Make Your Own Juice Popsicles

Homemade popsicle recipe. Easy to make your own juice popsicles, with concentrated juice or lemonade.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Published May 24, 2007
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer

Is there nothing better than an ice-cold popsicle on a sweltering summer day?

No need to wait for the ice cream man's truck to make a pass through your neighborhood. It is easy to make your own popsicles.

Do you make popsicles at home? How do you make your favorites?

I bought the rocket molds for these popsicles years ago. Similar molds are available through Amazon.com by Tovolo. The Tovolo molds come with a snap-in base to hold them upright in the freezer. The molds easily come off of the popsicle after you run them under warm water for a few seconds.

The handle doubles as a "drip pan" to catch the juice as it melts. A potential problem is that the molds may stand too high for some people's freezer compartments. But the upside is that you can easily remove one popsicle at a time.

There are other molds available on the market, some with built-in reusable plastic sticks, some using wooden sticks. An ebay or Google search for "popsicle mold" will turn up many options. In addition to the popsicle molds by Tovolo I found similar sets of popsicle molds for sale.

Make Your Own Juice Popsicles

What juices to put in the mold? My favorite is lemonade. If you use ready made juice or lemonade, you might want to boil it down first, reducing the juice by about a half, and add a little corn syrup. If you are using frozen concentrated juice, add half as much water as you would normally. The biggest problem with homemade juice popsicles is that they turn out too icy. A higher sugar to water ratio will help reduce the iciness, as will a little bit of corn syrup.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want them, and if you are using Meyer lemons, use less sugar)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1 cup of lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)

Method

  1. Make simple syrup:

    Heat 1 cup of water and 3/4 to 1 cup of granulated sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the zest of 2 lemons and 1 Tbsp of light corn syrup into the sugar water. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and let cool.

  2. Add simple syrup to lemon juice:

    Juice enough lemons (about 4) to produce 1 cup of lemon juice. Strain out any pulp. Add the simple syrup to the lemon juice, straining out the lemon zest as you pour the syrup into the juice.

  3. Pour into molds and freeze:

    Pour the lemon mixture into the popsicle molds. Put into a freezer for at least 4 hours to freeze.

  4. To un-mold, run under hot water for a few seconds