Mango Sorbet (Dairy-Free)

Name: Mango Sorbet (Dairy-Free)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 435 min
Ingredients: 1 cup water; ¾ cup sugar; 2 mangos (fresh or frozen, cubed, about 3 cups, see Recipe Notes); ¼ cup lemon juice (from 1 lemon); 1 to 2 tablespoons vodka (optional, see Recipe Notes)

If you love the taste of fresh, ripe mango, this mango sorbet is for you! Naturally dairy-free, there's nothing standing between you and that delectable flavor. Use an ice cream maker to get a smooth and creamy texture!

Two scoops of Mango Sorbet in a glass bowl with mango slices.

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Why this recipe works
Recipe Ingredients
How to Make Mango Sorbet
Storage instructions
How to Cut a Mango
Questions asked and answered
More frozen treat and topping recipes to try
Recipe
Comments

Why this recipe works

Pure, delicious mango flavor shines in every bite
Since sorbet doesn't contain dairy, it's lower in fat and calories than sherbet or ice cream
Helpful tips on how to cut a mango

Eating a ripe mango is like liquid gold. It is honey sweet without being cloying, and has a pleasing soft texture that melts in your mouth. Almost like a ripe peach, but with tropical notes that conjure up palm trees swaying in the breeze on a white sandy beach.

Now take that pure luscious flavor and freeze it, and you've got refreshing Mango Sorbet. There's nothing standing between you and that delectable flavor!

This mango sorbet has full rich flavor in every smooth and creamy bite. There's even a little bit of chew in the texture from not-quite-liquified pieces of mango.

Since sorbet is naturally dairy-free, it's perfect for those avoiding lactose or following a vegan diet.

Mango sorbet will satisfy your sweet tooth with its bright refreshing taste. Serve it with Tropical Mocktail Punch or a Mango Pineapple Smoothie for a real tropical treat. And for a mango-on-a-stick version, make Mango Ice Pops.

Swaying palm trees are optional!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mmmm, this looks amazing! The perfect treat for summer!

- Shira

Recipe Ingredients

You'll need the following ingredients to make this mango sorbet recipe:

Ingredients for Mango Sorbet portioned into bowls with 2 mangos on a white square plate.

Ingredient Notes

Sorbet is essentially a frozen sweetened fruit purée. The ingredients for sorbet are few: fruit, sugar, and a little citrus (in this case, lemon juice).

Sugar: Some sorbet recipes just mix sugar into the fruit purée, but I like to use a simple syrup (that is, sugar dissolved in water) so that you don't run the risk of having a grainy texture from any undissolved sugar.

Mango: Choose mangoes that are ripe to almost overripe, that is fruit that is heavy in your hand and yields to light pressure. A rock-hard mango will be too hard to purée, and won't be as sweet.

Since you're creating a cold purée as it is, your fruit can be fresh or frozen, so you're not limited to seasonality when you want to make sorbet. Just know that fresh fruit that's in season generally has better flavor than frozen.

If you've been stymied on how to cut a mango, have no fear. I have two methods to cube your mangos.

Vodka: Adding a small amount of vodka to the sorbet after churning keeps it from freezing into an ice-cube hard rock in the freezer. The alcohol lowers the freezing temperature of water, giving the sorbet a silky smooth texture that's easier to scoop. It's just a bit, and you won't taste any alcohol, but again you can leave it out if you'd rather not use it.

See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to Make Mango Sorbet

Step 1: Make the base

Combine the water and sugar to make the simple syrup. Bring the mixture to boil over medium-high heat, then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes (photo 1). Transfer the simple syrup to a small bowl and chill for 30 minutes.

Collage of before and after making simple syrup on a hot plate. — Boil sugar and water to make simple syrup

While the simple syrup is chilling, place the mango and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and purée until the mixture is smooth (photo 2). Transfer the purée to a large bowl.

Collage of before & after puréeing mango cubes in a food processor. — Purée the mango cubes with a bit of lemon juice until smooth

When the simple syrup has cooled, stir it into the bowl with the mango purée (photo 3). Taste the base for sweetness, adding sugar by 1 tablespoon increments as needed. Remember, cold dulls sweetness, so make it a little sweeter than you think it should be.

Chill the base in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours or overnight. It should be about 55˚F before churning.

Mango Sorbet mixed with simple syrup in a white mixing bowl. — The base is just chilled mango purée and simple syrup

Step 2: Churn the sorbet

Pour the base into an ice cream maker and freeze per the manufacturer's instructions. It will take about 25 to 30 minutes, and the volume of the base will increase as it freezes (photo 4).

Making sorbet without an ice cream maker requires you to stir the base every so often in the freezer for several hours, and the results can be a bit grainy. Using an ice cream maker produces a silky smooth texture more similar to sherbet or ice cream. The ice cream maker I'm using is a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment for my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Another good option is a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.

Collage of before & after churning Mango Sorbet in an ice cream maker. — The volume of the base doesn't look like a lot in the beginning, but it increases as it freezes

When finished, the sorbet will have a soft texture (photo 5).

Finished churned Mango Sorbet on a spoon taken from an ice cream maker. — The sorbet has a soft texture

Step 3: Ripen the sorbet

Transfer the sorbet to a freezer-safe container. Stir in the vodka, if using, then smooth the top using a small offset spatula (photo 6).

Freeze for 2 to 4 hours to allow sorbet to firm up, a process called ripening. Serve and enjoy!

Collage of adding vodka to finished sorbet & smoothed into a tub. — Adding vodka helps to keep the ripened sorbet from getting too hard

Storage instructions

Mango Sorbet will keep in the freezer in an airtight container for a month or more.

How to Cut a Mango

What is the best way to cut up a mango? That's a question I see frequently. There are actually 2 methods that I use, depending on how I'm going to be using the fruit.

Peel and cut: good for when you're going to serve the fruit peeled and sliced, like when making a mango sticky rice recipe.
Slice and crosshatch: good for when you're needing cubes for a salad, or to purée, like in this sorbet recipe. This method is faster because you don't have to peel the mango first.

Method 1: Peel and cut

Cut off a little of the top and bottom to give you a flat base. Use your thumb to determine which direction the large seed faces, then pare away the skin (photo 7).

Collage of paring the skin off a mango. — Having a flat base is handy as you pare the skin off the mango

Parallel to the flat side of the seed, cut the flesh away in a slab from both sides of the seed. Slice off the remaining flesh on the edges of the seed. Cut the slabs into cubes (photo 8).

Collage of slicing the pared sides of a mango into cubes. — Slice slabs off both sides of the seed, then cube the flesh

Method 2: Slice and crosshatch

Cut off a little of the top and bottom to give you a flat base. Use your thumb to determine which direction the large seed faces. Parallel to the flat side of the seed, cut the sides away in a large slab. Trim off the flesh from the edges of the seed (photo 9).

Collage of slicing the sides off the seed of a mango. — Slice off the slab without peeling it

Score the flesh on each side of the slab in a crosshatch pattern (don't cut through the skin), then turn the side inside out (photo 10).

Collage of crosshatched the flesh of a side of mango and turning it inside out. — Crosshatch the flesh with a knife, then push the slab inside out

Trim the cubes off the skin. For the edge pieces, pare away the skin, and cube the slices (photo 11).

Collage of cutting the crosshatched cubes from the skin of a turned side of mango. — Trim the cubes away from the skin

Questions asked and answered

Here are some questions you might have...

What's the difference between sherbet and sorbet?

While sorbet is simply a frozen fruit purée, sherbet has the addition of dairy in the base, giving it a creamier consistency more like ice cream. For example. this Whole Lemon Sherbet uses milk and heavy cream in its preparation. Since sorbet doesn't contain dairy, it's lower in fat and calories than sherbet or ice cream.

Are sorbet and sorbetto the same thing?

You might see the term sorbetto used, but be unsure of what it is. Here in the US, sorbet is the French term for the Italian sorbetto, that is, a frozen dessert made of fruit purée and sugar (but no dairy products). In Italy, sorbetto is like sherbet and contains dairy products.

Can you make sorbet with frozen fruit?

Yes! Since you're creating a cold purée, your fruit can be fresh or frozen, so you're not limited to seasonality when you want to make sorbet. Just know that fresh fruit that's in season generally has better flavor than frozen.