An obsession with store-bought strawberry popsicles turned into an obsession with homemade strawberry popsicles a couple of years ago. We’ve made lots of other types since then but strawberry popsicles, or a variation of them, continue to be our favorite. I loved finding small pieces of fruit in store-bought ones, a fairly rare occurrence, so I’ve always made my fruit popsicles chunky.

If you don’t have a popsicle mold, you can make popsicles in shot glasses or small paper cups. See tips below for directions.

Strawberry raspberry homemade popsicles

Adapted from Fany Gerson’s Paletas recipe ‘Paletas de fresa’ or ‘Strawberry ice pops’

Makes 10 popsicles of 3 oz each

Ingredients

• 4 cups (550 g) fresh, ripe strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1 heaping cup (127 g) fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup (118 mL) granulated sugar (increase to 3/4 cup (177 mL) if you prefer sweeter popsicles)
• 1/4 cup (59 mL) water

Directions

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the berries with the sugar. Let sit until the sugar is dissolved and the berries release their natural juices, about 25 minutes.
2. Pour in the water and heat over medium heat. Simmer until the strawberries soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Let mixture cool at room temperature.
3. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until almost smooth or perfectly smooth, whichever texture you prefer. Because I prefer finding chunks of berries in my pops, I pulse it just a few times.
4. Taste the mixture. If it tastes just right, add a little bit more sugar. The popsicle mixture will taste less sweet once it’s frozen. If you’re worried you’ve accidentally oversweetened, add a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice.
5. Divide the mixture among popsicle molds, leaving a little bit of room at the top for the mixture to expand. Cover with the lid, insert the popsicle sticks, and transfer to the freezer. Freeze the popsicles until solid, about 5 hours.
6. To unmold the popsicles, remove the lid from the mold. You can dip the mold in lukewarm water for 10 seconds, or until the popsicles are easily dislodged. Once dislodged, store them in heavy-duty plastic ziplock bags or serve immediately.

Process photos

Washed strawberries

Strawberries, hulled and quartered

Berries softening in sugar

Simmered berries

Popsicle mixture pre-blender

Texture of popsicle mixture post-blender

Diving popsicle mixture into molds

Frozen popsicles in mold

Tips

Sources of sodium

• None

Handy tools

• Popsicle molds

  We have this popsicle mold and it serves its purpose but it’s not perfect. The lid doesn’t snap on, which means that we have to be careful to not shift the sticks before the popsicles freeze otherwise it is hard to remove the lid once they’re frozen.

• Popsicle sticks

  Look for food-grade popsicle sticks.

• Large shot glasses

  We have these 2-oz shot glasses and we use them whenever we have extra popsicle mixture.

Modifications

• Blender alternative

  You can mash the mixture with a potato masher instead of blending it, and this works especially well if you prefer a chunkier texture. You’ll need to simmer the fruit longer if you’d like to use a masher but prefer a smoother texture.

• Seedless alternative

  If you like a very smooth texture and you don’t have a powerful blender that can pulverize seeds, you can pass the popsicle mixture through a fine-mesh strainer before dividing it into the popsicle molds. Push the solids with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon to get out as much of the liquid as you can, then discard the solids.

• Dislodge each popsicle individually

  If you’d prefer to store the popsicles in the mold and dislodge them as you eat them, carefully run the mold of each popsicle under lukewarm tapwater until it is easily dislodged. If you have transparent or translucent molds, you will be able to see the popsicle dislodge through the mold.

• Alternative methods to molds

  If you do not have popsicle molds, you can use shot glasses or small paper cups to make them. Freeze until the pop are beginning to set, 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, then insert the sticks and continue freezing until solid, about 4 to 5 hours.

  
  You can make popsicles in shot glasses

Did you make this?

• If you recreate this recipe, I’d love to know! Leave a comment here and tag @alickofsalt on social media.