Start with a ripe banana. Make sure the banana is ripe, it should be sweet and soft.

Peel the banana and chop. Peel the banana and chop into somewhat small pieces. It doesn’t matter what shape or size the pieces are in, as long as they are evenly sized.

Put the bananas in an airtight container. Place in a freezer-safe glass bowl or freezer bag.

Freeze the banana pieces for at least 2 hours. Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours but ideally overnight.

Pulse the frozen banana pieces in a small food processor or powerful blender. Transfer the frozen banana pieces into a small food processor or high-speed blender. (We’ve found that a small food processor or chopper works best.) Pulse to break up.

Keep pulsing — the banana will look crumbly. Keep pulsing. At first the banana pieces will look crumbled or smashed. Scrape down the food processor.

Keep blending — the banana will look gooey. Switch to blending. t will look gooey, like banana mush. Scrape down the food processor.

Keep blending — the banana will look like oatmeal. Keep blending. It will get smoother but still have chunks of banana in it. Scrape down the food processor.

Watch the magic happen! Suddenly, as the last bits of banana smooth out, you’ll see the mixture shift from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream. (If adding any mix-ins, like peanut butter or chocolate chips, this is the moment to do it.)

Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid. You can eat the ice cream immediately, but it will be quite soft. You can also transfer it back into the airtight container and freeze it until solid, like traditional ice cream.