Made with fresh strawberries, milk and sugar, this delicious Korean style Strawberry Milk recipe is sweet, refreshing and the perfect way to welcome spring. If you have been searching for a drink that is pretty in pink, look no further than this lovely-hued diner favorite; made with only four ingredients.
About Strawberry Milk
Strawberry Milk is a popular beverage sold in South Korea. During his work stay in South Korea, my husband would always order these from his office café or while he was out and about.
Later, he started making these at home and found it was much cheaper and perfectly easy.
The light and refreshing drink is made with fresh strawberries, milk and sugar. Unlike commercially available strawberry milks, the Korean version has strawberry bits suspended in the milk.
Additionally, unlike a Strawberry Milkshake or a smoothie, the strawberry milk recipe calls for making a macerated strawberry syrup or compote with fresh (or frozen) strawberries, then stirring it into the milk of your choice.
About This Recipe
While you might be able to buy containers of strawberry milk wherever you are, chances are those containers are loaded with artificial colors and flavors and a bunch of high fructose corn syrup.
This yummy recipe will take you back to better days, with nothing but strawberries, a touch of cane sugar and a whisper of vanilla. It’s so wholesome with a fresh, homemade taste that even your grandmother would approve!
While I usually love making this recipe with fresh, ripe strawberries while they are in season, you can absolutely opt to use frozen berries instead.
Frozen berries are picked at peak ripeness and flash frozen, retaining all of their sweetness and nutrition, so this Korean strawberry milk can be a year round treat!
I also love how customizable this strawberry milk recipe is. I make it with almond milk but feel free to swap out the almond milk for any of your favorite alternative milks to make this drink.
You can also choose to switch up the flavors! Lemon, almond, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon are just a few ways you can customize this tasty beverage.
Step-by-Step Guide
How to Make Strawberry Milk
Macerate Strawberries
1. While it might sound scary or complicated, nothing could be further from the truth. Maceration is the process of softening an ingredient in liquid. In this case, strawberries stew in their own juices that are coaxed out using sugar.
Technically, this is an optional step, but I suggest taking the extra minute of prep time and 20 or so minutes of wait time. The strawberries will be softer, sweeter, and more flavorful as a result.
Rinse 10 to 11 strawberries (150 grams/5.3 oz) and drain all the water. Trim off the leaves and discard. Give the berries a quick chop.
2. In a small to medium-sized sauce pan, add 1 cup chopped strawberries and ¼ cup cane sugar or raw sugar. You can also use white sugar.
3. Coat the strawberries in the sugar by gently stirring them, and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes.
4. The sugar will dissolve and a syrup will appear. When this happens, you know the maceration has worked.
Make Strawberry Syrup
5. Place the sauce pan on the stove over low heat. Stir at intervals as the mixture gets heated up.
6. Let the strawberry syrup come to a boil.
7. When the syrup begins to boil remove from heat and place on your kitchen countertop. Mash with a vegetable masher, fork, wooden spoon or immersion blender until you achieve the consistency you desire.
I prefer my strawberry syrup on the finer side so that it almost dissolves into the milk, but you can opt for chunky if you prefer.
8. Check taste, and, if necessary, add more sugar. The syrup should have a loose, flowing consistency, and should not be thick like you would want for a jam. Let it cool completely.
Make Korean Strawberry Milk
9. Before serving, finely chop 4 to 5 medium-sized strawberries – about 6 tablespoons. This will provide an additional bit of texture to your strawberry milk that we find very enjoyable.
The small pops of flavor as you drink remind me of boba tea (bubble tea), the traditional Taiwanese beverage.
While this is more of a Korean preparation, you can opt to omit these chopped strawberries for a version that is closer to American style strawberry milk.
10. Place 4 tablespoons of strawberry syrup in each glass. The recipe serves three, so that makes it 3 glasses.
11. Top with 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped strawberries (if using) and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract in each glass.
12. Pour in each glass 1 cup cold milk of your choice – any nut milk or dairy milk will work. My personal favorite is almond milk, as strawberries and almonds are a natural pairing, but feel free to experiment to find your own favorite.
13. While drinking, stir with a spoon to blend. If you happen to have wide straws like you would use for boba tea, they would do a handy job of both acting as stir sticks and help you sip up the yummy strawberry pieces. Bonus!
Once you add the milk, it is best to serve immediately. Any leftover syrup can be stored in refrigerator for up to a week.
Choose to serve this pretty drink in transparent glasses or bottles, to showcase the lovely pink color and the striking strawberry layer.
Expert Tips
- Strawberries: Choose strawberries that are fresh, ripe and naturally sweet. You will have to increase the sugar if they are slightly tart.
- Milk: Feel free to use your choice of milk. The recipe is very forgiving and adapts easily to plant based milks like soy, oats, almond, cashew or coconut milk. You could also make it with dairy milk.
- Sweeteners: Optionally you could add maple syrup, agave syrup, coconut sugar, palm sugar or honey instead of sugar. Adjust the sweetener depending on the sweetness of the strawberries.
- Toppings: For extra flavors, top the milk with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, strawberry slices. To bring some citrus notes, add a few garnishes of orange or lemon zest.
- Stir While Drinking: The strawberry layer usually settles at the bottom, so remember to stir while drinking or sipping.
- Make Ahead: You could make and refrigerate the macerated strawberries a day ahead before assembling. Ensuring that the milk is also chilled, before making the drink, creates a cold drink made without ice as it can dilute the flavors.
FAQs
Absolutely! Frozen fruits and vegetables are a great way to have access to out of season favorites. They are harvested and flash frozen at optimal ripeness, and retain all of their delicious nutrition.
While frozen fruits usually have a soft consistency once defrosted, that is actually a benefit for this recipe. Just be sure to defrost entirely before chopping so as not to dull your blade. To double up on time spent, you can toss the frozen berries with sugar to macerate while they defrost.
While I personally love making my strawberry milk with almond milk, you can easily opt for any dairy or non-dairy milk that suits you.
There are so many vegan milk options out there nowadays – oat, hemp, chia, macadamia nut, soy, cashew – so have fun experimenting until you find your favorite.
While you can certainly opt to blend milk and strawberries, you will end up with something that is closer to a Strawberry Milkshake or smoothie, rather than Korean style strawberry milk.
The syrup making process helps to concentrate the strawberry flavor, as well as to soften the fruit for better consistency. That said, if you opt to purée or blend the strawberries prior to cooking, the syrup will end up the same.
I can’t imagine that you will want to do anything else with this syrup once you try how delicious Korean style strawberry milk is!
If you happen to have leftovers, there are plenty of other ways to put it to use. Here are just a few ideas:
-swirled into yogurt/curd or oatmeal
-drizzled as a syrup over waffles, pancakes, ice cream or cheesecake
-use it as a base for smoothies or milkshakes
More Strawberry Inspirations!
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Strawberry Milk Recipe (Korean Style)
Made with fresh strawberries syrup or compote, milk and sugar, this delicious Korean style Strawberry Milk is sweet as well as refreshing. If you have been searching for a drink that is pretty in pink, has a lovely homemade flavor and taste, look no further. Additionally, this drink can also be made with frozen strawberries.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Macerating Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark while making the recipe
Macerating strawberries
Rinse strawberries and drain all the water. Trim off the leaves and discard. Give the berries a quick chop.
In a small to medium-sized sauce pan, add the chopped strawberries and sugar.
Coat the strawberries in the sugar by gently stirring them, and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes. The sugar will dissolve and a syrup will appear.
Making strawberry syrup
Place the sauce pan on the stove over low heat. Stir at intervals as the mixture gets heated up.
Let the strawberry syrup come to a boil.
When the syrup begins to boil remove from heat and place on your kitchen countertop. Mash with a vegetable masher, fork, wooden spoon or immersion blender until you achieve the consistency you desire.
Check taste, and, if necessary, add more sugar. The syrup should have a flowing, drippy consistency, not thick like with a jam or sauce. Let it cool completely.
Making strawberry milk
Before serving, finely chop 4 to 5 medium strawberries – about 6 tablespoons.
Take 3 glasses and place 4 tablespoons of strawberry syrup in each glass.
Top with 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped strawberries (if using) and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract in each glass.
Pour in each glass 1 cup cold milk of your choice – any nut milk or dairy milk will work. While drinking, stir with a spoon to blend. Enjoy!
- This refreshing drink can be made with dairy or plant based milk you prefer. I make it with almond milk, but feel free to choose and experiment to find your own favorite.
- I prefer my strawberry syrup on the finer side so that it almost dissolves into the milk, but you can opt for chunky if you like.
- Leftover syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Serve assembled strawberry milk immediately for best results.
- You can make a large batch of the recipe easily.
Nutrition Facts
Strawberry Milk Recipe (Korean Style)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 114 Calories from Fat 18
% Daily Value*
Fat 2g3%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 164mg7%
Potassium 126mg4%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 21g23%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 9IU0%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 1mg67%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1mg59%
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 1mg5%
Vitamin B6 1mg50%
Vitamin C 46mg56%
Vitamin E 1mg7%
Vitamin K 2µg2%
Calcium 165mg17%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 19µg5%
Iron 1mg6%
Magnesium 11mg3%
Phosphorus 19mg2%
Zinc 1mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Strawberry Milk recipe from the archives was first published on February 2021.
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