From-scratch Strawberry Milk (4 Ingredients!) from the Pantry

Strawberry milk was BY FAR my regular as a kid, and this kitchen-made version blows the carton stuff out of the water! Simply 4 ingredients, real strawberries, and a few minutes on the stove is all it takes.

Why you’ll love this fresh strawberry milk 🍓

As a kid, strawberry milk was a lunchroom staple – do schools even still serve it in the little carton? I’ve been craving my childhood go-to lately, and wanted a version I’d feel good about making for my own daughter (although I’d be lying if I said she’d didn’t love the store-bought version).

Using fresh strawberries instead of syrup and food coloring was a MUST, and honestly? It’s SO much better than I remembered.

Why You’ll Love This

• Simply 4 ingredients – strawberries, sugar, water, and milk. That’s it for a fresh strawberry flavor!
• Way better than store-bought strawberry milk – real + fresh strawberry flavor, no artificial dyes or flavoring.
• Completely customizable – dial the sugar up or down, and use whatever milk you already have.
• Kid-approved and adult-approved – this childhood go-to never gets old!

Simple ingredients needed

This simple recipe comes down to two components – milk and a short kitchen-made strawberry syrup – stirred together into something way better than the carton kind. As a reminder, the ingredients for this method are listed fully down in the recipe card.

• Strawberries – the go-to strawberries are fresh ones but frozen also works well; fresh at peak ripeness gives the brightest flavor.
• Sugar – Needed to make the strawberry juice. Start with ⅓ cup if you like it less sweet, or use the full ½ cup for a old-school taste. The amount of sugar is genuinely up to you.
  While I haven’t tested it, something like honey or maple syrup would work as well as a sugar-free sweetener such as monk fruit sweetener.
• Water – the liquid base that helps the strawberries break down into syrup.
• Milk of your choice – any type of milk works here. I’ve tested this with 2% and oat milk – whole milk makes it extra rich and creamy, and any non-dairy milk keeps it vegan including coconut milk, soy milk, and almond milk.

How to Make Strawberry Milk

Only a reminder that you can find the FULL written from-scratch strawberry milk recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you:)

1. Combine & simmer. Strawberries, sugar, and water go straight into the pot together – no need to macerate first.

1. Cook it down. A gentle simmer for 8-10 minutes is all it takes for the strawberries to break down and release their juice.

1. Strain. Press the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get every last drop of juice out – then the fruit itself gets tossed. Let it come to room temp (or pop it in the fridge) before mixing with milk.

1. Mix juice and milk. Stir a few tablespoons of juice into a cold glass of milk and it’s ready to drink! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Recipe Tips

• Use ripe strawberries – if it’s not strawberry season, frozen berries will actually give you better flavor than under-ripe fresh ones.
• Pick your milk – whole milk gives the richest result, but any plant-based milk keeps things vegan and still savory.
• Scale it up or down – single serving is 1 cup milk + 3-4 tablespoons juice; a full batch is 5 cups milk + all the juice.
• Save extra syrup – it’s strong on pancakes, waffles, or French toast if you don’t use it all in milk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other uses for the strawberry juice

This method makes 1 1/4 cups of strawberry juice. This is enough for about 5 cups of strawberry milk. I often use some juice for making strawberry milk and then use the leftover juice to make a strawberry latte or for topping pancakes, waffles or this French toast. Find more uses for strawberry juice here.

More flavor-packed strawberry recipes to try

• Strawberry Smoothie
• Unfussy Strawberry Shortcake
• Vegan Strawberry Lemonade Muffins
• Baked Strawberry Donuts
• Strawberry Salty Dog