Cranberry sauce isn't just for Thanksgiving anymore. This Vanilla Cranberry Milkshake combines the sweetness of vanilla ice cream with the tartness of cranberries for a deliciously festive milkshake.
Christmas is in just a few days. Which means I reallyyyy need to use up all these bags of cranberries in my fridge. I got a little overzealous on the cranberry purchasing this year and while I love to keep a few bags in my freezer for the off-season, I only have so much storage and haven't yet had the opportunity to purchase a cranberry freezer.
Now that Christmas is just days away (!!), I'm throwing cranberries into, well, pretty much everything. Today I put cranberries in a milkshake because I couldn't stop thinking about how delicious the sweet vanilla ice cream would be with the tartness of the cranberries.
And then I added ginger for good measure because ginger instantly makes anything more festive.
🥛 How to make a vanilla cranberry milkshake
This cranberry milkshake is a tiny bit more work than the typical milkshake... But only because it requires making and cooling a quick cranberry sauce. If you happen to have leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving dinner, that would work perfectly, too!
Once the simple cranberry sauce has cooled, you'll blend it with vanilla ice cream and milk, along with some fresh ginger (if you want). And then sip away!
I swirled the vanilla cranberry ginger sauce in my milkshake glass and was in love with the pretty effect.
📧 Email Me This Recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
I sipped up the milkshake with a straw…. But also employed a spoon to make sure I didn't miss a drop of cranberry sauce.
I love adding ginger to my holiday foods, but you can skip it in this milkshake if you're not a fan of it.
This cranberry milkshake totally has me wondering why cranberries are so underrated. Pumpkin has been in the spotlight for the last 10 years, but people are still ignoring cranberries in a major way.
Let's all work together to change that... Starting with this milkshake!
Annnd since I still have about 500 bags of cranberries in my fridge and freezer (only a slight exaggeration, really), I have several more cranberry-packed recipes coming your way! So, please tell me you're up for eating cranberries long after the holidays are over. But first, make this cranberry milkshake.
Are you in love with cranberries, too?
If you have a plethora of cranberries in your fridge, too, try making my Mojito Cranberry Sauce or my Hot Spiced Cranberry Cocktail. I also love this Cranberry Orange Cake from Oh, Sweet Basil!
📖 Recipe
Vanilla Cranberry Ginger Milkshake
📧 Email Me This Recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
- 1 cup 1% milk (or milk/non-dairy alternative of your choice)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and add cranberries to saucepan.
- Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until cranberries begin to burst. Add ginger (if using) and vanilla and let cook another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove mixture from heat. Using the back of a spoon, mash up cranberries as much as possible. Alternately, you can put the mixture in a blender to purée.
- Put mixture in a mason jar or bowl to cool (place in refrigerator to speed up cooling time).
- In a blender, blend ice cream and milk together.
- Put a couple tablespoons of cooled cranberry mixture in tall glass and pour in ice cream and milk mixture.
- Serve with a straw, but you may need a spoon, too!
Michelle Lahey says
Mmm, this looks delicious - and so festive! I do love cranberries - my mom makes a pumpkin-cranberry bread every Christmas and Thanksgiving that I love!
Erica says
YES!!!! I love cranberries!! These drinks are so darn pretty
Shannon says
delicious and pretty! and perfect for the holiday season!
Leah | So, How's It Taste? says
I have gone overboard with the bags in the freezer, too! Nice to have this awesome recipe on hand to use them up. I bet it would be good with a little booze, too!
Gia Grossman says
How pretty is this?? I would eat cranberries all year round also!!
Megan says
These shakes are gorgeous! I threw a huge bag of cranberries in the freezer after Thanksgiving, and now I know what to do with them.
Ashley Bee @ Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine says
A great holiday milkshake 🙂 I need to do more with cranberries while they're in season.
Joanne says
I plan on still eating cranberry treats well into the future...so this milkshake is totally happening! So gorgeous!
lynn @ the actor's diet says
Stunning! I've been roasting cranberry sauce for gifts and am always mesmerized by those red jewels.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime says
I wish we could get fresh cranberries here!