Fresh Strawberry Milk

This is nothing like the store-bought strawberry milk you had as a kid. Fresh Strawberry Milk is made with a homemade strawberry syrup and the milk or dairy alternative of your choice and is packed with strawberry flavor!

(This recipe for Fresh Strawberry Milk was originally published in June 2013, but has been updated with new photos and content in 2019).

Happy Monday! Wait, is that a thing? I guess it all depends. I'm pretty sure pink milk and sprinkles make any day, hour, or second happy, so that's why I'm choosing to post this on a Monday. I'm correct about that, right?

Perhaps you think pink milk is child's play, but if it helps you get through the day then I don't think age should matter. Delicious is delicious and rainbow sprinkles are fair play at any age.

In fact, sometimes I wish it would be acceptable to carry around rainbow sprinkles in my purse and bring them out whenever the occasion called for it. Like during a particularly long meeting. Or a morning commute where your train has to "stand by" at every stop.

I'd legit pull them out of my pockets and throw them in the air. And then I'd probably get in trouble because sprinkles are really tough to clean up.

And have you ever spilled rainbow sprinkles and then accidentally dribbled water on them? Because, let me tell you, whatever surface they're on? Will never be the same again.

But worth it. In my ever so humble, sprinkle-loving opinion. We can agree to disagree if you'd like.

I'll admit I'm not a big milk drinker at this point in my adult life. But sometimes I crave an ice cold glass. And flavored is just more fun. Chocolate milk is delicious, but this time, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful strawberries in my refrigerator and make a homemade strawberry milk.

With fresh strawberries. And lots of rainbow sprinkles.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

This fresh strawberry milk is sure to make kids really happy. First of all, it's pink! Second of all, it's strawberry flavored. Third of all, the glass is rimmed in rainbow sprinkles (if you opt to do this step, which you should).

And parents will love it because the strawberry syrup isn't packed with preservatives and is made up of four simple ingredients: strawberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice.

Parents will love drinking it, too... even if their milk-drinking days are long gone.

How to Make Fresh Strawberry Milk

There's nothing difficult about this homemade strawberry milk. You simply need to make the strawberry syrup, chill it, and mix it with the milk of your choice.

I make a similar strawberry simple syrup here, but the one for this recipe is super saturated with more strawberry flavor!

To make the syrup, place strawberries, sugar, and water in a medium size saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil.

Lower heat a bit to medium-low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens into a syrup, about 10 minutes.

Strain liquid into a heatproof bowl or mason jar, pressing with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard solids…. or use them for something amazing like ice cream toppings.

Add lemon juice. Then pop the strawberry syrup in the fridge to chill.

For a little extra fun… especially on a Monday, rim your glasses with rainbow sprinkles. I brushed a little of the strawberry syrup on the glass to make them stick.

Pour a cup of milk into a glass and mix in strawberry syrup until combined. I used 3-4 Tbsp of strawberry syrup for cup of milk. But you can add more or less, determined by taste.

Also note that you can use any kind of milk or dairy alternative for this fresh strawberry milk. Skim, soy, coconut, almond... Whatever you like best!

I can't remember the last time I've been so excited about milk. Seriously though, this strawberry syrup was one of the best things I've had in a long time. And it made the milk absolutely heavenly.

I didn't really grow up with strawberry milk (Yoohoo was not allowed in my house!), but I've had it a time or two and I can tell you that this tastes much, much better. 

Because it actually tastes like real strawberries. Because it's made from real strawberries. It's not really rocket science, is it?

More Recipes Using Fresh Strawberries

I love strawberry season so much and I want to use the delicious berries in pretty much everything I make, both sweet and savory. Here are some of my favorite recipes that use fresh strawberries:

• White Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream
• Steak and Strawberry Salad
• Strawberry Breakfast Tarts
• Flank Steak Tacos with Strawberry Mint Salsa
• Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake Bars
• Strawberry Gazpacho
• Strawberry Granita
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Strawberry Passion Fruit Trifles (from Annie's Noms)
• Strawberry Slush (from Food Banjo)

Oh, and this fresh strawberry milk also makes the BEST cookies! Use it as an ingredient in these Strawberry Milk White Chocolate Cookies.

And if you want to give your dog a yummy strawberry treat, you can make him or her a Strawberry Puppuccino!

As an adult, I probably wouldn't add milk into my daily diet, but for a special treat, I'm all over this homemade strawberry milk. And yes, my 6-year-old self would wonder how on Earth my adult self was calling milk a treat. My, how time changes.

But I'm obviously still a big fan of rainbow sprinkles. Some things never change.

It may be Monday, but I'm hoping pink milk with sprinkles will urge you to think happy thoughts.

Also, be proud I made a drink and didn't add any spirits to it. And on a Monday, too. I'm telling you; this strawberry milk is that delicious!

But still, I'll probably need something stronger tonight as I watch The Bachelorette (yes, I'm still watching, feeling only minimal amounts of shame). As glorious as pink milk and sprinkles are, bad reality television calls for wine.

What food or drink can make your Monday better?