Pink Tropical Raspberry Sorbet
This pink tropical raspberry sorbet is a perfect frozen treat for hot, summer days! Serve in a dish or with ginger ale as a float!
I am so in love with this fruity pink sorbet! It’s a little bit retro, a little bit tropical, and a whole lot delicious.
Talk about a refreshingly delightful treat for the hot summer days ahead.
It takes just minutes to mix together, and it’s fantastic scooped in little dishes OR mixed with ginger ale or another fizzy soda for a delicious float-type drink.
I think it would be a wise decision to keep a batch of this in the freezer at all times.
Trust me on this
I know some of you saw the bananas in this recipe and may or may not have said to yourself “Mel’s crazy; bananas do not belong here…I’m out.”
I’m asking you to trust me on this one. The bananas are wonderfully delicious in this pink tropical raspberry sorbet!
Growing up, my mom made a similar slushy fruit concoction that had more of an orange vibe – but it also had bananas. We would scoop it into cups and pour in a little sprite or 7-up, and it was one of my favorite things ever.
When it is all frozen and slushified, the bananas have the best creamy texture.
This recipe couldn’t be simpler. To a mixer (or just into a bowl to mix by hand), you’ll add:
- pineapple sherbet
- thawed frozen raspberries and all the juice
- sliced bananas tossed with a little lemon juice
Mix it all up until it is lusciously creamy and pink. The raspberries and bananas will break down into little pieces. You can mix for as little or as long as you want, depending on the texture you are after.
Sidenote: before I create a revolt, I am already aware that in the strictest sense of the word, “sorbet” classically is just fruit + sugar without any creaminess or dairy. This recipe includes sherbet (which we’ll talk more about in a sec), and sherbet is usually dairy-based. So why am I calling it sorbet when it technically isn’t sorbet? The awesome MKC reader, Shauna, who sent me this recipe (that her mom invented) calls it “pink sorbet” – I loved the name, I love the history behind it, AND I love the recipe, so I’m still calling it sorbet. Thanks for listening. 🙂
Let’s Talk About Sherbet
Can I make a confession? Sherbet is quite possibly one of my least favorite frozen treats ever. I love ice cream and gelato. Frozen yogurt and sorbet. But sherbet? Pass.
However, in this recipe, the pineapple sherbet is the perfect ingredient to bring all the flavors together. It adds a creamy tropical vibe without overpowering. Plus the neutral color helps let the raspberries shine with their vibrant pinkness.
I haven’t made this with other flavors of sherbet – pineapple sherbet was readily available at my small town grocery store. But I wonder if it would also be tasty with other flavors? Lime, maybe? Report back if you try.
Scoop the mixed fruity pink sorbet into a freezer-safe container and pop it in the freezer until it is set up.
It can be frozen for up to a week, and probably longer if it is well-covered.
If it has been frozen for a while and is fairly hard, let it sit out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before scooping it up.
Versatile serving opportunities
The beauty of this fruity pink tropical raspberry sorbet is that it can be served a couple different ways.
Shauna (who sent me the recipe) clued me in that it is fantastic served in small dishes with thin, crispy lemon cookies.
I’ve found just such a cookie at Trader Joe’s and at Costco. I think Mrs. Meyers or Dewey’s are popular brands available at a lot of grocery stores. (If you can’t find crispy lemon cookies, a vanilla cookie would be delicious, too.)
The combination of the creamy, refreshing sorbet and the light and crispy cookies is out of this world delicious. Pretty and elegant, it would be perfect for a fun luncheon or baby/bridal shower…or just for a simple after dinner treat in the summer.
Make it a float
Another way to serve this pink sorbet is float-style.
The combination of crisp, cold ginger ale with the frozen tropical flavors of the sorbet is crazy good. Totally reminds me of my childhood when we would have some kind of “float” very, very regularly.
Purple cows (grape soda and vanilla ice cream). Root beer floats. Cream soda floats. My mom’s orange/banana slush + sprite. Floats are where it’s at.
I love this throwback recipe! It’s good stuff. One of those staple recipes that is really, really nice to have in your back pocket.
Perfect for serving to company or to finish off a backyard BBQ, it’s unique enough that people will be clamoring for the recipe.
Every time we pull this out of the freezer, I find myself getting just one more scoop. That light and refreshing vibe is pretty hard to resist.
And because I know YOU and the creativity that resides in your soul, I’m just going to be sitting here waiting for someone (or a lot of someones) to come up with some different flavor variations to knock my socks off.
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Pink Tropical Raspberry Sorbet
Ingredients
Sorbet:
- ½ gallon pineapple sherbet
- 10 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed (don’t drain)
- 2-3 medium bananas, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Optional:
- Thin crispy lemon cookies (see note)
- Ginger ale (see note)
Instructions
- Scoop sherbet into the bowl of an electric stand mixer (or into a large bowl to mix by hand or with an electric hand mixer). Let it soften until mixable, 5-10 minutes.
- While the sherbet softens, toss the bananas with the lemon juice (adds a boost of flavor and helps the bananas retain their bright color).
- To the sherbet, add the raspberries (with any accumulated juices) and the bananas and lemon juice. Mix until well combined and the raspberries and bananas are in small pieces (continue mixing if you want them broken down even more).
- Scoop into a freezer-safe container and freeze until set up, 2-3 hours (or longer). Before serving, let the sorbet sit at room temp for 15 minutes to soften slightly. Scoop into bowls (delicious served with a few thin and crispy lemon cookies) OR scoop into glasses with ginger ale for a fizzy float drink.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted a little from a a tried-and-true family recipe from an MKC reader, Shauna K (thanks, Shauna!)
So yummy! My mom has been making this for years and we love it! We also add blueberries to ours.
After being unhappy about the lime sorbet, I now have to eat crow. After overnight freezethe the color perked to brighr green and red raspberries. The flavors blended and the seeds softened. It was a hit and they asked to take leftovers home. I am sure there is a lesson here. I wouldn’t hesitate to use lime again.
Good to know, Christie! Thanks for the update.
The heat index is like 108° in TX. Raspberry sorbet sounded so refreshing for Father’s Day dessert. Wrong decision. 1st. No pineapple sherbet so I went with lime. 2nd. Color turned out greenish tan. 3. The lime flavor overwhelmed the whole dish. 4th. The 8 yr. old is going to hate the frozen raspberry seeds. I bet your version is wonderful
Mel,
I’ve been making this with blueberries rather than raspberries. IT IS AWESOME!
So refreshing on a summer day.
I grew up on this recipe as well and I have made it many times as I was raising my kids. It is sooo good! My mom had a variation of putting blueberries and peaches in to replace the bananas and raspberries.
Oh, that sounds delightful!
We make a similar recipe and it is served at wedding receptions (back when we used to have those 😉 We call it HONEYMOON ICE CREAM.
Haha, your note in parenthesis made me laugh, but also kind of sigh. I miss pre-Covid days!
Can you use fresh raspberries?
I haven’t tried it, but I think that should work!
This cute pink catches my attention! They look so delicious <3
This is marvelous! We couldn’t find pineapple so ended up trying orange sherbet, it turned out great from our perspective! There is a nice blend of flavors. I’m sure the pineapple is wonderful!
That’s great to hear, Catherine! Thanks for reporting back!
I love raspberry sherbet. Whenever I have rainbow sherbet, it’s the raspberry section that is gone first. As a kid, I usually had ginger ale with vanilla ice cream. Sometimes I had it with Coke or Pepsi. However, I preferred the ginger ale. I’m going to have to try it with the raspberry sherbet.
Sounds like a great idea!
Is it possible to put it in my Cuisinart ice cream maker to speed up the process?
I haven’t tried it, but it’s certainly worth a try!
This exact recipe has been a 4th of July family tradition for 20+ years and we all love it! We serve it with strawberry or vanilla creme wafer cookies. I will admit that pineapple sherbet is hard to find and often requires a drive to another county, but so worth it! This gets 5 stars for sure!
I made this yesterday and it Is delicious! So light and refreshing! It’s definitely going to be by go to dessert!
Thanks for letting me know, Paula!
This is very similar to my Grandma’s “homemade” ice cream only she uses equal parts orange sherbet & vanilla ice cream mixed with sliced strawberries & bananas. Delish!
Sounds fantastic!
My mom always made this but with strawberries! We called it fluff! Thank you for reminding me of this!
This recipe looks amazing! I’d love to make it for Father’s Day. Where can you find pineapple sherbet? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in the store before. Thanks, Mel!
Speaking out of turn 🙂 I had trouble finding it at our normal, well-stocked grocery store. But I looked on Google and it looks Kroger makes a pineapple sherbet! So I’m betting you could find it at whatever grocery stores near you sell Kroger products 🙂
Thanks for the tip, Jacelyn!
Looks delicious, and I plan on trying it!
I have to tell you – I didn’t have my glasses on when I saw the title of the recipe and thought it said pork tenderloin raspberry sorbet and thought you had had a nervous breakdown!
Haha, Jackie – that made me laugh (and the nervous breakdown isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility!) 🙂
I also saw it like that! Pork tenderloin raspberry sorbet and i was like what?? and so i checked on the comments and i think its not only me haha
Any subs for the banana? I’m allergic.
Looks delish!
You could try subbing in another soft fruit like mangos or peaches maybe?
You could try cantaloupe. I’ve put cantaloupe in some smoothies and it seems to make it creamy and it helps with sweetening it as well.
This is an oldie but goodie! We also included vanilla ice cream when we made it. 2 parts pineapple sherbet to one part vanilla ice cream. Bananas and raspberries. I have wanted to try this combination: Trader Joe’s mango sorbet, pineapple sherbet, vanilla ice cream, fresh peaches, and bananas.
Oh wow, Karen, that combination you suggested sounds fantastic!
This has been a family favorite of our for years!! Best summer dessert ever!!
I agree!
We use a very similar recipe in our family and call it Sherbet Slush! It’s made with both Pineapple Sherbet and Rasberry Sherbet and then we mash in bananas and 2 packages of frozen raspberries or strawberries (I do one of each)! ❤️
Love that variation, Liz!
This has been a classic in our family for as long as I can remember. It’s so simple and so refreshing. I’m not a huge banana fan, but something about the little frozen bits of them in this recipe just works somehow.
Another fun, retro, slushy-type dessert my grandpa used to make is lime frappe–lime sherbet, vanilla ice cream, ginger ale, and pineapple juice. It sounds weird, but it’s delicious.
That DOES sound delicious!
We used to make this all the time when I was a kid! I’m not a huge sherbet fan either, but it’s actually really yummy! I want to try it with the sprite! I had forgotten all about this treat, now I want to make it!
I love how many people had something similar to this – it really is a fun, slightly retro treat.
Yumm. Now tell us about the Orange banana slush please.
I’ll have to track that recipe down from my mom!