The Key To A Creamy And Thick Banana Pudding Milkshake Is How You Prep Your Fruit

Whether you prefer strawberry, black cherry, or banana, fruit-based milkshakes are the perfect combination of tart and sweet flavors. In addition to helping you make perfect banana bread at any time, ripe frozen bananas also play a crucial role in making icy drinkable confections. However, unlike traditional berry varieties that often require a solid amount of premium ice cream, banana pudding milkshakes become creamy thanks to the banana's natural thick and dreamy texture.

Sure enough, bananas easily transform into a lusciously silky soft-serve-like mixture when frozen and blended. These long yellow fruits contain a high amount of pectin or soluble fiber, which helps transform their soft flesh into a remarkable treat without any additives. Thankfully, with the use of perfectly ripe frozen bananas, you no longer need the ice cream upgrade for thick and creamy milkshakes.

While a delicious banana pudding milkshake does require ingredients like dry vanilla pudding mix, whipped topping, milk, and vanilla extract, the base of this dessert is solely bananas. All you need to do is prep a few ripe bananas ahead of time and give them ample time to harden in your freezer. Even though you can freeze bananas whole with or without the skin, your best bet when making banana pudding milkshakes is to freeze bananas into pre-cut, individual slices.

To freeze bananas effectively, peel and cut your fruit into coins and add them, evenly spaced, to parchment-lined baking sheets. Once the slices are frozen solid, transfer them to a resealable freezer bag for easy use. Regardless of which method you most prefer when it comes to freezing, make sure your bananas are perfectly ripe before prepping. For a perfectly sweet finish, cut and freeze bananas that have vibrant yellow skin and a moderate number of brown spots.

When you're ready to make banana pudding milkshakes, add your frozen banana coins to a high-speed blender or food processor along with a decent amount of whipped topping, milk, vanilla pudding powder, and vanilla extract. Since frozen bananas can be somewhat difficult to break down in a standard blender, opt for a food processor, if you have one. A high-powdered appliance helps your bananas reach a creamy, uniform consistency in a shorter amount of time.

For even better results, before blending, allow your banana slices to defrost for a few minutes at room temperature. Once all ingredients have been combined and successfully blended, pour the milkshake mixture into glasses and top each confection with whipped cream and crushed vanilla cookie wafers. You can also include extra banana slices and a drizzle of homemade or store-bought caramel sauce. For an even easier dessert, next time, turn your bananas into soft-serve ice cream. Then, simply load up on your favorite toppings.