A rich, thick, and creamy Malted Milkshake makes for the most delicious dessert and it couldn’t be much easier to make! Toss a few ingredients into a blender, let it whirl, and enjoy a malt good enough to rival even the best old-fashioned diner!
Malted Milkshake
Milkshakes are delicious, but in my opinion, nothing compares to a good thick and creamy malt! And this malted milkshake recipe is our absolute favorite!
Many people think malts and milkshakes are the same, but they’re not. While they have a lot in common, there are some important differences.
Quick Tip
So, is a malt better than a shake? It really depends on your taste. If you enjoy Ovaltine, Whoppers, or those robin eggs that are popular at Easter, you probably like malt powder. This means you might prefer malts! If you just love milkshakes, you might like regular milkshakes more. (You could start with a Strawberry Milkshake to see what you think.)
What Is A Malt?
A malt or malted milkshake is a milkshake that has malted milk powder mixed in. This malt powder makes the milkshake taste richer and toastier, and also makes it thicker.
Malted Milkshake Ingredients
- Vanilla bean ice cream: The ice cream forms the base of this malt, so it’s important to get good-quality ice cream — you’ll taste it in the malt. Our favorite to use is Tillamook’s® Vanilla Bean (not sponsored).
- Whole milk: You can use 2% milk, whole milk, or half-and-half. The more fat in the milk, the creamier, thicker, and richer the malt will taste.
- Vanilla extract: Adding vanilla is optional, but it gives the malt a rich flavor like what you get in restaurants.
- Salt: Just a tiny pinch of salt brings all the flavors together and balances the sweetness of the malted milkshakes. Salt isn’t only for savory dishes!
- Chocolate syrup: To make the chocolate flavor even stronger, we like to add a bit of chocolate syrup. Torani® and Ghiradelli® are our favorites, but Hershey®’s works great too! (Not sponsored).
- Malted milk powder. This ingredient is talked about in the next section.
What Is Malted Milk Powder?
Malted milk powder is a dried powder made from malt barley, wheat flour, and whole milk. The word “malt” means barley grain that has been sprouted and dried quickly. After drying, the grain is ground into a powder. This powder also has other things added like flavorings, chocolate, sugar, salt, and more.
Flavor-wise, it’s nicely sweet with a hint of savory nuttiness. It’s the perfect thing to add to a milkshake!
Malt powders are easy to find in most grocery stores. Usually, you can find them in the baking aisle with the flours and powdered milk or in the dry beverage mix section near the hot chocolate mixes. You can also buy them online. The best malt powder for milkshakes that we’ve tried is by Carnation®.
Quick Tip
We use chocolate milk powder for this particular malted milkshake, but there are also vanilla milk powders if you’d prefer a different flavor.
Malted Milkshake Tips
- Before you make the malt, put the glass you’ll use in the freezer. This makes sure your malt stays extra cold and doesn’t melt too quickly.
- A malt is usually very thick. To keep it that way, use the exact amounts listed in the recipe and make sure all your ingredients are very cold, like chocolate sauce from the fridge, ice cream straight from the freezer, and milk right out of the fridge.
- Using a powerful blender helps mix the ingredients well while keeping them thick. Blending too much with a weaker blender will make the mixture thin and won’t give you the best consistency for a malted milkshake.
Malt Variations
This basic Malted Milkshake recipe is a great base to create any kind of malt you can think of. We’ve given a few ideas below, but we’d love to see what you make! Please share your creations in the comments!
- Vanilla: Replace the chocolate malt powder with vanilla malted powder. Leave out the chocolate sauce or replace it with caramel sauce for a vanilla-caramel malt. By using vanilla malt powder, the flavor possibilities are fairly endless — add in the vanilla malt powder and other mix-ins (fruit, candy, etc.) for the flavor you’re going after.
- Make without a blender: If you don’t happen to have a blender, you can make a malted milkshake by hand. Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to stir until ingredients are incorporated. Pour the mixture into a glass and enjoy!
- Use chocolate ice cream: For a double-chocolate flavor, use a good-quality chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.
- Thin it out: Malts are supposed to be thick and spoonable, but if you’d like it thinner, add a touch more milk or blend for longer.
- Add some mix-ins: Garnish your malt with a big swirl of whipped cream, a drizzle more of chocolate sauce, and a handful of small candies like miniature chocolate chips, chopped peanut butter cups, or crushed chocolate cookies. Or top with a handful of malted milk balls like Whoppers®!
- Garnish the glass: For a fancy, diner feel, grab a tall milkshake glass and drizzle chocolate or caramel sauce inside around the base of the glass before filling it up with the Malted Milkshake.
Quick Tip
Malted Milkshakes are best enjoyed right after being made! If the quantity won’t be consumed shortly after being made, we’d recommend cutting the recipe in half or thirds — it scales down (or up) very nicely!
More Ice Cream Treats
- Ice Cream Sandwich Cake with only four ingredients
- Oreo Ice Cream Cake with an Oreo cookie crust
- Mint Ice Cream Bars with a brownie base
- Ice Cream Pie with a graham cracker crust
- Spumoni Ice Cream Bars cherry, chocolate, and pistachio!
Malted Milkshake
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons whole milk
- 3/4 cup malted milk powder (Note 2)
- Tiny pinch fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- 5 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- 1 container (1.5 quart) good-quality vanilla ice cream (Note 3)
- Optional: whipped cream
Instructions
- PREP: Chill glasses (See Note 4).
- BLEND: In a high-powered blender, combine the milk, malted milk powder, salt, vanilla, and chocolate syrup. Blend until smooth. Next, add in the ice cream and blend until just incorporated. Don't over blend, as that will thin out the malt.
- SERVE: Pour the malt into a cold glass and if desired, top with whipped cream and any other toppings of your choice.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was looking for a chocolate malted milkshake recipe after buying some malted milk from king arthur flour for their pancakes. I never liked whoppers but wanted to see if Id like the milkshakes and they were delicious! A hit with the whole family, thanks for the recipe!
Yay! So thrilled to hear this! Thanks Ashley! 🙂
Certainly the best chocolate malt milk shake that I have ever had. Mixing the milk, malt and chocolate ahead was new to me and a good plan. Thanks for the recipe and the milk malt powder recommendation!
I am SO thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Matt! 🙂