This mango sorbet is an easy and delicious way to stay cool over the summer. With only 3 ingredients, anyone can make this homemade mango sorbet without ice cream maker.
All summer long I have been reading these wonderful blog posts showing these gorgeous recipes for homemade ice cream and sorbets. I do not own an ice maker. I will also publicly admit that I am not a big fan of ice cream… unless it has chunks of brownies in it.
When it comes to frozen treats, I prefer sorbets. There’s something refreshing about the taste of fresh fruits in their prime, whether fresh or frozen.
Why this recipe is so easy and awesome
In its simplest form, sorbet is made from water and fruit puree or juice. You can also add sugar to it, depending on how sweet you like it. It contains no milk, cream or eggs.
It is one of the oldest and simplest forms of frozen desserts. It is often used at fine restaurants as a palate cleanser.
Sherbet is a unique cross between ice cream and sorbet. It, too, is made with fruit and water, but it also contains dairy, typically milk or buttermilk giving it a more creamy texture than sorbet.
Because of the addition of milk, sherbets tend to have pastel colors while sorbets are darker and richer in color. Sherbet is always fruit based and contains less than 2% fat.
If you love fresh fruit, you will love sorbet. And homemade sorbet is a wonderful way to use up a harvest of any fruit you have on hand.
My kids absolutely adore mangos. What’s not to love? They are juicy, sweet and so full of flavor. And they are so much fun to eat. I cut them into halves to remove the long flat seed. Score the meat and turn them inside out.
I serve these mango blossoms to my kids so they can just bite the mango pieces off directly off the skin. This is by far, my kids’ favorite way to eat a mango!
Most sorbet recipes have you make a simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar) before mixing everything in a blender. I like to simplify things, so I decided to mix everything together in the blender, skipping the extra step.
Whenever you make anything from scratch, you have total control over the ingredients in your sorbet. My family loved this homemade mango sorbet. I did not add as much sugar in the recipe because the mangos were plenty sweet. Plus, my kids love all things lemon/lime so they liked it tangy.
Sorbet can have less sugar than ice cream. And less sugar is definitely a healthier way of living. Sorbet also has no dairy in it and zero fat.
Ingredients you need
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- Mango: You want fresh ripe mangoes. You can use any variety of mangoes to make sorbet. You can also use frozen mangos to make it even easier!
- Granulated sugar: I used regular sugar to sweeten this sorbet. You can also use honey or maple syrup. If you do use a liquid sweetener, you will not need any water.
- Limes: You will use the zest and juice from limes. The juice adds some tartness to balance the super sweet mangoes. And the zest is so fragrant!
Tools to Use
Step-by-step directions
1. Hold a mango with one hand, standing it on its end, stem side down. The mango has a flat oval pit inside. Using a sharp knife in your other hand, cut from the top of the mango, down one side of the pit. You will feel the knife slide along the pit, guiding you down. Turn the mango around and repeat with the other side.
2. Take one mango half and use your knife to score the flesh of the mango both lengthwise and crosswise, making a checkerboard pattern of cuts into it. Do not to cut through the peel. Use a spoon to scoop out the mango segments from the peel. Or turn the mango half inside out so the mango segments pop out. Then use a knife to cut segments off the peel. Repeat with other mango half.
For the mango piece with the pit, lay it flat on the cutting board. Cut out the flesh from the pit, then remove the peel.
3. Add mango pieces to a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth.
4. If you are using an ice cream maker, pour mango mixture into the machine’s bowl and follow manufacturer’s directions until done.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, pour into a freezer-safe bowl and cover. Every 30 minutes for 4 hours, stir sorbet very well with a whisk or a hand blender.
Let sorbet freeze for 8 hours or until hard.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
You can reduce the amount of sugar based on the sweetness of your mango. I added a bit more lime juice to our mix because we like the zing lime adds. This is an easy recipe to adjust to your personal taste.
Now, as I said, I do not own an ice cream maker. So after you blend your mango mix until smooth, you pour everything into a freezer-safe bowl. A chilled metal bowl is preferred, although I used a plastic one. Pour your mango purée into the bowl, cover and put in the freezer.
Here’s the tricky part. Every 30-45 minutes for 4 hours, remove your mango purée and re-mix everything together. This keeps the ice crystals from forming and saving your sorbet from turning into a giant mango ice cube. You can mix everything by hand or use a hand blender.
After 4 hours of freezing and re-mixing, let the sorbet freeze for 8 hours or until hard. This yields a little more than a quart of mango sorbet. Remember to keep it in a covered container while it is in the freezer.
Another trick to no-churn mango sorbet is to freeze the mango chunks first. Then add everything into a food processor and run it until smooth!
Your homemade mango sorbet will last in the freezer for up to 2 months. After that, it will start to crystalize and the quality starts to diminish.
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Mango Sorbet without Ice Cream Maker
This mango sorbet is an easy and delicious way to stay cool over the summer. With only 3 ingredients, anyone can make this homemade mango sorbet without ice cream maker.
Ingredients
- 5 large mango
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 cup lime juice
- Grated zest from 2 limes
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry mangos.
- To cut, hold a mango with one hand, standing it on its end, stem side down.
- The mango has a flat oval pit inside. Using a sharp knife in your other hand, cut from the top of the mango, down one side of the pit. You will feel the knife slide along the pit, guiding you down.
- Turn the mango around and repeat with the other side.
- Take one mango half and use your knife to score the flesh of the mango both lengthwise and crosswise, making a checkerboard pattern of cuts into it. Do not to cut through the peel.
- Use a spoon to scoop out the mango segments from the peel. Or turn the mango half inside out so the mango segments pop out. Then use a knife to cut segments off the peel.
- Repeat with other mango half.
- For the mango piece with the pit, lay it flat on the cutting board. Cut out the flesh from the pit, then remove the peel.
- Repeat this for the other mangoes.
- Add mango pieces to a blender and add remaining ingredients.
- Blend until completely smooth.
- Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions until done.
- If you do not have an ice cream maker, pour into a freezer-safe bowl and cover.
- Every 30 minutes for 4 hours, stir sorbet very well with a whisk or a hand blender.
- Let sorbet freeze for 8 hours or until hard.
Notes
Serving Suggestions: Try this with any combination fo fresh fruits: peach, nectarine, strawberries...
Cooking Tips: You can reduce the sugar by ¼ cup depending on the sweetness of the mangos.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
½ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 227Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 4mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 3gSugar: 54gProtein: 2g
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I don’t have an ice cream maker some tricks I use to keep it smooth and not turn into an ice block are by adding any or all to the sugar/water mixture: plain gelatin dissolved in water first, liquor aka alcohol, guar gum ( most grocery sorbets add guar gum) corn syrup, a banana,pectin powder dissolved or liquid pectin and last but not least freezing mango pieces first seem to help as well! I should just buy an ice cream maker! Lol I mix everything up and run it through food processor until smooth
Hi Missy-
Great tips. Thank you for sharing!
Laura
I’ve had ice cream makers- the worst bit is freezing the bowl! More often than not I don’t have room in my freezer to keep it in there or, when I do want to make ice cream on the spur of the moment I haven’t frozen the bowl!!!
Ha ha ha! I can totally relate to this! My aunt gave me her ice cream maker and it has two bowls I can freeze. And you’re right. They are never frozen when I want to make ice cream!
I made this recipe adding peaches from last year’s harvest. I actually made two batches. One using the lime as directed and one using lemon. Both are really yummy and refreshing. Next time I might blend in a little basil as well. I used my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker and all turned out great! I think I’ll be making alot more of this now that summer is here!
Oh, peach sorbet sounds wonderful! And I love the idea of adding a bit of herbs to it. Great idea!
I have a small Cuisinart ice cream maker — with two bowls — and I love it! I keep one bowl in the freezer and the other stays in the maker. Like your recipe, though. Am planning to make some mango sorbet in bulk for a church retreat — and this way would be much easier than trying to do smaller batches in my ice cream maker. Although fresh mangoes are currently plentiful — and cheap — at my local supermarket, I may try to use frozen chunks, since I’ll be serving 100+ folks! Thanks for sharing!
I followed your recipe and as far as I know I followed the directions correctly. After I stirred the sorbet over the 4 hours, your recipe said to let it freeze for 12 more. I did freeze it but did not get back to it till quite a bit after the 12 hours to find that it is now one solid chunk of mango ice…what do I do now ? Will I have to chip off blocks of the sorbet and partially defrost it each time ?
Hi Karen-
Sorry to hear about your chunk of mango ice! You can let it soften in the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving, or carefully soften it in the microwave (like using the defrost setting) for a few seconds at a time. I hope that helps!
Laura
Did you ever get your ice cream maker? That is the one I have and I think it’s great! Go for it!
Actually, yes, I now have an ice cream maker. It certainly is easier to make ice cream with a machine!
That sounds great!
Beautiful as always, Laura!
looks yummy
im gonna try it