How to make a great milkshake without a blender. You’ll just need ice cream, milk, a mason jar, and a microwave…
Hey, friend, here today because you’re craving a milkshake and don’t have a blender (or don’t want to have to wash a blender)? You’re in the right place.
No Blender, No Problem
It’s actually really easy to make a great milkshake without a blender. You’ll just need ice cream, milk, a mason jar , and a microwave.
And real talk, a milkshake made by hand will never be as thick and frosty as one made with a high-powered blender, but this is still going to be a fabulous shake that will absolutely satisfy all those milkshake cravings.
How to Make a Milkshake Without a Blender
Start by placing your ice cream in a large, microwave-safe jar, like a quart-size mason jar. Microwave the ice cream until it begins to melt and you can easily squish it with a spoon. (Note: The ice cream in the first photo has NOT been microwaved yet. You’ll want it more melty than that.)
After your ice cream is softened, you’ll add your milk and any mix-ins (scroll down for my favorite mix-in ideas).
Place a lid on the jar and shake vigorously until well-mixed. When making milkshakes with this method, you almost always end up with a couple stubborn bits of ice cream that won’t mix by shaking. Take a long spoon and stir them into the shake, mashing them against the edges of the jar to help them mix.
And that’s it, pour your shake into a glass, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!
The Best Milkshakes to Make Without a Blender
The best milkshakes to make without a blender are shakes using mix-ins that don’t need to be blended, like syrups or extracts, or ingredients that can be chopped or smashed by hand, like candies and cookies.
Fruit shakes with real fruit are difficult to make by hand unless you want to do some serious mashing with a potato masher.
Some good milkshakes to make without a blender:
- Chocolate Milkshake : Add 3 tablespoons of chocolate or fudge sauce .
- Oreo Milkshake : Smash 3 to 4 Oreo cookies in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy glass and add crumbs to the shake.
- Candy Milkshake: Finely chop about 3 tablespoons of chocolate candies and add pieces to the shake.
For more microwave dessert recipes, try Nutella Sauce and Peanut Butter Sauce .
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Quart-size mason jar with a lid
Milkshake
- ▢ 1 1/2 cups ice cream about 3 scoops, any flavor
- ▢ 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ Whipped cream optional for topping
Chocolate Milkshake
- ▢ 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
Caramel Milkshake
- ▢ 2 tablespoons caramel, butterscotch, or dulce de leche
Oreo Milkshake
- ▢ 3 to 4 Oreos finely crushed
Candy Milkshake
- ▢ 3 tablespoons chocolate candy finely chopped
Instructions
- Place ice cream in a large, microwave-safe jar. Microwave the ice cream until it begins to melt and you can easily squish it with a spoon, 15 to 30 seconds.
- After your ice cream is softened, add milk and any mix-ins.
- Place lid on the jar and shake vigorously until well-mixed. Take a long spoon and stir any remaining bits of ice cream into the shake, mashing them against the edges of the jar to help them mix.
- Pour shake into a glass, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!
Notes
This Strawberry Milkshake is beautifully pink, rich and frosty, and bursting with sweet-tart strawberry flavor.
What is your go-to milkshake flavor? I’m usually an Oreo Shake or Chocolate Milkshake fan, but there are days where it feels like nothing in the world would be better than a strawberry milkshake.
Is today one of those days? If so, let’s make the very best strawberry milkshake.
The Very Best Strawberry Milkshake with Strawberries
IMHO, the best strawberry shake is made with vanilla ice cream and real strawberries. If you have strawberry ice cream in your freezer, you can totally make a milkshake with just ice cream and milk (follow the classic milkshake ratio of 3 scoops ice cream to 1/2-3/4 cup milk), but starting with vanilla ice cream and strawberries gives you a ton of real fruit flavor that just can’t be beat.
How to Make a Strawberry Milkshake
- In your blender, you’ll combine ice cream, strawberries, a little sugar, and milk, and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a chilled glass, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!
Fresh or Frozen Strawberries for a Strawberry Milkshake?
Either fresh or frozen berries work just fine in a milkshake. You’ll get a thicker, frostier shake with frozen berries, but your blender might also struggle a little more blending them.
To help things blend more easily, if using frozen berries, scoop your ice cream into the blender and let it sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, until it just starts to melt, before adding the rest of your ingredients and blending.
If your blender is still struggling, give it another few minutes or add just a bit more milk until it blends without trouble.
More Strawberry Milkshake Flavors
This strawberry shake is a great base recipe for experimenting with more strawberry combos. If you’re looking for something new, try adding some of these mix-ins:
- Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake: Add 1 1/2 to 2 ounces cream cheese to the shake before blending. (This one is SOOOOO good!!)
- Chocolate-covered Strawberry Milkshake: Swirl 1 tablespoon of fudge sauce around the glass before pouring the shake in and add 1 tablespoon sauce over the top (do not stir or your shake will turn brown).
- Strawberry Banana Milkshake : Add 1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen) to the shake before blending.
Strawberry Milkshake Recipe Notes
- This recipe makes about 16-ounces or 2 cups of milkshake, enough for one restaurant-size serving or two smaller servings.
- Looking for more strawberry recipes? Try Strawberry Milk for One or Two , Small-batch Strawberry Frosting , and Homemade Strawberry Sauce .
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream* about 3 scoops
- ▢ 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk* any percentage
- ▢ 3/4 cup chopped hulled strawberries fresh or frozen is fine
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 13g ) granulated sugar optional but recommended*
- ▢ Whipped cream optional for topping
Instructions
- In a blender, combine ice cream, milk, strawberries, and sugar, and blend until well-combined and pourable.
- Pour into a glass, top with whipped cream, and enjoy.
Notes
Coffee ice cubes give you the ability to make yourself an iced coffee at any time, with any temperature coffee, without watering down your coffee or fiddling with cold brew.
I have a non-recipe recipe for you today. Less an actual recipe, more like a hey, you should start doing this because it’s kind of amazing .
Turn your coffee into ice cubes!!
Coffee Ice Cubes: The Perfect Way to Use Up Leftover Coffee
Why are we not all making coffee ice cubes all the time in the summer??? This is the best way to use up leftover coffee (okay, maybe a close second to baking it into cake… ).
Having a batch of these in your freezer means that you are always just a couple minutes away from a glass of iced coffee. And in the miserable heat of summer, who wouldn’t want that?
The Fastest, Easiest Iced Coffee
With coffee ice cubes, you can make yourself an iced coffee with any temperature coffee without watering it down with melting (water) ice cubes or fiddling with cold brew. You just pop a handful of these in a glass and pour coffee over the top.
If you’re using hot coffee and it melts the cubes but you still want ice, you can add more coffee cubes or regular ice cubes since your coffee should now be chilled and ready to sip.
Then stir in a little heavy cream and some simple syrup if you like things sweet or use the chilled coffee to make an Iced Mocha or Iced White Chocolate Mocha .
A Note on Coffee Ice Cube Trays
No need to buy special ice cube trays for your coffee cubes. Any basic one will do , though if you’re making a lot of coffee cubes, you might want to consider keeping a designated coffee tray since plastics can start to absorb strong odors over time, and you don’t want to make ALL your ice cubes smell/taste like coffee.
I used this tray for the cubes in the photo, and while I love how sturdy it is and how neat the cubes look, I don’t know that I would recommend it for everyday use since the cubes are a little difficult to remove from the tray.
More Coffee Recipes
Looking for more ways to caffeinate? Try:
- Homemade Mocha
- Homemade White Chocolate Mocha
- Caramel Macchiato
Ingredients
- ▢ Coffee
Instructions
- Pour coffee into ice cube molds and freeze until solid, about 4 hours.
- Transfer frozen coffee cubes to an airtight container or freezer bag. Store for up to 2 months.
How to Make a Milkshake Without a Blender
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- Quart-size mason jar with a lid
Milkshake
- 1 1/2 cups ice cream about 3 scoops, any flavor
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk any percentage
- Whipped cream optional for topping
Chocolate Milkshake
- 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
Caramel Milkshake
- 2 tablespoons caramel, butterscotch, or dulce de leche
Oreo Milkshake
- 3 to 4 Oreos finely crushed
Candy Milkshake
- 3 tablespoons chocolate candy finely chopped
Instructions
- Place ice cream in a large, microwave-safe jar. Microwave the ice cream until it begins to melt and you can easily squish it with a spoon, 15 to 30 seconds.
- After your ice cream is softened, add milk and any mix-ins.
- Place lid on the jar and shake vigorously until well-mixed. Take a long spoon and stir any remaining bits of ice cream into the shake, mashing them against the edges of the jar to help them mix.
- Pour shake into a glass, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!
