Name: Shamrock Shakes
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 cups vanilla ice cream; 1 cup milk; 1/4 cup Torani crème de menthe syrup, to taste *see note; 1 drop green gel food coloring; whipped cream; green & gold sprinkles; Lucky Charms marshmallows; maraschino cherry with stem

Shamrock Shakes are a classic McDonald’s treat around St. Patrick’s Day and now you can make them at home. We’re sharing all the keys to success for this kid-friendly green treat. How will you top yours?

If you love the McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes, you are going to love this recipe!

You can make Shamrock Shakes at home for St. Patrick’s Day or any time of the year.

Have fun with these shakes.

You can dress them up with green and gold sprinkles or even Lucky Charms marshmallows.

Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through links in this post.

Key to Success #1 – Use Creme de Menthe (or a good substitute)

The key to a good Shamrock Shake is the mint flavor.

Our Shamrock Shake recipe gets its mint flavor from Torani creme de menthe syrup.

If you’ve never used creme de menthe syrup, it’s a non-alcoholic flavoring that is used in coffees and other drinks like shakes.

It is available in both green and colorless varieties.

I used the clear syrup so I definitely needed to add green food coloring to make my shake look minty green.

If you use the green creme de menthe, you may be able to leave out the green food coloring or at least add less.

You can play around with the amount of creme de menthe that you use in your shake, but I think a quarter cup is a good starting point.

Taste and add more before you pour into the glasses if you’d like more mint flavor.

If you don’t have any creme de menthe, you can use mint extract instead.

It is readily available in the baking aisle of many grocery stores.

Key to Success #2 – How Thick Do You Like It?

It’s super easy to customize the thickness of your shake.

We’re using 3 cups of ice cream with 1 cup of milk to make a fairly thick shake.

You can add more milk to make a thinner shake.

I like a thick shake, especially when I have a nice big straw to sip my shake through.

You can find the milkshake straws at your local craft store or Hobby Lobby, or you can find them on Amazon.com.

They are perfect for drinking milkshakes, frozen drinks, or boba tea.

After you blend up your shake, dip a spoon into it to test both the thickness and the minty flavor.

It’s easy to add more milk or more flavoring then continue mixing until the shake is smooth and creamy.

Be sure to get some pretty milkshake glasses to complete the whole St. Patrick’s Day theme.

These Shamrock Shakes are worth a pot of gold!

Just ask the leprechaun.

Key to Success #3 – Top Them Off Right

There are so many options to top off these pretty green Shamrock Shakes.

All these ideas are optional, but it’s so fun to play around with different toppings on these sweet treats.

We always like a little bit of whipped cream on the top of our shakes.

You can try some St. Patrick’s Day-inspired sprinkles or just green sanding sugar on top of the whipped cream.

Or my personal favorite – some Lucky Charms marshmallows!

Hey, if you want to dig them right out of a box of cereal, more power to you.

But sometimes you can find them separately in your grocery store or they are available on Amazon.com for a few bucks.

How lucky do you wanna be?

Save this Shamrock Shake recipe to your favorite St. Patrick’s Day board or your Yummy Shakes board.

Shamrock Shakes

Yield: 2 shakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Shamrock Shakes are a classic McDonald's treat around St. Patrick's Day and now you can make them at home. We're sharing all the keys to success for this green holiday-inspired treat. How will you top yours?

Ingredients

For the Shakes

3 cups vanilla ice cream
1 cup milk
1/4 cup Torani crème de menthe syrup, to taste *see note
1 drop green gel food coloring

For Garnish, optional

whipped cream
green & gold sprinkles
Lucky Charms marshmallows
maraschino cherry with stem

Instructions

In a large blender, add ice cream, milk, creme de menthe syrup, and green food coloring.

Blend on high speed for 1 minute. Remove lid and check if the mixture is smooth and completely combined.

If needed, stir with a spoon then replace the lid and mix another 1 minute until smooth.

Pour into glasses and top with whipped cream, sprinkles, Lucky Charms marshmallows, and/or a cherry.

Notes

If you don't have any creme de menthe syrup, you can use 1/4 tsp mint extract instead. (Mint extract, not peppermint extract.)
If using liquid food coloring, you will need to add up to 8 drops to get the desired color of green.