Homemade Fresh Fruit Shaved Ice is perfect for a cool summer treat! Creating your own fresh fruit syrup is a much healthier and delicious option than the store-bought syrups.
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Homemade Fresh Fruit Shaved Ice is the perfect treat for those hot summer days!
We made strawberry and pineapple syrups to pour over our shaved ice, but you can use many other fresh fruit options. I think watermelon, blackberry and raspberry would be absolutely delicious! Or maybe a combination of all of them? Yummy!
These fresh fruit syrups can be stored in the refrigerator for several days so you can make snow cones all week from one simple batch.
My kids absolutely love making and eating shaved ice (aka snow cones), but I am not a huge fan of whatever it is that is in those syrups you buy at the store. So I have been experimenting with fresh fruit for healthier options. The kid love them and I am happier knowing what ingredients are in them, it is a win win for everyone. There is still a bit of sugar in this recipe, so I am not going to call it healthy, but there are only a few basic ingredients and a lot less chemicals! The great thing about this recipe is that the syrups can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can spend time one day making a flavor or two and you can enjoy them all week, this recipe saves time and money!
How to make shaved ice
Shaved ice can be made in a blender or by using a shaved ice machine.
I was actually surprised at how well my blender works at producing very finely shaved ice. The trick is to make sure you do not put in too much ice at once. Only fill your blender about halfway and then pulse a few times at the highest speed before blending on high until all the ice is shaved.
I have had the most success with making the shaved ice right before using it. If you try to freeze it after shaving it, it tends to clump together and does not have the best consistency. If you have extra shaved ice, make another snow cone right away or use it to chill your water instead of trying to save it for the next batch! Because it is so easy to make you do not have to worry about “saving for later”, just whip up the shaved ice when you need it.
Ingredients in Homemade Fresh Fruit Shaved Ice
-Fresh fruit: You will need 1 ½ cups fruit, for this recipe we used strawberries and pineapple. But you can choose whatever your favorite fruit is, watermelon, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries would all be fantastic options.
-Juice: Using 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice will provide a nice citrus blast that will give these a nice kick of flavor.
-Water: You need ¾ cup water for the base of the fruit syrup.
-Sugar: Use ¾ cup sugar to give the syrup a nice sweet flavor. If you want to reduce this amount by ¼ of a cup feel free.
-Ice: You will need a bunch of ice, depending on how many cups you are making will determine how much you need. I suggest starting with filling half the blender with ice and starting there.
How to make shaved ice syrup
Syrup
Start by cleaning all the chosen fresh fruit well. Remove stems, core berries if needed, clean as well as you would if you were just snacking on the fruit.
Next, place the fruit in a blender or food processor and blend until it is pureed.
Then, pour the mixture into a medium size saucepan and add the lemon or lime juice, water and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until boiling. Turn heat down slightly and continue to simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat.
Let syrup cool completely and then strain with a fine mesh strainer to remove all seeds and pulp. You can use the syrup immediately or store in the refrigerator. I prefer to use the syrup once it has been chilled for at least an hour or two so that the ice doesn’t melt so quickly.
Shaved ice
When your syrup has cooled, it is time to make the shaved ice.
Fill your blender about half way with ice, pulse a few times on high until all is blended and shaved consistency.
Continue to place shaved ice into individual bowls or cups, then pour the syrup over crushed ice until well coated.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
NOTE: If you are using fruit that has an extremely high water content (like watermelon), reduce the amount of water you add by about ¼ cup. Also, if you are using fruit like watermelon that is extra sweet, you can easily reduce the amount of added sugar without even noticing!
Each batch of syrup makes enough for about 6-8 snow cones. This will depend on the size of the snow cone and the amount of syrup you are using.
HOMEMADE FRESH FRUIT SHAVED ICE
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fruit strawberries, pineapple, etc
- 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- ice
Instructions
Syrup
- Start by cleaning all the chosen fresh fruit well. Remove stems, core berries if needed, clean as well as you would if you were just snacking on the fruit.
- Place fruit in a blender or food processor and blend until pureed.
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add the lemon or lime juice, water and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until boiling. Turn heat down slightly and continue to simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat.
- Let syrup cool completely and then strain with a fine mesh strainer to remove all seeds and pulp. You can use the syrup immediately or store in the refrigerator. I prefer to use the syrup once it has been chilled for at least an hour or two so that the ice doesn't melt so quickly.
Shaved ice
- Fill your blender about half way with ice, pulse a few times on high until all is blended and shaved consistency.
- Continue to place shaved ice into individual bowls or cups, then pour the syrup over crushed ice until well coated.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Are shaved ice syrups healthy?
Homemade syrup is definitely healthier than the store-bought alternatives because of the lack of dyes and preservatives. There is still a lot of sugar though! You can definitely reduce the amount of sugar in the syrups, especially if the type of fruit you are using is really sweet.
Like frozen desserts? Here are more of our favorites!
- Banana Split Milkshakes
- Frozen Peanut Butter Pie
- Easy Kool-Aid Sherbet
- Easy Oreo Ice Cream Cake
- Quick Strawberry Ice Cream
- Strawberry Banana Sorbet recipe
- Strawberry Ice Cream Pie
- Apple Pie Milkshakes
- Skinny OREO Milkshakes
Homemade Fresh Fruit Shaved Ice made with homemade syrups are delicious! Fresh fruit syrups are so much healthier than those store-bought syrups and you can make any flavor of snow cone you want!
Skylar Hyvberg says
They are delicious, but I tested it out for my kids, and we all felt they were too sweet. We love experimenting recipes from bloggers, and to be honest- this one was too sweet. I don’t know if it was the Pineapple, the strawberries, or the Sugar, but the recipe was just to sweet. I am wondering which kinds of fruit you recommend for this recipe, and I could re-review. It was great, just some errors.
Nellie says
Skylar – you could definitely use less sugar in the recipe if you feel like it is too sweet. The mixture is pretty sweet, but you don’t need very much to pour over a fairly decent amount of shaved ice so it gets pretty diluted that way.
Cynthia Bosch says
Can i use honey in place of sugar?
Nellie says
Cynthia – I’ve never tried that but I’m sure that would work great!
Kamaaina says
I just freeze soursop plain and shave it with an ice shave maker.
Maribeth Beringer says
I’m so happy I found your page!! We just came back from Hawaii. I went to this one shaved ice stand & their products? OMG! They were great! I always got the same flavor. It was lychee & strawberry. The lychee was not really a syrup it was more like pureed lychees & the strawberry was like pureed strawberries. They didn’t stop there, though. They put a “snow cap” of evaporated milk on top of the domes of shave ice. . Then they had a handful of mochi (made from tapioca – same shape as a marshmallow) & a handful of popping boba bubbles (you can find these usually where you make your own frozen yogurt or ice cream) Do a Google search for: vintage island shave ice waikiki & you will see the pictures I’m talking about. Anyway, I look forward to exploring your pages.
Alison says
Maribeth, that shaved ice in Hawaii is certainly incredible! If I can help you bring a bit of that back home, I’m very happy to!
Gavin Roolvink says
These are great! I made a batch with watermelon, and I was a little bit skeptical at first, but when I tried it, it was very good. Soon I’m going to make this with strawberries instead, and they will probably be even better. It’s great how they are healthier than store-bought, and it’s made from ingredients you would usually have in your kitchen (especially at summer time).
Alison says
Yes, those are some of our very favorite things about this recipe as well! I’m glad you enjoyed it Gavin!
Olive Comment says
My friend and I had a really fun time making this, and it was delicious!
Tiffany says
I made a few of these and was wondering how long do these last refrigerated?
Nellie says
You can keep the syrups in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Rachel says
Yum! My boys have been obsessed with snowcones this summer, so I did a little eo see if could find a healthier homemade option. I made this with strawberries today and swapped out the 3/4c of sugar with 1/2c of honey, and it was fantastic. Thank you so much!!!
Mariko P says
Best recipe! I did mine in vitamix. Made the simple syrup, then added it to purée fruit with lime juice and blended again. Thank you!
Alison says
So glad it worked out Mariko!
Ryane says
Hi, I am wondering if anyone has done this with frozen fruit? Good outcomes? Thank you!
Lemonjuice says
Would it be possible to freeze the syrup to make it last longer than a week when refrigerated?
Nicole says
Yes, you can freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nancy Estes says
This a great alternative to the “too” sweet syrups you get at the grocery store or the Hawaiian ice place we have in our town!
Nicole says
Not to mention, you can get way more flavor options in your own kitchen 😉