This shamrock shake is a homemade version of the classic McDonald’s St. Patrick’s Day treat. it is made with five simple ingredients. Use this shake recipe and enjoy it in the comfort of your home—no drive-through line is required.
When March comes around, the first thing that comes to mind is the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. Everyone wants to rush to get there to get the tall green shake that is creamy, minty, and delicious. Me, I’m always trying to find ways to make our favorite foods at home.
What I like most about making this shake at home is that I know all the ingredients that are going into it, and I choose the ingredients based on my preferences.
Table of Contents
What is a Shamrock Shake?
This shake was first introduced in the 1970s. The official ingredients, directly from McDonald’s website, are vanilla soft serve ice cream, shamrock shake syrup, and whipped cream on top. It was meant to be a limited-time item but became so popular that it is now available every March. This recipe is easy, uses simple ingredients, and costs less to feed your whole family.
Ingredients in a Shamrock Shake
Everything that is in this copycat shamrock shake can easily be found at your local grocery store.
- Ice Cream For the best classic flavor you want to use a regular vanilla ice cream and try to stay away from the vanilla bean because they alter the flavor just that little bit.
- Milk Whole milk is the best because it will help you have that thick and creamy consistency. You can try other alternative kinds of milk, but I haven’t tested those yet for this recipe.
- Food Coloring is key to this recipe to achieve the famous green color. I use a gel food color that is concentrated, so you don’t need as many drops, but any green food coloring will work here (just add one drop at a time until the color has been achieved).
- Mint This copycat recipe uses mint extract, not peppermint. I find that the flavor is just a little stronger than I want in this shake.
- Whipped Cream For this recipe, I make my own whipped cream, but you can use the regular kind from the store without worrying about compromising the flavor at all.
- Maraschino cherries This is a nice finishing touch for your shake. First, you want to make sure you dry your cherries before adding them, or the juice will start to color your whipped cream.
- Green Sprinkles are the perfect topping for these homemade shakes. You can use your favorite green sprinkles or green sugar.
How to make Shamrock Shake
This recipe is so incredibly easy, you will wonder why you haven’t made it before. All you have to do is add the ingredients and blend, and you have this delicious, creamy shake, and you will never want to turn back to the drive-through again.
- Add ice cream, milk, mint extract, and food coloring to the blender.
- Blend until combined and pour into a tall glass and top with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry to finish it all off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make it Vegan or Dairy free?
Yes, this shake can be vegan or dairy-free; however, the consistency might change just a little bit. Oat, soy, or coconut milk would be the best choices to keep the creamy consistency. You can leave off the whipped topping or use a non-dairy substitute; my favorite is spray whipped cream which uses coconut milk or almond milk.
What is the Shamrock Shake flavor?
This shake is St. Patrick’s Day-inspired and is very creamy and minty. The ingredients that were found on McDonald’s website are vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and maple syrup. For this recipe, instead of using the syrup, I made my own using mint extract and green food coloring. You want to make sure you slowly add the mint extract because a little will go a long way here and it’s easier to add more than it is to take it out.
The Best Copycat Shamrock Shake
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cup Vanilla Ice-cream
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 drop green gel food coloring
- ½ tsp mint extract
Garnish
- whipped cream
- 1 tbsp green sprinkles
- 2 maraschino cherries dried before adding to whipped cream
Instructions
- In a blender, combine vanilla ice cream, milk, mint extract, and food coloring. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the milkshake mixture evenly between 2 glasses.
- Garnish with whipped cream, sprinkles, and cherries.
I like minty shakes and ice cream. This was very tasty and festive.
This looks and sounds really fun!
Yum. This shake looks so good. I’ll have to try it!
This looks so food and fun too! I can’t wait to try it!
I’m not a huge fan of Mcdonald’s – but, I’m always there each March for a Shamrock Shake. I’m excited to have the best copycat Shamrock Shake recipe! I can’t wait to make it (and save a trip through the drive thru!) Thank you for sharing!
I’ve never had one of these but it looks so tasty!
This looks delicious. My child would really love one of these – I’ll have to surprise him with one.
Such a pretty and cute shake for this weekend. We loved the flavor too.
This shamrock shake is incredible! Super delicious flavors and super easy to make!