These Roasted Strawberries and Cream Popsicles are sweet, tangy, creamy and loaded with rich strawberry flavor. The secret behind the intense strawberry flavor comes from the roasting process. Not only does it concentrate the sweet strawberry flavor, but it also reduces the water content making for a creamier, less icy popsicle.
Strawberry popsicles are a delicious way to use up leftover freshly picked berries. Even if the strawberries are a little past their prime, you can still roast them and turn them into these simple pops. And with just a few ingredients and a natural sweetener like maple syrup, you can feel good about serving them to your kids as there is no added junk. Plus, we’ll share a very simple trick to make these simple strawberry popsicles even more special.
Video: Roasted Strawberries and Cream Popsicles
Ingredients that Matter
You’ll only need five ingredients for these popsicles:
- Strawberries. Since they are the star if this recipe, you’ll want to use the best quality strawberries you can find. We recommend fresh and ripe strawberries, even strawberries that are a little overly ripe. Trim off the stems and cut away any parts that look rotten or unappetizing. And give them a good soak in clean water before roasting.
- Heavy Cream. We’ve made creamy popsicles with just yogurt, but we always prefer adding some whipped cream to the popsicle base. The cream helps prevent the popsicles from being overly frosty or icy. Plus the heavy cream makes for a rich and creamy strawberry popsicle.
- Plain Yogurt. Regular full-fat plain yogurt gives these strawberry popsicles some body and natural tang. You can make these dairy-free by instead using a plant-based yogurt. We don’t recommend using a sweetened yogurt. Just use your favorite brand of yogurt. You could use Greek-strained yogurt, though we tend not to prefer it as it can taste chalky in these popsicles.
- Maple. While roasting the strawberries will concentrate their flavor, bringing out their natural sweetness, a little added sweetness takes the sour edge off. We love maple as it blends easily into the strawberry and yogurt mixture, plus the flavor compliments the roasted strawberries quite well.
- Vanilla. A splash of vanilla extract rounds out the flavor of these popsicles. It won’t have an intense vanilla flavor, but it’ll just mellow out the strawberries and yogurt nicely.
How to Roast Strawberries
Roasting strawberries is super simple and definitely worth your minimal effort. Simply trim the green stems and any super soft parts of the strawberries. Be sure they are rinsed and dried well, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. We recommend the parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Then roast the strawberries in a 425°F oven until the strawberries turn a deep purplish-red and soften. The natural sugars will caramelize and the house will smell like a strawberry pie. It should take about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the berries. We recommend roasting the strawberries whole, so no need to chop in advance.
Why Roast Strawberries
There are two main reasons to roast the strawberries for this recipe. First, roasting strawberries concentrates their flavor, making the final popsicle have an intense strawberry flavor. And as they roast, the sugars caramelize and provide a more complex flavor than if the strawberries were simply pureed into the yogurt instead of roasting first. And finally, roasting strawberries helps remove excess water and anytime you are making a frozen treat, excess water can lead to ice. So removing as much water from the strawberries as possible helps make for a creamier, less icy popsicle.
How to Make The Popsicles
Once the strawberries are roasted and cooled slightly, the popsicles will come together quickly.
Start by adding the roasted and cooled strawberries, maple and vanilla to a food processor and pulse until the strawberries are finely chopped. Scrape the edges of the bowl and continue to pulse until the mixture is smooth (little chunks are just fine). Reserve about 1 tablespoon of this mixture. Now add the yogurt and pulse until well combined.
Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Add some of the strawberry mixture to the cream and stir then fold the remaining strawberry mixture into the cream.
This recipe makes about 1 ¾ cups popsicle mixture, so choose your popsicle mold appropriately. You can always increase the recipe by 50 to 100 percent to increase the volume to fit the popsicle molds you have. Transfer the mixture to the molds and divide the reserved roasted strawberry puree evenly between the popsicles, stirring slightly (you want to have a little strawberry jam swirl in each popsicle). Freeze until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Storage and Serving
Keep leftover popsicles in the freezer and serve cold out of the freezer. You may need to leave them on the counter for a couple minutes to unmold. This recipe makes enough for 4 small popsicles, but double the recipe if you have larger molds or want more popsicles.
Serve the roasted strawberry popsicles as is, or try drizzling or dipping into melted chocolate. You could also add finely chopped fresh strawberries to the popsicle mixture before freezing if you want a popsicle with bits of frozen strawberries chunks throughout the pops.
Roasting strawberries concentrates their flavor, making for a more intense strawberry flavor. Plus roasting helps draw out excess moisture from the strawberries, making for a creamier and less icy popsicle.
Yes, you can use frozen strawberries to make popsicles, though we recommend fresh, very ripe strawberries if available. Fresh and ripe strawberries will have a stronger strawberry flavor compared to frozen. If you only have frozen available, thaw them first and drain off any excess liquid before roasting.
Roasted strawberries are delicious to eat on their own, hot or cold. You can puree the chilled roasted strawberries and spoon over vanilla ice cream or stir into your morning yogurt. Or try folding into whipped cream for an incredibly simple and lovely strawberry mousse.
More Strawberry Recipes
Recipe
Roasted Strawberries and Cream Popsicles
- Total Time: 35 min.
- Yield: 4 popsicles (yield 1 ¾ cups) 1x
Description
These Roasted Strawberries and Cream Popsicles are sweet, tangy, creamy and loaded with rich strawberry flavor. The secret behind the intense strawberry flavor comes from the roasting process. Not only does it concentrate the sweet strawberry flavor, but it also reduces the water content making for a creamier, less icy popsicle.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ripe strawberries
- 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Rinse, dry and trim the strawberries.
- Place strawberries on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until they turn a deep-purplish red color and become very soft, 20-25 minutes. Cool at room temperature for at least 10 minutes (you may transfer to an airtight container at this point and refrigerate overnight, if desired).
- Transfer the cooled roasted strawberries, along with any juices from the parchment, to a blender or base of a food processor. Add maple syrup and vanilla and pulse until the strawberries are finely chopped, about 10 pulses. Scrape the edges of the bowl as needed. Reserve 1 tablespoon of this mixture in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add yogurt to the food processor or blender and pulse until well incorporated. Whip the cream in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. Add about ¼ cup of the strawberry and yogurt mixture to the whipped cream and stir. Add the remaining strawberry and yogurt mixture to the cream and fold. Divide mixture among popsicle molds (makes about 1 ¾ cups base) then evenly divide roasted strawberry puree between the popsicles and gently stir to create a swirl. Freeze at least 4 hours or ideally overnight before serving. To serve, remove from freezer and leave on the counter for 5 minutes to unmold.
Notes
- We recommend using very ripe fresh strawberries.
- You can use frozen strawberries for this recipe, but thaw first and drain off excess liquid before roasting.
- Roasting the strawberries concentrates the flavor and removes excess water creating a creamier and less icy popsicle.
- Prep Time: 10 min.
- Cook Time: 15 min.
- Category: dessert
- Method: roasting/freezing
- Cuisine: American
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