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Ninja Creami Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

Ninja Creami Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream in pint container after adding peanut butter as a mix-in.
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This Ninja Creami Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream features a rich chocolate ice cream base with banana and REAL peanut butter pieces dispersed throughout the ice cream! It’s a feel-good healthy treat for anytime you’re craving ice cream!

Ingredients

Scale

Mix-in:

  • 1 TBSP / 15 grams Natural Peanut Butter (unsalted or salted, unsweetened – note 1), or more if desired – frozen in a sealable zipper bag for 24 hours

Ice Cream Base:

  • 1 small Banana (65-70 grams peeled weight) – broken in half
  • 3.4 fluid ounces / 100ml Ultra-Filtered Low-Fat Milk (such as Fairlife 2% Milk – note 2)
  • 6.76 fluid ounces / 200ml Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (or any nut milk, plant-based milk or other milk of choice)
  • 3 TBSP / 18 grams Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Dutch processed cocoa powder preferred – note 3)
  • 2 TBSP + 1 TSP / 40 grams Plain Greek Style Yogurt (I used 4% fat – or use plain Greek yogurt)
  • ≈ 3 TBSP + 1 TSP / 35 grams granulated White Sugar Replacement, to taste (I used Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener – note 4)
  • ¼ TSP Guar Gum (note 5)
  • ⅛ TSP Xanthan Gum (optional – note 5)

Toppings (optional):

  • Drizzle of Peanut Butter
  • Granola
  • Reese’s Pieces
  • Nutter Butter Bites

Instructions

  1. Freeze the peanut butter: Add peanut butter to a zipper/Ziplock bag. Seal and flatten the peanut butter so that it is about ⅛ – ¼ inch thick. Freeze for 24 hours (note 5).
  2. Combine the base ingredients: Add the banana, ultra-filtered low-fat milk, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, Greek style yogurt, guar gum and xanthan gum to a mini blender such as the Ninja Blast or NutriBullet or a food processor. Blend until smooth, then pour into a Ninja Creami pint container. (I don’t recommend, using a handheld immersion blender to blend the ingredients directly in the pint for this recipe because there is too much volume and the ingredients may spill out while blending).
  3. Freeze: Place the container in the freezer on a level surface and freeze for 24 hours until frozen solid.
  4. Prepare for spinning: Remove the pint from the freezer and briefly run the bottom of the container under hot water from the sink for 15-30 seconds to help loosen up the icy edges from the sides of the container. Pat-dry, then take off the pint lid and install into the outer bowl and lock the lid.
  5. Spin: Turn on your Ninja Creami machine and install the outer bowl. Press the “Light Ice Cream” button. The ice cream will come out looking crumbly and that is normal.
  6. Shave down ice walls: Eject the outer bowl and remove the pint. Run a butter knife around the edges of the container to help incorporate any icy parts into the ice cream.
  7. Add peanut butter: Remove the frozen peanut butter slab from the fridge. Working quickly, slice into pieces and add on the sides of the pint (not the center) where you shaved down the icy edges. Push as far down as you can with the knife. (Note: This can be tricky as natural peanut butter is quick to thaw, but work as quick as you can so that it stays as frozen as possible once it touches the ice cream in the pint.) Place the pint in the outer bowl again and cover and lock the lid. Reinstall into the machine and press the “Mix-In” button.
  8. Enjoy! Remove the pint from the machine and smooth the top with a spoon. Scoop into bowls (or eat directly from the pint) and add any other desired toppings. Then enjoy!
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Equipment

Notes

  1. Peanut Butter: Commercial peanut butter such as Skippy or Jif won’t freeze well so I don’t recommend them. You can use powdered peanut butter for a lower calorie and higher protein option. Mix 2 tablespoons of peanut butter powder such as PB2 of PBFit with 1.5 TBSP water. Freeze in a small ziplock bag. Chop into chunks and add to the ice cream pint when ready to run the “Mix-in” cycle. You can make a hole down the middle with a spoon or the butter knife after shaving down the ice walls to add the peanut butter chunks.
  2. Ultra-Filtered Low-Fat Milk. I used Paul’s Hi-Calcium Low-Fat Milk which is an ultra-filtered milk available in Asia and Australia. You can use Fairlife 2% milk or any ultra-filtered milk from another brand if you are based in the USA or Canada. Ultra-filtered milk is higher in protein than regular milk and has less calories, making it a great choice for healthy low calorie Ninja Creami ice creams. Milk with a high protein content also results in a creamier and thicker ice cream consistency. If you can’t find ultra-filtered milk, use any low-fat, semi-skimmed (2% milk) or regular whole milk.
  3. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. I like using Dutch Processed cocoa powder as it has a richer chocolatey flavor than regular unsweetened dark cocoa powder. However, any unsweetened cocoa powder you love or have on hand is fine.
  4. White Sugar Replacement. I add Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener as using only the banana is not sweet enough for my taste. Feel free to leave it out or use regular granulated white sugar or other sugar-free sweetener of choice. Honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar are other natural sweetener options but the macros will vary (if that is important to you).
  5. Guar Gum and Xanthan Gum. Guar gum thickens the ice cream base and reduces the formation of ice crystals. It also helps with creating a scoopable ice cream texture. Xanthan gum serves a similar purpose as the guar gum. I find using both of these stabilizers together yields the best texture. If you prefer not to use stabilizers in their natural form, you have two options: 
    • Use 1 tablespoon of chocolate flavored sugar-free instant jello pudding mix. It already has stabilizers/emulsifiers such as soy lecithin or xanthan gum in it. Keep in mind that pudding mix is already sweetened so you will need less sweetener or can leave it out.
    • Use cottage cheese or cream cheese. Add ¼ cup (40-50 grams depending on the brand) low sodium or unsalted cottage cheese or cream cheese (1 ounce / 28 grams) to the ice cream base. Note that you will need less almond milk if using cottage cheese – about 150ml should be enough to fill the pint to the max fill line.
  6. Freeze the peanut butter in chocolate bar molds. This will save you time and will be easy to break apart evenly to add to the pint before spinning on the “Mix-in” cycle.
  7. Storing and processing leftovers. If you can’t finish the ice cream, level and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Cover and refreeze. It will freeze solid again. When ready to enjoy the leftovers, spin on the “Light Ice Cream” function again. DO NOT spin on the “Re-spin” function as the ice cream has frozen back into its original state. Using the “Re-spin” function when the mixture is solid can damage the machine and the paddle blade. Note that the peanut butter pieces will be pulverized and incorporated into the base upon when you process the leftovers. If desired, add more frozen peanut butter pieces as a mix-in.
  8. Nutritional information is approximate and will vary with any ingredient substitutes.
  9. See the ‘Variations’ section in the post above if you’d like to customize this Ninja Creami ice cream.
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Nutrition

Find it online: https://thatspicychick.com/ninja-creami-chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-ice-cream/