Ninja Creami Banana Cheesecake Ice Cream

A single brown banana sitting alone on the counter at nine in the evening is exactly what led to this banana cheesecake ice cream on a random Tuesday night. I bought a Ninja Creami convinced I would make artisanal sorbets from expensive farmer’s market berries, and instead I ended up craving cheesecake without any interest in actually baking one.

This easy summer recipe throws mashed banana, cream cheese, and a hint of graham cracker into a machine that does all the heavy lifting while my arm gets to rest. I threw this together in a frenzy of late-night snack logic and was genuinely shocked it worked so well. Here is exactly how I do it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No baking required. This dessert delivers all the rich cheesecake vibes without turning on your oven or dealing with a terrifying water bath.
• Incredibly easy. Mashing a banana and whisking a few things together fully qualifies anyone to make this recipe.
• Uses up sad bananas. That one lonely, heavily spotted banana on your counter finally gets a delicious purpose.
• Totally customizable. Swapping the mix-ins based on whatever is hiding in your pantry works easily with this base.

Tools You’ll Need

Nothing fancy, I promise.

• Ninja Creami machine This machine turns the frozen liquid base into the actual finished ice cream.
• Ninja Creami pint container with lid. Extra containers help if washing dishes between batches sounds unappealing.
• Mixing bowl. The bowl holds the base while you whisk everything together.
• Whisk and fork. The fork mashes the banana, and the whisk handles everything after that.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana – Brown spots are your friend here; do not use a green one unless you enjoy the taste of sadness.
• ¾ cup whole milk – You need the fat for a good texture, trust me.
• ¼ cup heavy cream – This is what makes it taste like actual ice cream instead of a frozen smoothie.
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese – Make sure it is softened, or you will be whisking lumps for eternity.
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar – Just enough to bring out the natural sweetness of the banana.
• 1 tablespoon instant cheesecake pudding mix – The secret ingredient that binds it all together and amps up the flavor.
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract – The good stuff if you have it.
• ⅛ teaspoon salt – To balance the sweet.
• 2 tablespoons crushed graham crackers – For the mix-in, because what is cheesecake without the crust?
• 1 tablespoon diced ripe banana – For extra texture at the end.

Instructions

Let the machine do the hard work while you take all the credit.

1. Mash the Banana: Peel 1 ripe banana and place it in a mixing bowl. Mash it with a fork until mostly smooth, with only a few tiny soft banana pieces left. If you leave a few larger chunks, that is between you and the bowl, nobody else needs to know.
2. Mix the Cream Cheese and Sugar: Add 2 tablespoons softened cream cheese and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to the mashed banana. Whisk until the mixture looks smooth and creamy. If you forgot to soften the cream cheese, you are going to get a heavy arm workout right about now.
3. Add the Liquids and Flavorings: Pour in ¾ cup whole milk and ¼ cup heavy cream. Add 1 tablespoon instant cheesecake pudding mix, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Whisk until smooth. A few tiny lumps are totally fine, the machine will obliterate them later.
4. Freeze the Base: Pour the smooth banana cheesecake mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container. Place the lid on. Freeze it flat for 24 hours. I once tried to rush this and spin it at 16 hours; it was a soupy disaster, so seriously, give it the full 24 hours.
5. Spin the Ice Cream: Remove the frozen pint from the freezer. Place it in the Ninja Creami machine and use the Ice Cream setting. If it looks dry or crumbly, add 1 tablespoon milk and use Re-spin. Do not panic if it looks like powdery sand at first, the re-spin works absolute miracles.
6. Add the Mix-Ins: Make a small hole in the center of the spun ice cream. Add 2 tablespoons crushed graham crackers and 1 tablespoon diced ripe banana. Use the Mix-In setting.
7. Serve: Scoop the banana cheesecake ice cream into a round bowl. Top with extra crushed graham crackers if you like.

Make it yours

• Chocolate chip swap. You add a small handful of mini chocolate chips during the mix-in phase for a chocolate chip cheesecake variation.
• Strawberry addition. You fold in a few diced fresh strawberries alongside the graham crackers for a fruitier, brighter finish.
• Caramel swirl. You drizzle a small amount of caramel sauce into the ice cream right before serving for an extra layer of sweetness.

Perfect Pairings

These go perfectly with a complete lack of ambition on a Friday night.

• A drizzle of warm caramel sauce – because we are already eating cheesecake ice cream, so why not.
• Extra graham crackers on the side – for scooping when you inevitably run out of patience for a spoon.
• Movie night on the couch – preferably in sweatpants with zero plans to go outside.
• A cold glass of milk – obviously.

Banana Cheesecake Ice Cream

This banana cheesecake ice cream proves that a genuinely rich, creamy summer recipe requires nothing beyond a ripe banana, a splash of cream cheese, and a Ninja Creami doing the actual work. You follow the full twenty-four-hour freeze, the softened cream cheese step, and the graham cracker mix-in timing, and the finished pint rivals any scoop shop version of cheesecake ice cream. Whether you top it with caramel or eat it plain, this recipe turns one sad banana into the best bowl of dessert in the freezer.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

1 day d

Total Time 1 day d 10 minutes mins

Servings: 3

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Calories: 185

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 ripe banana mashed
• ¾ cup whole milk
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese softened
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant cheesecake pudding mix
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons crushed graham crackers for mix-in
• 1 tablespoon diced ripe banana for mix-in

Equipment

• Ninja Creami machine
• Ninja Creami pint container with lid
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk and fork

Method

 

1. Mash the banana

   You peel the banana and mash it with a fork in a mixing bowl until mostly smooth, with only a few tiny soft pieces remaining.
2. Mix the cream cheese and sugar

   You add the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar to the mashed banana and whisk until smooth and creamy. Unsoftened cream cheese turns this step into a genuine arm workout.
3. Add the liquids and flavorings

   You pour in the whole milk and heavy cream, then add the pudding mix, vanilla extract, and salt, whisking until smooth. A few tiny lumps at this stage disappear once the machine spins the base later.
4. Freeze the base

   You pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container, place the lid on, and freeze it flat for a full twenty-four hours. Spinning it early at sixteen hours produces a soupy, unusable disaster.
5. Spin the ice cream

   You remove the frozen pint and run it through the Ice Cream setting on the machine. A dry or crumbly result calls for a tablespoon of milk and a Re-spin cycle, and a powdery, sand-like texture at first resolves completely after that second spin.
6. Add the mix-ins

   You create a small hole in the center of the spun ice cream, add the crushed graham crackers and diced banana, then run the Mix-In setting.
7. Serve

   You scoop the finished banana cheesecake ice cream into a bowl and top it with extra crushed graham crackers if you want more crunch.

Recipe Notes

• Banana: I only use ripe bananas with brown spots.
• Cream cheese: I soften mine first to avoid lumps in the base.
• Pudding mix: I use instant cheesecake flavor for the strongest taste.
• Freezing: I freeze the base flat for the full 24 hours before spinning.
• Graham crackers: I add these only during the mix-in phase, never earlier.