This strawberry coconut milk shake is a dairy free DREAM! Essentially a vegan strawberry milkshake made without ice cream – it is thick, creamy, and made with only 5 simple ingredients! A healthy plant based frozen treat that is made for warm summer days!
A quick note on this recipe! The original version of this post was published back in 2017. Since then I’ve re-tested the recipe, and updated the photographs and content. I’m republishing it for you today to enjoy! I hope you continue to make and love this delicious strawberry coconut milk shake. xo
Have you guys ever tried making a milk shake at home using coconut milk? It is SO dang good! Thick, creamy, and full of decadence without any dairy or excessive amounts of sugar. Paired with some sweet and tart frozen strawberries and we’re talking about a crazy delicious and easy milk shake situation.
The weather has been heating UP lately here in Seattle, and frozen treats are becoming a *necessity* to get through the day 😉 Granted we consider anything over 80 to be insanely hot, but any excuse to drink a milk shake, amirite?
Especially when it’s a healthy 5 ingredient paleo and vegan friendly strawberry + coconut milk shake that might just be destined to be the milk shake of your summer.
Bring on the brain freeze 🤘🏼
How to make a dairy free strawberry coconut milk shake?
Okay so I love it when recipes are this easy. Are you ready?
Add all the ingredients to your blender and blend until THICK AND CREAMY 💅🏽
That is it my friends. Pretty much as easy as it gets.
Because there’s not a ton of liquid used in the recipe, you might have to stop every once and awhile and scrape down the sides to keep things moving. Or if you have a Vitamix or Blendtec you can also use the tamper to help with the blending flow.
If the shake is still just way too thick to blend no matter how much stopping and scraping you do, add a tiny bit of water at a time until the blades are able to “grab” the milk shake and it starts to blend freely.
This milk shake recipe makes enough for 2 servings (or 1 large serving for somebody who is REALLY in the mood for a milk shake 😝), so grab a friend and blend away!
The 5 healthy ingredients in this strawberry coconut milk shake
This coconut milk shake is made WITHOUT ice cream! Which means no large amounts of sugar to spike your blood sugar here. Natural fruit is the main sweetener, and you can boost the sweetness a little bit to your taste with maple syrup or honey if you like. I usually add just a touch of maple syrup.
The ingredients for this plant based milk shake are:
- Frozen strawberries
- Full fat coconut milk
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup or honey
- A tiny pinch of sea salt (which brings all the flavors together like 👌🏽)
What makes this dairy free coconut milk shake healthy?
Welllll, first of all, there is no dairy in this recipe. YAY! For someone who has been trying to avoid dairy (umm maybe not doing the best job but TRYING! Cheese is too good you guys 😭) this is a big one for me. I mean just because I am not eating dairy does not mean that I also do not want to enjoy yummy summer time milk shakes. Ya feel me on this one, right?
What’s the substitute for milk? Creamy full fat coconut milk is used in place of dairy, and boy does it do a good job. Well done coconut milk, well done. Making dairy free milk shakes legit delicious since probably forever.
And there is NO artificial anything in this creamy dreamy plant based milk shake. No artificial flavors, fillers, no binders, and no gums. NONE of that weird stuff. Uh uh ☝🏼
Also it is refined sugar free! This strawberry milk shake is sweetened only with:
A) Strawberries
B) Maple syrup (but only the tiniest amount, and only if you want)
Real food that tastes real good = healthy strawberry coconut milk shakes for everyone ☺️
Notes on this recipe
- This recipe is already vegan, dairy free, gluten free and paleo friendly. Because of the maple syrup and the vanilla extract is is not technically considered whole30 compliant.
- Because there is no ice in this recipe, you must use frozen strawberries to get that milkshake like texture. In a pinch you could use fresh strawberries and add a handful of ice, but be ready for more of an icy strawberry smoothie than milk shake situation. (Not that this would suck, it actually sounds super delicious, too!)
- Using full fat coconut milk really gives this shake it’s super thick and creamy vibe. Light coconut milk will probably result in a more watered down milk shake and I really wouldn’t recommend using it. To amp up the luscious factor even more you could substitute coconut cream for coconut milk .
- Don’t have frozen strawberries on hand? This recipe would also be crazy delicious with other frozen fruit. Frozen banana, raspberries, or mango would all be ONE HUNDRED.
- Add a scoop of collagen for some joint / skin / nail love and some extra milk shake fluffiness! The texture of collagen peptides in blended drinks always makes me swoon. If you’ve never tried it before this would be a great recipe to do so.
For other cold and refreshing summertime drinks check out these recipes!
- Spiced Vegan Mango Lassi
- How to Make the Best Tropical Green Smoothie
- How to Make Green Juice with a Blender
Strawberry Coconut Milk Shake {vegan + paleo}
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 milk shakes 1x
Description
This strawberry coconut milk shake is a dairy free DREAM! Essentially a vegan strawberry milkshake made without ice cream – it is thick, creamy, and made with only 5 simple ingredients! A healthy plant based frozen treat that is made for warm summer days!
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen strawberries
- 1 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional, or to taste)
- tiny pinch of sea salt
- water to thin if needed
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except water to a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Stop to scrape down the sides or use the blender tamper to get things moving as needed.
- If the shake is still too thick to blend no matter how much stopping and scraping you do, add a tiny bit of water at a time until the blades are able to “grab” the milk shake and it starts to blend freely.
- Serve immediately in two glasses and top with some fresh strawberry slices if desired!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: drinks
- Method: blender
- Cuisine: american
Kareen says
Added a twist to this. I froze half of the coconut milk in ice trays and added 1 ripe banana and dates with coconut water as my thinner. Didn’t add the vanilla or salt and it still came out tasting great!! It was really really tasty. I actually enjoyed this recipe and will definitely be making it more often.
Nyssa Tanner says
I love this variation! Sounds like the perfect treat for a hot summer day! xo, Nyssa
Deb says
Love this! Followed exactly. Next time I’ll try different fruits for fun
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! It’s one of our favorite summer treats. We love it with frozen peaches once they’re in season 🙂 I’d love to know what other fruits you try! Thank you for the thoughtful comment! xo, Nyssa
Jasming says
I’ve made this 4x in the past week! Haha. I’m actually very picky when it comes to smoothies, so it’s a pretty big deal to find one I love! In my top 3 faves, for sure. Thanks Nyssa!
Nyssa Tanner says
Yesss! Ah that makes my day! I’m so happy you love this one. I’ve been on a similar kick myself lately! Feels like a very spring smoothie to be making 😉
Nancy says
I Love the combination of the coconut and berries.
Nyssa Tanner says
Gosh me TOO! Hope you love it if you give this recipe a try 🙂
An says
It’s already getting hot here so we made this into popsicles! Thanks for another great recipe!