These healthy homemade Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles have all the delicious flavor of a summer treat without any of the added sugar! And you only need 5 simple ingredients to make them.
When the weather gets hot, it’s time to bring out the frozen treats!
Iced drinks and shakes are always great, but to me, nothing says summer quite like a strawberry lemonade popsicle. Unfortunately, most popsicles are basically frozen sugar on a stick. I knew we could do better.
That’s why I created these healthy and homemade sugar free popsicles with Stevia!
Sweet, tart, and full of strawberry goodness, these popsicles are a refreshing and delightful treat. The recipe is super simple and only requires 5 ingredients, but 2 of them may surprise you.
Strawberries, lemon juice, and stevia extract are ingredients you would expect, but old-fashioned oats and low-fat cottage cheese are what make these strawberry popsicles special!
The oats are pulsed to a powder before we add the other ingredients, which gives the popsicles some of their texture and a little nutritional boost. The oats practically disappear when the popsicles are frozen.
The cottage cheese is the key component to give the popsicles their awesome texture. Just like the oats, it practically disappears in the popsicles. No need for cream or milk here! It also adds much-needed protein to the recipe.
They’re a treat that anyone can feel good about eating, especially people with diabetes like me.
How to make homemade sugar free popsicles
This delicious summer treat only takes about 5 minutes to prep. Then you simply pop them in the freezer for a few hours until they’re ready!
Step 1: Pulse the oats in a high-powered blender or food processor until they turn into powder.
Step 2: Add the strawberries, cottage cheese, lemon juice, and stevia, then pulse until smooth. If necessary, stop the blender and push the ingredients down with a spatula. Do not add any liquid!
Step 3: Pour the mixture into 6 popsicle molds and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.
Blend, freeze, and enjoy! It doesn’t get much easier than that.
Sugar-free flavor
So how do we pack all of those classic flavors into these strawberry lemonade popsicles without adding a bunch of sugar? The “trick” is simple: we use quality ingredients!
Fresh strawberries (preferably organic) are key since their flavor is so bright and strong. You can also use frozen strawberries, but the flavor won’t be quite as strong.
Another little trick is to buy Meyer lemons, which tend to be less acidic and tart than standard lemons.
If you have no idea what a Meyer lemon is, I don’t blame you. I’d never seen one until recently. A Meyer lemon looks like a cross between a regular lemon and an orange, as you can see in the image below.
If you can’t get Meyer lemons in your local store, don’t worry about it! Regular lemons will do fine as well.
When all the ingredients come together, it’s like magic! Creamy, naturally sweet, tart, and just fun to eat — what more would you want from a frozen treat?
These popsicles make for a fantastic after-dinner treat or afternoon snack on a hot summer day. Make a big batch and serve them at your next summer cookout… your friends will surely love them!
Storage
Just like regular popsicles, you can store these delicious treats in the freezer for several months.
I always recommend making a big batch so you have them ready to go any time you’re craving a little something sweet.
Other healthy summer treats
Looking for a few more healthy treats to cool you down on a hot day? Check out these tasty recipes that I know you’ll love:
- Chocolate Greek Yogurt Ice Cream
- High-Protein Raspberry & Banana Mousse
- Sugar-free Cottage Cheese Parfait with Berries
For even more healthy recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth, here’s a roundup of my top low-carb easy diabetic desserts!
When you’ve tried these popsicles, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked them and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles (No Sugar Added)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
- 4 oz. low fat cottage cheese
- 1½ lb. strawberries
- 4 oz. lemon juice, (about 4 lemons)
- 5 drops liquid Stevia
Instructions
- Pulse the oats in a high-powered blender or food processor until they turn into powder.
- Add the strawberries, cottage cheese, lemon juice, and stevia, then pulse until smooth. If necessary, stop the blender and push the ingredients down with a spatula. Do not add any liquid!
- Pour the mixture into 6 popsicle molds and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.
I made these today and they are pretty good. I added additional stevia but they were still pretty tart. I didn’t have the liquid, I used the powder extract. I had to use regular lemons so maybe that’s why they were still so tart. They do satisfy that craving for ice cream. Will definitely continue to make them for the summer.
Is it possible to skip the stevia sugar? And not replace it with anything!
You can but the popsicles won’t be very sweet
What can I sub for the stevia?
Another natural sweetener that generally doesn’t impact blood sugar is Monkfruit. There are other artificial sweeteners and low carb options so you have to choose what you prefer (You can find a full overview of sweeteners in this guide)
What if you don’t have cottage cheese? Can you do without?
If you take out the cottage cheese the popsicles will contain no protein and you’ll need to add more liquid. You could experiment with adding something else but I don’t think it will work to simply remove that one ingredient
Can I substitute the oats with anything else?
If it’s because you’d like to go even more low carb you could try almond or coconut flour. I can’t guarantee it will work, but it’s worth a try
I think there is a natural sugar from fruit that’s why it says no sugar added!!
You are actually right about that. The correct wording is “No Sugar Added”. I have changed the text to correct that. Thanks for pointing it out!
I made these today and they are amazing! Thank you for the recipe.