These red, white and blue vegan banana ice cream bars are gluten/dairy free and only 7 ingredients. The perfect healthy treat for summer or the fourth of July that are only 125 calories!
Boy oh boy oh BOY.
Do I have a STORY for you today.
But first, BANANA. ICE. CREAM. BARS. Thaaaat are red, white and blue and are pretty much BEGGING you to be “that person” who makes the most awesome-ly fun and festive dessert for that July 4th shindig that I know you’re having.
Maybe with some of those strawberry coconut popsicles from Wednesday to really PUNCH up the patriotic at said party?
Look at you go, you awesome party-planner you. You’re probably even gonna make some red, white and blue dairy free paleo banana pudding pops so EVERYONE with differnet diets can get in on the pop action.
I wanna be you when I grow up.
These bars are made of layer upon LAYER of deliciousness. Thiiiink a chewy, roasty-toasty crust of sticky-sweet dates and cashews, that is the FOUNDATION to a TRIPLE THREAT of fruity bursts of blueberries, and strawberries, swirling around with rich and smooooth coconut cream and a banana-bow to tie up the package in a way that is, liiiike, YUUUUM.
They’re kind of a hybrid between my two summer lovin’ favorite recipes: the berry cashew cream no bake bars AND the cookie dough banana ice cream recipe. OBVI when you smash two SUPREMELY delish recipes into 1, the result can only be something that you press rep-EAT on all. Summer. Long.
These bars are going to be that in your very real-person-life. Prediction.
Okay, you’ve waited long enough for the story. Some of you, if you are a watcher of my VERY EXCITING LIFE (sarcasm) on InstaStories, MAY even know where this is going.
UHM. These banana ice cream bars? They EXPLODED my Blendtec. PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE:
I KNOW. HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN.
Literally just put my banana coins in the jar, added some frozen strawbs and was blending away like EVERY OTHER DAY that I make banana ice cream. Nothin’ spec. Just me and bananas doing our blendy THANG.
I started seeing little pieces of frosty fruit coming out of the top so, naturally, I assumed my lid wasn’t on tight.
Fixed that. Still seeing fruit. What the WHAAA.
Not even 5 seconds later, my WHOLE kitchen, floors, stairs, self is COVERED in icey-cold PINK FOOD.
Ev.Ery.Thing.
SOMEHOW these seemingly innocent little fruit had achieved super-strength and BLEW a hole in the back of my Blendtec.
Protip: Don’t judge a fruit by it’s pretty, friendly, inviting color.
Don’t worry though. I feel like this kind of thing only happens once in FOREVER, so it will not happen to you. I took that one for ALL you internet friends of the world, who just want to make healthy, frosty treats without any kind of risk of BAD THINGS HAPPENING.
You’re welcome.
Side note: if you’re one of those people who do not have a high-powered blender, this fiasco also taught me that, yes, you CAN use a VERY GOOD quality food processor to do this.
Note the necessity of high-quality though. Key point.
I pink promise* that a triple layer of sweet-vibrant-fruity-frosty-ness is the only thing that is about to come out of your Blender.
Liiiike, out of the top, where it’s SUPPOSED TO.
No exploding blenders FOR YOU.
*Not a legally binding pinky promise.
For step-by-step instruction of this recipe, watch my video tutorial below:
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Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2/3 Cup Roasted salted cashews* (93g)
- 1/2 Cup Dates, roughly chopped and loosely packed (75g )
- 1 tsp Water
For the bars:
- 2 Large Bananas, cut into coins and frozen overnight**
- 1 Cup Frozen Blueberries
- 1 Can Coconut cream (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 Tbsp Honey (or agave for vegan)
- 1 1/2 Cups Halved frozen strawberries, lightly heaping
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to hang over the sides to use as a handle.
- In a large food processor, process the cashews until broken down. Add in the dates and process until a crumbly dough forms. Then, with the food processor running, add in the water and process until well combined. Your crust should be sticky.
- Press the crust evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan, making sure to pack it tight. Place into the freezer.
- Place one of the banana coins, along with the blueberries, into a high-powered blender*** (I use a Blendtec) and blend on the chop setting until crushed. Then, go back and forth between the "chop" and "mix" setting, scraping the sides as necessary until well mixed and creamy. You will need to stop your blender A LOT, and very frequently, to scrape the sides in order to get everything mixed.
- Spread the blueberry mixture over the prepared crust and place it back into the freezer to harden.
- While the blueberry layer chills, scrape the coconut cream into a large bowl (don't add the coconut water!) along with the agave. Use an electric hand mixer to blend until light and fluffy, and no lumps remain.
- Spread the coconut cream over the blueberry layer and let chill until firm to the touch, about 15-20 minutes.
- Once the coconut layer is hard, add the remaining banana and strawberries to the blender and blend just like the blueberry layer. Again, you'll need to stop your blender A LOT to scrape down the sides to get it all mixed.
- Spread the strawberry layer evenly over the coconut layer. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours up to overnight.
- When ready to slice, let the bars sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to lightly soften. Then slice and DEVOUR. ****
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMART POINTS: 7 POINTS+: 4. OLD POINTS: 3
(per 1 bar)
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Ashley @ The Naked Food Life says
I love how vibrant and fruity these are. The frozen dessert addiction is reeeeal right now and these are at the top of my list!
Taylor Kiser says
Thank you!! Tooooootally feel you on frozen desserts!
Cassie Tran says
Oh my goodness, what a crazy kitchen accident! I would have licked the kitchen counter and everything in the blender pretty clean, though! Who needs a towel when you have a tongue? 😉 Anyways, these vegan banana ice cream bars look AMAZING! They look like the perfect way to refresh a hot sunny day through a delicious dessert!
Taylor Kiser says
HAHAHAHA I almost did! 😉 you would LOVE!
wendy robbins says
I will definitely try this! My son has been vegan for several years, and i’m slowly getting there. Always looking for good recipes.
Taylor Kiser says
I hope you guys love! 🙂
Debbie Freeman says
On the blueberry section, you say to put one coin in the processer- do you mean to say coins from one banana? Thanks- it looks delicious!
Taylor Kiser says
Yes! Sorry about that!
Kristin says
So when your done you put it in the fridge overnight and not the freezer??
Taylor Kiser says
Freezer! 🙂
Lisa says
if I did, I’d do exactly what you have done. They are so fun and such a great pop of color against the white walls. And if you get bored, you can just rip it off and start over! Visiting from Redo It Yourself Inspiration party.
Taylor Kiser says
Thanks!