Cool off this summer with a refreshing and healthy frozen banana popsicle. All natural ingredients and only 128 calories per popsicle!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: These popsicles are a healthy treat with only 4 ingredients and no artificial flavors or preservatives.
How long it takes: 10 minutes, plus 4 hours to freeze the popsicles
Equipment you’ll need: blender or food processor
Servings: makes four 3 oz. popsicles
Sometimes it seems like my kids are always begging me for popsicles. Since we live in a more rural area, the ice cream truck doesn’t make its rounds very often in our neighborhood so I like to keep my freezer stocked with frozen delights.
However, it can be a little tricky shopping for those frozen delights. Many commercial popsicles are nothing more than colored sugar water which I’m reluctant to feed my kids. The “good” popsicles made with real fruit are sort of pricey. Plus, my family has food allergies which makes it even more challenging.
Thus, these banana popsicles. We love “nice” cream which is basically blenderized bananas so it’s an easy step to making banana popsicles. They are creamy and delicious. Turns out we all love them and we’ve been having fun trying flavor variations, too.
If you’re interested in a healthy and inexpensive alternative to commercial popsicles, you’ll want to give these banana popsicles a try soon!
Reasons To Make Banana Popsicles
- They’re easy to make with only 4 inexpensive ingredients! If you happen to have a few overripe bananas on your counter, you’re good to go. All you need is a little milk, honey, and vanilla extract.
- Banana popsicles are healthy. No artificial anything in these popsicles! Bananas are a good source of important nutrients like potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C; they add fiber to your diet; and they are low in calories.
- You can create different flavor variations. Add a little cocoa powder to make chocolate banana popsicles. Add fresh berries to the mix for strawberry banana popsicles or blueberry banana popsicles. Bonus: the fruit adds fun color to the popsicles.
Use Ripe Bananas
Ripe bananas are sweeter. As a banana ripens, the complex carbohydrates (starch) turn into simple sugars.
Ripe bananas also have increased antioxidants and health benefits. They simply taste better than green bananas in sweet treats like these popsicles.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bananas: For four 3 oz. popsicles, you’ll need 3 average size ripe bananas. Of course, bananas can vary widely in size. Quite honestly, it doesn’t really matter too much if they are big or small (except if they are too small, they might not quite fill your molds).
- Milk: It doesn’t really matter what type of milk you use. It can be cow’s milk, almond milk, nut milk, whatever. Flavored milks are okay, too, but since they are usually sweetened, you can omit the honey. Yogurt works fine, too.
- Honey: To make these popsicles a sweet treat, I like to add just a couple tablespoons of honey or maple syrup. This is totally optional, however.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: We love the flavor that vanilla adds to the popsicles. If you prefer, try other flavorings. Keep reading for ideas.
How to make Easy Banana Popsicles
You’ll need a blender or food processor. A blender works best for the creamiest popsicles.
Peel the bananas and put them into the blender. Add the milk, honey, and vanilla.
Process the mixture until it’s smooth and creamy.
Pour the banana mixture into popsicle molds and insert the sticks (handles).
Freeze the popsicles until they are frozen solid, at least four hours or overnight.
How to make popsicles without molds
If you don’t have molds, use small disposable cups or empty small yogurt containers. Cover them with foil, and poke the popsicle stick through the foil. The foil will keep the stick straight.
Flavor Variations
- Chocolate Banana: Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the blender or stir in chocolate syrup to taste.
- Berry Banana: Add a half cup of strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries to the blender.
- Pineapple Banana: Add a few chunks of fresh or canned pineapple.
- Mango (or Peach) Banana: Add ½ cup diced mango or peaches.
- Banana Maple: Omit vanilla and substitute ½ teaspoon maple extract. Use maple syrup instead of honey.
- Banana Lemon: Omit vanilla and substitute ½ teaspoon of lemon extract.
- Orange Creamsicle Magic Shell: Dip the banana popsicles into a magic shell! See the recipe card below.
Make Ahead Idea
If you only have one set of molds but want to make a lot of popsicles to keep on hand, make a batch, freeze it, and remove the popsicles from the molds. Wrap each popsicle individually in foil or plastic wrap. Place in a covered freezer safe container.
Repeat the process until you have the desired amount of popsicles (or until you run out of bananas!).
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
Prevent your screen from going dark
Cool off this summer with a refreshing and healthy frozen banana popsicle. All natural ingredients and only 128 calories per popsicle!
Instructions
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Peel the bananas and place them in a blender or food processor. Add milk, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla extract (if using) to the blender.
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Blend all the ingredients until smooth and well combined. Taste the mixture and adjust the sweetness with more honey or maple syrup if desired.
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Pour the banana mixture into popsicle molds, leaving a half inch at the top for expansion. Insert popsicle sticks into the molds.
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Place the molds in the freezer and let them freeze for at least 4 hours, or until completely frozen.
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Once the popsicles are frozen, remove them from the molds by briefly running warm water over the molds or dipping them in warm water to loosen the popsicles. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Nutrition information is calculated using 2% milk. If you use sweetened flavored milk, omit honey or maple syrup.
- Customize this recipe by adding other fruits, such as berries or mangoes, for a different flavor twist. Just blend them with the bananas and milk for a fruity and creamy popsicle treat!
- Chocolate banana popsicles: add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to the blender.
- Add an orange creamsicle magic shell. Prepare popsicles and freeze as directed. Prepare magic shell ingredients, allow to cool to room temperature. Remove frozen popsicles from molds; dip or drizzle on the “magic shell”. Serve immediately or place popsicles on wax paper-lined tray to refreeze.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1popsicle, Calories: 128kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 2mg, Sodium: 15mg, Potassium: 365mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 87IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 41mg, Iron: 0.3mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.