Lava Flow Popsicles – A creamy pineapple coconut smoothie swirled with a fresh strawberry layer. You’re going to LOVE these! (Gluten Free, Vegan, Paleo)
Have you tried a lava flow? Basically it’s a really awesome pineapple-coconut drink with a strawberry swirl layer. It’s aaahmazing. Fresh, creamy, light, and perfectly sweet all at once.
It’s an awesome drink (they’re just so pretty!!!), but in my opinion, they make even better popsicles. I love the creaminess of the pineapple-coconut layer swirled with the bright, fresh strawberry layer. My mouth is watering just typing that out!
This is one of those recipes that looks deceptively tricky. These are as easy as can be! It’s really just as easy as blending up two small batches of smoothie and alternating them in your popsicle mold. Easy-peasy. All my best tips are below!
NOTES ON THE RECIPE:
My FAVORITE popsicle mold. I own several, but my favorite popsicle mold is this one. I love the lid (it has slots for the popsicle sticks and holds them in place while your popsicles freeze). It’s been going strong for several years and is the one I recommend most.
How to get the perfect swirl. I’ve tried a lot of things but I’ve found that I get the best swirl by adding the smoothies by the spoonful. It takes a bit longer, but you get that beautiful swirling and marbling. I put a few spoonfuls of one flavor in, then a few spoonfuls of another. If, after filling each mold you want more swirling, you can dip a toothpick in and give it a tiny mix. Don’t do too much, or it’ll all just mix together.
Sweetness. I’ve found these are perfectly sweet for my taste, but depending on your fruit and your own preferences, you may want to add a little drizzle of honey. Let your tastebuds be your guide!
Fresh vs. Frozen. You can make these with fresh or frozen fruit (or a combination). Your proportions will be the same. The only thing that’ll change is that you may need slightly more liquid to blend frozen fruit than fresh.
How to I store them? After they’re totally frozen solid, I typically remove them from the mold and put them into a zip-top freezer bag. It works like a charm! Popsicles will keep 2-3 weeks.
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- 1½ cups pineapple
- 1 cup mangos
- ½ cup - ¾ cup coconut milk (I use canned)
- 2 cups strawberries
- 3-4 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 Tbsp honey (optional)
- Place ingredients in a blender and puree until completely smooth. Add additional coconut milk as needed.
- Place ingredients in a blender and puree until completely smooth.
- Alternate scoops of pineapple and strawberry smoothies into popsicle molds. Insert popsicle molds and freeze until completely solid.
- Tip: If you use paper cups, freeze the popsicles about 30 minutes, then insert the popsicle sticks. The sticks will shift less this way.
Good Heavens. This may be the most beautiful popsicle I’ve ever seen!
These look amazing! They’re definitely going on the summers “to eat” list!
Can you use the canned coconut milk for this or does it matter?
Rene – That’s what I use! Canned coconut is preferred! I’ll put that in with my notes. Best of luck!
These look delicious, I’m going to give them a try this afternoon! Your pictures look beautiful, too 🙂
We’re on a huge popsicle kick this summer and these will fit in perfectly!
Where did you find your popsicle molds?
Maria – I put a link in the post to the popsicle mold I ordered. It’s from Amazon. I’ve seen similar ones on Zulily or at World Market. I love it!
Do you have a suggestion for an alternate to coconut milk? Have some relatives allergic to coconut.
Amanda – The coconut is pretty important for the flavor, but if you are working with a coconut allergy, I’d suggest dairy milk.
Hello, can I use boxed coconut milk or does it have to be canned? I have both either way, just curious. Thank you!
Boxed will work, but it will be slightly less creamy than canned. Great question!
These look amazing! Curious, how long do these need to freeze for before they are ready to eat?
Bethany – Great question! It’ll depend on what popsicle mold you use, but for the one pictured, about 2 1/2-3 hours is perfect.
I’m allergic to mangoes, oranges, (as well as lemons, lines, grapefruit). Any suggestions for substitutes in the recipe?
Michelle – It sounds like this might not be the right recipe for you since the substitutions would change the flavor fairly significantly, but if I were to make some suggestions, here’s what I’d do: you could leave out the orange juice in the strawberry layer, and substitute banana in place of the mango. I do hope that helps! I know allergies make things so hard sometimes!