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Mmmm, love me some Peppermint Sherbet — when I want a low or nonfat ice cream treat that’s healthier than anything you can buy at the grocery store! This year-round treat is dairy free and has a few variations to meet your dietary needs. Only 4 simple ingredients!
Perfect for Gluten free, real food diets, plus Paleo, AIP, VAD, GAPS, Anti-inflammatory and refined sugar-free.
Jump to Recipe
Ingredients in Peppermint Sherbet
I use oat milk to make mine! But, if you’re Paleo or grain-free, choose your favorite non-dairy milk — such as coconut, almond etc.
Isn’t that wonderful: With homemade sherbet you can choose your milk, and it can be as creamy, or not, as your diet allows. This recipe is highly customizable! 🙂
What is sherbet (and how’s it different from sorbet and ice cream)
Sorbet is made from fruit, water, and sugar, with no dairy, but it’s often relatively high in sugar to keep it scoopable. Commercially made sherbet contains a small amount of dairy, plus sometimes gelatin or egg whites, making it creamier while still much lower in fat than ice cream. Because of this, sherbet can be a healthier choice, and it’s often lower in sugar than sorbet.
Homemade sherbet, like this one, can also be completely dairy-free, while still having a smoother texture than sorbet. And … we use natural sweetener in this recipe — so another win over sorbet.
Some thoughts
I like using oat milk to make my sherbet because then it has no fat (better for liver health), and it uses a milk that my body loves.
For someone else, who loves another milk, their sherbet will be unique and perfect for them.
If you use oat milk, too, this recipe is best eaten soft-serve — fresh from the ice cream maker. It’s scoopable and irresistible. But it’s okay, too, if you need to freeze it or leftovers. If that’s the case, plan ahead: Place ice cream in the fridge to slowly and evenly defrost for around two hours! That’s how long it takes to become scoopable again. But, it’s still delicious, and we do this; it works fine, but the texture won’t be as smooth as fresh soft serve sherbet.
With a higher fat milk like coconut, frozen Peppermint Sherbet is scoopable after just ten to twenty minutes at room temperature.
Only 4 ingredients total:
- milk of choice (non dairy) — Use chilled milk, unless you’re using coconut milk, in which case, see the Notes section below the recipe.
- refined sugar-free liquid sweetener of choice: pure maple syrup, agave nectar, honey; you choose — Regarding the sweetness of this recipe, it is sweet! If you like desserts that aren’t very sweet, this recipe might not be the best one for you. Similar to sorbet, sherbet requires a bit more sweetener to create the scoopable texture and smooth mouthfeel. I don’t recommend reducing the amount of sweetener in this recipe.
- gelatin — Just a little bit creates the creamy, icy-smooth sherbet texture.
- peppermint oil — I recommend this one.
How to make dairy free Peppermint Sherbet
Prep your machine
Before making ice cream, be sure your ice cream maker is ready. For most machines, this means placing the ice cream bowl on a flat surface in your freezer, set to its coldest setting, overnight.
Prep your ingredients
Be sure your non-dairy milk is chilled.
If using coconut milk, be sure it’s at room temp, and see the Notes below the recipe for Step 4 coconut milk variation.
Prep your storage bowl
If you won’t be serving your sherbet soft-serve, straight from the ice cream maker… …you may wish to place your storage dish in the freezer to chill.
This is a helpful step, as it prevents the freshly frozen sherbet from beginning to melt when scooped into the dish.
Make Peppermint Sherbet
- Pour 1/2 cup of your milk of choice into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface and allow it to bloom for one minute. (Blooming means it begins to absorb the liquid and dissolve.)
- Whisk in the gelatin, then turn the heat to medium. Stir to fully dissolve the gelatin. Once the mixture is steamy and lightly foamy, but not yet simmering, remove from heat.
- Stir in your sweetener and fully combine. Allow the mixture to cool almost to room temperature. Do not chill.
- Add the remaining chilled milk and peppermint oil, whisking to combine.
- Pour into your prepared (overnight-frozen) ice cream maker, following the manufacturer’s directions. Freeze for about 20 minutes, until ready. Peppermint Sherbet is best served now, fresh from the ice cream maker. Scoop into cones, eat plain, or top with Crispy Rice Cereal and optional carob or chocolate chips. (Links to these fun choices in recipe below.)
To store
Scoop into the prepared chilled storage container. Cover with a piece of parchment paper laid directly on the surface. Freeze until ready to serve.
When serving, plan ahead: If frozen solid and a lower fat or nonfat milk was used, transfer the sherbet to the fridge for up to a full two hours, checking on it at some point, until nicely scoopable. (Coconut milk-based sherbet may need as little as ten to twenty minutes at room temp to be scoopable.
Peppermint Sherbet (dairy-free, non or lowfat, healthier choice)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-¾ cup milk of choice (non dairy) Use chilled milk, unless you're using coconut milk, in which case, see the Notes section below the recipe.
- ½ cup syrup -- refined sugar-free liquid sweetener of choice: pure maple syrup, agave nectar, honey; you choose
- 1 teaspoon gelatin Just a little bit creates the creamy, icy-smooth sherbet texture.
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon peppermint oil, to taste, depending on product I recommend this one.
Instructions
- Pour ½ cup of your milk of choice into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface and allow it to bloom for one minute. (Blooming means it begins to absorb the liquid and dissolve.)If using coconut milk, be sure to use the more liquidy milk (not thick and creamy) for this step.
- Whisk in the gelatin, then turn the heat to medium. Stir to fully dissolve the gelatin. Once the mixture is steamy and lightly foamy, but not yet simmering, remove from heat.
- Stir in your sweetener and fully combine. Allow the mixture to cool almost to room temperature. Do not chill.
- Add the remaining chilled milk and peppermint oil, whisking to combine. (If using coconut milk, for this step, see Notes below.)
- Pour into your prepared (overnight-frozen) ice cream maker, following the manufacturer’s directions. Freeze for about 20 minutes, until ready. Peppermint Sherbet is best served now, fresh from the ice cream maker. Scoop into cones, gluten free cones, eat plain, or top with Crispy Rice Cereal and optional carob or chocolate chips. To store: Scoop into the prepared chilled storage container. Cover with a piece of parchment paper laid directly on the surface. Freeze until ready to serve.
- When serving, plan ahead: If frozen solid and a lower fat or nonfat milk was used, transfer the sherbet to the fridge for up to a full two hours, checking on it at some point, until nicely scoopable. (Coconut milk-based sherbet may need as little as ten to twenty minutes at room temp to be scoopable.
Notes
Step 4 variation for coconut milk version of the recipe
Make sure your coconut milk is at room temperature. If needed, warm it slightly, then allow it to cool back to room temp so it’s not cold or overly lumpy. Cold coconut fat doesn’t blend well—we want it to mix smoothly with the other ingredients and chill up creamy.- To a blender, add: remaining room temp. coconut milk, gelatin coconut milk with syrup and peppermint.
- Blend on medium speed until smooth, about 15 to 25 seconds.
Nutrition
Pin Peppermint Sherbet here:
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