15 Refreshing and Healthy Ice Pop Recipes

Who says you can't indulge in an icy sweet treat on a hot day? With summer fruit abundant and bursting with natural sweetness, you can DIY amazing ice pops with just a few simple add-ins. Read on for some of our favorite gorgeous, luscious ice pops that are delicious and good for you (shhh, don't tell the kids they're healthy!). They'll satisfy your sweet tooth, get you closer to your daily produce goal, and help keep you hydrated when it's sweltering outside.

Try this recipe: Turmeric Golden Milk Popsicle

This "golden milk" popsicle is a great way to load up on your favorite superfoods like turmeric and ginger in the middle of summer. If coconut milk is too rich for your taste buds, try mixing it with almond or cashew milk. Or nix it entirely and go all almond or all cashew.

Ingredients: Full-fat coconut milk, honey, ground turmeric, ground ginger, freshly ground black pepper

Calories: 183

Try this recipe: Spicy Pineapple-Greens Popsicle

A frozen treat that only has 32 calories? Yes, it exists! This popsicle is packed with good-for-you ingredients like bananas, pineapple, and hydrating coconut water. But fair warning: it's both sweet and spicy. Be sure to remove all the seeds and white membrane from the jalepeno to keep the heat in check.

Ingredients: Zest and juice of one lime, banana, fresh or frozen cubed pineapple, jalapeno, coconut water, salt, pure vanilla extract

Calories: 32

Try this recipe: Lavender-Blueberry Popsicles

These sweet, antioxidant-packed treats have some added benefits: Lavender may reduce bloating and even help you feel calmer. Even better, you can whip up these delicious and healthy popsicles with just three delicious ingredients!

Ingredients: Coconut sugar, dried culinary lavender, fresh blueberries

Calories: 200

Try this recipe: Peach-Buttermilk Ice Pops

Kids and adults alike will love these pretty, multilayered pops. Buttermilk gives them both creaminess and a touch of tang, while fresh peaches bring on the fruit. Plus, they're loaded with vitamins A and C. If you're shopping at a farmers market for peaches, ask if they're cling or freestone; freestone are easier to pit. Also, get yourself a serrated peeler and you won't have to blanch the peaches in boiling water to peel them.

Ingredients: Buttermilk, vanilla extract, almond extract, honey, peaches

Calories: 106

Try this recipe: Mint-Melon Ice Pops

Serve these gorgeous two-layer pops after a rich meal, such as grilled meat, to cleanse the palate and end on a lighter note. Plus, the mint can help aid digestion. If you don't have ice-pop molds, no problem; small paper cups or large ice-cube trays and ice-pop sticks can do the trick just as well (don't use craft sticks, since they can splinter). When shopping for melon, pick it up; it should feel heavy for its size and smell sweet at the end where it was attached to the vine.

Ingredients: Cantaloupe, orange juice, honeydew, limeade concentrate, mint leaves

Calories: 36

Try this recipe: Strawberry-Cream Fruit Pops

These couldn't-be-simpler pops are a blend of strawberries, a little sour cream, a tiny bit of sugar, and lemon juice, but they're packed with flavor. Try them with a mix of berries, if you prefer; this recipe would work great with any combo of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. They're so refreshing and good for you, you could even have one for breakfast on a hot morning.

Ingredients: Strawberries, light sour cream, sugar, lemon juice

Try this recipe: Raspberry Pucker Pops

With 4 grams of fiber in each pop, these treats can help keep you full for a while. Since raspberries are in season, feel free to use fresh ones instead of thawing a bag of frozen berries. Start with 1/4 cup sugar and add a little at a time if needed, depending on how sweet the berries are. Also, try fresh orange juice instead of the cran-raspberry to shake up the flavor.

Ingredients: Frozen raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, cranberry/raspberry juice

Calories: 181

Try this recipe: Lime-Colada Ice Pops

Take a quick trip to the tropics with these exotic pops. Be careful when shopping for cream of coconut: What you want is an unsweetened cream of coconut (such as Native Forest brand). Avoid brands of cream of coconut that are sweetened and contain a lot of gums and stabilizers. Also, cream of coconut is thicker than coconut milk, so check the label carefully. Blend in a small handful of unsweetened coconut flakes for texture, if you like. A few tablespoons of dark rum would be nice, too, as long as the pops are for a grown-up party.

Ingredients: Lime juice, sugar, cream of coconut

Calories: 76

Try this recipe: Pineapple-Berry Ice Pops

Loaded with fruit and made with no refined sugar, these ice pops do so much more than look beautiful (though they do that, too). Pineapples are a great source of vitamin C, plus they have an enzyme that may help reduce inflammation. And by now you already know how amazing blueberries are for your health.

Ingredients: Pineapple, pineapple or apple juice, honey, blueberries

Try this recipe: Pomegranate Sunrise Pops

For an unexpected dessert that's make-ahead, healthy, and refreshing, look no further than these sunset-hued treats. They require some time, but it's mostly hands-off freezer time, so well worth a little advance planning. One glance at that vibrant color and you can see how antioxidant-rich these pops are. Pomegranate juice also may help improve blood flow to the heart, and can be a great addition to a cancer-fighting plant-based diet, research suggests. Steep a slice of fresh ginger in the syrup as it cooks for a touch of spice (remove it before continuing the recipe).

Ingredients: Sugar, pomegranate juice, orange juice concentrate

Calories: 114

Try this recipe: Lemon-Blueberry Dice

You know how after a meal you want just a little something sweet? Pop one of these adorable little cubes and satisfy that sweet tooth for just 43 calories (and get a little nutrient boost from the blueberries, too) and absolutely zero guilt. Make them in fun shapes to get a smile along with your treat; we love these Lego-shaped ones. Depending on how sweet the berries are, you may not need all of the syrup; start with a little, taste, and add more if needed.

Ingredients: Sugar, lemon juice, lemon 60-calorie yogurt, blueberries

Calories: 43

Try this recipe: Avocado Ice Pops

If you're wondering about avocado in a dessert, you have to try these. The healthy fats in avocado give these pops plenty of creamy, rich texture, yet they're also sweet and fruity from the lime. (Blend in half of a peeled, seeded cucumber for another layer of flavor.) Name them something goofy if you're giving these to kids; they may not go for an avocado ice pop, but a “green monster” or “alien” pop might do the trick.

Ingredients: Avocado, sugar, lime rind, lime juice, salt

Calories: 130

Try this recipe: Ginger-Lemonade Ice Pops

Is there anything better than cool, refreshing lemonade on a hot summer's day? Yes: A lemonade ice pop! The addition of ginger in these pops makes them that much snazzier. Plus, they're made without refined sugar. Here's a tip: Make these treats when you feel the scratchy throat of a summer cold coming on. They're soothing, plus the lemon gives you a shot of immune-boosting vitamin C, and the honey can ease a cough.

Ingredients: Ginger, honey, lemon juice

Calories: 58

Try this recipe: Banana-Chocolate Ripple Ice Pops

You didn't think we would do a whole gallery of treats and not include at least one chocolate item, did you? With barely any sugar and no dairy but plenty of creamy sweetness from the bananas, these ice pops feel super-indulgent but have less than 100 calories and give you 2 grams of fiber. You could blend in a tablespoon or two of peanut or almond butter for a little extra protein, or drizzle on a fancier chocolate syrup, like Stonewall Kitchen Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel.

Ingredients: Banana, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, chocolate syrup

Calories: 93