Orange Crush Sherbet

Three ingredients and zero cooking. This sherbet is one of those recipes that sounds too simple to be good, but the combination of Orange Crush soda, sweetened condensed milk, and crushed pineapple creates a frozen treat that’s creamy, tangy, and intensely fruity.

The sweetened condensed milk is what gives this sherbet its smooth, scoopable texture. It’s loaded with sugar and milk fat, which lowers the freezing point and prevents the icy crystals that plague homemade frozen desserts. The orange soda brings the flavor and the fizz, and while the carbonation mostly disappears during the overnight chill, it leaves behind a lightness you won’t get from flat orange juice.

Crushed pineapple adds tropical sweetness and tiny bits of fruit throughout. Chill the mixture overnight, churn in an ice cream maker, and you’re done.

Kitchen Tips

• Use full-sugar Orange Crush, not diet. The sugar is doing structural work here, keeping the sherbet from freezing into a solid block.
• Chill the mixture overnight before churning. This gives the flavors time to meld and ensures the base is cold enough for the ice cream maker to work efficiently.
• Drain the crushed pineapple lightly but not completely. A bit of juice adds flavor, but too much liquid makes the sherbet icy.
• If the sherbet is too hard after freezing, let it sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping.

Variations

• Grape sherbet: Swap the Orange Crush for grape soda and skip the pineapple for a grape-forward version kids go crazy for.
• Creamsicle version: Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mix for a creamsicle flavor that tastes like the ice cream truck showed up.