Date Shake

How to make a date shake: a milkshake made from dates! This classic Palm Springs drink is easy to make at home.

Have you ever tried a date shake? This Palm Springs signature drink is an unexpected combination that works: creamy vanilla ice cream and Medjool dates. On our recent trip to Palm Springs that was all there was to talk about! One sip and it’s a revelation: the creamy and aromatic vanilla ice cream goes perfectly with the caramel flavor of this fruit. There’s nothing more refreshing than this luxurious blend in the heat of the desert sun. Learn about the birth of the date shake and a recipe to replicate in your own kitchen.

what is a date

A date shake is a milkshake made with dates from California’s Coachella Valley. It’s known as the unofficial drink of Palm Springs, where you can find it in many restaurants and street stands throughout the Coachella Valley. Dates are a local product grown on date palms, which were originally imported from the Middle East but are now a staple in the region.

Most sources credit California date farmer Russ Nicholl with inventing the date shake in 1928. He paired dates from his farm with a vanilla milkshake, and it became an instant hit with locals. By the late 1930s the trend had spread to the West Coast.

Ingredients for a date shake

The date shake is a simple concept: but every restaurant and street stand in the Coachella Valley has their own version. During our visit to Palm Springs, we tried as many as we could, from a super-sweet shake with whipped cream and cookies to a vegan date shake with soy ice cream. Some restaurants use a pre-made date paste, while others mix the fruit directly into the shake.

For this twist on a date shake, we’ve gone with classic ingredients and a simple method to make it easy to mix at home. Of course you can top with whipped cream and lots of toppings if you like! For this date shake recipe you will need:

• Medjool dates
• milk
• vanilla ice cream (vegan if desired)
• nutmeg or cinnamon

First, soak the Medjool dates in half the milk for 10 minutes to soften them and bring flavor into the liquid. Then mix with the remaining milk, vanilla ice cream and nutmeg or cinnamon!

Learn About Medjool Dates (And A Substitute)

Medjool dates are the best choice for a date shake if you can find them. These are very large, soft dates with an intense sweet caramel flavor. This type of dates has become popular for use in energy bars, sweet desserts, and stuffed foods. Medjool dates are grown in the Coachella Valley: They were originally imported in the 1900s by the USDA, who determined that California’s climate was perfectly suited to date palms.

If you can’t find Medjools, Deglet Noor dates can also work. Deglet nour dates are also grown in the Coachella Valley. But this type of dates has a much harder and less sweet texture. You can also use the smaller, less sweet Deglet Noor dates, but here we prefer the caramel and toffee stickiness of the Medjool date.

Want a healthy option?

Although the name sounds healthy, a date shake is not an entirely healthy food! So we created a healthier version of this drink: the date smoothie! This drink mixes banana and Greek yogurt into the mix instead of vanilla ice cream. Go to Vanilla Date Smoothie.

Tell us what you think!

Head over to the recipe below and let us know if you love this date shake recipe as much as we do. We’d like to know if you’ve visited Palm Springs (or if you’re a local) and what fond memories you have of date shakes. For us, it’s sitting by the pool of our Airbnb, with our feet in the water and sipping on that creamy goodness.

More recipes with dates

Do you have some Medjool dates to use? Here are some ways to use them:

This date shake recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.