Vegan Frozen Yogurt with Bananas

You won’t find a more smooth and creamy vegan frozen yogurt recipe! Get ready for smooth sweet vanilla flavor with a little tang from the vegan yogurt. This frozen dessert is made with bananas, vegan yogurt, maple syrup, and a little vegan cream cheese. You are going to LOVE the smooth richly sweet and tangy flavor of this delicious vegan frozen yogurt recipe!

Click here for all of the delicious homemade vegan ice cream recipes, sorbets, and other frozen treats from Veggie Fun Kitchen.

This recipe was developed for the Ninja Creami, Ice Cream Maker, but you could make it in another ice cream maker as well. I promise you though that you will not find another device to make vegan ice cream as smooth and creamy as the Ninja Creami! If you are using another device then see the blog post at the bottom of step two for suggestions.

Reasons to love this dairy-free frozen yogurt recipe

• You can control the tangy yogurt flavor depending on which brand you use.
• Made with unsweetened vegan yogurt – so no added sugar there.
• Made with real maple syrup and not processed table sugar.
• Bananas make this frozen yogurt extra creamy and sweet
• Super easy to make in the Ninja Creami – but you can use another ice cream maker (see the bottom of step two).
• Vegan-friendly ingredients – but if you are not vegan then this recipe should work with any yogurt you choose.
• Vegan – so it’s naturally dairy-free
• Frozen yogurt has the flavors of sweet vanilla with a tangy undertone which makes this dairy-free frozen yogurt a perfect and complex flavor combination.

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Ingredients needed to make vegan frozen yogurt

• vegan yogurt – You will want to use unsweetened and plain yogurt for this recipe. The flavor of your yogurt will definitely affect the flavor of your frozen dessert. Just like with dairy yogurt, some brands of vegan yogurt are tangier and more “yogurty” than others. Decide what is going to work best for you and your family. Even vegan yogurt contains important probiotics. Do check the label of your yogurt to know for sure. If you are not vegan then I don’t know why dairy yogurt wouldn’t work for this recipe.
• maple syrup – Real maple syrup, please! No fake pancake syrup.
• vegan cream cheese – This is added for texture and a little extra tang. If you are trying to eat oil-free then just leave it out. Your final product *might* be a little icier – but with the Ninja Creami, your vegan ice cream will be pretty smooth anyway! I’ve used several brands and they have all worked. What I don’t recommend is using homemade oil-free tofu cream cheese. Just leave it out if you don’t want to buy the cream cheese with oil.
• vanilla extract – for extra vanilla flavor, you can use double-strength vanilla extract.
• two bananas – The bananas don’t need to be over-ripe. But don’t use green bananas either. Just regular bananas will do. Obviously, like anything else, the flavor of the bananas you use will come through in the final product.
• You will also need a Ninja Creami Ice Cream Maker (affiliate link) or another ice cream machine.

Directions for making you own amazing creamy dairy-free frozen yogurt at home

The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.

Step 1: Measure out the ingredients

This recipe is really so simple and has only a few simple ingredients. I work directly in a two cup liquid measuring cup. I measure and mix right in the cup. This way I for sure won’t go over the max level mark on the Ninja Creami pint container.

I measure the vegan yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and vegan cream cheese directly into the two-cup measuring cup. Start with measuring one cup of yogurt right into the measuring cup and build from there.

It is important to melt the vegan cream cheese to make it easy to stir in. Fifteen seconds in the microwave should do the trick.

If you are processing the frozen yogurt in the Ninja Creami, you don’t have to mix the ingredients until perfectly smooth. It’s okay if there are a few small lumps. The Ninja Creami will take care of the lumps during processing.

Step 2: Time to slice the bananas

After everything is measured and mixed, slice in the bananas. Make sure you don’t go over the two-cup mark and you should be fine when you process the frozen yogurt in the Creami. I slice the bananas and then press down just to make sure they fit and that the container isn’t too full.

How to make this recipe with a different ice cream maker

If you have an ice cream machine other than the Ninja Creami, you can still make this dairy-free frozen yogurt. (Have I mentioned yet how much you will love a Creami?!?)

But you will need to blend everything up well first and then process it according to the manufacturer’s directions of the device you own. Make sure you follow directions for that device. Does it need to be cold first? Do you need to freeze the ice cream container? Understand and follow the directions.

Step 3: Freeze the ingredients

Okay. This is the one and only disadvantage to the NInja Cream Ice Cream Maker IMHO….You need to have patience and freeze the ingredients in the Ninja pint container for a solid 24 hours. Don’t skimp on this!

To ensure that I will always have frozen ingredients ready to go whenever the vegan ice cream urge hits, I bought some extra Ninja pint containers and always have several recipes frozen and waiting for me on my freezer shelf!

Pour the ingredients into the pint container and secure the lid. I always place a piece of tape on the lid and with a sharpie marker, write the recipe name, date, and time I placed it in the freezer. That way I will know what I am processing and if it is ready when I pull it out.

Step 4: Process in the Ninja Creami

Has it been 24 hours? Are you ready for delicious vegan frozen yogurt? The following directions are based on my experiences. You should definitely consult the manufacturer’s directions in the owner’s manual that came with your Ninja Creami.

The first time you process using the Creami, you should watch the video recommended by Ninja. It will get easier the more you do it. Here is a recap:

• Remove the pint container from the freezer and remove the lid.
• Place the frozen pint container into the outer processing container or bowl that came with your device.
• Insert the blade/paddle device into the outer-bowl lid and lock the lid assembly.
• Place the bowl assembly onto the motor base pad. Make sure it is plugged in and twist it up until it locks.
• You will know it is locked because the lights will turn on when you press the on-switch. If you’ve not done it correctly then the “install” light will be flashing.
• Process this recipe using the “Lite ice cream” setting. Remove from the device following the directions that came with your machine.

What might go wrong?

After processing the frozen yogurt it might look dry or powdery on top. Sometimes you will see little frozen balls instead of creamy frozen yogurt. This could be because your freezer is too cold.

The Ninja Creami solves this problem with the “re-spin” function. Simply lock the lid back into place and reinsert the container onto the device. Select “re-spin” and that should take care of it!

Another problem that is very common is that even after the ice cream or frozen yogurt has been processed and is nice and smooth, the sides still show bits of frozen fruit and other food product that did not process correctly. You can choose to ignore it, stir it in, or process on a re-spin.

Disclaimer: The Ninja Creami directions do not mention this so do it at your own risk! You can carefully run a butter knife around the sides to loosen the frozen stuff and then do a respin. The worst thing that might happen is that you will scratch your pint container. Again – AT YOUR OWN RISK!

ALSO, be aware that if you do a respin when the only issue is the frozen sides then the end result might be closer to soft-serve yogurt and won’t be as scoopable.

Serving suggestions and portions

A note about the portions

Be aware that the portions are a small one-half cup each. Each recipe will serve four of these measly little servings. Perhaps you have more control than I do, but to me, that’s just a tasty little snack!

So if you have a hungry crew to feed then make more pints and have them in your freezer ready to go!

Toppings

Top with more sliced bananas, and other fresh fruit like strawberries, sliced peaches, blueberries, and more. Or, if you prefer, drizzle on some caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, or my delicious strawberry topping with pineapple! Add a few sprinkles and you’ve got a party!

Saving the leftovers and reprocessing

If you have more self-control than we do, flatten and smooth out the leftover frozen dessert and then refreeze right in the Ninja Pint Freezer container. If it is too hard to easily scoop out when you are ready to eat more, simply upload it onto the Ninja Creami and process again!

For more vegan frozen sorbet, ice creams, or other frozen treats from Veggie Fun Kitchen, try:

• Basil Infused Strawberry Sorbet
• Lemon Ice Coconut Ice Cream
• Watermelon Popsicles
• Pina Colada Ice Cream in the Ninja Creami
• Banana Pudding Ice Cream in the Nina Creami

The printable recipe card