Best baby and toddler ice lolly recipes that the whole family will enjoy

Whether you're trying to soothe a teething baby or cool down on a hot summer's day, a delicious ice lolly recipe is a must-have. After all, nothing beats the refreshing taste of an ice lolly on a warm day, and making your own at home ensures they’re both healthy and delicious. All you need are some ice lolly moulds, tasty ingredients and you're good to go!

Shop-bought ice pops and lollies are nice as a treat every now and then, but many of them contain lots of sugar, so making your own is a great way to incorporate nutritious ingredients and healthy snacks into their diet.

Here are a selection of our favourite ice lolly recipes, which can help to make yummy and nutritious iced treats for the whole family to enjoy!

Annabel Karmel's Traffic Light Ice Lollies

Made with strawberries, peaches and kiwis, this is the ultimate fruit ice lolly recipe that will impress your kids. It's full of flavour and makes 12 lollies in total, perfect for when the kids’ friends come over or so you’ll always have some ready to go.

Ingredients:

• 250g strawberries
• 4 ½ tbsp honey
• 3 large ripe juicy peaches, peeled, stoned and sliced
• 5 large ripe kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced

Method:

1. In a blender, puree the strawberries and then sieve the puree to get rid of the seeds. Stir 1 ½ tbsp of the honey into the strawberry puree.

2. Pour the strawberry puree into each of the ice lolly moulds (or use empty yoghurt pots) until each mould is one third full and freeze until firm (about 1 ½ hours).

3. Repeat the process with the peaches and 1 ½ tbsp of the honey (no need to sieve the peaches) and freeze until firm, then add the kiwi fruit mixed with the rest of the honey and insert the sticks. Freeze until solid.

The Traffic Light Ice Lollies recipe is from Annabel Karmel.

Frozen Yoghurt and Cherry Frozen Lolly Recipe

With only three ingredients, this is a simple ice lolly recipe that should only take around 20 minutes to make, plus it only requires two hours freezing time, meaning you can enjoy them on the same day!

Servings: 12, Prep time: 20 mins (plus freezing time)

Ingredients:

• 226g plain Greek yoghurt
• 20g maple syrup
• 77g cherries (pits removed, halved or cut into very small pieces for babies/young children)

Method:

1. In a bowl, combine the yogurt and maple syrup.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and evenly spread it out with the back of a spoon.

4. Add the cherries (or other berries) evenly on top, then gently press a stick into each section to form ice lollies (or use some ice lolly moulds if you want them to be uniform).

5. Place in the freezer until very firm, about two hours.

6. Once frozen, remove the ice lollies from the sheet (or moulds).

Recipe from Nutritionist Resource member Fiona Berry

Frozen banana lollies

If bananas are your kid's favourite food, they'll adore this banana ice lolly recipe and so will you, because it's so quick to make and doesn't require any blending or ice lolly moulds. Plus, they'll be eating some of their 5-a-day and won't even realise it. Result!

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 4 large strawberries
• 100g natural yogurt
• 200g dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp hundreds and thousands

Method:

1. Peel the bananas and trim off the very ends if you'd like them neater. Then chop them each into 4 equal-sized chunks. Thread a strawberry onto each lolly stick first, then push on the pieces of banana.

2. When all your banana pops are made lay them on a baking tray and put in the freezer, uncovered, for 1 hr.

3. Put the yogurt into a tall glass or jug then dip each banana pop into the yogurt to coat (avoiding the strawberries), then place back onto the tray to refreeze until set.

4. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts (stirring after each blast) then pour into a mug. Dip the end piece of each banana pop in the chocolate then sprinkle over the hundreds and thousands.

5. The chocolate should set pretty much instantaneously, but you can keep them in the freezer until you want to serve them for up to 1 week.

Find the Frozen Banana Lollies on BBC Good Food

Beat-the-Heat Watermelon Popsicles (with strawberries & lime)

Great for cooling down and re-hydrating on a hot summer's day, this watermelon ice lolly recipe is both nutritious and delicious. What more could you ask for?

Ingredients:

• Watermelon: select a ripe watermelon and then cut the watermelon into cubes for this recipe. You can also use any frozen watermelon that you have as well.
• Strawberries: fresh or frozen, and then thawed strawberries are added to these popsicles for a firmer base.
• Lime: a squeeze of fresh lime to bring out the sweetness of the watermelon.
• Chia seeds (optional): for a nutritional boost of protein and healthy fats, we are adding in just a pinch of chia seeds, but these can be omitted if you prefer.

Method:

1. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and there are no chunks of chia seeds – roughly 1 minute.

2. Pour the watermelon liquid into a popsicle mould of your choice.

3. Lay the popsicle tray in the freezer, and freeze for 5 hours or preferably overnight.

4. Serve and enjoy!

This easy ice lollipop recipe can be found at Baby Foodie

Cereal Milk Ice Lollies

Who says that cereal is just for breakfast? Combining milk, cream and honey nut cornflakes, this recipe is sure to satisfy any breakfast lover's cravings. We recommend getting creative with your favourite cereals - for example, you could try chocolate milk with Coco Pops.

Ingredients:

• 600ml whole milk
• 150ml double cream
• 120g honey nut cornflakes

Method:

1. Pour the milk and double cream over the honey nut cornflakes and leave to sit for 1 hr until the cornflakes are completely soggy and the milk has a cereal flavour.

2. Pour the liquid through a sieve into a jug, leaving behind the cornflakes – you should get about 350ml liquid (don’t force the cornflakes through otherwise your lollipops will be cloudy).

3. Pour into six ice lolly moulds and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

The recipe is by cookery writer Sophie Goodwin and can be found on BBC Good Food.

Mummy Nutrition Fruity Yoghurt Lollies for Toddlers

If you're looking for a toddler ice lolly recipe alternative to those you'll find in the shops, Mummy Nutrition has an excellent one which combines yoghurt and fruit.

Ingredients:

• 100g natural, Greek or coconut yoghurt
• 50g soft fruit e.g. berries (frozen or fresh) or tinned peach or pear
• 1/2 tsp of honey or maple syrup (optional)

Method:

1. Weigh out the yoghurt into a bowl.
2. Chop up the berries (or other fruit) or mash with a fork, add to the yoghurt and stir well.
3. Spoon into the lolly moulds & place in the freezer for 2+ hours to set.
4. When they’re ready to be eaten, run the moulds under warm water to loosen and pull them out. Enjoy!

Find the full toddler ice lolly recipe at Mummy Nutrition.

Milky Coconut Lollies

We love that you can adapted the ingredients in these ice pops from SR Nutrition into a toddler or baby ice lolly recipe, by switching the coconut milk to cows milk or breast milk, which is ideal for babies who aren't feeling very well or not accepting a feed.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of coconut cream
• 5 tablespoons plain/fortified plant-based plain yoghurt
• 50ml fortified coconut milk/full-fat milk/breast milk
• Add fruit of choice to decorate. We used some slices of strawberries and some passionfruit seeds

Method:

1. Mix or blend all the ingredients together

2. Pour into ice lolly moulds

3. Freeze overnight or for at least 8 hours

Find the Milky Coconut Lollies and other healthy ice lolly recipes at SR Nutrition

No-added Sugar Kendal Mint Cake Ice Cream Baby Weaning Recipe

Specifically designed for baby-weaning, this recipe is low in sugar and is therefore perfect for babies and toddlers. Yes, this is technically an ice cream recipe, it can be moulded into an ice lolly if you wish.

Ingredients:

• 2 frozen bananas (peeled, chopped, frozen overnight, the more ripe, the sweeter the ice cream will be)
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• A couple of drops of peppermint extract

Method:

1. Blend together the frozen banana, cacao powder and peppermint extract in a high speed blender. You may need to scrape the sides down a couple of times.

2. Once the ice cream reaches a soft serve consistency, serve immediately.

Recipe from baby-weaning expert Shikha Gill from My.Little.Food.Critic in collaboration with Nuby.

The best ice lolly moulds

So, now you've got some delicious recipes, it's time to find the perfect ice lolly moulds. They come in all colours, shapes and sizes, with some brands creating them with little ones in mind/

Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Mother & Baby and Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV and film. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.