Make yoghurt popsicles yourself? Yes, please! These are loaded with fresh strawberries and plain yogurt. They make such a good (and healthy!) treat when the weather warms up.
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Get in line, boys and girls! It’s popsicles!
It’s time for a comeback. These cooling, refreshing treats will be in my freezer all summer!
Why make homemade yogurt pops
Of course you could Buy popsicles, however why? Why would you do that when you can have a freezer full of natural, healthy treats on hand when the temperature makes you want to lie down and take a long nap?
So it makes a lot more sense to capture all the fresh fruits of summer in frozen delicacies. It actually takes less time to make a batch of pops than it does to go to the store and buy them.
Granted, there’s a wait when freezing, but that’s why it’s always a good idea to have a batch ready to eat while you get the next batch going!
This recipe is a blueprint: Puree nice ripe fruit (strawberries in this case) with simple syrup (or not) and some lemon juice. Pour into molds, swirl in some yogurt and voila!
After freezing, remove the pops from their molds and place in plastic bags for longer storage. This also frees the mold for MORE ICE!
Sweeten the fruit… or not
The fruit can be sweetened with honey, your favorite liquid sweetener, or plain syrup. (Make simple syrup by simmering equal parts sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved, then allowing it to cool. Store leftover syrup in the refrigerator for several weeks and use for iced tea, coffee, Cocktails or, even better, for more popsicles. )
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You can also ditch the sweeteners and cut out sugar, which is a handy snack when you’re counting calories.
Regular yogurt or Greek yogurt?
Plain yogurt works best if you’re looking for a swirly effect with your finished frozen popsicles, but Greek yogurt works well too.
Greek yogurt needs to be diluted with a little milk if you want to achieve the strudel, but you can also just stir it into the fruit and fill the molds.
Lemon or vanilla yogurt also goes well with summer fruits.
Variations on these yogurt pops
So many possibilities! Once you’ve made this strawberry version, you can try others. Peaches, melons, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries (strain the pits) are just a few fruits to experiment with.
You can also use either lemon or lime juice to bring out the best flavor in the fruit, or infuse the syrup with herbs by dipping them in the simple syrup and then straining.
Use any type of popsicle
This year I decided to buy some real popsicle molds and I love these Norpro Frozen Ice Pop molds from Amazon, which make ten 3-ounce popsicles. Just be sure to buy lots of extra sticks. you will need them
If you haven’t gotten around to buying popsicle molds yet, you can pour the puree into Dixie cups. Freeze them on a flat tray for at least an hour, then pop in popsicle sticks before freezing completely.
More cool summer treats
- Make your own popsicle popsicles
- Strawberry ice cream
- Blueberry Frozen Yoghurt
- melon sorbet
- Mango sorbet
Strawberry yogurt popsicles
This popsicle has more strawberry than yogurt. If you want more equal parts strawberry and yogurt, increase the amount of yogurt to 1 1/2 cups.
ingredients
- For the simple syrup
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1/2 cup granulated sugar
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1/2 cup water
- For the popsicle
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1 pound (4 cups) strawberries, peeled and halved
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1 tablespoon lemon juice
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1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
method
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Make the simple syrup:
In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar and water over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until cold, or place the pot in a bowl of ice to cool.
This makes about 3/4 cup of syrup; You will not use everything for this recipe. The leftover syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks.
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Puree strawberries:
In a blender or food processor, puree the strawberries, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of the simple syrup until smooth. Taste and add more simple syrup if you like. Pour into a measuring cup or bowl.
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Whisk yoghurt:
In a bowl, whisk the yogurt to smooth out the clumps. (If you like sweetened yogurt, add honey or simple syrup to taste.)
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Fill the Popsicle Shapes:
Fill the molds alternately with about 1 tablespoon of fruit puree and 1 tablespoon of yoghurt. Continue alternating yogurt and berries until molds are filled to 1/4-inch from top (this allows for expansion when freezing).
Insert a skewer or chopsticks deep into the popsicle molds and swirl the yogurt and fruit together.
Note: Exact proportions will depend on the size of your popsicle molds. You may end up with strawberry puree that can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months for future popsicles or stirred into plain yogurt for breakfast.
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Freezing popsicles:
Freeze for 1 hour. Remove the mold from the freezer and insert the popsicle sticks, leaving about 2 inches of each stick above the mold. Return to the freezer for an additional 3 to 4 hours or until frozen.
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Serve or store:
Submerge the bottom and sides of the mold in a container of hot water (do not fully submerge) and hold just long enough to slightly thaw the popsicle so it pops out of the mold.
Serve immediately or transfer to freezer bags and store in the freezer. Three popsicles fit snugly in a quart-sized freezer bag. Let them soften for a few minutes before diving in if you can wait that long.
