How to Make a Milkshake (2024)

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By: Leigh Anne Wilkes

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Make a creamy, delicious and perfect classic milkshake anytime. Sharing all my tips for how to make a milkshake combining your favorite flavor ice cream and milk.

How to Make a Milkshake (1)

Why’ll You Love this Recipe!

Wondering how to make a great milkshake at home? Making one at home couldn’t be easier. All it requires is two ingredients, milk and ice cream. The trick to the perfect milkshake is the ice cream to milk ratio and today I’m sharing with how I make my shakes and then you can take it from there, get creative and come up with all kinds of fun flavor combos!

How to Make a Milkshake (2)

Milkshake Ingredients

All you need are some simple ingredients. You need ice cream and you need milk.

  1. Ice Cream. For a chocolate milkshake, I usually use vanilla ice cream with chocolate milk but if you want a double chocolate shake use chocolate ice cream along with chocolate milk. I prefer a full-fat ice cream.
  2. Milk. I love using Chocolate milk for even more chocolate goodness but you can also use regular milk if using chocolate ice cream.
How to Make a Milkshake (3)

Tip from Leigh Anne

  1. The trick to a good homemade milkshake is to use high quality ingredients, a good, whole milk and a good quality ice cream. I promise you it makes a difference.
  2. You can make a milkshake using any flavor of ice cream you like along with either white or chocolate milk.

How to Make a Milkshake Thick

The trick to a thicker milkshake is the ice cream to milk ratio. Use 2 cups of ice cream to 1/2 cup of milk.

You will need a spoon to eat this milkshake, not a straw! If you prefer to use a straw and want a thinner milkshake just add in more milk or less ice cream.

How to Make a Milkshake (4)

How to Make A Milkshake At Home

  • Place 2 cups of ice cream into a blender.
  • Add in 1/2 cup of milk.
  • Blend until smooth and thick.
  • Pour into glass and top with whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry if desired.
How to Make a Milkshake (6)

How To Make a Milkshake Without A Blender

No blender, no problem. Try one of these methods.

Bowl Method. Add softened ice cream into a bowl along with milk and use a whisk to blend together.

Jar Method. Put softened ice cream and milk into a jar with a lid, either a mason type jar or a blender jar. Use a spoon to smash ingredients together and then put on the lid and shake to combine.

Food Processor or Immersion Blender will work too.

How to Make a Milkshake (7)

Milkshake Mix-Ins:

  • Baked Goods. Use brownie pieces, your favorite cookie, cupcakes or leftover pie! You could even use cookie dough!
  • Syrups: chocolate syrup, caramel sauce or strawberry sauce. You could also use hot fudge sauce. Add to taste.
  • Fruit: Strawberries, bananas, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, mango. Use 1/4 -1/2 cup of fruit.
  • Preserves. Add in your favorite flavor of jam, lemon curd or orange marmalade.
  • Spreads. Such as peanut butter or any nut butter, Nutella or Cookie Butter.
  • Something Crunchy. Mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, graham crackers, Oreo cookies, candy bar pieces, or waffle cone pieces.
  • Nuts. Peanuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts.
How to Make a Milkshake (8)

Best Milkshake Toppings

You can get as creative as you like with this one! Of course the traditional topping is whipped cream with a maraschino cherry and maybe a few sprinkles but try some of these other options.

  • Malt. Add in powdered malt for an old fashioned chocolate malt!
  • Cookies:Crushed cookie crumbs (Oreos, chocolate chip, oatmeal etc.)
  • Sauces:Caramel, strawberry, berry, hot fudge, chocolate, pineapple
  • Nuts:toasted peanuts, slivered almonds, crushed pecans
  • Fruit:maraschino cherries, bananas, berries such as blueberries, raspberries or strawberries.
  • Candies: Sprinkles, M & M’s, nonpareils, skittles, Nerds, chocolate chips, crushed peppermint candies.
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Other Milkshake Flavor Ideas:

Fresh Strawberry Milkshake:

  • 1 1/2cupsfresh strawberries
  • 2cupsvanilla ice cream
  • 1/4cupmilkadd more to thin out the milkshake if desired.
  • 2Tbspsugar
  • 1/2tspvanilla
How to Make a Milkshake (10)

Birthday Cake Milkshake

  • 2cups vanilla ice cream
  • 1cupmilk
  • 3Tbspdry cake mix
  • Sprinkles
  • whipped cream
How to Make a Milkshake (11)

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

  • 2cupsvanilla ice cream
  • 1cupmilk
  • 1large slice pumpkin piechopped and frozen (can be used unfrozen also)
  • Whipped creamgarnish
  • Caramel saucegarnish
How to Make a Milkshake (12)

Fresh Peach Shake

  • 2cupsvanilla ice cream
  • 1/2cupwhole milk
  • 1 1/2large peachespeeled and sliced. Dice the remaining half and add into blended shake if you like chunks in your shake.
  • 1Tbspsugar
  • 1/2tspvanilla
  • whipped cream
How to Make a Milkshake (13)

Check out more delicious treat recipes:

  • Rootbeer Milkshake
  • ChickFilA Peppermint Milkshake
  • Frosted Lemonade
  • Chocolate Malt Cookies

Be sure and follow me over onYou Tubefor weekly cooking demos.

4.87 from 15 votes

How to Make a Milkshake (14)

How to Make a Milkshake

Recipe From: Leigh Anne Wilkes

A creamy, delicious milkshake is perfect anytime. Sharing all my tips for how to make a milkshake combining your favorite flavor ice cream and milk.

serves: 1 milkshake

Prep:5 minutes minutes

Total:5 minutes minutes

Rate Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups ice cream flavor of choice
  • 1/2 cup milk white or chocolate
  • whipped cream
  • cherry

Instructions

  • Add ice cream and milk to blender.

  • Blend until smooth and thick.

  • Put into glass and garnish with whipped cream and a cherry

Tips & Notes:

  • The trick to a good homemade milkshake is to use high quality ingredients, a good, whole milk and a good quality ice cream. I promise you it makes a difference.
  • You can make a milkshake using any flavor of ice cream you like along with either white or chocolate milk.
  • Don’t have a blender? Mix by hand, use a food processor or an immersion blender.

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Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 1196kcal (60%) Carbohydrates: 181g (60%) Protein: 24g (48%) Fat: 47g (72%) Saturated Fat: 13g (81%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g Monounsaturated Fat: 14g Cholesterol: 112mg (37%) Sodium: 663mg (29%) Potassium: 705mg (20%) Sugar: 96g (107%) Vitamin A: 1381IU (28%) Calcium: 516mg (52%) Iron: 1mg (6%)

* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

How to Make a Milkshake (15)

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Leave a Review

  1. Salli says

    Absolutely FAB info for making a shake!! I had a real craving for a milkshake–and this site did not disappoint!! I used Chocolate/cherry yogurt (! 3/4 c.) to cut down on some of the calories–and assauge some of my guilt–and finished it off with 3/4 c. of Hagen Das ice cream and 1/2 c. frozen Bing cherries and 1/2 c of 2% milk. THICK AND AWESOME!!

    Reply

  2. Jodine Zard says

    Easy to make

    Reply

  3. Rose Johnson says

    Yummy recipe, but I would like to know the serving size. I thought one tub would make three but it made two small shakes. To anyone making this recipe, get two tubes of ice cream.

    Reply

  4. Nayeon says

    Good

    Reply

How to Make a Milkshake (2024)

FAQs

How to Make a Milkshake? ›

Your Homemade Milkshake Formula

How to make a milkshake in 5 steps? ›

Instructions
  1. Set Out the Ice Cream to Soften. The key to the perfect milkshake consistency is the right ratio of milk to ice cream. ...
  2. Measure Your Ingredients. ...
  3. Blend the Ingredients. ...
  4. Add Your Mix-Ins and Blend. ...
  5. Top It Off, Serve, and Enjoy.
Dec 21, 2023

How to make milkshake procedure? ›

How to Make a Milkshake
  1. Soften the ice cream and chill the glass. Take the ice cream out of the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes before use. ...
  2. Measure the ingredients. 1 cup ice cream to 1/4 cup milk is a great ratio.
  3. Blend the shake. In a blender, combine the milk and ice cream and blend until smooth. ...
  4. Serve.
Mar 28, 2022

How to thicken up a milkshake? ›

How Do You Thicken a Milkshake? It's incredibly easy to over-blend a milkshake, and luckily thickening it back up is just as easy. Simply add an additional scoop or two of ice cream to your blender and process until the shake has thickened up.

What ingredient thickens milkshakes? ›

If you have a high quality blender like the ones at starbucks, adding some ice will help thicken it. Another way is to add bananas, preferably frozen ones. There are powders you can add that will thicken a shake but ice and frozen bananas are my preferred methods if you don't want to use lots of ice cream.

What is the 1 that you need to make milkshake? ›

You only need two ingredients to make a great milkshake: ice cream and milk. One pint of ice cream will make two milkshakes. Stick to plain flavors that don't have mix-ins. You'll need 2/3 cup milk, which is enough to get things moving but doesn't overwhelm the ice cream flavor.

How to make milkshake by hand? ›

To make a milkshake without a blender, start by adding 3 parts ice cream and 1 part milk to a bowl. Then, use a spoon or a whisk to mix the ice cream and milk together. Once you're satisfied with the consistency, pour your milkshake into a glass, top it with some whipped cream, and enjoy!

What is the secret of a good milkshake? ›

What you do: Add a few scoops of ice cream to your blender, your desired flavorings and a splash of milk (go easy, you can always add in more later). Next add a tablespoon of milk powder, blend low and slow and ta-da—milkshake perfection.

What makes McDonald's milkshake thick? ›

McDonald's milkshakes are made with a soft-serve ice cream mix, which consists of dairy, sugar, and a "proprietary blend of ingredients." A specialized machine is used to incorporate air, giving the blend a creamy and thick consistency without the need for much real dairy.

Why is my milkshake not creamy? ›

Too much milk can leave the shake overly thick, resembling something closer to ice cream instead. On the flip side, not using enough milk can result in a shake that has little to no consistency, akin to a kind of sugary syrup. In order to try and find the right amount, pour the milk into the blender bit by bit.

Why is my milkshake so watery? ›

A thin or watery milkshake can result from a handful of factors. If the ratio of ice cream to a liquid additive like milk, coconut milk or almond milk is off, your milkshake may come out runny. Likewise, putting crushed ice in your milkshake can lead to a watery consistency as bits of ice melt.

Do ice cubes thicken milkshakes? ›

The addition of ice works so well because it adds texture to a shake beyond the standard, creamy ingredients. It's essentially a way to thicken up a shake and add oomph beyond the standard milk. If you're a fan of smooth and thin shakes, however, you can forgo the ice.

What is a very thick milkshake called? ›

The term concrete is used for particularly thick milkshakes that do not spill when turned upside down, such as those offered by the restaurant chain Culver's.

How does 5 guys make their milkshakes? ›

At Five Guys, the milkshakes are made with just a few simple ingredients: primarily milk, nonfat milk, sugar, whey, and whatever toppings you choose to have mixed in to your creation, so you know exactly what you're getting when you order one of these hand-spun milkshakes.

How does McDonald's make its milkshake? ›

McDonald's milkshakes are made with a soft-serve ice cream mix, which consists of dairy, sugar, and a "proprietary blend of ingredients." A specialized machine is used to incorporate air, giving the blend a creamy and thick consistency without the need for much real dairy.

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