Creamy and delicious butterscotch shake. Enjoy this tasty drink in the comfort of your home without the need of going out to buy it.
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Cool down this summer with this delicious butterscotch shake. It’s cooling, velvety, rich, and creamy.
It’s refreshing and ready in only a few minutes.
The rich and dark sauce along with the creaminess of milk and ice cream make for a great combination.
This is a perfect sweet treat to enjoy on its own or with breakfast, lunch or dinner.
This recipe uses homemade butterscotch sauce (recipe included) but you can also use a storebought butterscotch sauce if you want.
Looking for more cooling drinks you can make this summer? Why not try one of our favorites like tiger milk tea, Nutella milkshake, mango milkshake, or even oolong milk tea.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- A delicious sweet treat that is perfect all year round.
- This creamy butterscotch shake is quick and easy to make.
- Top this butterscotch shake with your favorites, like whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or drizzle butterscotch sauce on top!
- Make your own butterscotch sauce or use a storebought one.
- This butterscotch milkshake recipe tastes just as great as one you can buy.
Ingredients
Please note that below is a guide for some of the ingredients we used in the recipe. The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.
For the Butterscotch Sauce
- Unsalted butter
- Dark brown sugar
- Heavy cream
- Sea salt: Or you could use rock salt or kosher salt
- Vanilla extract
For the Milkshake
- Milk
- Butterscotch sauce (recipe included)
- Vanilla ice cream: Or you could use a different flavored ice cream like chocolate, banana, or strawberry.
Instructions
This recipe for butterscotch milkshake serves 1. It makes about 420 ml of milkshake.
The ingredient quantities can easily be multiplied to suit how many serves you need to make.
Making the butterscotch sauce
Step One: Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan. Stir so that the butter doesn’t burn.
Step Two: Add the brown sugar to the melted butter and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to bring the mixture to a simmer.
Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step Three: Next, add the heavy cream and salt. When you add the heavy cream, add it slowly and carefully to the saucepan.
The sugar and butter mixture will be very hot and can burn you if it splashes. Turn the heat on low when adding the cream. Then once added, increase the heat again. Stir to combine.
Step Four: Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and then add the vanilla extract. Allow to cool and set aside. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
Putting it all together (making the butterscotch shake)
Step One: Place milk, 2 tablespoons cooled butterscotch sauce, and vanilla ice cream in a blender.
Step Two: Blend until ingredients are smooth and well combined.
Step Three: Pour into a glass and serve as is or with whipped cream and extra butterscotch sauce on top.
Tips for Success
If you use ice cubes to make this drink cooler, you may need to adjust the taste of the drink as the ice may water it down.
Cost To Make
Estimated cost = $2.10 (does not include toppings)
Substitutions / Variations
If you don’t want to use ice cream or want to make a healthier butterscotch shake, you could use frozen yogurt or sliced banana instead.
Or, if you are using ice cream, you could experiment with flavors.
Use chocolate ice cream for a chocolate butterscotch shake, banana ice cream for a banana butterscotch shake, or even strawberry ice cream for a strawberry butterscotch shake.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this butterscotch milkshake as is or you can top it with:
- Whipped cream,
- A scoop of ice cream
- Extra butterscotch sauce or even chocolate sauce
- Sprinkles
Storage
This butterscotch shake is best consumed on the day it is made. If you have any leftovers, you could freeze it in popsicle moulds to enjoy later as a frozen treat.
FAQ
While these two sauces may be similar in taste, they differ slightly.
Both butterscotch sauce and caramel sauce are made with sugar.
Caramel sauce is made with white granulated sugar, while butterscotch sauce is made with brown sugar.
Also, butterscotch sauce can sometimes contain cream.
If you don’t want to make butterscotch sauce for this recipe and can’t find any butterscotch sauce in the store, you could use caramel sauce instead (but the taste will differ slightly).
If you want to make your milkshake thicker, you could add more ice cream, or frozen fruit like frozen banana.
Yes, you can make this into a dairy free butterscotch milkshake. Substitute the milk for your favorite plant based milk. We recommend using oat milk or almond milk.
If you are able to get a dairy free or plant based ice cream you could use that instead of a dairy ice cream. If you can’t find one, you could use frozen banana to thicken your shake and add flavor.
If you are making your own butterscotch sauce, you could omit the heavy cream or use a dairy free or vegan alternative.
Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below! We'd love to hear how it turned out.
Recipe
Butterscotch Shake
Ingredients
Butterscotch Sauce
- ¼ cup (55 grams, 1.94 ounces) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (packed) (50 grams, 1.75 ounces) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (110 grams, 3.88 ounces) heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt or rock salt or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Shake
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butterscotch sauce (recipe included) or to taste (see note 1)
- 160 grams (5.64 ounces) vanilla ice cream
- Toppings optional
- Whipped cream
- Butterscotch sauce to drizzle.
Instructions
Making the butterscotch sauce
- Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan. (see note 2).
- Add the brown sugar to the melted butter and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Next, add the heavy cream and salt. (see note 3). Stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and then add the vanilla extract. Allow to cool and set aside. (see note 4).
Putting it all together (making the butterscotch shake)
- Place milk, 2 tablespoons cooled butterscotch sauce, and vanilla ice cream in a blender.
- Blend until ingredients are smooth and well combined.
- Pour into a glass and serve as is or with whipped cream and extra butterscotch sauce on top.
Notes
- You could also use store bought butterscotch sauce if you want.
- Stir so that the butter doesn’t burn.
- When you add the heavy cream, add it slowly and carefully to the saucepan. The sugar and butter mixture will be very hot and can burn you if it splashes. Turn the heat on low when adding the cream. Then once added, increase the heat again.
- The sauce will thicken as it cools.
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