Your cheat sheet of 30+ milkshake recipes. Make almost any milkshake with vanilla ice cream and a few simple ingredients.
I’ve posted quite a few milkshake recipes over the last couple of years, and it was about time to compile all of these recipes in one place for easy reference.
So I present to you my milkshake cheatsheet. If you’re craving a specific milkshake (or maybe don’t even know what milkshake you want) chances are you can find the recipe here.
And if not, leave a comment below, and I’ll see what I can do. 😉
How to Make The Best Milkshakes
If you’ve read my How to Make a Milkshake post, you’ll know that to make the best milkshake you need to start with the right ratio of milk to ice cream. The sweet spot for this is 1½ cups ice cream to ½-¾ cup milk.
This will give you a shake with a thick, creamy consistency but one that you can still drink it with a straw. Use more milk for a thinner shake, less milk for a thicker one.
All the recipes below start with this ratio + mix-ins. Put all those ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth and pourable, and you’re going to have a great shake on your hands.
More Milkshake Tips & Troubleshooting
- No blender? No problem: While fruit milkshakes can’t really be made without a blender because you need the blender to puree the fruit, milkshakes that include ingredients that don’t need to be crushed with a blender to mix, like shakes made with syrups and powders, are pretty easy to make without a blender. Go check out my post How to Make a Milkshake Without a Blender for full instructions.
- Using an older or under-powered blender: If your blender struggles to blend milkshakes without adding a ton of milk, start with slightly softened ice cream. Scoop the ice cream into the blender and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before blending. Softened ice cream is much easier for blenders to process than ice cream straight out of the freezer.
- Add a little sweetness: Using underripe fruit? Add a couple teaspoons of sugar to your shake. While it might seem like overkill to add sugar to ice cream, if you’re making a shake with out-of-season fruit that’s not at peak sweetness, a little sugar can really make all the difference between a mediocre shake and a great one.
Toppings
It’s not necessary to add toppings to shakes, but it sure is fun. And for an extra pretty shake, take any of the sauces below and swirl them around the inside of the glass before adding the blended shake.
The Milkshake Recipes
Vanilla Milkshakes
- Vanilla Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + Scraped seeds from ½ vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
- Bourbon Vanilla Bean Shake: Vanilla milkshake ingredients + replace 2 tablespoons of the milk with 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of bourbon
Chocolate Milkshakes
- Chocolate Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + 3 tablespoons fudge or chocolate sauce
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake: Chocolate milkshake ingredients + 1 slightly heaping tablespoon of peanut butter
- Chocolate Oreo Shake: Chocolate milkshake ingredients + 3 Oreos (break an additional Oreo into pieces and drop crumbs over the top of the finished shake)
- Chocolate Banana Shake: Chocolate milkshake ingredients + ½ to 1 whole banana
- Chocolate Cheesecake Milkshake: Chocolate milkshake ingredients + 2 ounces cream cheese
Banana Milkshakes
- Banana Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + 1 large banana (frozen for a thicker shake) + ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Peanut Butter Banana Milkshake: Banana milkshake ingredients + 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter
- Chocolate Banana Milkshake: Banana milkshake ingredients + 2 tablespoons chocolate fudge sauce or syrup
- Salted Caramel Banana Milkshake: Banana milkshake ingredients + 2 tablespoons salted caramel
- Banana Split Milkshake: Banana milkshake ingredients + swirl glass with fudge sauce before adding milkshake + top with whipped cream, more fudge sauce, sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry
Strawberry Milkshakes
- Strawberry Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + ¾ chopped strawberries + 1 tablespoon sugar
- Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake: Strawberry milkshake ingredients + 2 ounces cream cheese
- Chocolate-covered Strawberry Milkshake: Strawberry milkshake ingredients + swirl 1 tablespoon of chocolate fudge sauce or syrup around the glass before pouring in the shake + add 1 tablespoon sauce over the top (do not stir or your shake will turn brown)
- Strawberry Banana Milkshake: Strawberry milkshake ingredients + 1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
- Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Milkshake: Strawberry milkshake ingredients + 1 ripe banana + 2 ounces cream cheese
Oreo Milkshakes
- Oreo Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + 4 Oreos (break an additional Oreo into pieces and drop crumbs over the top of the finished shake)
- Bailey’s Cookies and Cream Milkshake: Oreo milkshake ingredients + replace ¼ cup of the milk with 2 ounces (¼ cup) of Irish cream liqueur
- Chocolate Oreo Milkshake: Oreo milkshake ingredients + 2 tablespoons of fudge sauce
- Peanut Butter Oreo Milkshake: Oreo milkshake ingredients + 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter
Coffee Milkshakes
- Coffee Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + 1 tablespoon cocoa powder + 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon instant coffee or espresso powder
- Caramel Coffee Milkshake: Coffee milkshake ingredients + 1 heaping tablespoon of caramel
Boozy Coffee Milkshake: Coffee milkshake ingredients + replace 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup of the milk with Kahlua, Irish cream, or your choice of alcohol
Caramel Milkshake Recipes
- Caramel Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
- Banana Caramel Milkshake: Caramel Milkshake ingredients + ½ to 1 whole ripe banana
- Vanilla Bean Caramel Milkshake: Caramel Milkshake ingredients + the seeds scraped from ½ of a vanilla bean
Dulce de Leche Milkshakes
- Dulce de Leche Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + 2 tablespoons dulce de leche
- Banoffee Pie Shake: Dulce de Leche Milkshake ingredients + 1 whole ripe banana + 1 (full-sheet) graham cracker + top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings
- Boozy Dulce de Leche Shake: Dulce de Leche Milkshake ingredients + 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of whiskey
Peanut Butter Milkshakes
- Peanut Butter Milkshake: 1½ cups vanilla ice cream + ½ to ¾ cup milk + 2 heaping tablespoons peanut butter + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Nut Butter Milkshake: Peanut Butter Milkshake ingredients but replace peanut butter with nut butter of your choice
Milkshake Recipes Cheat Sheet
Your milkshake recipes cheat sheet. Make almost any milkshake with vanilla ice cream and a few simple ingredients.
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Servings (Hover or Click to Change Yield): 1 to 2 milkshakes
Calories: 257kcal
Ingredients
Milkshake Base
- 1½ cups ice cream about 3 large scoops, slightly softened
- ½ to ¾ cup milk any percentage
Vanilla Milkshake
- Seeds scraped from ½ vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
Chocolate Milkshake
- 3 tablespoons chocolate sauce
Banana Milkshake
- 1 large banana
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Milkshake
- ¾ cup chopped strawberries
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Oreo Milkshake
- 4 Oreos
- 1 additional Oreo broken into pieces for topping
Coffee Milkshake
- 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon instant coffee or espresso powder
Caramel Milkshake
- 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
Dulce de Leche Milkshake
- 2 tablespoons dulce de leche
Instructions
- In a blender, combine ice cream, milk, and any mix-ins, and blend until pourable.
- Pour into a glass, top with whipped cream if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
*Use ½ cup milk for a thicker shake, ¾ for a thinner one.
This will make approximately 1½ to 2 cups, enough for one restaurant-sized shake or two smaller ones.
Approximate nutritional information is for two vanilla milkshakes.
Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag @BakingMischief or hashtag it #BakingMischief.
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Allyson Whittington says
Hi I love that you have shared so many shake recipes. With four kids I love to do spur of the moment desserts and ice cream treats are a big thing in our family. I would love to see a mint chocolate chip milkshake and a cherry or chocolate covered cherry milkshake. Please and thank you!!!
Tracy says
Thanks, Allyson! I’ll add them to my list!