3-Ingredient Easy Strawberry Sorbet (Without an Ice Cream Maker!)

Stop everything and go make this 3-ingredient easy strawberry sorbet right now!  It's clean, healthy, dairy-free, low-carb, and it’s super yummy. Plus no ice cream maker required!

During the spring and summer months, you'll find me making ice cream, frozen yogurt, and easy fruit sorbets on the regular. And from April to June, when strawberries are in season, I make TONS of treats with strawberries.

If you've followed my blog for a bit, you've probably seen a sorbet or frozen yogurt recipe here, but I realized, I don’t have a strawberry sorbet recipe yet. How is that even possible???

So, today, I'm here to make up for that mistake by teaching you how to make strawberry sorbet. This strawberry sorbet is a healthy sorbet with the best strawberry flavors. That’s because we’ll be making it with fresh strawberries and simple, clean ingredients.

Prepare yourself: this homemade strawberry sorbet is so simple and easy to make. It follows the same basic principle for how to make sorbet that I've shared in the past, but this time with yummy strawberries.  Though you can use this sorbet recipe for any other seasonal fruit, too.

How awesome is that?

WHAT IS SORBET?

If you’re not exactly sure what sorbet is, it's technically a frozen treat typically made with fruit juice, sugar, and water.

Lacey… that’s not healthy…

Yes, I know it isn’t, that’s why I said "technically."  Bear with me here.  Instead of using fruit juice, which is pretty much just sugar anyways, I use the whole strawberries.  That means we get to add in the fiber and other nutrients that are abundant in strawberries as well.   My friends, this strawberry sorbet recipe right here is healthy, I promise you.

SORBET VS. SHERBET VS. ICE CREAM

If you believe that fruit sorbet is healthier than ice cream, prepare yourself. Sorbet actually contains more sugar than ice cream. Way more, actually. That's if you don’t make it at home using this recipe, of course. To fully understand the difference, let's break each down.

Sorbet vs Ice Cream

Sorbet is basically fruit (or fruit puree) + water + sugar or fruit juice + sugar. No milk, cream or eggs. Just a basic fruit treat.

Ice cream is milk or cream + sugar + fruit or other flavors. The base for ice cream is similar to custard and more often than not it is made with eggs, too.

Ice cream is creamier than sorbet. And it’s not always fruity. Sorbet, on the other hand, is more “icy” and almost always fruity.

If you’re wondering about gelato too, well, gelato is similar to ice cream but it has more milk and less cream in it. And it’s churned differently, hence the creamier consistency.

Sorbet vs Sherbet

The difference between sorbet and ice cream is pretty obvious now, hopefully. But… what is the difference between sorbet and sherbet? Is there any difference? Yep!

Sherbet is something in between sorbet and ice cream. It’s made with sorbet ingredients, but it has dairy, typically milk or buttermilk, too. Just a little bit though. Definitely not as much as ice cream or gelato. Sherbet is a creamier sorbet, basically.

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY STRAWBERRY SORBET

Now that we’ve got all these things figured out, it’s time to move on to the next step - how to make sorbet. I’ll tell you what you need to make this healthy sorbet recipe and I’ll let you decide if it’s easy or not. Personally, I don’t think it can be easier than this!

1. First of all, you need fruit. I prefer fresh seasonal fruits to frozen ones because they taste better and they are sweeter, which means we don’t need to add too much sweetness.
2. Second of all, we need something healthy to replace sugar. Check the list of sorbet ingredients below for a healthy alternative.
3. Lastly, you’ll need a food processor to turn the healthy ingredients into a delicious strawberry sorbet that is nutritious and good for you.

That’s it. Strawberry sorbet is as simple as that. You don’t need an ice cream maker, BTW. Follow my steps for how to make sorbet without ice cream maker and enjoy this refreshing treat all spring and summer long.

INGREDIENTS IN HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY SORBET

A regular serving of fruit sorbet from ice cream shops or grocery stores can contain 40g of sugar. Like… whaaat?  Told you sorbet is not healthier than ice cream unless you learn how to make sorbet at home.

My sorbet ingredients for this homemade strawberry sorbet are pretty basic and I’m sure you already have them in your fridge or pantry. To make strawberry sorbet healthy, you need:

• fresh or frozen strawberries
• raw honey
• warm water

If you want to make this strawberry sorbet vegan, use pure maple syrup instead of honey.  OR, if the strawberries are sweet enough, you might not even need to add any sweetener.

WHY ARE STRAWBERRIES GOOD FOR YOU?

I have to take a quick break from this low calorie sorbet to discuss the health benefits of strawberries. Promise I’ll make it quick. But I really have to talk about this because strawberries are so darn amazing!

Strawberries are…

• low in calories – only 45 calories per serving (a serving = aprox. 8 medium strawberries)
• a great source of vitamin C – 140% daily value;
• a great source of fiber;
• great source of folate;
• low in sugar – only 7g of sugar per serving.

And they are good for:

• blood sugar regulation;
• your heart;
• your mind;
• your immune system.

That’s all I gotta say about strawberries today. But these are some impressive benefits. And now you’ve got more reasons to make this strawberry sorbet!

HOW TO WASH STRAWBERRIES FOR SORBET

Back to the strawberry sorbet, with a non-recipe related step, but a pretty important one. Since you won’t be cooking strawberries, it is important to wash them thoroughly to kill any bacteria. I also recommend buying organic strawberries since strawberries are highly sprayed fruits.

If you can’t find organic strawberries, soak them in a vinegar-water bath (4 parts water, 1 part white vinegar) for 20 minutes to reduce pesticide residue.  Or, just make sure to wash them very well in running water.

HOW TO MAKE SORBET WITHOUT AN ICE CREAM MAKER

Usually, in order to make fruit sorbet or ice cream, you need an ice cream maker. And you have to prep the fruits, blend the fruits in a blender with the rest of the ingredients, chill this base for at least 1 hour, then churn the sorbet with an ice cream maker, then freeze the sorbet.

Simple steps, I know, but not everybody has an ice cream maker. Everybody deserves strawberry sorbet though so let’s see how to make sorbet without ice cream maker:

1. if you use fresh strawberries, freeze for 2-3 hours or until solid (if you use frozen strawberries, skip this step);
2. place the frozen strawberries in a food processor or heavy-duty blender and blend until smooth;
3. if the consistency is not quite how you like it, add a little warm water to help along;
4. add raw honey as needed for sweetness.

That’s pretty much it! Your strawberry sorbet is ready to eat if you like the soft texture. If you prefer a firm texture, freeze for 2-3 hours and then enjoy. ⠀

HOW LONG DOES SORBET LAST IN THE FREEZER?

If you want to double or even triple the recipe to make strawberry sorbet for later, go ahead! You don’t have to worry about consistency! The consistency of this strawberry sorbet stays the same for about a month.

When you're ready to eat your sorbet, remember to let it set out of the freezer for 5-10 minutes to soften before serving.

MORE HEALTHY SORBET RECIPES

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