32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas
In the previous post we discussed how homemade popsicles can reduce the trash we toss, save money (both on boxes and gas to the store), and help to save resources. Also, homemade pops are cool (no pun intended) because you can make them healthy, organic, and without preservatives. Or you can indulge and make extra luscious pops if you feel like it. Lastly pops are a fun experiment. Kids love to try out different combos. You may even be able to get your little to eat healthy foods like veggies in ice pop form.
Over time, I’ve collected (or experimented with) a ton of ice pop, and other frozen treat recipes and ideas. Following are 32 of them. Some freeze harder than others, some are super sweet, while others are light treats. You have to mess around in your own kitchen. However, there are plenty of ideas here, enough to keep you busy for a while.
Also, because I don’t want to write “organic” nine million times in a row, note that I do make almost all of these with organic ingredients, and you should too. Read up on the best foods to buy organic -even if you’re not all organic, try to buy organic items that are on the super high pesticide level lists, like apple juice for instance. If you find a popsicle recipe around the web that sounds good, you can always substitute organic ingredients as well.
Now, make sure you have some decent popsicle molds, grab the kids, and freeze up some fun in your kitchen.
32 Great Homemade Popsicles Recipes (and ideas about what to freeze)
1. Apricot : Mix 2 cups apricot juice with 1/2 cup soy milk (or skim) and freeze.
2. A tablespoon of organic raspberry jam mixed with water or milk. This is nice for that last bit of jam in the jar.
3. Pineapple and carrot juice
5. Smashed strawberries
6. Homemade lemonade
7. “Glitter” pops: Cedar is obsessed with these. Sadly, they take some time. Sprinkle colored sugar into your mold. Fill the mold half way with water. Freeze a while. Sprinkle more colored sugar in. Add more water. Freeze. I can’t figure out how to simply mix the sugar in because it’ll melt, and or sink to the bottom. These pops look a lot glitterier if you make them with yogurt – the sugar doesn’t dissolve much in yogurt. Cedar likes the glitterier look, but he’s weird about ice – he loves ice. So… we make them with water.
8. Homemade limeade
11. Applesauce: sometimes thick applesauce needs to be mixed with a little water or it freezes funny.
12. Fudge pops
13. Tangerine juice - tangerine lime is really good too.
15. Blend raspberries (about 6 oz), 1 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 3/4 cup water, and mint (either a handful of fresh mint leaves, or 2 tsp mint syrup) - blend all of this really well and freeze.
17. Chocolate & vanilla layered pudding - or make it easy on yourself and simply add both flavors to your mold and swirl them with a thin knife.
18. Honeydew lime
19. Fresh pureed peaches, a tablespoon of honey, and whole small wild blueberries. Mix & freeze.
20. Brew strong green tea, mix in honey, freeze.
22. Salad pops: Blend half a cantaloupe and a couple cherry tomatoes - to sort of still chunky. Add 1/4 cup of chopped mint, basil, or lemon balm (not all three, choose one - I like lemon balm). Add a cup or two of plain organic yogurt. Freeze. Truthfully, I like this better with chopped (very small) tomatoes. But seriously, like I have that kind of time.
23. Mashed bananas, a dash of milk, peanut butter, and chocolate sauce – (mix smooth & freeze).
24. Mango Kulfi
25. Pureed watermelon mixed with white grape juice
26. Sweet potato pops - cook, mash, mix smooth (adding some soy milk to thin it out), sprinkle in a little nutmeg, freeze. These are really good - no joke.
28. Chamomile sun tea pops - just like it sounds. Make sun tea & freeze. I love lemon ice sun tea pops too.
29. Chocolate chip mint popsicles
30. PLAIN WATER - plain water is way fun to freeze. Every kid I know likes plain ice pops, and water is important, we need lots of it to stay healthy. Also, if you’re having a summer picnic, you can make plain water pops with beautiful tiny edible flowers, flower petals, small whole berries, or whole herb leaves in them. Stick them in a bucket of cubed ice to serve and everyone will think you’re some sort of Martha Stewart genius. I’m serious. You think I’m kidding. Make some. People will fawn over you… for freezing water. Go figure.
32. Herbal pops: Herbal pops are awesome. You can actually make them with medicinal qualities which is the perfect way to get your little one to take herbs (kids don’t always love tea).
You can use lavender, thyme, basil, and more - really any herb. You’d be surprised at some of the tasty ice pops herbs make. IF you’re nervous try a sample first by making herbal ice cubes. That’s less waste than whole pops. Samples can save you from things like rosemary blueberry pops (Hey, it sounded good).
Anyhow to make a basic herbal mix you can make basic (but strong) herbal teas, boil herbs down for a good long while on your stove and use the liquid, or try the sugar method, it depends on how you’re feeling.
For the sugar method pound herbs down with a pestle and mortar (or food processor). Add an ounce of super fine sugar, and pound to make a paste. Next, boil a liter of water with about 2 ounces of super fine sugar for five minutes. Add the juice of two lemons or not - this step depends on what you’re trying to create. You can add orange juice, lime, etc. You could even just add more water or some saved tea. Mix the herb mixture and the water mixture together. Stir well with a whisk. Cool down before filling your molds.
That’s enough I think. What I’m hoping is that this list showed you that you can try all sorts of combinations. You don’t have to stick to plain old fruit juice.
Note: as you experiment, don’t forget to write down items you use in a concoction. The only thing worse than a terrible idea for an ice pop flavor, is the best idea ever that you can’t remember how to make. Also, if you come up with something amazing come back and let me know.
Now, what’s your favorite ice pop flavor? I like ginger rootbeer and tangerine best.
[all photos via: stock.xchng]
Tags: fruit pops, herbal popsicles, homemade ice pops, homemade juice pops, Homemade Popsicles, ice pops, ice pops with juice, plastic molds, Popsicles, pudding pops, reduce trash, save on resourcesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Cooking, Baking, & Treats, Organic Food & Drink
26 opinions for 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas
Rebecca
Apr 2, 2008 at 6:40 pm
We have three popsicle molds, and I have no way of knowing if they are made out of good or bad plastic (or do I?). I think I will hang onto them rather than buying new molds. Thanks for all the recipes!
marye
Apr 2, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I like frozen bananas on a stick dipped in chocolate. What can I say..a simpleton at heart.
These look fabulous Jennifer..
Kisha
Apr 3, 2008 at 12:51 am
Thanks for the reciepes! There’s a lot there that soound really good.
Jennifer
Apr 3, 2008 at 12:34 pm
@Rebecca check this to see which plastics are not safe: http://trusted.md/blog/vreni_gurd/2007/03/29/plastic_water_bottles it doesn’t tell the whole story, but lots. I agree with hanging on to old mold if you have them for the most part, mainly because why waste. We bought new singles and recycled the old one we had because the together molds were so hard to use that we didn’t.
@Marye - how did I know you’d say something like that. :) As always, fab to see you.
@Kisha welcome to Tree Hugging Family, and thanks :)
Gary
Apr 19, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Question: Does anyone know how to make a popsicle so it doesn’t get hard as a rock like ice? I try to make sugar free popsicles but they usually come out rock hard like ice. If you have ideas please reply here or to Theravyn211@aol.com my e-mail.
Jennifer
Apr 20, 2008 at 5:49 am
@Gary I’m not sure if you’re just trying to avoid processed sugar or all sugars, but when we make whole smashed fruit pops they freeze kind of more slushy than juice or water pops. What exactly are you doing when you make your pops? Using sugar free juice or something?
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May 24, 2008 at 11:07 pm
[...] 4. 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Ideas and Recipes [...]
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Jul 4, 2008 at 3:06 am
[...] and drink cool items. Ice pops are always good here are 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas. Also, while you’re at it, make homemade pops to save money and save on all that ice pop garbage [...]
Summer Savings On Ice Treats & Leftover Produce
Jul 6, 2008 at 5:18 pm
[...] To learn more read: 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas [...]
TW
Jul 10, 2008 at 1:45 am
Gary, how about gelatin bases pops?
It’s just simply the higher the water content the harder they get so you need an anti freeze which is sugar, fat or gels.
Greenbaby
Jul 10, 2008 at 2:09 pm
We agree! Over at greenbabyguide.com we have a recipe for making a softer homemade popsicle. Check it out here: http://greenbabyguide.com/2008/06/26/organic-homemade-popsicles/
Summer resources «
Jul 31, 2008 at 12:15 pm
[...] cool by making quick, healthy homemade ice cream on sticks. Assuming you don’t want to use paper cups that must be tossed after using, you can try [...]
Bethany
Aug 14, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I made tea pops for a long time and now I’ve found a brand in my Whole Foods. They’re called Frosteas. They have a green tea, yerba mate and an herbal. They are sweetened only with honey. They’re great. When I need something fast and don’t make my own, the kids love these.
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Sep 23, 2008 at 4:14 am
[...] Have a back up plan for every item you buy. If you buy an item and there’s any sort of question about your family eating it before it goes bad, then you need a back up plan, or you need to quit buying that item. My two major back up plans are soups and ice pops. If I have leftover noodles, veggies, or tofu, it can go into a soup. Ice pops are even better, because I will seriously toss anything into a mold and freeze it up. Old fruit, left over beans, scrapings of the jam jar, that very last bit of juice, milk mixed with chocolate, yogurt that expires, and even old veggies. I freeze it and my son always eats it - there’s some sort of kid allure when it comes to frozen treats. If you’re an ice pop newbie, read: 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas. [...]
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Jan 18, 2009 at 3:39 am
[...] These are consumed almost daily during the peak months of summer in our home and I’m hoping to experiment with some interesting, homemade flavours this year. (Here’s a excellent starting point). [...]
Diana Moore
Mar 3, 2009 at 12:13 am
Instead of using plastic molds, why not try making your iceblocks in shot glasses or other containers.
paxye
Mar 30, 2009 at 9:15 am
Great ideas!
My kids love frozen fruit… frozen grapes are the hit right now!
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Apr 10, 2009 at 7:04 am
[...] boxed ice treats, reduces your gas use (no more frequent trips to the store), and it allows you to use up leftover foods in creative ways. Besides that, homemade ice pops save resources - there’s no excess [...]
Gina
Apr 26, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Your fudge recipe links to a site that advocates using disposable plastic cups. I would have expected that since you’re a “tree hugging family” that you would have noted a protest along with the link, or at least a note to say, if you follow the recipe on this link, use an ice tray, or a reusable popsicle mold, your own plastic cups but not disposable cups. Disposable cups break down and are not easily recycled…so they end up in the landfill.
Jennifer
Apr 26, 2009 at 3:19 pm
@Gina - Right at the start of this post I link to the post on reusable ice pop molds. Plus I note, “Now, make sure you have some decent popsicle molds” - it seems silly to repeat myself over and over on each link that’s not entirely eco-friendly.
nee
Apr 26, 2009 at 7:55 pm
i need to make 100 popsicles for a party and don’t necessarily want to use dixie cups. i’d like them to look nicer. does anyone have any suggestions? i can only find molds of 6 or 8. help help help.
Nico
May 9, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I love these ideas but I would have to recommend not drinking soy milk, as unfermented soy can cause lots of health problems. I know you buy organic but most soy is also genetically modified and soy milk tends to have a lot of sugar. Check out this website: http://www.wholesoystory.com/
Healthy
Jun 6, 2009 at 12:56 pm
To the person concerned about plastics: Keep your ingredients super cool in the fridge and freeze the MOLDS before you pour the ingredients in. Warm plastics will leash more, frozen shouldn’t nearly so much. :D
Parenting Tips 365 » Healthy Homemade Popsicle Recipes
Jun 16, 2009 at 1:59 pm
[...] found a great list of 32 popsicle recipes and ideas from one of my favorite sites, TreeHuggingFamily.com. So many of them look good to me, but the ones I may try first are the ones with pineapple, or [...]
Paul
Jun 25, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Hello . . . I’m an old retired guy who likes popsicles and would like to make my own. I’ve gotten some good ideas here, but, I REALLY prefer those that don’t freeze too hard (softer is better for me.). Can anyone give me a hint . . . . please. TIA
Nikki
Jun 28, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Thanks for the great recipes. Your post was exactly what I was looking for- a bunch of healthy popcicle recipes to make for my kiddos :)
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