Quick And Easy Popsicle Recipes

On a hot day, there is nothing better than a popsicle! Whether you are looking for fresh fruit ice pops, creamy popsicles, or homemade fudgicles, you can find a popsicle recipe you will love!

Last summer I started making homemade popsicles and I haven’t looked back! Not only are they extremely easy to make, but they are also so much healthier than store-bought popsicles.

Instead of artificial flavors and sugars, these homemade popsicles are packed with fresh fruit and good-for-you ingredients. Trust me, homemade pops are can taste just as good, better in fact, than any store-bought option.

Use this guide to find all the best popsicle tips, recipes, molds, and more. Plus find the basic blueprints for creating your own flavors at home.

How to Make Homemade Popsicles

Making homemade popsicles couldn’t be easier. All you need is a blender, your ingredients, and popsicle molds. Here’s what to do:

1. Make your popsicle mixture: All good popsicles start with a blended mixture of fruit (or yogurt, chocolate, etc) and liquid. The key to making a good popsicle is making a mixture that tastes delicious before you freeze it. See below for basic recipes.
2. Pour the mixture into the popsicle molds: Once you have your mixture, pour it into the popsicle molds and add the popsicle stick. Make sure to leave about ¼ inch open at the top. The mixture will expand as it freezes so you need to leave some space.
3. Freeze for 4-8 hours: Depending on the size of the popsicles, they will need between 4-8 hours to freeze.
4. Remove the popsicles from molds: For most popsicle molds, you will need to run them under hot water to release the popsicle from the mold. Then enjoy!

The Basics

Here are the basics for making fruit popsicles and creamy popsicles.

• Fruity: 3 cups fresh or frozen fruit, 1/4 – 1/2 cup liquid (water, coconut water, or juice), 1-2 tbsp sweetener (honey, maple syrup, agave, sugar)
• Creamy: 2 cups fresh or frozen fruit, 1 cup dairy (yogurt, coconut milk, cow’s milk, alternative milk), 2-4 tbsp sweetener (honey, maple syrup, agave, sugar), ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• Pro tip: For creamy popsicles, you can add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to achieve a very creamy (not icy!) texture.
• Get creative: Once you know the basics, you can switch things up in terms of texture and ingredients. Make super smooth popsicles or keep things chunky with bits of fruit inside. Add fun toppings like chocolate chips, sprinkles, granola, or nut butter. Try different combinations of fruit, add lemon or lime juice, or make them pop with fresh herbs or chili powder. The combinations are endless.

Favorite Homemade Popsicle Recipes

Fresh Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles

These delicious homemade popsicles are made with any fresh fruit, protein-packed Greek yogurt, and a touch of honey or maple syrup. They can be made with any fruit you like including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango, pineapple, peaches, or melon. Add granola and it’s basically breakfast. Plus you can switch things up and use flavored yogurt to create all kinds of yummy combinations.

Creamy Banana Popsicles

It’s hard not to love these homemade banana pops with fresh bananas, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and a touch of vanilla extract. These are so good with chocolate chips, swirls of peanut butter, coconut, frozen berries, or dipped in melted chocolate. The texture is almost like a pudding pop, but these are all natural.

Lemon Lemon Popsicles

There is nothing more refreshing than a glass of lemonade on a hot day, so why not try a lemon-lime popsicle instead? It’s basically frozen lemonade made with fresh lemon and lime juice. Add some chia seeds for more nutrition or blend in some berries for natural sweetness. These pops go fast on a hot summer day.

Mexican Cucumber Paletas

Don’t be afraid to add veggies to your popsicles! These cucumber and kiwi popsicles are inspired by a classic Mexican paleta. The cucumber balances out the flavor of the kiwi. For a true Mexican popsicle, add some Tajin, chamoy, or chili powder to the pop as well.

Strawberry Popsicles

It’s hard not to reach for these bright pink strawberry popsicles made with fresh strawberries and a touch of honey. These homemade strawberry popsicles are more natural and so much better than store-bought strawberry popsicles and freeze pops. Make them with just strawberries or mango, raspberries, or lemon juice to mix things up.

Peaches and Cream Popsicles

It’s hard to beat the flavor of peaches and cream, so why not turn it into a refreshing tasty popsicle? Start with fresh, frozen, or canned peaches. Add plain or vanilla yogurt, a touch of honey, and pop in the freezer. A few hours later you have the most delicious and creamy popsicles.

Mango Popsicles

With its sweet flavor and creamy texture, mango is the perfect fruit for popsicles. In fact, when your mangos are sweet, it’s hard to find a more delicious frozen treat. These have a touch of lime juice to balance out the flavors and can be made with water or coconut water. Coconut milk would also be delicious for a mango colada flavor.

Watermelon Mint Popsicles

When it’s hot and sunny, watermelon is one of the best fruits to enjoy. So why not turn it into a delicious frozen treat? This popsicle uses fresh mint as well to keep things interesting, but you could leave it out if you prefer.

Fresh Fruit Popsicles

This basic popsicle recipe can be made with almost any fruit you like. It utilizes whole fruits and coconut water to make some seriously beautiful popsicles. The slices of fresh fruit freeze right in the pop. For a more traditional fresh fruit pop, you could blend the fruit with coconut water.

Healthy Fudgesicles

Craving chocolate? Make these healthy fudgicles made with yogurt. Don’t worry though, they still have plenty of chocolate flavor and a super creamy texture. Plus you can customize the recipe by adding peanut butter, chocolate chips, fresh fruit, or nuts.

Best Storebought Popsicles

While I am a huge fan of making your own popsicles at home, sometimes we need something quick and easy.

When looking at storebought popsicles, normally I like to start with the ingredients. Whether you are searching for a healthy popsicle or something more indulgent, good quality food starts with good ingredients.

Look for popsicles that:

• Are free from artificial ingredients, flavors, and colors
• Are made with real ingredients – real fruit, real yogurt, real cream, ingredients you can pronounce
• For fruit popsicles, fruit should be the first ingredient
• Have minimal added sugar or use real sweeteners (fruit juice, honey, agave, maple syrup, or cane sugar) instead of corn syrup and artificial sweeteners

Our Favorites

• Deebee’s Organics SuperFruit Freezie Freezer Pops: If you are looking for a healthy popsicle option, these are made with all real fruit, although it is mostly fruit juice. No sugar, no preservatives, just fruit.
• Chloe’s Popsicles: Most of Chloe’s brand popsicles taste delicious and have a very minimal ingredient list – real fruit, lemon juice, water, and cane sugar. The mango, lime, and strawberry flavors are especially good.
• Helados Mexico: These are not the healthiest popsicles on this list, but in my opinion, they are the most delicious. The coconut flavor is my favorite. It is seriously good.
• Good Pops: These are also made with 100% fruit juice and contain no added sugar. They are a good option and most of the flavors are bursting with fruit flavor. The coffee and chocolate flavors are also really tasty. My kids love their freeze pops.

Choosing Popsicle Molds

Believe it or not, not all popsicle molds are made equally. After trying out lots of different molds, these are our favorites. They are durable and easy to use.

• Onyx Stainless Steel Popsicle Molds: In my opinion, these are the best popsicle molds on the market, but they are on the pricy side and only worth it if you will be making lots of homemade popsicles. I love them because they are stainless steel, have reusable popsicle sticks with a silicone ring to keep them in place, and are dishwasher safe. It’s also very easy to remove the frozen pops and they never fall over in the freezer.
• Tovolo Classic Pop Molds: These plastic molds are affordable, easy to use, and work great. They make a nice size popsicle that freezes in about 4 hours. These are also dishwasher safe and have a reusable plastic popsicle stick.
• Popsicle Lab: If you don’t want plastic, these silicon popsicle molds are really nice, dishwasher safe, and can be made with wooden popsicle sticks or plastic sticks. One of the best parts of this mold is the small hole in the cover for adding the popsicle stick.
• Push Pops and Freeze Pops: Sometimes a smaller popsicle is nice and these push-pop and freeze pop molds are great for those days. There are lots of options from these reusable silicone molds to disposable molds.

Homemade Popsicle Molds

There are lots of ways to make homemade popsicles at home without fancy molds. Here are the most popular options.

For any of these options, if you find the popsicle sticks won’t stay in place, simply cover them with aluminum foil. Press the popsicle stick through the foil and they will stay in place.

• Dixie Cups: Simple and easy. Just pour the popsicle mixture into a small disposable cup, add a wooden popsicle stick, and pop it in the freezer.
• Muffin tins: Another option that most people have on hand. They can be a little tricky to remove from the tray. In most cases, you will need to let them defrost for a couple of minutes or run the tray under warm water.
• Large ice cube trays: Another great option if you have any larger ice cube trays on hand. Silicone trays are the easiest.
• Loaf pans: This is one of the more difficult options, but it does work. Cover the loaf pan with foil to add popsicle sticks. Then when they are frozen, use a shark knife that you have run under very hot water to slice the “popsicle loaf” into individual pops.
• Leftover yogurt containers: Save your leftover yogurt containers! They work great as popsicle molds.