If you've ever made fruit shakes with ice cubes, you know that they can eventually melt into a sad, watered-down drink. Our simple solution: Skip the ice cubes entirely and freeze your other ingredients instead.
These fruit shake recipes present two options for your ice replacement: frozen fruit and frozen cream.
Why frozen fruit makes better fruit shakes
"Fresh is best" doesn't always apply to shakes and smoothies. In the case of blended drinks, frozen fruit works better than fresh for several reasons:
- You save money. Frozen fruit come out cheaper than the fresh stuff.
- They have a longer shelf life. Frozen fruit lasts for months in the freezer, allowing you to buy in bulk and have them all year.
- Zero prep required. Frozen fruits come pre-washed and cut and ready to go into your blender. No more peeling bananas or deseeding mangoes.
- They add a thicker consistency to your shakes. Frozen fruit typically hold less water than their fresh counterparts. Less water means a thicker, frostier texture once blended into your shakes.
What about frozen cream?
If you don't have frozen fruit on hand, make frozen cream instead. Pour Nestlé All-Purpose Cream into an ice tray and freeze until solid. You can transfer your frozen cream cubes into a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container after, ready for smoothie-making at any time. They'll impart an ice cream-like texture to your drink.
Frozen Strawberry Shake
No need for ice when you’re using frozen strawberries, which last longer and come out cheaper than fresh fruit. And you’ll never have to catch them one day with white fuzz, prompting you to debate between throwing it all out or eating around the mold (don’t do that).
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 200g frozen strawberries
- 1 cup Nestlé All-Purpose Cream
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup white sugar
Blend and serve: Combine strawberries, Nestlé All-Purpose Cream, milk, and sugar in a blender. Blend on high until mixture is smooth and homogenous. Taste and adjust sweetness with simple syrup as needed. Serve in a tall glass.
Did you know you can make smoothies out of dried fruit? For 200g dried strawberries, blend with ½ cup Nestlé All-Purpose Cream, ¼ cup milk, and 1 cup ice.
Frozen Banana & Chocolate Smoothie
Frozen bananas can last for up to 6 months. After that, they’ll start to darken and get too mushy when thawed. Not a problem if you’re making banana-chocolate smoothies, since you're blending everything up anyway!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas
- 1 cup Nestlé All-Purpose Cream
- ¼ cup condensed milk
- 2 tbsp chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- chocolate syrup, for garnish
Freeze bananas: Peel and slice bananas into small coins for easier freezing. Place banana pieces in a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container and freeze overnight.
Blend and serve: Add frozen bananas, Nestlé All-Purpose Cream, condensed milk, and chocolate to a blender. Blend on high until the bananas and chocolate are fully blended, and the smoothie is homogenous.
Serve: Add a swirl of chocolate syrup around the inner walls of your glass. Pour your smoothie, top with whipped cream, then garnish with a cherry or shaved chocolate.
Liquids are easier to mix into smoothies than solids. If you want to adjust your smoothie’s sweetness, we recommend making a simple syrup with two parts sugar dissolved in one part water. This sweet liquid is easier to add in than granulated sugar. Same goes for chocolate: Use chocolate syrup or melted chocolate chips.
Avocado Shake with Frozen Cream
Frozen cream doubles down on the rich, creamy mouthfeel of avocado shakes.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 carton Nestlé All-Purpose Cream
- 4 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
- ½ cup condensed milk
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- water or milk
Freeze cream: Fill an empty ice cube tray with Nestlé All-Purpose Cream. Freeze overnight or until solid. Store in the freezer until ready to use.
Blend and serve: Add frozen cream cubes, avocado, condensed milk, and evaporated milk to a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth and homogenous. If the blender has a hard time starting, add enough water or milk to help it get moving. If the mixture gets too thick, thin it out with water or milk. Pour into a glass and serve cold.
