A Shamrock shake is a minty green milkshake served at McDonald’s for a limited time around St. Patrick’s Day. It usually pops up on the menu mid-February. The official ingredients, courtesy of McDonald’s website, are vanilla soft serve, shamrock shake syrup, and whipped light cream. We are huge fans of this shake, but it gets pricey to buy for the whole family, so we figured out how to make them at home. Skip the drive-thru! This copycat shamrock shake recipe is easy, uses simple ingredients, and it also tastes just like the original, if not better.
Ingredients in a Shamrock Shake
Just like any traditional homemade shake, this Shamrock shake is filled with your basic shake ingredients with the help of mint extract for flavor and some green food coloring to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. You can’t go wrong making this simple Shamrock shake!
Vanilla Ice Cream – The quality of your Shamrock shake will depend on the quality of your ice cream. Because of that, we like to use a super creamy vanilla ice cream as the base. Milk – Just a little bit of milk gives these shakes the perfect, smooth texture you can drink through a straw! Use whole milk for the best results. Mint Extract – It took a lot of trial and error to get just the right amount of mint flavoring. Too much can make it taste like toothpaste. Additionally, too little mint, and the mint flavor gets lost in the vanilla. Trust us on the amounts of mint extract! Green Food Coloring – Since you are only adding a few drops of green food coloring, you can use liquid food coloring or gel food coloring. When baking cakes I like to use gel, but either is okay for this recipe. Optional Toppings – I like to top my Shamrock Shakes with whipped cream and also a maraschino cherry. You can also top them with chocolate sauce, Andes mints, Oreo cookie pieces, or green sprinkles!
Steps for Making a Shamrock Shake
This simple copycat recipe comes together in minutes! Simply blend the ingredients and serve with your favorite toppings and a cute straw. A shamrock shake is a must-have dessert this St. Patrick’s Day!
Variations for the Shamrock Shake Recipe
You could turn this St. Patrick’s Day treat into a delicious and easy dessert any time of year! When you are craving a milkshake just try a few of these variations to make it just the way you like it!
Christmas – Serve them with green and red sprinkles at Christmastime. Valentine’s Day – Use red food coloring to create a delightfully pink Valentine’s Day dessert. Chocolate – Turn it into a chocolate mint shake by adding chocolate syrup at the bottom of the glass before pouring it, then garnish with a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Top it off with chocolate chips for a chocolate lover’s dream! Mint Chocolate Chip – Turn this into a mint chocolate chip milkshake by adding a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the blender. Mint flavors – Try adding peppermint extract to the milkshake mixture and have another flavor of mint. Menthe or plain mint extract also gives minty milkshakes flavor. Spearmint is another type of mint that has a delicious taste too. Ice cream – We love a good vanilla bean ice cream but try other vanilla-based ice cream or even a chocolate ice cream for a mint chocolate milkshake. Crushed Oreos – McDonald’s came out with a new way to enjoy your Shamrock shake, the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry. It has all the delicious taste of a Shamrock shake but blended with crushed Oreo cookies. Just add a few Oreo cookies when blending, it’s that easy!
Low-Calorie Version
If you are counting calories, we also have a low-calorie version. Make your Shamrock milkshake with low-fat vanilla ice cream (we love Dreyer’s Slow Churned), fat-free milk, and a bit of real sugar. A McDonald’s small Shamrock shake has 530 calories, and a large is 820 calories. With those changes, this recipe is 393 calories per serving.
More Irish Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day
If you are looking to create an authentic Irish feast to celebrate the luck of the Irish this year, then try a few of these favorite recipes! These are all Irish favorites and simple to make for the special holiday!
How to Make a Shamrock Shake
Donovan’s Irish Pasties Recipe
Irish Soda Bread
Corned Beef Sandwich
Crockpot Beef Stew
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