Creamy, refreshing, and full of fresh strawberry flavor, this Strawberry Milk recipe is quick and easy to make with only 4 ingredients. A beautiful way to enjoy the season’s best strawberries!
Refreshing Strawberry Milk Recipe
We’re a milk-drinking family. There’s always chocolate milk (great for post-workout protein and muscle recovery!) and white milk in our fridge – and when we have sweet, juicy strawberries, Strawberry Milk is an extra fun treat!
This strawberry milk recipe is inspired by Korean strawberry milk, made famous by cafes in Korea. I remember the Nesquik variety being a thing when I was young, but that drink powder pales in comparison to using fresh strawberries!
Our daughters have become big fans of boba tea and fruity milk tea drinks that have become so popular in the US over the past 10 years. So this drink is fun to have around – our girls like to add green tea and tapioca balls, for homemade strawberry bubble tea.
I created this recipe with a very smooth consistency, but if you’d like to leave the strawberries chunky for an authentic Korean strawberry milk experience, go right ahead!
Temperatures are rising, it’s almost June. Time to break out all of the refreshing drink recipes! Some family favorites are blueberry basil lemonade, (virgin) pina colada, mocha cookie crumble frappuccino, and iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso! Check out more drink recipes here!
Why You’ll Love This Easy Strawberry Milk
There are so many reasons to love this Korean strawberry milk!
- It’s unique. You’ll definitely see chocolate milk in grocery stores, but it’s much less common to find strawberry milk. I love this recipe because it feels extra special, especially when it’s made with seasonal just-picked strawberries. It’s also so pretty!
- It’s refreshing. This is kinda like a strawberry milkshake, but with less fat than ice cream. It’s perfect for cooling off on the hottest days.
- Dairy & berry nutrition. Strawberries are a favorite with almost everyone, so this is an easy way to add a boost of calcium and vitamin C.
- Smooth, light texture. While I do love smoothies and shakes, this strawberry milk has a very smooth, light texture that I welcome.
- So easy. This is a super simple recipe that delivers big results. If you don’t want to bother with the food processor, you could mash the strawberries by hand after you’ve cooked them, and then strain out the seeds. Just know that if you want the smoothest strawberry puree, you’ll want to remove as many seeds as possible.
What You’ll Need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this strawberry milk recipe.
Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts and full instructions.
- Strawberries – The star of the show! For the best flavor, use only ripe strawberries that are sweet, juicy, and fragrant.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar sweetens this fruity milk drink. If your berries aren’t super sweet, consider increasing the amount of sugar to ⅓ cup.
- Water – Water helps create a fluid, pourable sauce to incorporate into the milk.
- Milk – Milk is the base for this drink. I like to use whole milk for richer flavor and texture but any milk should work – dairy or nondairy.
How to Make Strawberry Milk
Here’s my simple method for making this drink!
- Cook the strawberries and sugar. Add the strawberries, granulated sugar, and water to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries soften and the sugar dissolves.
- Puree the cooked strawberries. Transfer the cooled strawberry mixture to a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth.
- Strain the strawberries. Strain the strawberry puree through a fine-mesh sieve, making sure to press out as much liquid as possible. Discard the seeds. (If you like the seeds, skip this step.)
- Make the drinks. Divide strawberry sauce between two glasses and top with milk. Stir to incorporate.
- Serve the drinks. Garnish with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, if desired. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
This is a super easy recipe to throw together, but I have a few tips and variations for you:
- Use the best strawberries. This is the most important tip. Use sweet, juicy, fragrant strawberries for the most flavorful strawberry milk. Local, in-season strawberries are the best, whether they’re from a u-pick, roadside stand, farmers market, or store.
- Want to use frozen strawberries? It’s perfectly fine to use frozen strawberries to make strawberry milk. You can defrost them first or just use them straight from the freezer.
Variation Ideas
- Make this recipe dairy-free. If you’d like to make this a dairy-free strawberry milk, it’s easy to do so. Simply substitute with your favorite non-dairy milk and keep the rest of the method the same. Just know that most non-dairy milk alternatives are more watery, which will give your drink not only a different flavor, but also a different texture.
- Substitute honey for the sugar. Another easy substitution is to swap the sugar for honey (or maple syrup). Honey and strawberries are beautiful together, and this will bring out a bit more floral note to the finished strawberry milk. Just add the honey to the pot with the water when you are cooking the strawberries.
- Keep the strawberries chunky. If you’d like this to be more like Korean strawberry milk, then leave the strawberry sauce chunky – do not blend it.
- Toppings & mix-ins. Add tapioca pearls to make strawberry boba, or popping pearls for fun bursts of juicy, fruity flavor. We buy these online or at one of our local Asian markets. You could also incorporate tea, for a fruity milk tea drink. Or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make a creamy strawberry float!
What Goes With Strawberry Milk?
Strawberry milk is perfect all on its own – as a protein drink option after a workout or a cold refreshment on a hot summer day. But it also goes great with meals, especially breakfast!
- Egg recipes. Try strawberry milk with my favorite overnight egg bake. Or with crab quiche or breakfast egg salad.
- Muffins, quick breads, and cakes. This drink would be so lovely with banana bread muffins or blueberry muffins with crumble topping. Or how about blueberry tea cake or raspberry rhubarb coffee cake? I also can’t resist a slice of sour cream banana bread!
- A bowl of oatmeal. Try my overnight baked apple oatmeal or make-ahead buttery baked oatmeal recipes for a nourishing treat. If you like oats, also check out our favorite recipe for almond coconut granola.
- Other breakfast pastries. My lemon rhubarb scones with vanilla bean glaze or strawberry shortcake scones would make lovely breakfast pairings with strawberry milk. Or my mom’s super soft caramel rolls, yum!
- Pancakes. Keep it simple with buttermilk pancakes, go ultra decadent with double chocolate pancakes, or lighten things up with my French crepes recipe. You can’t go wrong with pancakes!
- Waffles. Waffles plus strawberry milk can be served just as easily for dessert as they can for breakfast. I especially love yeast waffles or classic homemade waffles topped with more fresh fruit (or ice cream, like my salted caramel ice cream).
- Cookies! Cookies are always a fun treat, and strawberry milk is perfect with cookies. Try my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip shortbread cookies. These chewy chocolate chip cookie bars are an insanely popular recipe here. Or browse my entire collection of cookie recipes.
Can I Make Strawberry Milk in Advance?
Strawberry milk is a great recipe to make in advance!
Just make the strawberry puree and place it in a glass container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to make strawberry milk, simply divide up the strawberry puree between two glasses and proceed with the recipe.
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Strawberry Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup quartered fresh ripe strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2½ cups whole milk
Instructions
- Add the strawberries, granulated sugar, and water to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook the strawberry sauce, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries have softened and the sugar has dissolved, about 7 minutes. ¼
- Allow the strawberry mixture to cool completely (place in the fridge to speed up the process, if you like). Then transfer it to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
- Strain the strawberry puree through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Discard the seeds.
- Divide the strawberry sauce between two glasses and top each glass with 1¼ cups of milk. Stir to incorporate.
- Garnish with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
More Strawberry Recipes to Try
- Strawberry Sauce (super simple, no-cook recipe!)
- Strawberry Muffins with Lime Glaze
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
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