How to Make a Milkshake with a Blender
Enjoy this classic diner dessert from the comfort of your own home – in less than 10 minutes!
The American milkshake is one of the most iconic dessert drinks out there. Made from a velvety blended base of rich ice cream and refreshing milk, a milkshake is the perfect blank canvas for almost any flavor you can imagine. The best part? They’re a cinch to make at home. For a step-by-step of how to make a milkshake with a blender and some easy milkshake recipe ideas, keep reading.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ C vanilla ice cream (3 – 4 scoops)
- ¼ – ⅓ C milk
- Flavor add-ons of choice
Tip!
If you’re looking for healthier options, you can replace the ice cream with frozen yogurt or frozen bananas, and the cow’s milk with milk substitutes like coconut, almond, or rice milk.
What You Will Need
- Blender
- Large glass or cup
- Straw
How to Make a Milkshake in a Blender
Step 1: Prepare Your Tools and Ingredients.
Place your glass or cup in the freezer to cool down for serving. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it thaw until its texture resembles soft serve. Thicker ice cream is harder to incorporate – you might have to add extra liquid to soften it up enough to blend, which will result in a less-than-perfect shake. If you're planning on using flavor additions, chop or measure out those ingredients too.
Step 2: Add Ice Cream, Milk, and Flavors of Choice to Your Blender.
Skip the flavors for a classic vanilla shake.
Step 3: Blend Until Smooth.
This should take only a couple of minutes. Add more ice cream or milk until the thickness is as desired.
Step 4: Garnish and Serve.
Classic milkshake garnishes include whipped cream, sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry or two. For a charming old-fashioned presentation, serve your milkshake in a ribbed, stemmed glass and sip through a striped paper straw.
Milkshake Flavor Ideas
Once you’ve mastered the milkshake’s simple two ingredient base, you can begin to experiment with flavor combinations. We’ve compiled a list of a few milkshake recipe ideas if you need a little inspiration.
Malt: For an even more old-fashioned taste, blend 4 tbs. of malted milk powder with the milk in your blender until fully dissolved. Add ice cream last.
Cookies and Cream: Crush 3 black and white sandwich cookies (such as Oreos) in a bag. Blend together the milk and ice cream and then pulse in the cookie bits until evenly combined. Top with a couple more cookies or cookie chunks.
Chocolate: Blend about ¼ cup chocolate syrup into the vanilla milkshake base – you can use chocolate ice cream for this recipe, but it isn’t necessary. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to enhance the chocolate flavor. Top with more chocolate syrup or chocolate shavings.
Fruit: For a fresher, healthier taste, blend about a cup of a fruit of your choice into the milkshake base. A teaspoon of vanilla extract will strengthen the flavors. You can use strawberries, raspberries, bananas, and even mangoes.
Peanut Butter: Throw 2 – 3 tbs. of creamy peanut butter into the mix and blend. Garnish with some chopped peanuts or peanut butter cups.
