Healthy banana splits

Creamy roasted banana-rum ice cream is topped with chocolate-dipped bananas coated in peanuts and sea salt. Cherry-rum sauce and chocolate sauce create a new kind of banana split: loaded with flavor, lighter on calories and fat.

The folks at Dole Bananas and Tastespotting challenged us to rethink banana splits, making them healthy and under 350 calories per serving. A typical banana split has around 1,000, more than half of my calories for the day. Yikes!
I decided to make the Dole organic bananas the base for my ice cream; roasting them brings out their natural sugary goodness without any added sugar. Light coconut milk stands in for heavy cream, and a touch of rum and vanilla round out the flavor. [My bananas came from this farm in Peru. While I’d love to be able to buy locally grown organic bananas, these are the next best thing.]

Next, I dipped banana slices in melted dark chocolate and crushed peanuts and added a sprinkling of sea salt for that chocolatey-crunchy-salty hit we crave in a banana split.

Instead of maraschino cherries (nothing natural about them), I used Oregon Fruit’s canned sour cherries, cooking them with agave syrup and a little rum to create a fruity sauce that’s not too sweet.

Finally, my easy chocolate sauce adds a melty finish of liquid chocolate. My banana split provides about 330 calories: 2 scoops of ice cream, 1 tablespoon each of cherry and chocolate sauce, and 3 chocolate-dipped banana slices.

Suitable for:
vegan, gluten-free, reduced-sugar diets

Not for:
low-sodium or migraine diets

All of our recipes are gluten-free, sugar-free, and made with plant-based ingredients to help you build a healthy life. Look for midweek posts on meditation, service, and life lessons, helping you create inner balance.

Healthy banana splits

Luscious, decadent, but truly healthy!

4.50 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Roasted banana-rum ice cream

• 14 ounces coconut milk light
• 3 bananas small
• 2 tbsp rum (light)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp xanthan gum optional

Easy chocolate sauce

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder sifted (30 g)
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 1 tsp coconut oil melted

Sour-cherry-rum sauce

• 14 ounces cherries (sour) canned, packed in water
• 5-6 strawberries if available
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 1/4 cup rum (light)

Chocolate-dipped bananas

• 3 bananas small (115 g each)
• 2 ounces baking chocolate unsweetened
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 2 ounces cocktail peanuts (dry-roasted) (no salt added for low-sodium diet)
• 1/2 lemons juiced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

 

Roasted banana-rum ice cream

• Preheat the oven to 350F (160C/gas mark 4). Put the bananas on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Roast for 40 minutes. Let cool.
• Put the bananas in the blender with the other ingredients. (If you don't have xanthan gum, no need to add it. But it does make the texture nice and creamy.) Blend well. Chill in the refrigerator until cold.
• Follow the instructions in your ice cream maker to make the ice cream. Each serving is two medium scoops.

Easy chocolate sauce

• Melt the coconut oil in the microwave. Sift the cocoa into a bowl (trust me, don't skip this step). Pour in the oil and the agave syrup, whisking as you go. Done!

Sour-cherry-rum sauce

• Drain the cherries. Wash the strawberries and remove the green top and any white flesh underneath it (the strawberries are to bring a natural red color to the canned cherries).
• Put half the cherries into the blender with the other ingredients. Blend until smooth. Cook over medium heat until bubbling, then turn down to a simmer and cook until reduced by half.

Chocolate-dipped banana slices

• You'll need a cookie sheet covered in waxed paper or a silicone sheet for the bananas, plus another sheet or board covered in paper towel.
• Juice the lemon and put the juice in a shallow bowl. Slice the bananas on the diagonal, and dip them in the lemon juice to keep them from browning. Put each slice on the paper towel. Cover the top of the bananas with another towel to blot up the lemon juice.
• Crush the peanuts by putting them in a zip-top bag and using a rolling pin on them. Put them in a wide shallow dish.
• Create a double-boiler by bringing some water to boil in a saucepan, and then placing a metal bowl or pan on top of it. Turn the heat down to simmer. Break up the chocolate and add to the bowl with the agave syrup. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
• Immediately dip the banana slices in the chocolate, then the peanuts, laying each one on the prepared sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt while still warm so it will stick. Refrigerate until firm, about 30-60 minutes.

Notes

Per serving (all ingredients, divided into portions):

• 463 calories
• 19 g fat
• 11 g saturated fat
• 3 g monounsaturated fat
• 1 g polyunsaturated fat
• 0 g trans fat
• 0 g cholesterol
• 272 mg sodium (21 mg sodium with salt omitted, unsalted peanuts)
• 620 mg potassium
• 62 g carbohydrate
• 7 g fiber
• 44 g sugars
• 7 g protein
• 12 Weight Watchers Points Plus

Serve up your healthy banana splits: 2 scoops of ice cream, 3 slices of banana, 1 tablespoon each of chocolate and cherry sauce.

You need to make the chocolate-dipped bananas fairly soon before serving. They get soft and soggy in the fridge overnight. If strawberries are not in season, you can skip them for the cherry sauce. They do make it a prettier color. While this recipe uses low-glycemic agave syrup, diabetics should check with their health-care provider, as bananas are not a low-glycemic food.

Required FTC disclosure: Oregon Fruit provided the cherries for this recipe; I was not compensated in any other way.