Easy Strawberry Milk (Korean Style)
Do you love the taste of strawberries?
If so, you’re going to love, love, LOVE this easy strawberry milk recipe!
This drink is refreshing and delicious, and it’s perfect for a quick snack or a light breakfast.
And best of all, it’s really easy to make, so gather up some strawberries and let’s get started!
If you like strawberries, this might become your new favorite drink: it has a heavenly, 100% natural intense strawberry taste, it beautiful looks and it’s very easy to make.
Plus, the recipe in this post is refined sugar free (although you can easily make ot with regular sugar, simple syrup or condensed milk).
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What is Korean strawberry milk?
Korean strawberry milk is a milk based drink made with real strawberry chunks.
It has gained quite a bit of popularity in recent years, and it’s easy to see why.
Korean strawberry milk looks lovely, it’s filling, and it’s packed with flavor.
And there is absolutely no artificial colorings or flavorings in it!
Difference between strawberry milk and Korean strawberry milk
The main difference between strawberry milk and Korean strawberry milk is how the strawberries are mashed.
In regular strawberry milk, the strawberries are generally blended so you get a pink drink.
Korean strawberry milk on the other side is made by muddling the strawberries into chunks.
This gives the drink a more textured feel and a stronger strawberry flavor.
Do you need strawberry syrup to make strawberry milk?
No at all! You can make delicious strawberry milk just with real strawberries.
That said, some strawberry milk recipes call for making a strawberry syrup with the freshly mashed strawberries.
Making a syrup first makes the strawberry more tender and jam or purée like.
And your strawberry milk will be smoother, less chunky.
So, if that’s more your jam (pun intended), you can make a strawberry syrup first.
Easy tips to make strawberry syrup
For a homemade strawberry syrup, just chop the strawberries, mix them with the sugar so they release some juice and then heat it in the microwave or in a pan until it’s soft.
It doesn’t have to boil.
And of course, you may substitute the sugar for your preferred sweetener (look at the lists of ingredients and swaps for suggestions).
Personally I don’t heat the strawberries because I don’t mind the drink to be a little bit more chewy.
It’s also an added step and I’m all about easy peasy recipes.
So I just mash the strawberries with a fork or a muddler and then add milk.
Another perk of not heating the strawberries is that they retain more of their vitamin C.
Ingredients and swaps
How to make easy strawberry milk with whole strawberries
Making Korean strawberry milk is so easy, you don’t even need a blender!
Time needed: 5 minutes
How to make easy Korean strawberry milk
- Make an easy strawberry purée
Mash the strawberries with a fork or use a muddle.
You may also blend them if you want a smoother drink.
- Sweeten
Add the sweetener, mix and let sit for 1-2 hours, covered, until the sugar is dissolved.
You can skip the waiting if you use any kind of liquid sweetener like stevia drops, simple syrup, sweetened condensed milk or vanilla infused honey.
- Serve with milk
Add the milk right before enjoying it.
Decorate to taste with fresh strawberries, cheese foam or whipped cream.
Tips
- For mashing the strawberries
If you are mashing your strawberries with a fork or a spoon, it may be more convenient to do it in a small bowl.
When using a muddler like the ones to muddle lime for mojito, it’s very easy to do it directly in the glass - If using frozen strawberries
I recommend thawing them before chopping/smashing them or blend them shortly.
Since some recipes heat the strawberries to make a sort of homemade strawberry syrup, you may even defrost them in the microwave. - How to make a layered strawberry milk
If you want the mashed strawberries to stay at the bottom of your glass as long as possible, add the ingredients in this order into your glass:- sweetened mashed strawberries
- ice cubes
- milk on top
Variations
- Did you know strawberries go surprisingly well with tea?
Top with matcha or hojicha to add a twist to strawberry milk.
- I love adding some vanilla extract or vanilla infused honey for extra flavor.
- For a fancy treat-like experience, you decorate with some cheese foam and top with cookie cumbles.
You’ll drink with look and taste like an Oreo strawberry cheesecake!:
Easy Korean strawberry milk recipe
Equipment
- Muddler (or fork or spoon)
Ingredients
- 5 strawberries
- 1 Tbsp. simple syrup or condensed milk it also works with sugar or sweetener (look notes)
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Mash the strawberries with a fork or use a muddle.You may also blend them if you want a smoother drink.
- Add your sweetener of choice (read further tips in notes bellow)
- Pour milk right before serving.
Notes
- If you are using sugar or any other sweetener in powdered form, let it sit with the mashed strawberries for around an hour or heat shortly the mixture so the sugar dissolves
- The calories were calculated using my homemade sugar-free simple syrup.
- I also recommend using homemade sugar-free condensed milk or vanilla infused honey.
- If desired, top with whipped cream or cheese foam.
Nutrition
That’s all there is to it!
This strawberry milk is so easy and delicious, you’ll be making it over and over again.
And you can tailor this drink adding matcha, hojicha or toppings to your own liking. Give it a try and let me know how you liked it!
I love this pretty drink and I am so happy for the easy recipe. I always enjoy your sugar-free tips.
So happy to hear it. Thank you!
How cute it looks like! I didn’t know this variation of strawberry milk drinks. Thank you very much for sharing this nice information. I enjoyed it a lot.
Thank you for your kind comment!