The 5-Minute Blender Drink That Tastes Like Summer Vacation
A blend of lemonade, frozen mango and ice that comes together faster than you can pick a playlist.
Dowell Cooks4 min readPrint this post
Four ingredients, one blender, zero reasons to overthink it.
Hey, it's officially too hot to cook, so we're not going to. This frozen mango lemonade is the kind of thing I make when Tampa decides it's going to be 95 degrees by 10am. You dump everything in a blender, hit go, and you're sipping something that tastes like a beach vacation before your coffee even finishes.
One topping does more work here than you'd think.
LemonWhipped Cream
Score 83Shared aroma compounds and complementary structure.
LemonIce
Score 72Shared aroma compounds and complementary structure.
LemonMango
Score 72Shared aroma compounds and complementary structure.
That swirl of whipped cream on top isn't just for looks. Lemonade on its own is sharp and a little one-note, and the cream gives it something to lean on. It softens the pucker and adds the richness the drink is missing otherwise. If you're serving this alongside food, put it next to something salty and simple, like chips and guac or a plate of crackers and cheese, since the drink itself is all fruit and won't bring any savory notes to the table.
Grab whatever bottled lemonade you already like, this isn't a recipe that needs fresh-squeezed anything. For the mango, look for a bag where the pieces are separate and not frozen into one big clump, that usually means it was frozen fast and stayed sweeter. A bottle of lemonade and a bag of frozen mango together run you well under three dollars a serving, so don't feel like you need the fancy stuff.
Swap the mango for guava or lychee when you want a change of pace, they blend the same way and keep that same tropical sweetness going. Not into lemonade? Lime works too if you want something a little less sweet and a little more of a margarita-without-the-tequila vibe.
Substitutions that still taste like the recipe.
Already covered guava and lime as swaps, here's the fuller list if you want more options.
- lime
Shares terpene compounds with lemon
- grapefruit↓ sour
Shares terpene compounds with lemon — less sour
- lemons
Shares terpene compounds with lemon
- guava
Shares fruity ester compounds with mango
- lychee
Shares terpene compounds with mango
- papaya
Shares fruity ester compounds with mango
- half and half
Shares lactone compounds with whipped cream
- whole milk↓ fatty
Shares lactone compounds with whipped cream — less fatty
- vanilla ice cream↑ sweet
Shares lactone compounds with whipped cream — more sweet
Common questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Do I need a fancy blender for this?
Is this drink very sweet?
Can I leave out the whipped cream?
That's really the whole recipe: dump it, blend it, drink it while it's still cold. Make it for yourself on a random Tuesday, make it for company, it doesn't matter, it comes together in the time it takes to find a clean glass. Browse all recipes and find your next five-minute win.
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