by Sneh Makhecha (‘28)

Image courtesy of Sneh Makhecha (‘28)

As someone who loves ice cream with a burning passion, giving it up when switching to a vegan diet seemed absolutely impossible for me. Though there are plenty of store-bought vegan ice cream alternatives out there, they aren’t usually in stock at every single grocery store. Plus, they’re not exactly super healthy. So instead of driving half an hour just to get some decent ice cream, I decided to turn to the internet to find a simple recipe for a vegan ice cream alternative. While I didn’t find an alternative for ice cream, I did find a flavorful, mouthwatering recipe for mango sorbet by Madeleine Olivia, a vegan food content creator with over 130,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. The recipe I will share in this article is essentially the one that she posted, but with a few extra ingredients and tips that kick this sorbet up to a whole new level.

Ingredients:

• ¼ to ½ cup of any plant-based milk 

Tip: The amount of milk you add depends on how powerful your blender is, though I would recommend adding ½ cup just to be safe.

• 1-2 cups of frozen mangoes (frozen bananas or peaches would also work for this recipe)

Tip: I usually just eyeball it and add enough mangoes until about half of the blender is filled.

• 1 tsp of lemon or lime
• Maple syrup (this is optional, but if you tend to like your sorbets on the sweeter side, feel free to add a drizzle)

Equipment:

• A blender (you can also try using a food processor if you don’t have a blender)
• A tamper (a plastic tool that comes with Vitamix blenders that is used to push ingredients towards the blender’s blade)

Tip: If you do not have a tamper, you can stop the blender every few seconds and use a spatula to push the ingredients down towards the blade.

Image courtesy of Sneh Makhecha (‘28)

First, add the plant-based milk to the blender. This step is important, because adding in the milk before the rest of the ingredients makes blending much easier. Then, add the mangoes (or your frozen fruit of choice) to the blender. If you are planning on using a different frozen fruit, make sure that it has a creamy consistency when blended, as this makes the blending much easier. I love using frozen fruit with this recipe because not only does frozen fruit give the sorbet its thick texture, but it also is rich in vitamins and flavor. As explained in an article from EatRight.org, since frozen fruits are frozen right at their “peak ripeness”, they lock in their nutrients when frozen. Therefore, consuming frozen fruits can actually be more beneficial than consuming fruits when they are fresh!

Image courtesy of Sneh Makhecha (‘28)

Next, squeeze a few drops of lemon or lime into the blender. This might seem like an odd ingredient to put in a mango sorbet, but I find that the lemon actually helps to bring out the flavors of the mango, making the sorbet super flavorful! Plus, lemons and their juice contain tons of healthy nutrients and minerals as well! Lemons help protect our cells, our heart, and our immune system. They’re also great for preventing kidney stones. Though we’re only adding a bit of lemon to this recipe, incorporating lemon into your diet in even the smallest ways is truly beneficial for your body.

Image courtesy of Sneh Makhecha (‘28)

The final ingredient for the sorbet is maple syrup. This step is completely optional, as the mangoes will add plenty of sweetness to the sorbet already. On the same token, don’t feel like you can’t add maple syrup to your sorbet, or any other sweet treat, because of health reasons. Since maple syrup is a natural sweetener with a glycemic index of 54 (for context, the glycemic index of sugar is 65), you can incorporate it into any recipe guilt-free! Other natural sweeteners you can use to substitute maple syrup are agave syrup or, if you’re not vegan, honey.

After adding in all of the ingredients, you can begin blending. In order to make sure that all of the ingredients are properly blended, use your tamper to gently push the frozen fruit closer to the blades of the blender. Once everything is properly blended, your sorbet should be shaped like a swirl as shown below.

Image courtesy of Sneh Makhecha (‘28)
Your five-minute, four-ingredient sorbet is finally complete! Make sure to eat it right after blending, because it tends to melt more quickly than regular ice cream. If you want some more tips for making thick, decadent sorbets like this one, check out Twin Coast’s content on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. I hope that you try (and enjoy) this wonderful mango sorbet recipe!