These Red White and Blue Popsicles an are all-natural take on Firecracker and Bomb Pops that are flavored with fresh fruit! They’re perfect for any hot summer day and a great easy dessert for a 4th of July party.
I loved the experience of eating Bomb Pops from the ice cream truck growing up, so this year for Wit + Vinegar’s Popsicle Week, I thought it might be fun to share an all-natural red, white, and blue popsicle recipe. It’s a great Independence Day recipe, kinds like this this star-shaped tart cake or this super easy 4th of July candy bark.
But, let’s get back to popsicles. Truth be told, I don’t really remember what those Bomb Pops tasted like — was it mostly water? I feel like it was mostly water — but I enjoyed trying to split the different sections apart as I ate them. (The popsicles are reportedly cherry, lime, and blue raspberry-flavored.)
How to Make Red, White, and Blue Popsicles
This summer recipe is really easy, but it does require a few steps and some waiting in between each one. Here’s how to make them so they look like the photos.
1. Red Layer
Blend fresh cherries in your food processor with 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. The honey imparts a more nuanced sweetness whereas the sugar makes the mixture actually taste like a dessert. Pour this into your popsicle molds, add the popsicle sticks, and freeze for 30 minutes. Check on your popsicles and adjust the sticks if they’re not standing straight up.
2. White Layer
Stir together a cup of whole milk yogurt with four teaspoons of honey, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Cut a vanilla bean in half and scrape in the seeds. Add this layer on top of the frozen red layer. Let this freeze until firm. This will take about 30 minutes. While it’s freezing, start on the blue layer.
3. Blue Layer
For the final layer, combine two cups of fresh blueberries with a tablespoon of sugar, a quarter cup of water, and half a teaspoon vanilla extract. Cook on medium heat, stirring often for five minutes. You’ll know when the mixture is done, because most of the blueberries should have burst and the mixture should be liquidy
Let this cool for a few moments, then transfer it to a food processor and blend for 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into a bowl and set it aside until it’s cooled completely. Pour it on top of the white layer when that layer has frozen.
Once you’ve created all three layers and they’ve frozen, you can enjoy your pops! To remove them, run the outside of the mold under warm water just until they begin to loosen when you pull on the stick.
Want them to look just like the picture? This is the popsicle mold I used for this recipe.
More 4th of July Popsicle Flavor Ideas
I realize that these aren’t the same vibrant red and blue that you’ll get with red food coloring and blue food coloring. They’re more of a rose, white, and purple. But, if you show up on Independence Day and tell people they’re red, white, and blue popsicles it’s unlikely anyone will point that out. After all, you brought dessert. And they brought what, more chips? Exactly.
That said, if you do want your red layer to be a little more vibrant, you could try using strawberries. I recommend against pomegranate juice because it’s so tart it might curdle the yogurt, but if you want to take a chance on it and let us know how it goes, go for it! Any blue fruit will turn purple when you cook it, so that is what it is.
A few more flavor variations you could try for each layer:
- Red: Strawberries, cherries, raspberries, watermelon, pitaya (dragon fruit), or beets if you want to be that person
- White: Coconut milk, almond milk, heavy cream
- Blue: Blueberries, blackberries, mulberries
Red, White, and Blue Popsicles
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Blueberry Layer
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup water
Cherry Layer
- 2 cups cherries
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. heavy cream (optional)
Yogurt Layer
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 tsp. honey
- ½ vanilla bean (seeds only)
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Red Layer
- Place cherries, honey, sugar, and heavy cream in food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour cherry mixture into popsicle molds. Place in freezer and add popsicle sticks. Let freeze for 30 minutes. Adjust sticks if necessary.
White Layer
- Use a spoon to combine Greek yogurt, honey, vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.
- Spoon mixture onto top of frozen red layer. Freeze for 30 minutes or until solid. Begin the blue layer while it freezes.
Blue Layer
- Place blueberries, sugar, vanilla extract, and water in small saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring continually until most of the berries burst. Set aside until cool.
- Pour mixture on top of white layer. Freeze until the popsicles are completely solid.
Notes
- Red: Strawberries, cherries, raspberries, watermelon, or pitaya (dragon fruit)
- White: Coconut milk, almond milk, heavy cream
- Blue: Blueberries, blackberries, mulberries
- After 30 minutes, adjust the sticks if you see they are not standing straight up.
- For cleaner divisions between the layers, wipe the inside of your popsicle molds clean after you add a layer. Or, pipe in the layer using a bag fitted with a round tip.
- To remove the pops from the mold, run the outside of the mold under warm water just until they begin to loosen when you pull on the stick.
My background is in publishing (I've worked at Parade, Men's Journal, Us Weekly, Stuff, Blender, Beachbody, and more), mostly with a focus in health, fitness, and entertainment. I've also run my own baking company and competed on Cupcake Wars, so hit me up with your baking questions!
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Cherry and blueberry is not a combo you see often – love it! And I love the idea of beet popsicles if you want them all for yourself. 🙂
Thank you! I take it you’re not one of the people who hates beets! 🙂
Love the combo of Cherry and Blueberry! Great snack for the hot summer!!!
These popsicles look so refreshing and delicious! The perfect summer treat! I love that flavors combination!
Fresh & tasty are my favorite things! Thank you for sharing this summer treat!
Homemade fruity popsicles are my favorite and these look especially yummy!
This is an amazing flavor combination, cherries and blueberries and I know we will love the popsicles !