An easy refreshing summer dessert. Vegan & gluten free.
Jump to Recipe
Updated: Oct 16, 2018
This is the dessert I’m going to make all summer. With just 5 ingredients, it’s so easy! The best part is that (if you have a decent blender) no ice cream maker is required here. Just blend and freeze. It’s tart, sweet, and so so lovely with the little unexpected hint of mint.
Jack and I both love Montmorency tart cherries for many reasons (see that use them). They have some wonderful superfood qualities, they’re known to help soreness after a workout, and they’re a natural source of melatonin which helps regulate sleep. We love them most of all, of course, because they taste good!
Tart Cherry & Mint Sorbet
Author: Jeanine Donofrio
Recipe type: dessert
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen Montmorency tart cherries
- ½ cup maple syrup* (see note)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the tart cherries, maple syrup, lemon juice, mint, coconut milk, water and salt in a high speed blender. Blend on low and gradually work up to high speed. Blend until the fruit is very smooth and thick, like the texture of soft-serve. (Don't overmix or your sorbet will start melting from the heat of the blender). If your cherries are too hard to blend, let them thaw for just a few minutes until your blender blade will move.
- Serve as soft-serve immediately or pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, about 2-3 hours or overnight. If the sorbet firms up overnight, let it sit at room temp for 15 minutes until it's scoop-able.
Notes
*I suggest not reducing the syrup, it's necessary for a non-icy scoop-able texture once it's frozen overnight. If you DO reduce the syrup, it's best to serve this as soft-serve right from the blender, or better yet, use this flavor combination to make a smoothie bowl.
A high speed blender, like a Vitamix, will work best for this recipe.
I find tart cherries (sometimes called sour cherries) at Wheatsville Coop in Austin, and occasionally at Whole Foods.
A high speed blender, like a Vitamix, will work best for this recipe.
I find tart cherries (sometimes called sour cherries) at Wheatsville Coop in Austin, and occasionally at Whole Foods.
Love!! This recipe. I have 2 Evans cherry trees that produce prolifically every year. I freeze 2cup bags just for this recipe. Everyone raves over it.
So I use coconut milk from a can, like a Thai milk, or coconut milk from a carton?? Just want to make sure I use the correct one. ?
Hi Stefan, coconut milk from a can like Thai coconut milk.
Awesome recipe!! I am still gonna try it out once i get the right ingredients. Thank you for making my lunch so good!!
Can I substitute maple syrup with honey? Thanks
You can – you might need less honey since it’s sweeter than maple syrup.
Do you know if the jarred tart cherries would work for this (provided they were frozen beforehand as per the recipe)? I’ve only ever seen jarred sour cherries in my area.
Hi Klaus, I think it’ll work great if you drain whatever liquid they’re in first. To freeze, lay them on a baking sheet on parchment in the freezer (so that they don’t freeze in a big clump). Once frozen, use them in the recipe. I’d also check to make sure there’s not sugar in the water or brine. If there is, I might lessen the maple syrup in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Did you use peppermint or spearmint?
I have never had a sorbet, so I am so very excited to try this recipe. I love the color and I know I am going to enjoy the taste, because who doesn’t love cherries and coconut milk.
Would sugar syrup or honey work in this recipe?
I think they would – the level of sweetness might differ, but I think it’d be ok to swap since they’re both liquid sugars.
Sounds great, and since tart cherries also are helpful for
arthritis pain, it’s one I want to whip up . However, I’d like
the nutritional info for this recipe, please. I need to know
what the carb,sugar, calorie , etc. counts are.
Thank you.
make my hot summer go away ! 5 star
🙂
Full fat coconut milk? Would light work, or perhaps the same amount of low-fat Greek yogurt?
Light or full fat both work – I haven’t tried it with yogurt so I’m not sure about that one..
The perfect summer sweet treat! This will definitely be my first homemade sorbet! http://www.chasingbelle.com
I made this last night and it was SO delicious! super easy to make too and so much better for me than custard based ice cream desserts. Thank’s so much for the recipe!
Hi Brittany – I’m so glad you liked it!
Forget the recipe. Your photos are delicious!
Giving a capital Y-E-S for this… all the way! Perfect for summer (and I am really, really excited for summer). This looks delicious!
Lisa Favre
http://marblecrumbs.com
Great flavor, but mine was liquid and had to be frozen for a few hours before it could be eaten. Not sure why . . . double checked quantities on all liquids, and I definitely didn’t blend it too long. I only froze the cherries for about 4 hours prior to using – maybe that’s it.
That being said, it took LOTS longer than 15 minutes to make the recipe. I spent 15 minutes just pitting the cherries. Then they had to be frozen. Then after blending, everything had to be frozen again. Total time start to finish about 7.5 hours. Mostly not active time, of course, but it takes some planning and isn’t something that can be whipped up in 15 minutes.
Hi Heather, so sorry that was unclear – I froze them overnight and let them thaw for just a few minutes before blending – the texture out of the blender was a soft sorbet texture which set fully after about 2-3 hours. So you’re right, I really meant that the hands-on time was easy – I didn’t mean to mislead, I’ll update the recipe to reflect…
What a great, easy recipe. Pinned!
Amazing very Detailed Photography!
Delicious recipe! I made it with frozen blackberries and used 1/2 cup of date paste because I was out of maple syrup– it turned out lovely!
Oh, love cherries but unfortunately they are hard to get here in DK:-)