24 Milkshake Recipes That Will Satisfy Every Craving

We love an an ice pop, a slushie or a batch of homemade ice cream. But when it comes to the ultimate frozen treat, they can all sit down. If it’s been a while since you’ve had an old-school milkshake, you may have forgotten how there’s just nothing like it. For a special afternoon snack, the best dessert or accompanying a burger—oh, yes! Remember how amazing that combo is? Creamy, sweet and kind of thirst quenching too, these sips are a breeze to whip up. Once you master the basics of making a milkshake all that's left to do is find your flavor (somethng that tastes of summer, and childhood and everything that’s good in the world), like this hot fudge swirled treat. Don't skip the cherry on top—it's the perfect finishing touch for a sundae-inspired shake!

Jeff Mauro comes through again with a true “fun uncle” formula of swirling together favorite childhood flavors quickly for shakes that are as adorable as they are delicious.

If you’re new to milkshakes, here’s a place to start. At it’s most basic, a milkshake is just two ingredients plus a blender. Yes, it’s fun to add stuff, but Bobby Flay illustrates how going simple is also supremely satisfying.

Inspired by the ultra-popular chocolate-covered strawberries sold in London’s iconic Borough Market, this shake is as fun to make as it is to drink.

Nutritionist Joy Bauer’s genius formula combines a bunch of superfoods to come up with this thick and dessert-y smoothie that tastes as indulgent as any ice cream-based shake.

Since it’s from Molly Yeh, you know there are going to be sprinkles. But you also know that it will have a decided streak of grown-up flavor, too, with the sophisticated addition of tahini.

These shakes have all the bracing, sweet-tart quality of a slice of key lime pie. The glasses are rimmed with crushed graham crackers, to complete the homage.

This stick-to-your-ribs drink from Jeff Mauro is reminiscent of the flavors of a banana split. The chopped honey roasted peanuts add a nice sweet-and-salty touch.

A classic in Iran, this shake gains its sweetness from dates and bananas and richness from nuts.

The use of sorbet in this shake from Rachael Ray is unusual, but makes for a very light and thirst-quenching shake that’s no less delicious for it.

These shakes from Guy Fieri spin off the classic New Orleans dessert of flambeed bananas with rum. A little banana liqueur really pumps up the flavor of the brown-sugar-sauteed bananas.

No need to turn on the oven for a cool cheesecake dessert. Adding a bit of soft cream cheese and sour cream to traditional milkshake ingredients cuts the sweetness and transforms the texture into a rich, silky treat. Starting with vanilla ice cream allows more control over the level of chocolate in the shake.

These layered shakes from Tia Mowry have all the flavors and qualities of a fruit-topped slice of cheesecake, but in drinkable form. It’s particularly fun when you think of the hours of baking and chill time of an actual cheesecake, and how you can be drinking these in about 15 minutes.

This takes all the tasty, caramel-y notes of a Vietnamese iced coffee and turns it into a shake, for a refreshing treat that will also give you a little boost.

Pass on the artificial syrups and instead cook down some fresh strawberries for big berry flavor. Malt powder adds a little salty-sweet umami nuance without overshadowing the berries.

What do you do when you have one slice of blueberry pie left, but two eaters? Blend it up into Katie Lee Biegel’s milkshake that can be divided easily. A little freshly grated lemon zest gives it a wonderful quality that brightens the flavor of the blueberries.

You’ll always want to keep peppermint extract in the house wen you try Trisha Yearwood’s ode to chocolate and mint, topped with those famous chopped cookies—yum.

If you need another selling point for milkshakes, it’s that they can be spiked! This combo plays up all the flavors of the holidays and is festive enough to serve as a cocktail.

Baking the mini marshmallows for this shake, as opposed to broiling or charring, offers a gentle toasted sugar flavor to go with the salty peanut butter.

That is, biscuit in the European sense. An inclusion of speculoo butter, a thick, caramel-y spread inspired by the spice cookies from Belgium, gives these shakes a little something special.

Why yes, swirling marshmallow fluff into a milkshake is a very, very good idea. This recipe combines the fluff with heavy cream, to extend its flavor but still retain its smooth, cloudlike texture. And of course, it does go well with chocolate.

If you had to conjure a treat that would simply blow a kid’s mind, this might be it. Duff Goldman’s shake scented with cotton candy, topped with a fluffy cloud of the stuff, and garnished with lollipops and popping candy rocks, is what you put together when you need to knock it out of the park, with not too much time nor effort on your part.

Side story: Our man Jeff Mauro has quite a few shake recipes. Here, he shows us how tossing in a slice of cake ups the flavor and richness in the most appealing way.