How to make whole fruit popsicles with fresh or frozen fruit. This easy recipe can be customized with different fruits, so you can create different flavors. Use your choice of fruit juice, coconut water, or yogurt to make your frozen pops.

My kids love popsicles. I'll admit that I've been known to sneak some from their stash of frozen treats, too.

My kids will happily take the cheap pops, but they definitely prefer the more expensive varieties.

One of my kids can't have artificial dyes or high fructose corn syrup, and I prefer that they don't eat preservatives. I also limit refined sugar when I can.

We tried some natural fruit pops, and they loved them. I loved them, too. But they get pricey.
So I learned how to make whole fruit popsicles so they can have their random fruit combinations and experiment with different flavors.

For more popsicle recipes, check out these posts:

How to Make Whole Fruit Popsicles

Instead of giving you a recipe for strawberry pops or blueberry pops, I decided to share one master recipe that you can customize.

You can choose the base, the fruit, the additives, and the sweetener.

If one kid likes strawberries, make a batch of those and a batch of blueberry for another kid.
Have fun creating new flavors and combinations of fruits.

Are Fruit Popsicles Healthy?

As far as a frozen pop goes, they are on the healthy side. Fruits do have sugars, but they aren't refined sugar.

Can Babies Have Fruit Popsicles?

No, they are not recommended for babies or small children because they can choke on pieces of fruit. When my kids were babies, I used a baby feeder like this one. I put in frozen milk or formula or cubes of frozen baby food for them.

Liquid or Yogurt

One reason that I wanted to give you a master recipe is so that you can choose the popsicle base if you will. I've used both yogurt and juice, and they both work well.

Yogurt will give your pops a smooth and creamy flavor. I prefer to use Greek yogurt just because it's higher in protein and thicker than regular yogurt, but any yogurt is fine. You can use plain, vanilla, or flavored yogurt.

My family eats yogurt in spurts. We will have it for a few weeks and then not eat it for several weeks. If we want to make pops when we don't have yogurt, I use fruit juice or coconut water.

When it's really hot, I use coconut water to boost electrolytes so we don't get dehydrated. I used coconut milk in my healthy strawberry popsicles with chia seeds.

If you want to, you can also use a drink mix in any flavor. My kids like making this with lemonade.

Fruit

You can use any fresh or frozen fruit to make whole fruit popsicles. We really like one or more of the following:

Peaches
Raspberries
Blueberries
Strawberries
Bananas
Kiwis

Try getting creative by mixing fruits or combining different flavors of juice and fruits.

You can use either fresh or frozen fruit. I buy bags of frozen mixed fruit or freeze fruit when I find it on sale.

If you have fruit that's about to go bad, cut it and freeze it on a cookie sheet. When it's frozen, place it in a bag to use later.

For older kids and adults, you can place the fruit inside the mold whole. Younger kids can choke, so be sure to blend them with a blender or food processor.

Sweetener

You can use raw honey as a natural sweetener. I don't add any sweetener when I use a fruit juice, but you can add it to the yogurt pops if it's unsweetened.

You can also use liquid stevia, liquid monk fruit, agave, or cane sugar to sweeten.

Taste a little bit of the mixture before you pour it in the molds. You can always add more sweetener.

Extras

You can add lemon juice, lime juice, or vanilla. The acid in the lemon juice or lime juice keeps the pops soft. I recommend adding the honey or other sweetener to balance the tartness.

Sometimes I add a little vanilla extract to boost the flavor of the fruit. It's optional. You can also use vanilla yogurt if you want.

Popsicle Molds

I really like this homemade popsicle mold. It makes 10 at a time, and with 5 people in the family, it's worth the extra price.

My kids are also 12 to 18, so they are ready for the larger pops for sure!
I really like the silicone molds because they are easier to unmold. The plastic ones can be hard to get the pops out.

Whole Fruit vs Blending

Now you know how to make whole fruit popsicles, but they don't have to have the entire piece of fruit in them. You can use a food processor to mix them before you pour them into the molds.

If your kids are young, you should mix them before pouring because small children can choke on the fruit.

Whole Fruit Popsicles Ingredients

2 1/2 cups fruit (fresh or frozen)
3/4 cup yogurt, juice, or coconut water
4 to 6 tablespoons honey to taste
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Step #1

Combine the fruit juice, coconut water, or yogurt and lemon or lime juice and honey in a small bowl. Add the vanilla extract if using.

If you are blending the fruit mixture, add the fruit and blend for one minute or until smooth.

Step #2

If you blended the mixture, pour into the molds.

If you are keeping the fruit whole, pour the juice or yogurt mixture in to the mold about one inch deep. Then layer fruit and repeat until the mold is full, making sure you finish with a layer or juice or yogurt.

Step #3

Place the lid on the mold and place the sticks inside. Freeze overnight.

Step #4

For an easy release, run the mold under hot water for 30 seconds. Pop out the popsicles and enjoy right away.

You can also place them on a cookie sheet to freeze them for 30 minutes and then place in a bag to freeze for later.

Now you know how to make whole fruit popsicles! Have fun experimenting with different flavors. My kids like coming up with different flavors of juice, yogurt, and fruit.

popsicle, fruit, whole fruit

snack

American

Yield: 6

Author: Cari @ Koti Beth