This homemade chunky monkey ice cream is full of creamy fresh banana, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chunks and toasty roasted walnuts, yum!
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Why did the monkey cross the road? To get to the chocolate chunky monkey ice cream!
This chunky monkey banana ice cream has all the things you love about your favorite pint, but in an easy copycat recipe you can make at home. Luscious creamy banana ice cream with generous chunks of semi-sweet chocolate, finished with pieces of roasted walnuts.
Unlike the original I have dialed up the banana flavor to let the banana shine. And added my homemade chocolate chunks that melt in your mouth and are a joy to eat. Finish it off with roasted walnut pieces and you have a flavor that will have your little monkeys asking for more!
Looking for more fabulous banana desserts? Why not try making my classic banana split, frosty banana milkshake, luscious caramelized bananas or simple banana ice cream. It's just like chunky monkey, but without the chunks!
Recipe tips and frequently asked questions
What is chunky monkey ice cream?
Chunky monkey is banana ice cream with chunks of chocolate and walnuts. The story goes it was suggested by a college student to Ben and Jerry's in the late 1980s. Despite its iconic status this fan favorite can be hard to get hold of. But if you make your own with this copycat recipe you'll never have to miss out on your favorite pint ever again!
Can I make this without walnuts?
You sure can. This homemade ice cream would work well with other nuts such as creamy nuts such as almonds or pecans.
Can I make a no-churn version of this?
You sure can. To make this without an ice cream machine make the base as per the recipe until you get to the churning part. Put the ice cream into your chilled container and freeze for one hour. Working quickly remove the ice cream from the freezer and whisk it, taking care to scrape the edges which will start to freeze first.
Return to the freezer for another hour. Remove and whisk again. Repeat for another two to three times or until the ice cream resembles soft-serve ice cream. Add the chocolate chunks and walnut pieces and gently fold through. Then allow it to continue freezing until firm.
Ingredients
Bananas: make sure your bananas are nice and ripe, the riper the better. Green bananas don't have enough sugars in them.
Walnuts: are the traditional nut in chunky monkey. If you're not a fan of walnuts you could use something else such as almonds or pecans.
Brown sugar: also called light brown sugar. The brown sugar gives a lovely caramel note to this recipe. You could experiment with dark brown sugar, or use white sugar but it won't have the same depth of flavor.
Unsalted Butter (not pictured): because butter makes most things taste better. I use it here to fry the bananas in to caramelize them and make them extra tasty!
Thickened cream: in Australia I use thickened cream, you could also use whipping cream or heavy whipping cream. Whatever you use needs to have about 35% fat.
Full fat milk: needs to be full fat milk or around 3.5% fat.
Vanilla essence: depending on your budget you could use real or imitation vanilla essence, or a scrapped out vanilla pod if prefer.
Salt: a pinch of salt helps enhance the flavor of this ice cream.
For the homemade chocolate chunks:
Semi-sweet chocolate: I find gives the best balance of flavor and contrasts the sweetness of the surrounding banana ice cream. Look for one with about 45% cocoa. You could also try using white, milk or dark chocolate but each will make the ice cream sweeter or a little less sweet.
Refined coconut oil - sometimes also called expeller-pressed coconut oil. Using refined coconut oil is important because the refining process removed the coconut flavor and smell, resulting in neutral oil.
How to make chunky monkey ice cream
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
First make the homemade chocolate chunks and roast your walnuts. (if you are using ready-made chocolate you can skip that step).
Line a container with foil or baking paper. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave or a double boiler. Add the coconut oil and mix well. Pour the chocolate mix into the container and put it in the fridge to set.
Hot tip: the coconut oil lowers the melting temperature of the chocolate. It will be very melty and may even melt in your hands when handling. Try to minimize how much you handle the chips before adding them to the ice cream.
Chop the walnuts into chunk-sized pieces and dry roast in a frying pan until roasted. As soon as the nuts are done take them off the heat and transfer them to a heat-proof container as they can burn easily.
Slice the bananas in half lengthways. Melt the butter in a frying pan or skillet and add the bananas. Fry until starting to brown then carefully flip over. Sprinkle with sugar and gently swirl to dissolve some of the sugar. Cooke for another minute until the bananas are nice and soft and caramelized. Remove from the stove and allow to cool.
In a small pot add the milk, cream and glucose syrup. Heat on warm until simmering and the glucose syrup is fully dissolved. All too cool. Put the bananas and dairy mix into a deep-sided jug you can use an immersion/stick blender in. Blend until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix well. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Remove the chocolate from its container and chop into chocolate chunk-sized pieces. Put your ice cream storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self-churning machine, turn it on about ten minutes before you churn your ice cream. Otherwise take the churning bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
Pour mix into the ice cream churner and churn. When the ice cream has nearly finished churning add the chocolate chunks and walnut pieces. The ice cream should be nice and thick but still moving around. Don't add the chunks too soon or they will stick in the machine and your ice cream won't churn properly.
When it's finished churning transfer the ice cream to a chilled container and freeze until firm.
How to serve
To serve this chunky monkey-flavored ice cream scoop into a bowl and enjoy. Fabulous on its own or with some extra chocolate chunks and roasted walnut pieces sprinkled over the top. Delicious!
How to store
You can store this ice cream in an air-tight container in the freezer for two up to weeks for the best texture. It will still taste good after this but may become icier over time.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
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📋 Recipe
Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
Equipment
- ice cream machine/churner
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100gms) semi sweet chocolate
- 2 & ½ teaspoons (10gms) refined coconut oil
- 1 cup (100gms) walnut pieces
- 1 tablespoon (20gms) unsalted butter
- 4 small (500gms) ripe bananas
- ⅔ cup (145gms) brown sugar
- 1 cup (250mls) thickened cream
- 1 cup (250mls) milk
- (10gms) glycose syrup
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the homemade chocolate chunks and roast your walnuts.
- Line a container with foil or baking paper. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave or a double boiler. Add coconut oil and mix well. Pour the into the lined container and put it in the fridge to set.
- Chop the walnuts into chunk sized pices and dry roast in a frying pan. As soon as the nuts are done take them off the heat and transfer them to a heat-proof container as they can burn easily.
- Slice the bananas in half lengthways. Melt the butter in a frying pan or skillet and add the bananas. Fry until starting to brown then carefully flip over. Sprinkle with sugar and gently swirl to dissolve some of the sugar.
- Cooke for another minute until the bananas are nice and soft and caramelized. Remove from the stove and allow to cool.
- In a small pot add the milk, cream and glucose syrup. Heat on warm until simmering and the glucose syrup is fully dissolved. Allow too cool.
- Put the bananas and dairy mix into a deep-sided jug you can use an immersion/stick blender in. Blend until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix well. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Remove the chocolate from its container and chop into chocolate chunk-sized pieces. Put your ice cream storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self-churning machine, turn it on about ten minutes before you churn your ice cream. Otherwise take the churning bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
- Pour mix into the ice cream churner and churn. When the ice cream has nearly finished churning add the chocolate chunks and walnut pieces. The ice cream should be nice and thick but still moving around. Don't add the chunks too soon or they will stick in the machine and your ice cream won't churn properly.
- When it's finished churning transfer the ice cream to a chilled container and freeze until firm.
Notes
- Homemade chocolate chunks make this ice cream a joy to eat, but if you are short on time you can use a chocolate bar instead.
- Glucose syrup is available from many supermarkets and specialty baking stores. It greatly improves the texture and scoopability of the ice cream. You can make the ice cream without it but the ice cream will set harder and you may need to put it in the fridge for five to fifteen minutes before serving to make it soft enough to scoop.
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