Deliciously refreshing, Easy Fruit Sorbet with just 3 ingredients! Perfect summer treat and the best way to take advantage of the summer fruit bounty. Plus it’s an easy, healthy dessert/snack idea for kids.
Make Easy Fruit Sorbet with just 3 ingredients in just a few minutes!
This post came to be as a result of a late surfeit of summer fruits in our local grocery store last month. The fruits got cheap, we got greedy, and the result was more fruit at home than we could possibly eat before they went bad. Besides, I love fruit desserts and this was the perfect opportunity.
So enter, easy 3 ingredient sorbet!
Why I love small batch easy fruit sorbets
Remember the easy fruit soda syrups I made earlier in the summer? And all the delicious popsicles (peach melba popsicles, spicy pineapple paletas, oreo popsicles, creamy vanilla popsicles, iced coffee popsicles etc.?) These Easy Fruit Sorbets just might be (dare I say it) an even better idea for cooling down in the summer! These frozen desserts not only cool you down, they are,
- healthier,
- super easy to make,
- gluten free and dairy free, and vegan!
Plus they taste fantastic!
If that didn’t convince you, get this. You can take almost any fruit you want, any flavour you want and transform them into refreshing and delicious sorbets! Think
- Raspberry sorbet
- Pineapple sorbet
- Honeydew melon sorbet
- Watermelon sorbet
- Peache sorbet
- Strawberry sorbet
- Apricots, Cantaloupe etc. etc. etc.
Damn, now I wish I could do summer all over again! Today I’m sharing with you the recipes for the sorbets we made most this summer – Raspberry, Peaches, Mango, Kiwi fruit, and Pineapple. Plus those colours are just so much fun! 🙂 I even tried this with Honey dew melon, watermelon and cantaloupe and you get a refreshing and healthy sorbet with a slushie like consistency!
There is a very simple idea behind this easy fruit sorbet. An embarrassingly simple idea. A sorbet is basically blended fruit that’s sweetened and then frozen. Though I call these recipes here, they are really more like an idea, a how to sort of guide for perfect, easy fruit sorbets!
Everything you need to make healthy, easy fruit sorbet
- An ice crushing blender or a small food processor
- Your favourite summer fruits (frozen, or fresh bought and then diced and frozen)
- Simple syrup as a sweetener (or agave or honey or maple syrup)
- And just a squeeze of lemon juice or lime juice (this isn’t needed if the fruit is sour, like kiwi fruit)
The very simple idea behind my sorbets
I love my ice crushing blender. And I figured if I turned fruits into ice cubes, OR I cut them into small pieces and freeze them, then I can crush those fruit ice cubes and turn them into delicious sorbet goodness!
The only addition I’d need is some extra liquid, which in this case is agave syrup (you can also use simple syrup, or maple syrup). It adds the sweetness and the liquid component required to turn your fresh summer fruits into glorious smooth sorbets that are ready to eat in minutes!
You don’t need an ice cream maker for this because,
- you’re making small batches of sorbet.
- the blender will be crushing the frozen fruit to very small pieces to make it almost as small as with an ice cream maker.
In addition to the sweeteners, you can add water or orange juice or lemonade IF your blender does need a little extra liquid to make that sorbet!
Do I have to buy fresh fruits?
Not at all!
You can BUY frozen fruits from the supermarket to make life easier. We all buy the frozen fruits, like frozen strawberries, raspberries, mango, cherries and more, to make our morning smoothie, so we can easily use the same frozen fruits to make this sorbet.
BUT you do have the option to use overripe fruits from the market and use it to make sorbet. You tend to add less sweetener when the fruit is overripe because of the natural sweetness of the fruits already too.
How to prep fresh fruits to make this recipe
If you buy fresh fruits, you will have to peel (if the fruits have inedible peels) and cut your fruits into cubes and then freeze them on a parchment paper-lined baking tray (spread the chunks out in a single layer, don’t stack them up so that they freeze into one big solid mass).
Once frozen, you can store them in freezer bags. This way your fruits will last longer too. And for smaller fruits like raspberries and blackberries or blueberries you don’t even need to cut them up. freeze them whole.
And then, when sorbet time rolls around, you can take out whichever fruit ice cubes your heart desires and whip up some deliciously refreshing sorbet in minutes!
8 oz / 226 g of frozen fruit will give you 1 very generous portion of sorbet or 2 smaller portions.
Can I make this sorbet ahead of time and store them?
This recipe for sorbet is best eaten immediately – straight after blending.
Traditional sorbet has alot more sugar added to it, to allow the sorbet to be softer in consistency and scoopable even when frozen.
Because this easy fruit sorbet has far less sugar, it will harden more when frozen. But it will be just like sorbet as soon as it’s blended! So it’s perfect as an easy alternative for sorbet and a quick and healthy, refreshing summer snack or treat!
However, you can freeze it for later too. You will have to let the sorbet soften a little at room temperautre so that it can be scooped easily though.
But I want to make classic sorbet ahead of time! How can I make classic sorbet that’s easy to scoop.
You can absolutely make sorbet to store for later. To do this, you will absolutely need to add more sugar or alcohol (or both!). Sugar acts as an interference for freezing, and keeps the sorbet relatively soft even at freezing temperatures.
How much sugar should I add to sorbet that I want to store or make in bulk?
- For every 500 g (a little over a pound), I use 200 g of sugar or 150 g of honey or maple syrup.
Check out my other classic sorbet recipe for Pink peppercorn and pineapple sorbet (that uses extra sugar to keep it soft), or my Frozen Mango margarita for mango sorbet that I make with alcohol.
Feel like mixing flavours? No problem. It’s as easy as combining two frozen fruits together in your blender.
This is so delicious, and healthy, you’ll be buying fruit just to make sorbets next time!
I personally love the Mango, while Mr K favours Pineapple. What will be your favourite? 🙂
More fruit flavours that you can turn into easy sorbets
Mango (this is AWESOME! – if you get your hands on some sweet mangoes, you have got to try this!)
Apricot
Watermelon
Strawberries
Cantaloupe
Blackberries
Feijoas (YUM!!)
Cherries
Papaya
Kiwi Fruit
Banana + Passionfruit
The world is your oyster! Now go make sorbet.
Easy Fruit Sorbet Recipe Video
More refreshing summer recipe ideas
- Technicolour Ombre Peach Melba Popsicles (Thyme, Peach & Raspberry Paleta)
- How to Make Rainbow Ice Cubes (with no food coloring)
- Salted Lime Sherbet (Margarita Ice Cream)
- Cherry and Blackberry Red Wine Granita
- Colour Changing Lemonade (Galaxy Lemonade)
- Colour Changing Lemonade Slushies and Popsicles
Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
No churn Easy Fruit Sorbet (four flavours plus make your own!)
EASY – This recipe is easy for novice cooks as it doesn't require any complicated cooking techniques. However you will need a good blender.
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions
Ingredients:
Raspberry Sorbet
- 8 oz Raspberry (by weight)
- 3 – 4 tbsp sugar syrup or agave nectar, maple syrup (to keep it refined sugar free) or orange juice (if you prefer less sweet)
- lemon juice optional
Pineapple Sorbet
- 8 oz pineapple nose removed, cut into ½ inch cubes (fresh or frozen), by weight
- 3-4 tbsp sugar syrup or agave nectar, maple syrup to keep it refined sugar free or orange juice (if you prefer less sweet)
Peach Sorbet
- 8 oz Peaches peeled, fresh or frozen, cut into ½ inch cubes, by weight
- 3-4 tbsp sugar syrup or agave nectar, maple syrup – to keep it refined sugar free or orange juice (if you prefer less sweet)
- lemon juice
Honeydew Melon Sorbet
- 8 oz honeydew melon flesh only, cut into cubes, by weight
- 3-4 tbsp sugar syrup or agave nectar, maple syrup – to keep it refined sugar free or orange juice (if you prefer less sweet)
- lemon juice
Sugar Syrup (if you’re not using Maple syrup)
- 8 oz white sugar
- 2 cups water
Instructions:
Sugar Syrup
- Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for a further 15-20 minutes until you get a sugar syrup. Pour into a glass jar/bottle. Let it cool completely and for best results, chill in the fridge until you need it.
Fruit Sorbet
- Cut up whole fruits into ½ inch cubes (except raspberries – these can be frozen whole).
- Lay out the fruits in a single layer on parchment paper lined baking trays (it’s OK if the fruits touch).
- Freeze the fruits completely and store them in freezer bags.
- Roughly weigh out 8 oz of the frozen fruit and place it in a small food processor or ice crushing blender.
- Pulse to crush the fruits into small pieces and add the simple syrup, a tablespoon at a time (while pulsing) to create a smooth sorbet-like paste. Please see notes.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice and run the blender for a few seconds to mix.
- Spoon it into a bowl and serve immediately – or store in the freezer until you’re ready.
Tips & Tricks
Note 2 – Adjust the sweetness/sugar level by adding more or less sugar syrup. If you don’t like sweeteners, you can substitute it with just water, or orange juice (or any kind of fruit juice).
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
FrankN says
Where is the water amount?
Dini says
Hi Frank
The water amount is in the section to make the syrup.
I hope that helps
Tania says
I was going to make apple Butterbeer sorbet. Because the butter beer has a bit of sugar in it do I still need to add sugar &lemon juice?
Dini says
Hi Tania
This sorbet is for cheats sorbet. So, the sorbet will harden quite a bit in the freezer and is more designed for immediate consumption. To store it in the freezer, you will need to let it soften a little before scooping it out.
Traditional sorbet requires more sugar in the mixture to keep it soft even after storing it in the freezer. Apples have quite a lot of water content, as well as the butterbeer, so the sorbet will harden a lot. You can add more sugar to keep it softer, BUT I can’t guarantee how well it will turn out because of the extra water content in the sorbet.
Amanda says
So I made this and it was super easy and yummy when I tried it. I made mine with orange juice as I didn’t want any added sugars but unfortunately when I put it in the freezer it froze solid to the point where it took days for it to defrost in my sink. I wasn’t able to eat any of it really disappointing I’m not sure why it would have froze so hard
Dini says
Hi Amanda
Orange is very much different than making this with fresh fruit. And not adding sugar further changes the texture.
In the recipe, I do recommend to let the sorbet thaw before scooping if you do store it in the freezer. When making this with a juice, and without sugar, the resulting sorbet wil absolutely become ice instead.
Sugar helps to keep the sorbet soft, and regular storebought sorbet will and should contain more sugar to keep it soft all the time, like this frozen pineapple sorbet that I made.
I’m sorry the recipe did not come out right, but the changes you made will result in a drastic change in the final product.
Beccy says
Hiya! Would I be able to do this with grapefruit?
Dini says
Hi Beccy
It is possible, but fruits that have a higher water content (like melons or citrus fruits), tend to have icier results.
It is also important not to include any pith as this will immediately make it bitter as well.
If it works, please let me know!
Nani says
If I’m using maple syrup do I need to dissolve it?
Dini says
Hi Nani
Maple syrup usually dissolves pretty quickly in a blender. It shouldn’t need to be dissolved first.
I hope that helps
M says
So so delicious and easy! I’ve adapted it successfully with watermelon and plums, and it’s always excellent. Thank you!
Spenelli says
I made the pineapple with agave nectar. Used already frozen pineapple chunks. I have a blender bottle. It could barely handle it, like I suspected. So I added a little water. Turned into more water so I added lemon squash as I had no lemon juice. Ha. It ended up like a soup as I actually added too much water. And it’s still AMAZING. Delicious, fruity, cold soup, haha. Next time less water but great recipe! I’ve never used agave!
Suzi says
I make banana sorbet all the time… It’s a great use of those over ripe bananas you don’t know what to do with. Just freeze and blitz… No added sugar syrup needed.
Jess says
I just made the recipe today and i can honestly say it works! Nice work! But i do have a problem I used mixed berries eg: strawberry blackberries blue berries etc and it made a lot of bits what do u think I can do to prevent this from happening again??
Dini says
Hi Jess
If there are bits of fruits left in the sorbet, it’s usually because the blender isn’t powerful enough, or it hasn’t been blended long enough.
It really does depend on the type of blender that you own.
I hope that helps!