Jill A. Chafin
Nothing beats enjoying a cold Popsicle on a hot summer day. Whether you’re trying to save money or boost your kid’s veggie count, these homemade Popsicle recipes are bound to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth.
Making your own Popsicles allows you to whip up creative flavors with whatever you have lying around. Kiwi mint? Watermelon cucumber? Banana yogurt? Sounds good!
Feeling nervous about tossing random ingredients in the blender and hoping for the best? Here are five kid-approved recipes that are easy, tasty, and nutritious!
Once you’ve mastered these, feel free to tweak them as needed. As long as your kids eat them, there’s no limit to what you can put in a Popsicle.
Getting Started
The necessary supplies for making Popsicles are minimal. All you need is a blender, Popsicle molds, and your ingredients.
If you don’t have a blender, you can simply mash the ingredients by hand or layer slices of fruit with yogurt.
We highly recommend using clear molds so you can see what’s inside. There’s nothing worse than a child asking for a specific flavor, and then getting something else.
You can also skip the molds altogether, and use paper cups instead. Just push in a Popsicle stick or even a small spoon.
Oh, and next time you blend up a smoothie, make some extra. Then, you can just pour the leftovers into the Popsicle molds. Way to multitask!
Strawberry Beet Popsicles
These gorgeous Popsicles are divine. Your kids will mostly taste the strawberry flavor, while getting all those beneficial vitamins from the beets. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries and beets for this one, making it easy to blend some up whenever you’re running low on Popsicles.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Strawberries
- Beets
- Apple juice
- Lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
Get the Recipe: Super Healthy Kids
Vegan Mango Lassi Popsicles
These light, refreshing ‘sicles are a fantastic way to enjoy a mango lassi without ordering Indian takeout. Or, you can just pour your next mango lassi into Popsicle molds! You can also switch out the coconut yogurt with regular if you’re okay with dairy.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Mangos
- Orange juice
- Lime juice
- Plain coconut yogurt
- Agave nectar (honey or maple syrup will work)
- Vanilla
To make this super-healthy, we sprinkle in a few spinach leaves. Sure, it turns the color slightly green, but the mango flavor is so overwhelmingly sweet, your kids won’t even notice.
Get the Recipe: Choosing Chia
Strawberry-Granola Breakfast Pops
Too tired to make breakfast? This frozen treat takes care of it all with fruit, yogurt, granola. Now, that’s what we call a balanced breakfast!
Plus, you’re bound to win Parent of the Year if you regularly give your kids frozen snacks for breakfast. Yum!
The coolest part is you make these in Dixie cups! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Strawberry yogurt
- Granola
- Fresh strawberries
- Dixie cups
- Popsicle sticks
Get the Recipe: Delish
Coconut Carrot Ice Pops
Struggling to get your picky kids to eat veggies? Well, this delicious Popsicle will deliver a serving of carrots without anyone knowing. Shhh!
Tricking your kids is totally okay if that’s what it takes to work some solid nutrition into their diet. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Unsweetened coconut milk
- Carrot juice
- Grated carrots
- Sugar
- Fresh ginger
- Lime juice
Get the Recipe: Country Living
Green Dinosaur Popsicles
I usually toss some spinach or kale in almost every Popsicle recipe. Just a few leaves, though, so the kids won’t notice. It delivers a powerful punch of nutrients and vitamins, which is especially helpful if your kids refuse to eat veggies.
Worried they’ll still reject it? Try this recipe—the banana and pineapple flavors totally win. You just have to convince your kids they’re actually made of dinosaurs—otherwise, they’ll wonder why these are so green. And green is cool!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Raw spinach
- Bananas
- Pineapple
- Water
- Yogurt
- Honey
Get the Recipe: Live Simply
Whipping up your own Popsicles is a great way to experiment with flavors and slip in a few nutritious ingredients in the process. As long as your kids gobble them up, that’s what we call a success!
