Watermelon Sherbet

frosty watermelon whirled with coconut milk and a kiss of lime

watermelon sherbet sorbet

Do you have an ice cream maker tucked away in your basement because it feels like too much of a nuisance to make homemade ice cream? Well, this easy recipe is an excuse to pull it out. With four ingredients, you can’t get any simpler. And one of those ingredients is stevia! That almost doesn’t count as an ingredient.

Let’s get technical. This may not fall into the foodie category of “sherbet” because it contains about 15% milk and no white sugar. The milk in the recipe is from a vegan friendly coconut instead of a black and white animal that moos. Using coconut milk instead of cow milk in a sherbet, or even ice cream, will produce a different texture. Coconut milk contains no proteins and cow milk contains two different types of proteins. Proteins influence how bonds form during the freezing process, which affects the final texture of the sherbet. Sugar(s) used in a frozen dessert will also affect the final texture.

But this is archerfriendly, and it tastes like sherbet to me, so that’s what I am calling it. It’s a-f sherbet in archerfriendly land. It’s probably the closest thing I’ll ever eat to “real” sherbet. Even if you can eat dairy, “real” sherbet is so packed with sugar that it tastes like insulin resistance. Also, because real sherbet has a low amount of milk in it, that also means it’s lower in protein. A low protein highly sweetened dessert is a blood sugar disaster!

If you’re looking for sherbet without the white moo stuff and you want it free of any kind of extra sweeteners, this is your treat! It is sweetened only with stevia. The lime juice adds a balanced zing to the watermelon, and the coconut adds creamy texture and taste. Watermelon + coconut + lime = the best flavor ever!

If you want to bring a healthy but fun dessert to your 4th of July celebration, bring this! No one will notice that you put stevia in it, and they won’t miss the sugar. If you really want to impress the over 21 crowd, you can spike it with vodka or rum…but do that at your own (health) risk.

Watermelon Sherbet

Ingredients

1/2 a medium sized RIPE watermelon (~ 6 – 6.5 cups pureed), pre-refridgerated

1 cup full fat coconut milk, pre-refridgerated

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1/8 teaspoon stevia

Makes a generous 2 quarts

Scoop out half a watermelon and blend, ensuring you have about 6-6.5 cups of watermelon puree.

Blend the rest of the ingredients together in a blender. If your blender doesn’t hold this much volume, blend it in portions. If foam forms from the blending process, scrape it off and discard (or sample it).

If you have extra time, refrigerate mixture for 4 hours prior to pouring into your ice cream maker.

Pour into your pre-frozen 2 quart ice cream maker, and let it run for about 30 minutes (or follow your ice cream maker’s directions).

Texture is best when served immediately. Store extras in a sealed container in the freezer. If stored in the freezer, sherbet will need to thaw for about 5 minutes prior to serving.

Note: Ideally, you should refrigerate the blended mixture prior to putting it into the ice cream maker. This adds time and hassle if you want to be quick! If you have time, do it! But if you don’t, it will still turn out great.