Name: Saba Con Yelo Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 4 Whole Saba, sliced diagonally; 1/4 Cup Panutsa or coconut sugar or date syrup; 2 Cups Water; 1/4 Cup Chia Seeds; 4 Cups Shaved Ice; 1 Cup Milk

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Saba Con Yelo or bananas on ice, is a pretty healthy way to enjoy some sweetened bananas during the hot summer months. The bananas are lightly poached in some sugar flavored water and then chia seeds are added at the end for additional nutrition.

Glass filled with milk, saba, chia seeds and ice. It's being scooped with a wooden spoon.

Oh hi. Hello. What is up?! I know I went a little silent for a few months there. I had to take some time to get my head back in the game. It’s hard being on all the time you know!! I wanted to ease in with something easy. So let’s get to it.

What is Saba Con Yelo?

Saba Con Yelo translates to Saba with ice. Saba is a native species found in the Philippines. I wrote all about it for Taste. You can hop on over and read it and come right back. Basically it is a cousin to the Plantain, but can get ripe and be eaten as is. Saba can also be cooked and the great thing about it is that when cooked it can still hold it’s shape. The literal translation of Saba Con Yelo is bananas on ice.

What ingredients do you need to make Saba Con Yelo?

Saba Bananas are best to use here and is traditional. You can find them at local Filipino Markets like Seafood City or Island Pacific. You can get both fresh or frozen. On occasion Trader Joe’s also stocks them in the freezer section.

Panutsa is a Filipino hardened sugar made from cane sugar. It’s mixed with lime water and cooked until it is brown and crystalized. The mixture is then poured in coconut halves to harden. It’s sold in markets wrapped in cellophane paper. If you can’t find it I recommend using coconut sugar or date syrup.

Chia seeds isn’t traditionally used in this recipe, but I added it for more fiber and nutrition. YOu can omit or replace it with some tapioca balls instead.

Shaved Ice is the star of the show here. It keeps everything nice and cool and at the end you get this nice slushy sweet ice water. Sarap! This is the machine I use to get the ice fluffy.

Milk is a traditional addition to get a touch of cream in this snack/dessert. You can use any kind of milk your body can tolerate.

How Do You Make Saba Con Yelo?

To make the Saba Con Yelo you start by slicing the Saba diagonally.

Saba Bananas cut diagonally on a cutting board with a black knife on the upper right side.

Then you are going to boil 2 cups of water along with about 1/4 cup pieces of panutsa. To cut off the pantusa just place it flat side down on a cutting board and start slicing downwards with a sharp knife. Watch the fingers!

Set the stove temperature to medium and bring it up to a boil. Mix while it is boiling to break down the sugar and then turn down the heat. Leave to simmer for about 10 minutes until the water has reduced and it starts to thicken slightly. Add the bananas and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the bananas are tender. Then add in the chia seeds. Mix well and turn off the heat. Cover and cool to room temperature.

Saba and Chia in a sauce pan with a silver spoon.

Let’s put it all together now!

To serve the saba con yelo place a couple spoon fulls of the banana, chia mixture in a bottom of a glass.

First layer of Saba Con Yelo in a glass. There are empty glasses in the background as well as milk and a small vase with a flower.

Then top with lots of ice.

The last step is to pour in some milk.

All that is left to do is to mix it all up or eat the ice first and then the bananas. It’s all up to you.