Copycat Shamrock Shake

Name: Copycat Shamrock Shake
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 4 small shakes
Ingredients: 2 cups vanilla ice cream; 1 1/4 cup milk; 1/4 tsp mint extract (not peppermint); 8 drops green food coloring

Cocktails & Drinks

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This Copycat Shamrock Shake tastes just like the original, but skip the line at the drive through and make it at home! It’s so easy! Grab some vanilla ice cream, milk, and mint extract and let’s make everybody’s favorite McDonald’s Shamrock Shake! We can’t get enough of all things St. Patrick’s Day and if you are like us you are going to want to also make some Leprechaun Bait and a Shamrock Shake Pie!

Are you ready to ditch the red and the pink of Valentine’s Day and go green and talk about all things St. Patrick’s Day?? Good! Me too!

Nathan isn’t a big chocolate lover. His taste in desserts is varied, but he does tend to love things mint! My Mint Oreo Bark is one of his favorites and the dessert he asks for without fail at Christmas cookie making time. Where I would love a nice hot fudge sundae, Nathan would much rather have a mint Oreo shake.

So this time of year, one of his favorite things is the Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s! This year I decided to make them at home.

HOW DO YOU MAKE A SHAMROCK SHAKE

This is such a simple and easy recipe! It is just a combination of vanilla ice cream, mint extract, milk, and green food coloring. Top it off with some whipped cream and a cherry and it’s just like the original!

I love making these at home because you save money, but you also have more control over portion size and ingredients. I made mine with lighter ice cream and skim milk. While this recipe is for two servings, it makes a ton of shake! So you could really cut this in half or make it for a family of four after dinner and serve it in smaller cups. If you are really watching calories, try my Skinny Shamrock Shake!

NOTES ON MAKING THIS SHAMROCK SHAKE

A few things . . .

As I mentioned, I used lighter ice cream and skim milk, but you should fell free to use what you have on hand. The key is to add the milk slowly until you get the consistency that you want.
Pssst . . . . if you don’t feel like adding the green food coloring, DON’T! It will taste just as delicious without it.
Make sure when you head to the store that you grab mint extract. It can be a little tricky to find, but it is definitely different than peppermint extract and you will want to stick with the mint.

We can’t get enough of mint recipes this time of year. If you are the same way, you are going to want to look at these delightfully simple Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Buttons! They are just as wonderfully green as this shake, but with the added bonus of some chocolate. These No Bake Mocha Mint Cheesecake Parfaits are totally amazing. I love all things no bake, and can you beat the combination of mocha and mint? And finally, I really feel like if you are having a St. Patrick’s Day party of any kind you need to include this Mint Chip Cake Roll! How gorgeous is it?? Plus that green frosting. ????

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