits you can eat until there’s none left! Adding it to this recipe gives the nice cream a little tanginess to tame down the rich flavor of the coconut milk and bananas. Not only does a serving of pineapple provide 110% of your vitamin C needs, but it also has special digestive enzymes that help break down protein into a more usable form. We love pineapple!
🔪 Instructions
Nice cream is so quick and easy to make, there’s no reason you shouldn’t try this recipe out. All you have to do is freeze some bananas and pineapple chunks. When they are solid enough, blend both fruits together with coconut milk and a little maple syrup.
We find a food processor actually works best for making nice cream, but high-speed blenders work well too! Once all 4 ingredients are in your food processor or blender, mix on medium-high until you have a smooth, soft-serve consistency (see photo below).
You may have to stop and scrape down the sides as you go.
After you have a creamy consistency, transfer it to a freezer safe pan. We usually use a loaf pan since it’s the perfect size and works well in the freezer. Cover the pan, then set nice cream in the freezer for about 1-2 hours before eating it.
If you like a softer consistency, or you’re impatient for a snack, you can also eat it as soon as you’ve blended it!
We think this dessert tastes best with some toasted coconut shreds on top. To prepare these, spread the coconut shreds out on a baking sheet and toast them on 200 degrees F for 6-8 minutes, or until they are starting to turn a golden brown.
Just make sure you don’t walk away though because these go from raw to burnt real quick!
🌡️ Storage
This recipe will store in the freezer for up to 8-10 days in an airtight container. Although, it is best when eaten the same day.
To serve, remove container from the freezer about 10 minutes before you’d like to eat it.
💭 Budget tips
We think everyone should be able to eat better for less, so here are a few tricks to make this recipe even more affordable:
🍴 Tasting notes
It’s time to sit back, chillax, and send your tastebuds to a secluded island getaway with this dessert. It’s:
- Tropical
- Creamy
- Sweet
- Refreshing
If you try this nice cream, please rate it and leave us a comment below! Want to stay up-to-date with new recipes? Subscribe to our newsletter or connect with Broke Bank Vegan on social media. Happy eating!
Piña Colada Nice Cream
Equipment
- High speed blender or food processor
- Freezer-safe container
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 4 medium frozen bananas ($0.64)
- 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks ($1.38)
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk ($0.28)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup ($0.30)
Garnishes optional
- Toasted coconut shreds
Instructions
Nice Cream
- To start, peel and freeze bananas and pineapple chunks (preferably overnight). When they are frozen, add both fruits to a high-speed blender or food processor.
- Add in coconut milk and maple syrup, and blend on medium-high until you achieve a smooth, soft-serve consistency. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.
- After you have a creamy consistency, transfer nice cream to a freezer-safe pan or container (we usually use a loaf pan). Cover nice cream, then freeze for approximately 1-2 hours before eating.
- If you like a softer consistency, or you’re impatient, you can also eat the nice cream immediately.
Coconut Shreds
- To prepare the coconut shreds, preheat a toaster oven or oven to 200 degrees F. Spread the coconut shreds evenly on a baking sheet, and toast them for 6-8 minutes (or until they start to turn a golden brown).
- Serve nice cream with toasted coconut shreds on top, or whatever else you can think of!
Notes
- Optional ingredients are not reflected in the price of the recipe.
- For increased coconut flavor, add toasted coconut into the food processor before mixing.
- For best results use a high-speed blender or food processor.
Nutrition
♻️ Similar recipes
For more tasty frozen treats, check out our:
- Mango raspberry sorbet because it’s the perfect balance between tart and sweet.
- Chocolate peanut butter nice cream for a rich and decadent combination.
- Peach cobbler with vanilla nice cream if you need a juicy dessert to enjoy after a long day.
- Healthy homemade Snickers bars that you can enjoy right out of the freezer!
- Peach cobbler with cake mix for the perfect dessert to serve with nice cream.
💬 FAQ
No! You can eat it right away to enjoy a texture more similar to soft serve ice cream.
Maple syrup isn’t necessary for this recipe. We just like to add a little more sweetness to make it even better. But, if you don’t have maple syrup, you can also use other sweeteners like agave or simple syrup.
You don’t have to use canned coconut, but it creates a creamier texture. Feel free to use coconut milk from the carton, but remember your results will vary.
Cost may be somewhat higher now especially for coconut milk but this recipe is transporting.
Hey Laura,
We’re so glad you loved it! Yes, the prices are tricky because we move around a lot, but they’re more of a general guideline. Hope that helps! 🙂
So good, easy & refreshing 💕
That’s so great to hear you like it! Thanks for the comment 🙂