Feel like a kid again with a tall glass of homemade strawberry milk. This recipe takes a homemade simple syrup made from fresh strawberries and sugar and combines it with cold milk to create a delicious dairy beverage that is thinner than a strawberry smoothie, but packed with strawberry flavor.
The flavor is much like my homemade fresh strawberry juice but with the creamy goodness of milk. You can make it extra special by topping it with homemade grenadine whipped cream or adding some strawberry cake pops as a snack on the side.
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🥛 Homemade Strawberry Milk Vs. Store-Bought
- Great alternative. This fresh, fruity drink is a perfect alternative to store-bought syrups that contain unwanted ingredients.
- Fresh ingredients in homemade. This recipe uses real, fresh strawberries and only two other basic ingredients. When you make a homemade simple syrup for the milk, you don't need to add the preservatives and other chemical ingredients.
- Unwanted ingredients in store-bought. Some commercial strawberry syrups and strawberry milks contain ingredients like glucose-fructose, high fructose corn syrup, sodium benzoate, modified corn starch, potassium sorbate, mono and diglycerides, flavor and color. I don't even see strawberries on that list...
🍓 Ingredients
This recipe keeps it simple with only 3 ingredients:
- fresh strawberries - You can also try this recipe with frozen strawberries but it may take longer to cook the syrup.
- sugar - The sugar is used to make the homemade syrup which will blend nicely into the milk.
- milk - I use whole milk but you can get creative with the recipe. For a vegan twist, replace the cow's milk with coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, pumpkin milk or another dairy-free product.
*Check recipe card for ingredient amounts.
📄 How to Make Strawberry Milk
Step 1. Make the strawberry milk syrup. In a small pot, heat the strawberries, sugar and water over medium heat. Simmer until very soft (around 10 minutes).
Step 2. Strain and discard strawberries. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. This will give you a clear strawberry syrup. Discard the strawberries from the strainer.
Step 3. Add syrup to milk and serve. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the strawberry syrup to each glass of cold milk (or to taste) and stir. Serve the homemade strawberry milk!
✅ Joss' Tips
- Make it an adult beverage by spiking it with some vodka or white rum and it will taste more like my strawberry liqueur.
- You can serve it hot or cold and use the leftover strawberry syrup for another sweet treat or beverage that you would like to add strawberry flavor to.
- This drink is best served fresh, so don't pour the syrup into the milk until you're ready to drink it.
- If you're planning ahead, you can make a batch of homemade syrup and store it in the fridge, then mix the beverages whenever you're ready.
- The syrup in this recipe is clear, but you could purée the strawberry mixture in a blender instead of straining it, to get a thicker syrup with more texture and fiber.
🍰 Other Ways to Use up the Syrup
After you've made strawberry milk, you can use the leftover strawberry syrup in a number of other ways.
- Add it to smoothies. For example, pour it in a blender with a banana, dates and/or other types of fruit to make a nutritious fruit smoothie.
- Spoon it over a strawberry sundae.
- Pour it over pancakes or ice cream (such as my strawberry shortcake no churn ice cream).
- Make fruit punch.
- Bake a strawberry cake or these pink champagne cake balls.
- Serve up delicious strawberry milkshakes for you and your family members.
- Try adding fresh strawberry slices to make a sweet strawberry glaze for your cakes and pastries.
- You can even add it to drinks like lemonade, iced tea and homemade cocktails or a strawberry mojito mocktail.
- For a unique summer treat, make shaved ice at home and pour the strawberry syrup on top.
❓ Recipe FAQs
This recipe makes about ¾ cup strawberry syrup. If you have any leftover, it can be stored in an airtight container (like a squeeze bottle) in the refrigerator for up to 1 month and use it in the ways listed above or for more strawberry milk.
It's simply a combination of cold milk, strawberries and sugar.
Strawberries and milk are a much-loved food combination and many treats and beverages use this creamy strawberry flavor-duo.
❤️ More Strawberry Recipes You Will Love
If you tried this Homemade Strawberry Milk Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. And please share the recipe!
📋Recipe
Homemade Strawberry Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberries - cleaned and chopped
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups milk - whole milk is best
Instructions
- In a small pot, heat the strawberries, sugar and water over medium heat. Simmer until very soft (around 10 minutes).1 cup strawberries, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup water
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer*. This will give you a clear strawberry syrup. Discard the strawberries from the strainer.
- Add 3-4 tablespoons of the strawberry syrup to each glass of cold milk (or to taste) and stir.2 cups milk
- Serve!
Notes
- Syrup Storage: Store any leftover syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
- Frozen Strawberries: This recipe also works with frozen strawberries.
- Yield: Makes approximately ¾ cup strawberry sauce.
- *Purée Option: You could purée the strawberry mixture in a blender instead of straining it, to get a thicker syrup with more texture, but it won't be clear.
Nutrition
Nutrition information on In the Kitch is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may not include toppings and/or sauces.
Joss says
I make this occasionally as a sweet treat for my kids instead of using store bought syrup/milk with a bunch of ingredients I can’t pronounce. The strawberry flavor is so fresh and yummy!