This delicious Shirley Temple Float takes the classic Shirley Temple drink and turns it into an ice cream float! It’s a deliciously refreshing spin on a popular kids drink!
I’m always looking for fun non-alcoholic drink options. I’m that on at parties that is hoping for a signature mocktail – a strawberry mocktail, virgin mojito, you know the deal.
I love creative drinks but don’t drink alcohol so often times I’m out of luck. Or I’ll just end up ordering myself the classic standby – a Shirley Temple.
A regular Shirley Temple is typically made with lemon-lime soda and grenadine, but I like to mix mine up sometimes by making things like this fun Shirley Temple float that adds vanilla ice cream and a little lime flavor!
It’s a super fun treat when you want something different than the classic or when you’re craving a milkshake but don’t want milk. I mean floats are pretty close to shakes!
These are a great kid-friendly drink but also yummy enough for adults! Serve them up at your next summer party, backyard BBQ, or really any special occasion!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fun colors – the combination of the lime, lemon-lime soda, and grenadine gives this a good base color but the addition of the ice cream really adds just this fun color to the drink.
- Creamy taste – if you like a Shirley temple, you’ll love this creamy version!
- Refreshing – there’s not much more refreshing than a float on a hot day, and this is perfect for the summer time or any special occasion!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Lemon-lime soda – I personally always make Shirley Temples with Sprite because it’s what we have on hand but any lemon-lime soda will work. I think they were classically made with 7-Up. Any lemon-lime soda will work.
- Grenadine – I really like Rose’s grenadine but really any would work.
- Vanilla ice cream – just a good classic vanilla ice cream is best in this. You don’t want anything with mix-ins that may make it difficult for the ice cream to melt into the drink!
- Limes and cherries – these are both optional but make really pretty garnishes for the drink!
You can also add a little sweetened lime juice like Roses’s lime juice if you want it on the sweeter and more citrusy side, but that’s just your personal choice if you want to do that or not!
How to make a shirley temple float
If you’ve ever made a Shirley Temple before, this will be very similar. And if you’ve ever made a float before (even my shark float), this will also be similar – both are super easy!
Start by adding all of your soda into a large pitcher.
Then add in the grenadine and lime juice (if desired) and stir to combine the Shirley temple float mixture together.
Next, add two scoops of ice cream to a tall glass. Make sure they’re nice full scoops of vanilla ice cream!
Add the soda to the cups and stir gently to mix it all in together.
Now garnish with cherries and lime slices and serve immediately! The ice cream won’t last too long and you really want to get that creamy flavor all together to enjoy these the most!
Expert Tips
Add two tablespoons sweetened lime juice to the soda mixture if you want a more citrusy taste.
Chill the soda before adding to the ice cream so the ice cream doesn’t melt as quickly.
Mix it up by doing half ginger ale and half lemon-lime soda for a different flavor. I prefer all lemon-lime soda but some people like ginger ale as an alternative!
Serve these immediately since these are a drink made with ice cream! If you want to mix the soda and grenadine beforehand and put that in the fridge you can do that, but once you make the actual floats, serve immediately.
Recipe FAQs
A lot of people assume that grenadine is cherry juice because it’s often used in drinks with maraschino cherries (and looks like the color of maraschino cherry juice), but it’s actually a sweet syrup made from pomegranates! But don’t worry, it’s way sweeter than traditional pomegranate juice and adds a nice sweet tartness to drinks.
Grenadine is not an alcohol. It’s a pomegranate based syrup that has a sweet tart flavor. It mixes well with various alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks!
More Easy Drinks
If you like fun drinks like this Shirley Temple float, you have to try these other delicious drinks!
- Watermelon slushie – this delicious frozen watermelon juice drink is the perfect summer treat!
- Shark attack drink – this fun drink is a copycat of a popular Universal Studios drink!
- Butterbeer recipe – this simple version of the Harry Potter classic is a fun one for everyone!
- Virgin pina colada – a delicious non-alcoholic tropical drink made from simple ingredients!
- Homemade limeade – a simple limeade recipe made with all natural ingredients at home!
Shirley Temple Ice Cream Float
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups lemon-lime soda
- 2 TBS grenadine
- 6-8 scoops vanilla ice cream
- maraschino cherries (optional garnish)
- lime slices (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Combine lemon-lime soda and grenadine together in a large pitcher.3 1/2 cups lemon-lime soda, 2 TBS grenadine
- Add two scoops of ice cream to the glass of your choice. Top with soda mixture.6-8 scoops vanilla ice cream
- Garnish with cherries and lime slices and serve immediately.maraschino cherries, lime slices
Antoinete Whitman says
I love this recipe!