Delicious & Healthy Blackberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Healthy blackberry frozen yogurt? Say no more! Find the recipe below!
As a kid, my family and I used to make homemade frozen yogurt and ice cream pretty much every summer.
However, we had one of those old-fashioned ice cream makers that were SUPER loud and kind of laborious to use.
You know, those ice cream makers that you have to add rock salt and ice to every now and then for a few hours? Don’t get me wrong, they’re sort of a rite of passage, but I’m all about cutting time when it comes to ice cream or frozen yogurt!
Easy & Fast Blackberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Compared to making traditional frozen treats with an old-fashioned ice cream maker, this recipe is quick and easy. (No adding salt and ice all of the time, and no cooking anything!)
I estimate prep time to be about 30 minutes, with an additional 30 minutes for mixing time.
That, of course, depends on your berries, and whether or not you have them picked, juiced, frozen, or fresh.
Then, I like to go a step further and freeze my frozen yogurt in my special ice cream keepers for at least an hour before serving. While this isn’t necessary, I find that it makes the ice cream/frozen yogurt more “scoopable” because it gets a little harder.
I’m calling this frozen yogurt recipe “healthy” because it has no added sugar. It also has fat-free Greek yogurt, so it has quite a bit of protein.
If you use full fat, you can expect a less icy, creamier texture.
While it’s not completely sugar and fat-free (it does use milk after all), it is MUCH healthier than what it could have been. I used organic Stevia instead of adding sugar.
I’ll admit that sometimes sugar replacements taste a little yucky to me, but I think that the natural sugar in milk and the berries were enough to offset that weird flavor.
I am SUPER happy with how yummy and tart this came out, and I am really excited to share it with you.
A Favorite Among Frozen Blackberry Recipes
I LOVE blackberries. They are, without a doubt, my favorite berries. (It may be that picking blackberries brings back good childhood memories for me, or it might just be that they are delicious!)
There’s nothing like picking warm berries off of a sun-warmed vine in the middle of the hot summer.
Then there’s the blackberry cobbler, blackberry cheesecake, black berry jelly, and blackberry lemonade. Ah, don’t get me started!
Just thinking about it makes me excited to share this recipe with you! Imagine this after a juicy steak and grilled summer veggies on a warm summer night!
Learning How To Make Frozen Yogurt Without Sugar
Since I’m on a personal fitness journey, I am really invested in learning to make healthier recipes for the foods I love.
However, I don’t think that eating well means that you have to eat boring things and never indulge.
That’s what makes this recipe so cool. The simple ingredients are healthy but still delicious enough for a sweet treat.
For this recipe, I simply used one I found in my Cuisinart recipe book but adapted it. (Follow the manufacturer’s directions with whatever machine you use.)
I figured out how much Stevia I would need to replace the sugar it called for. Since I used Chobani Greek yogurt, I knew that there was already a little bit of sugar in the recipe.
Related Reading: Delicious Grilled Vegetables Marinade Recipe
Plus, milk has sugar too, of course!
If you wanted to make this frozen yogurt even healthier, you could easily use sugar-free yogurt and milk.
(However, I am totally proud of any recipe that is even just a pinch healthier than what it could have been.)
Tools I Used For This Healthy Blackberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe
As I mentioned, I used a few different things to make this recipe. I invested in a few different items that I felt made my life way easier as someone who plans to make ice cream and frozen yogurt many more times in the future. Here’s EXACTLY what I used:
- Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt/Sorbet Maker
- These SUMO Ice Cream Containers (which have since changed names)
- Pyure Organic Stevia Packets (you can use the bagged stuff too)
- Classic McCormick Pure Lemon Extract
One Of The Best Frozen Yogurt Combinations
I am so glad I experimented with this healthy blackberry frozen yogurt recipe! I think it’s going be a summertime favorite for many years to come.
The lemon, blackberry, and Greek yogurt combination makes this recipe tart but somehow sorbet-y too. (Not a word, but I’m rolling with it.)
However, the recipe I started with also recommended vanilla or lemon extract but I opted for lemon. I also suppose that you could use fresh lemon juice or lemon zest for this.
That sounds yummy, but I’m glad things turned out the way they did for this one. (You can put fresh blackberries in the food processor or juicer!)
In the end, I think that the extract is what really makes it, because I think that it takes away any bitterness or weird aftertaste from the Stevia.
Anyway.
The ease with which you make this recipe depends on how you prepare for it.
I have used my ice cream/frozen yogurt a few times before, so I took a few important steps before I was ready to make my frozen yogurt.
Because of that, I have a few tips for you. (Use common sense and adapt this to your own ice cream maker if need be!)
Tips For The Best Berry Frozen Dessert
Firstly, (and super important) if you use an electric “30 minute” fro yo maker like my Cuisinart, you will want to make sure that the freezer bucket is SUPER frozen. If you have the Cuisinart maker, you might know what I mean.
The freezer bowl MUST be totally frozen in order to get your frozen yogurt to harden. (I made the mistake of trying to make ice cream with a semi-frozen bowl and it never hardened.)
So if you have a machine like the one I have, for best results, put that freezer bowl in the deep freezer for at LEAST 24 hours before you make this recipe.
Also make sure to have a freezer-safe container ready for storage.
Secondly, you’ll have a way better time if you puree or juice your berries several hours before you make the ice cream. (Especially if you’re going to pick fresh berries that are warm from a hot day.)
I used blackberry juice that had already been chilling for more than a whole day before just because we happened to make blackberry jelly earlier in the week.
(Make sure you use a fine mesh strainer if you don’t want seeds. Discard seeds!) Read: You will want your blackberry puree or juice to be cold if you want it to set quickly!
Now that you have my tips, let’s cut to the recipe for this healthy dessert! I hope you enjoy it!
Other Recipes You Might Like:
- Healthy Breakfast Egg Muffin Cups with Turkey Sausage
- Easy Peasy Refreshing BCAA Popsicles
- Easy Mango Black Bean Salsa Recipe (Healthy!)
Healthy Blackberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe Instructions
Healthy Blackberry Frozen Yogurt
Equipment
- Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt Maker
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 8 packets organic Stevia (I use Pyure. The teaspoon equivalent for sugar is 16.)
- 4 cups non-fat Greek vanilla yogurt (I used Chobani.)
- 2 cups blackberry puree/juice, strained (I suggest making this ahead of time. )
- 1 tsp pure lemon extract (Or equivalent in lemon juice.)
Instructions
- Thaw berries completely (if frozen).
- Use a blender, food processor, or juicer to blend berries. The juicier, the better!
- Strain puree or juice to remove seeds.
- Chill berry juice/puree at least one hour.
- Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl or pitcher. Stir until you reach a creamy consistency, making sure that the yogurt is fully mixed in.
- Add your blackberry juice or puree; mix thoroughly. Chill if desired.
- Remove your pre-chilled freezer bowl and place it in your ice cream maker.
- Turn your ice cream maker on and slowly add the chilled blackberry yogurt mixture.
- Churn for approximately 30 minutes (for Cuisinart-style ice cream maker).
- Place frozen yogurt mixture in a freezer-safe container. You can eat it right away, but I recommend storing your fro-yo in the freezer for at least one hour before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
