Make Our Copycat McDonald's Shamrock Shake & Skip The Drive-Thru (2024)

McDonald’s beloved Shamrock Shake may only be available in stores for the month of March, but with this easy four-ingredient copycat recipe, you can make frosty green shakes all year long. If your St. Patrick’s Day tradition involves a stop at the nearest drive-through for a cold minty drink, this is your lucky year: You can now whip up your favorite fast-food order right at home. So get out the blender, and enjoy as many Shamrock Shakes as your heart desires.

The ingredients:
The ingredients for this beloved milkshake are simple and few. You’ll need vanilla ice cream (go for a high-quality pint for the best flavor), milk, peppermint extract, and green food coloring. You can use any kind of milk you have on hand, or even use an equal amount of cream for a richer shake if you like. Both gel and liquid food coloring will work just fine, and feel free to use as little or as much color to reach your desired hue of Irish green.

Serving:
Once you’ve blitzed your shake to the perfect creamy and pourable texture, pour it into a chilled glass and top with a blast of whipped cream (bonus points if you make that from scratch too!) and a maraschino cherry.

Can I make it in batches?
Yes, if you’d like to throw a shamrock party, this recipe can easily be scaled up to make a big batch of minty goodness. Simply double, triple, or quadruple in ingredients to feed your crowd.

Cheers! And if you make this mint milkshake, be sure to let us know what you think with a rating below!

Yields:
1 serving(s)
Prep Time:
5 mins
Total Time:
10 mins
Cal/Serv:
221

Ingredients

  • 4

    (1/4-c.) scoops vanilla ice cream

  • 1/2 c.

    whole milk

  • 1/4 tsp.

    peppermint extract

  • 6

    drops green food coloring

  • Whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, for topping

Directions

    1. Step1In a blender, blend ice cream, milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring until smooth.
    2. Step2Pour milkshake into a glass. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with a cherry.

Make Our Copycat McDonald's Shamrock Shake & Skip The Drive-Thru (2)Make Our Copycat McDonald's Shamrock Shake & Skip The Drive-Thru (3)

Related Video: Boozy Shamrock Shakes

Make Our Copycat McDonald's Shamrock Shake & Skip The Drive-Thru (4)

Make Our Copycat McDonald's Shamrock Shake & Skip The Drive-Thru (2024)

FAQs

Make Our Copycat McDonald's Shamrock Shake & Skip The Drive-Thru? ›

(NEXSTAR) – Being one of the few green things on the McDonald's menu, it's always a notable event when the Shamrock Shake makes its annual appearance. The shake, made from vanilla soft serve and minty syrup, first debuted at U.S. McDonald's locations in 1970.

What is McDonald's Shamrock Shake made of? ›

(NEXSTAR) – Being one of the few green things on the McDonald's menu, it's always a notable event when the Shamrock Shake makes its annual appearance. The shake, made from vanilla soft serve and minty syrup, first debuted at U.S. McDonald's locations in 1970.

Did they change the Shamrock Shake recipe? ›

Rogers Merchandising in Chicago created the shake. Initially, the shake was lemon/lime flavored with vanilla ice cream, lemon/lime sherbet, and vanilla syrup. By 1973, the shake was merely a green colored vanilla shake, eliminating the lemon/lime sherbet. It is now mint flavored.

How is the Shamrock Shake promoted? ›

Shamrock Shakes were also promoted in campaigns featuring McDonaldland character Grimace and his Irish-accented Uncle O'Grimacey — and both were satisfied simply by the shake's “beautiful green” shade. Later commercials more openly advertised the shake's minty flavor.

How much is a Shamrock Shake in 2024? ›

Introduced in 1970, the Shamrock Shake is made with vanilla soft-serve ice cream, artificially flavored minty green syrup and whipped topping (about $3-$4 depending on size). If you are counting calories, a medium Shamrock Shake has 540 calories.

What is the green stuff in Shamrock Shake? ›

Shamrock Shake Ingredients

Mint extract: Mint extract gives the shake its signature minty freshness. It packs a powerful punch, so use the extract sparingly. Food coloring: About nine drops of green food coloring will dye your milkshake a gorgeous emerald hue.

Why is the Shamrock Shake so unhealthy? ›

In a small Shamrock Shake from McDonald's, there are 500 calories, 14 grams of fat, 82 grams of carbs and 63 grams of sugar. That's just a small. The large has 800 calories and 103 grams of sugar. But fear not, fellow sweet tooth sufferers: Here's a healthier version that you can make at home!

Can you eat shamrocks? ›

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked and have a citrusy flavor due to their high levels of oxalic acid (also found in vegetables like spinach and broccoli) and vitamin C.

Why does the Shamrock Shake taste different? ›

It was first introduced as a green shake flavored with mint syrup. It went through a journey of being lemon-lime flavored, to no flavor, to its current state of mint-flavored. It made the most sense to match the drink's color to mint.

Why is it called a Shamrock Shake? ›

Who invented the Shamrock Shake? The Shamrock Shake was created in 1967 by Connecticut McDonald's owner and operator Hal Rosen in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. It debuted nationally in 1970.

What do the 3 clovers stand for in the shamrock? ›

While trying to convert the Irish into Christians, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity with each leaf representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The three leaves of a shamrock are also said to stand for faith, hope and love. A fourth leaf is where we get the luck from.

Is shamrock Religious? ›

According to Christian beliefs, Saint Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish Christian converts. He used each leaf to represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three leaves of the shamrock are also said to stand for faith, hope, and love.

How long do shamrock shakes stay? ›

It usually sticks around until St. Patrick's Day, which gives you six weeks to get one. It also gives you a two-week head start on 2023 when it was released Feb.

Does Arby's have mint chocolate shakes? ›

Mint Chocolate Shake small

A creamy mint chocolate shake topped with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle and Andes Mint pieces.

How much is a small McDonald's Shamrock Shake? ›

The shamrock shake price range between the three sizes cost between $4.19 and $4.69. The oreo shamrock mcflurry cost $4.89. The price of the shamrock shake makes it very much worth the purchase considering it is only available for a couple of months during the shamrock shake season.

How much is an Oreo Shamrock McFlurry? ›

For a hint of something different, foodies may try McDonald's Oreo Shamrock McFlurry blended with crushed Oreo cookies. The fan-favorite debuted in February 2020 in honor of the Shamrock Shake's 50th anniversary. Depending on the size, the St. Patrick's Day menu items cost around $3-4.

Is the Shamrock Shake from McDonald's mint? ›

The iconic shake features vanilla soft serve blended with mint syrup, and is layered with a whipped topping.

What is the McDonald's Shamrock Shake supposed to taste like? ›

Quick recap of the Shamrock Shake

It was first introduced as a green shake flavored with mint syrup. It went through a journey of being lemon-lime flavored, to no flavor, to its current state of mint-flavored.

Does Shamrock Shake contain dairy? ›

Shamrock shake season is here! While traditional versions of this green, mint-flavored shake contain dairy milk from sensitive mother cows, the 10 spots listed below serve copycats of the sweet treat without exploiting animals.

When did Shamrock Shake become mint? ›

But, according to Vox, the Shamrock Shake wasn't always the minty, creamy concoction so many know and love today. There are accounts of the shake using lemon-lime sherbet, having a plain vanilla flavor accompanied by green food coloring and finally, becoming the mint-flavored drink we know today in 1983."

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