Probiotic Watermelon Strawberry Fruit Sorbet

Learn how to make fruit sorbet with this easy, probiotic watermelon strawberry sorbet recipe! Use fresh or frozen fruit, with or without an ice cream maker, and naturally sweeten with raw honey to taste. Refreshing and delicious!

I broke my ice cream machine with almond milk.

Apparently its creamy nature is deceptive. Almond milk is mostly water… not fatty like real milk.

So, the plastic paddle immediately froze to the side of my machine. When the poor thing tried to stir, it snapped in half.

I’ve been avoiding homemade ice cream and fruit sorbets ever since the tragedy. Okay, maybe it’s not so tragic, but we do love our ice cream around here!

Now I’ve discovered a way to make a delicious, healthy fruit sorbet. No ice cream machine necessary.

How To Make Sorbet

There are a few different ways to make fruit sorbet.

The traditional way is to combine fruit and sugar. Some fruits work better than others, but there are many possible combinations.

A lot of recipes call for a simple syrup, which is water and sugar cooked together. The recipe for simple syrup is half and half, so 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar.

Fruit Options

Fruit with lots of fiber (like pineapple) or seeds (like raspberries) are harder to work with. You can use them, but they’ll need strained first to make a fruit juice.

I also like adding a bit of lemon or lime juice to balance out the sweet flavors.

Here are some different fruit ideas to use in sorbet:

• Mango
• Strawberry
• Raspberry
• Watermelon
• Pears
• Plum
• Apple
• Peach
• Nectarine
• Cantaloupe
• Honeydew melon
• Orange
• Banana
• Grapefruit
• Lemon
• Lime

Fruit Sorbet Variations

There are a lot of options when it comes to combining fruit. TCS contributing writer Dawn shared this spiced honey pear sorbet recipe.

My recipe, below, calls for strawberries and watermelon. You can also try:

• Raspberry lemon sorbet
• Orange juice mango sorbet
• Apple cinnamon sorbet
• Strawberry lime sorbet
• Strawberry pineapple sorbet
• Lemon lime sorbet

Different Methods For Fruit Sorbet

As mentioned above, the traditional method is combining fruit with simple syrup.

However, some people prefer to skip the extra liquid and just use fruit and sugar. The ratio is about 4 cups of fruit to 1 cup sugar.

Since I don’t want refined sugar (or even lots of natural sugar) I’m doing it differently.

How To Make Fruit Sorbet Without An Ice Cream Maker

I don’t have an ice cream machine so this is the method I used. There are two ways to make fruit sorbet without an ice cream machine.

1. Add frozen fruit and sweetener to a blender or food processor, then process until smooth and eat immediately. Or…
2. Blend fresh fruit and sweetener together until liquid. Freeze in a freezer safe bowl, whisking every 30 to 60 minutes. Eat as soon as it reaches the desired consistency.

Probiotic Sorbet

Since most fruit sorbet recipes are sugar and fruit, they aren’t the healthiest. I’ve added water kefir to this recipe for a probiotic kick!

If you don’t have water kefir then you can also use kombucha. If you want more of a sherbet flavor, add yogurt or milk kefir instead.

Is Sorbet Healthy?

It has fruit, so in a way, yes. It’s also full of sugar, so no. 😉

This recipe has the best of both worlds. It uses fresh fruit, including the fiber, and it’s naturally sweetened.

Sugar Alternatives

Some people use corn syrup or agave in their sorbet, but in my opinion, that defeats the purpose. It should go without saying that corn syrup isn’t healthy, but neither is agave.

While agave is more natural, it’s also really high in fructose. Raw honey helps give this sorbet a soft consistency while adding sweet nutrition.

Coconut and date sugar should also work if you prefer those.

Watermelon Strawberry Sorbet Recipe

Watermelon is on the sweeter side when it comes to fruit. Strawberries, depending on the type, can be a little more tart.

I love the way these two taste together and I find they balance each other out.

Ingredients To Make Fruit Sorbet

Since this doesn’t follow the traditional fruit and sugar recipe, we’re getting creative.

We still need enough sweetener so it doesn’t freeze rock solid. Too much, though, and it’s cloyingly sweet.

Then there’s water kefir for a probiotic boost.

Because I don’t like my sorbet too sweet, I also added some lemon juice.

In my first batch, the watermelon was deep red and sweet. The second watermelon though was pinker and a little more tart.

Depending on how ripe your fruit is you may need to play around with the ingredients. If it’s too sweet, add a little more lemon juice.

Too sour? Add more honey.

Keep in mind that once the mix freezes, some of the sweetness will go away. We want to make it just a touch too sweet before freezing.

If you’re using the method that blends already frozen fruit, then follow your taste buds.

Looking for more pro-biotic rich treats?

• Healthy Probiotic Pomegranate Mousse
• Probiotic Mint Chocolate Chip Popsicles (dairy-free option!)
• Roasted Cinnamon Peach Probiotic Gelato (Honey-Sweetened)
• 3-Ingredient Mixed Berry Kefir Popsicles (probiotic & kid-friendly!)
• Off-Grid Lime Kefir Ice Cream With Fermented Blueberry Syrup
• Probiotic Chocolate Ice Cream

…and don’t forget to check out more dairy free frozen treats from Traditional Cooking School!

• Dairy-Free Almond Joy Ice Coconut Ice Cream
• No-Churn Mango Turmeric Ice Cream (Dairy-Free & Paleo)
• Dairy-Free No-Churn Blackberry Ice Cream
• Real Food Gingerbread Chunk Ice Cream (w/Dairy-Free Option!)
• Dark Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream (Can Be Dairy-Free!)
• Dairy Free Fudge Pops
• 40 Deliciously Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipes