If you’re a flavored milk lover, you’re bound to love this homemade cherry milk that’s only 3 ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to make. It’s sweet, creamy, and has little added sugar, so it’s a perfect healthy treat. Plus, cherries and milk are a great health combo, with anti-inflammatory, sleep-promoting, and calcium-rich benefits. Here’s how to make this easy cherry milk at home!

Benefits of Cherry Milk

If you’ve ever heard of moon milk, a warm, soothing, caffeine-free milk known for promoting sleep, this cherry milk has similar benefits!

Cherries are packed with polyphenols and vitamin C, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. According to one study review, consumption of cherries decreased oxidative stress markers and inflammation in more than half the studies they looked at.

On the other hand, milk has 18 of 22 essential nutrients humans need, such as casein, whey protein, and calcium. Another study found that milk intake is associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. So, when you put the two together, you have a seriously beneficial drink that can help you increase intake of all these nutrients, compounds, and more.

Different Ways to Make Cherry Milk

While this recipe focuses on a blended method, there are several other great ways you can make cherry milk at home. I’ve detailed and compared the methods below:

• Macerated cherries: A popular, non-blender way to make cherry milk is by macerating cherries to make a stove-free cherry syrup. This syrup is basically cherry juice and sugar, so you get a super concentrated cherry flavor without any extra water. It also has cherry chunks, so it adds a great texture to any fresh milk. It’s a popular method in Asia, specifically Korea, where they use traditional macerated fruit syrup (called cheong) for delicious fruit milks!
• Cherry syrup: Similarly, many cafes also use premade cherry syrup, either store-bought or homemade. While store-bought cherry syrup is usually artificially flavored and sweetened, some homemade versions are naturally flavored. While these are convenient, cooking the cherries gives them a jammy flavor rather than a fresh.
• Blended: This is my personal favorite method for any fruit-flavored milk, as you get the pure fruit flavor without needing extra sugar. The only con is that the texture comes out slightly thicker from the fruit pulp, which you can easily solve by pouring the mixture through a sieve.

Cherry Milk Ingredients

• 1 cup of pitted red fresh cherries — You could also use frozen cherries, but they’re best thawed before use to draw out all the juices and for a less icy texture. Canned cherries also work, but look for one that’s unsweetened or less sweet, as canned fruit tends to be extremely sugary.
• 1 cup milk — I love using dairy milk, so 2% or whole milk works best! You can swap it out for your favorite plant-based milk, like oat or soy, for a vegan alternative.
• 1 tbsp condensed milk — The secret ingredient to all my fruit milks! I love how condensed milk adds a creamy flavor without adding extra milk. This is what all Taiwanese street vendors do to sweeten their fruit milks! So I learn from the greats.
• 1 cup of ice

How to Make Cherry Milk

1. Prepare Cherries. Wash and pit your cherries using a cherry pitter or the chopstick and bottle method. For the latter, position a cherry on the top of an empty wine bottle or glass bottle with a small opening. Take a chopstick and ram it through the middle, effectively ejecting the cherry pit into the bottle. Ensure you did not miss any pits, as blending and ingesting large amounts can be toxic.
2. Blend. Add pitted cherries, milk, and condensed milk into a blender and blend until smooth with no large chunks.
3. Strain. Pour the cherry milk into a glass filled with ice through a fine mesh sieve to strain out any cherry pulp and skin.
4. Serve and enjoy! Serve with a straw and enjoy right away!

Tips for the Best Cherry Milk

• Use a Cherry Pitter: Half this recipe time is just pitting the dang cherries, so to make it faster, use a cherry pitter tool. A cheap one will be less than $10 and be much faster than using a chopstick and bottle. Better yet, use already pitted cherries!
• Chill Cherries: Fridge your cherries until they’re cold to the touch so that they keep your milk and drink cold! Nothing is more refreshing than a cold glass of milk, not lukewarm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cherry milk a thing?

Yes! While it’s not as popular as banana milk or strawberry milk, it’s definitely real. I’ve seen some brands sell it, like Kroger and Serge. And if you grew up hearing you can’t mix cherries and milk because it’ll make you sick, I hate to tell you, but that’s an urban myth. Cherry milk is so delicious and sweet! And it defintiely will not make you sick.

Can you mix cherries and milk?

Yep, if you’ve ever had a cherry milkshake or any other ice cream flavor with cherries, that’s proof that you can mix dairy and cherries. While I do not advice blending whole cherries (pit and all) with milk, you can 100% use pitted cherries.

What is pink moon milk?

Moon milk is a caffeine-free, cozy milk with spices that some people drink before bed for a calming effect. Pink moon milk is just regular moon milk with tart cherry juice, since the latter has natural melatonin, which is great for promoting sleep!

Elevate Your Home Cafe

Now that you’ve entered the flavored milk game, you’re on your way to making more delicious at-home beverages that will upgrade your home cafe menu. After making this cherry milk, you can use it for matcha or coffee lattes!

You can also try different fruits to make creamy watermelon milk, blueberry milk, or even cantaloupe milk! My personal favorite is the first one, because it’s so creamy but not heavy. And of course, for a classic flavor, you can always make a fresh strawberry milk that anyone will enjoy.

If you make any of my recipes, please share them on social media with me (@ispillice everywhere)! I can’t wait to see what you make next!