Buying an ice cream maker wasn’t the best $75 I’ve ever spent. Don’t get me wrong, it works just fine, but I just don’t get enough use out of it. We love ice cream, but Mike and I don’t eat it very often. With just two of us in the house, there’s really no need to make a whole batch just to have it sit in the freezer for the better part of a year until either of us remember it’s there (which has actually happened more than once).
Frozen yogurt, on the other hand, I could eat like it’s going out of style. Even though I could definitely use an ice cream maker, frozen yogurt is so easy to make it doesn’t even require one!
To make my frozen yogurt, I mix up a Greek yogurt base and then freeze it. It’s after the freeze that the real magic happens: I whip it into a creamy, soft-serve consistency in my food processor. After that it’s ready for any mix-ins you like.
The flavor I came up with that I’m sharing today is basically a healthy remake of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby (with a little bit of Chunky Monkey thrown in for fun). But this high-protein, naturally-sweetened treat is a lot less chubby or chunky, making it a much healthier indulgence.
- 2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1½ cups (345 g) Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, honey, or other natural sweetener of your choice (see Note below)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons small pretzels, crushed a bit in your hand
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- Mix together the banana, yogurt, maple syrup, and vanilla; transfer the mixture to an ice cube tray and freeze.
- Remove from the freezer (you can dip the bottom of the ice cube tray in hot water so the frozen yogurt can slide right out).
- Transfer the frozen yogurt cubes to a food processor and pulse a few times to break it up, then process until smooth and creamy (you might need to do this step in 2 batches, depending on how big your food processor is). Scrape the sides of the bowl down as necessary.
- Transfer the frozen yogurt to a large bowl and fold in the chocolate chips, pretzels, and peanut butter.
- Eat it as-is, or freeze until it stiffens up just a bit to the point of being scoop-able, about 15 minutes depending on how cold your freezer is.
Seriously, when I saw this recipe I freaked out a little. Brilliant!
PS: I love this so hard, I featured you on Momcaster: http://momcaster.com/2012/05/28/homemade-frozen-yogurt-no-ice-cream-maker/
i am a yogurt monster and i do it froyo all the time. my favorite combos so far are PB and J made with PB or PB2 powder (dehydrated peanut butter) and fresh berries, or Cookies and Cream which i make as a mixture of yogurt, cottage cheese and oreos…
haha! love the name of your fro-yo! that’s just so awesome that you don’t need an ice cream maker to make this. this looks delicious and like store bought stuff. great choice on the addition of the pretzels!
I love this idea! I couldn’t wait to give it a shot, but I messed it up somehow. I got yogurt all over the place and made a big mess. (I chronicled my shortcomings here. http://knucklesalad.com/apricot-frozen-yogurt)
I just want to clarify that it is Plain Greek yogurt? is that right? also, can it be non-fat or do you recommend something else?
thanks!
Natalie, I used plain Greek yogurt — Fage Total 2%. I haven’t tried it with fat free Greek yogurt, but I think it would work as long as the yogurt has the same very thick consistency.
What a great idea!
I scale down ice cream recipes to make ~ 1 pint of ice cream. I find that 2 people can go through a pint no problem.
I love the pretzels in this! Can’t wait to try it :)
DessertForTwo, I agree, two people can go through a pint no problem…but for me, it can be a real hassle to haul out my ice cream maker just for a pint. Plus I love the tangy flavor and added nutrition from frozen yogurt. If you try it, let me know how you like it! :)
Faith, where the heck have I been?! Your blog changes are AMAZING!!! Looks fresh & wonderful over here. I have never made frozen yogurt in my food processor before, great idea that I will be trying soon.
great name for a tasty treat, faith! i always thought it’d be awesome to work for ben and jerry’s because a)they play with awesome flavors, b)they’re easy on the earth, and c)they come up with terrific names. :)