Mango Sorbet

This mango sorbet is made with fresh or frozen mango, sugar, honey, and a tiny pinch of cayenne. It's a delicious, dairy-free summertime treat!

It's MANGO season!

And I know I say this about a lot of things, but mango season is one of the best seasons.

If you've been following along on my Instagram stories, you know that last week a friend gave me an incredible amount of mangoes.

Really, so many mangoes.

After just one look at the mangoes, I knew what had to happen.

Mango sorbet. And then also mango frozen yogurt, mango popsicles, and mango habanero salsa.

But first, the sorbet.

You see, I've been buying premade mango sorbet from Trader Joe's lately, and it's my favorite.

Right away, I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks for ideas.

This recipe is adapted from a pineapple sorbet recipe in the book Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. If you love Jeni's ice cream, check out my other Jeni's-inspired desserts: strawberry cheesecake ice cream, chocolate mint ice cream, watermelon sorbet, and beer ice cream.

Should I Use Frozen or Fresh Mango for Sorbet?

Either.

If you're using frozen mango, you'll need to let it partially thaw before blending it.

You'll be blending the mango without adding liquid, and if you keep it frozen, your blender will struggle (or likely, just refuse) to blend.

How to Cut a Mango

If you bought fresh mango, you should know that mango is a type of stone fruit. And that means there's a stone in the center.

Unlike peaches, apricots, and avocados, the stone inside a mango is not round. Instead, it's long and narrow.

Mango peel is thick and bitter. Don't eat it.

Here's how I cut a mango.

First, I cut around the mango stone.

Place the mango on its back, so that the narrow part of the mango is parallel with your knife. Place your knife just right of center, and cut straight down.

Repeat on the other side (just left of center).

Use a soup spoon to scoop the mango out of the two halves.

Finally, cut the remaining fruit off of the stone, and then cut away the peel.

When I'm cutting several mangoes, I like to use the pit and peels to make fruit vinegar.

Do I Really Need an Ice Cream Maker for Mango Sorbet?

This is a traditionally prepared sorbet recipe, and yes, it does require an ice cream maker.

I use this Cuisinart ice cream maker with a freezer bowl.

If you don't have an ice cream machine, I recommend making this berry granita instead.

Can I Use Less Sugar?

No.

Sorbet is primarily made from just two ingredients: fruit and sugar.

The sugar doesn't simply make sorbet sweeter, it also lowers the freezing point of the fruit and makes it creamy and scoopable.

Without the sugar, you'll end up with a block of frozen fruit purée.

How to Make Mango Sorbet

Start by blending the mango into a purée.

Next, make a simple syrup.

For the syrup, use sugar, honey, cayenne, and just a tiny bit of water.

The honey makes the sorbet more scoopable.

The cayenne adds just a little kick of spice that you'll notice as the sorbet slides down your throat. If you prefer, you can skip the cayenne.

Add the syrup ingredients to a small pot, and heat until the sugar melts.

Remove it from the heat, and pour it into the blender with the mango.

Blend again.

Chill the mango mixture until it's cold to the touch, and then pour it into your ice cream machine.

Churn the sorbet until it looks like soft whipped cream.

Scoop the sorbet out of the ice cream maker and into a container to freeze.

I recommend buying a few homemade ice cream containers if you're making sorbet or ice cream regularly.

Once the sorbet freezes, scoop into bowls and enjoy this delicious taste of summer!