How to make delicious homemade root beer floats – a classic summertime favorite! Our old fashioned root beer float recipe includes homemade ice cream and homemade root beer using our Sodastream machine. We’re also making ice cream sundaes with a twist – our signature root beer float sundae bowls!
*This post is sponsored by Bed Bath & Beyond. All opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.
Homemade Root Beer Float Recipe
I am a big sweets person.
I will eat pretty much any sweet out there. Cakes, candy, chocolate, donuts, ice cream, you name it, I like it. Sweets are my weakness!
I’m always jealous of those that say, “I’m not a big sweet person” (my husband)
I wish I wasn’t! But maybe I take that back…
If I wasn’t a big sweets person, I’d be missing out on all the delectable desserts out there. Plus all the sweet memories I have making or eating a sweet treat growing up.
I remember my dad and I sharing a love for mint chocolate ice cream as a kid.
It was a special bond we had – we were the only ones in the house that LOVED mint chocolate ice cream. It was our “special thing”.
Even to this day, if I know my parents are coming to visit I’ll try to have mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer so we can enjoy a bowl together.
Sweet treats are more than their taste, they can create lasting special memories!
Luckily, my kids love sweets just like their mama. One of their favorites is ice cream.
I decided I wanted to try to make homemade ice cream for a fun summertime treat. I’ve always loved root beer floats, and thought my kids would enjoy this classic dessert too.
I thought I would try to make homemade ice cream AND homemade root beer for a yummy summer dessert. I wasn’t sure how it would go or if I was in over my head. Turns out it’s WAY easier than you think!
Scroll down for my step my step instructions for homemade root beer floats. You can find my printable recipe card towards the bottom of the page!
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Old Fashioned Root Beer Float
The first item I needed to find for my homemade ice cream is an ice cream maker. I found an inexpensive ice cream maker at Bed Bath & Beyond that was so easy to use! I also thought it would be fun to make homemade root beer. I wasn’t exactly sure how to do this, but I started researching the Sodastream and realized you can make root beer with this machine – I had no idea!
You can also use your favorite ice cream brand and root beer for this recipe. It was fun though to make it ourselves for the first time as a fun family event.
The kids thought it was so fun making the ice cream and root beer with our own machines. We also added in our own personalized ice cream bowls and utensils, they were pretending we had our own soda shoppe and ice cream shoppe!
How to Make the Best Root Beer Float
To make your homemade root beer with the Sodastream machine, you will need the following:
–SodaStream® Fizzi One-Touch Sparkling Water Maker
-3 1/2 cups filtered water (fill the included Sodastream water bottle up to the marked fill line)
-1-2 Tablespoons SodaStream® Root Beer Drink Mix (measuring cup included with levels of desired sweetness)
Instructions:
- Setup your Sodastream machine per user manual instructions.
- Fill your Sodastream bottle with filtered water to the marked fill line (.89 quart, or about 3 1/2 cups)
- Attach the Sodastream bottle to the Sodastream machine. Press your desired carbonation level and watch the machine make carbonated water!
- Add the Sodastream Root Beer Drink Mix to your carbonated water, close with the lid and gently mix.
To make homemade ice cream with your ice cream maker, you will need the following:
–Cuisinart® Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt Maker (or any other ice cream maker)
-1 1/2 cups whole milk
-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
-Pinch kosher salt
-3 cups heavy cream
-1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Homemade Ice Cream Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours, or overnight.
- Add frozen ingredients to ice cream maker, and follow instructions per your ice cream machine. Our ice cream maker takes about 20-30 minutes to churn the ice cream until it is ready.
Now that you have your homemade ice cream and root beer, you are ready to make your root beer floats!
You can frost your glasses by putting them in the freezer for about 10-20 minutes right before you are ready to make your floats.
Root Beer Float Recipe:
Makes one root beer float or one root beer ice cream bowl
- In a frozen fountain shoppe glass, add in one scoop of ice cream.
- Slowly pour root beer over the ice cream, until the ice cream is covered.
- Add in a second scoop of ice cream, and pour in more root beer to cover ice cream. Repeat these steps to the top of your glass
- For extra gourmet touch, add a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip. Top with a cherry and sprinkles!
- Use a stainless steel spoon-straws for option to drink or eat with a spoon 🙂
Don’t these old fashioned root beer floats just take you back?
They were SO delicious! I couldn’t believe how yummy the homemade ice cream was. Even my husband (the non-sweets person) was talking about how delicious the vanilla ice cream tasted. Mixed in with the root beer with cool whip and cherry on top it was the ultimate sweet treat.
Root Beer Float Ice Cream Bowls
Something fun we decided to do is make the root beer floats in our personalized ice cream bowls!
Our kids love eating ice cream in a bowl, and I thought they might enjoy having the same root beer float with a twist – a root beer float ice cream sundae bowl!
We made the ice cream sundaes pretty much the same, with a little more ice cream and a little less root beer. We also topped them with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and a couple more cherries.
Root Beer Float Ice Cream Bowl Recipe:
- Add 3-4 scoops of ice cream to an ice cream bowl.
- Slowly pour root beer into bowl, covering about halfway up the ice cream scoops.
- Add a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip, cherries, chocolate syrup and sprinkles!
- Use a stainless steel spoon-straws for option to drink or eat with a spoon 🙂
Classic Root Beer Float Recipe
Homemade Root Beer Float
How to make delicious homemade root beer floats - a classic summertime favorite! Our old fashioned root beer float recipe includes homemade ice cream and homemade root beer using our soda stream machine. We're also making ice cream sundaes with a twist - our signature root beer float sundae bowls!
Ingredients
Homemade Ice Cream
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Homemade Root Beer
- 3 1/2 cups filtered water (fill the included Sodastream water bottle up to the marked fill line)
- 1-2 Tablespoons Sodastream Root Beer Drink Mix (measuring cup included with levels of desired sweetness)
Root Beer Float Recipe:
- 1-2 cups ice cream
- 1 cup of root beer
- 1/4 cup whipped cream or cool whip
- cherries
- sprinkles
Instructions
If using store bought ice cream and root beer, you can skip down to the Root Beer Float Recipe
Homemade ice cream
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours, or overnight.
- Add frozen ingredients to ice cream maker, and follow instructions per your ice cream machine. Our ice cream maker takes about 20-30 minutes to churn the ice cream until it is ready
Homemade Root Beer
- Setup your Sodastream machine per user manual instructions.
- Fill your Sodastream bottle with filtered water to the marked fill line (.89 quart, or about 3 1/2 cups)
- Attach the Sodastream bottle to the Sodastream machine. Press your desired carbonation level and watch the machine make carbonated water!
- Add the Sodastream Root Beer Drink Mix to your carbonated water, close with the lid and gently mix.
Root Beer Float Recipe:
Makes one root beer float or one root beer ice cream bowl
- In a frozen fountain shoppe glass, add in one scoop of ice cream.
- Slowly pour root beer over the ice cream, until the ice cream is covered.
- Add in a second scoop of ice cream, and pour in more root beer to cover ice cream. Repeat these steps to the top of your glass
- For extra gourmet touch, add a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip. Top with a cherry and sprinkles!
- Use a stainless steel straw spoon for option to drink or eat with a spoon 🙂
Root Beer Float Ice Cream Bowl Recipe:
- Add 3-4 scoops of ice cream to an ice cream bowl.
- Slowly pour root beer into bowl, covering about halfway up the ice cream scoops.
- Add a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip, cherries, chocolate syrup and sprinkles!
- Use a stainless steel straw spoon for option to drink or eat with a spoon 🙂
I’m excited to try more homemade ice cream recipes and Sodastream recipes as well. Do you have a favorite homemade ice cream you make? Our kids loved the homemade vanilla ice cream, we will definitely be making more over the summer.
Happy sweet-treat making!
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