A thick butterscotch ice cream milkshake recipe made with homemade butterscotch sauce blended in and drizzled on top! This recipe makes two butterscotch milkshakes, but you might want to keep it all to yourself!
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For more ice cream treats, check out my No Churn Oreo Ice Cream Recipe, my Peanut Buster Parfait Ice Cream Pie, or my Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream!
Butterscotch Milkshake Recipe
My biggest guilty pleasure, despite all the cakes and cookies I make, is definitely ice cream. I've made a few no-churn ice cream recipes and a really yummy ice cream pie, but sometimes a classic carton from the freezer section of the supermarket is all you need.
In fact, the only thing that can make classic vanilla ice cream better are some perfect toppings -- and that's what we have here today with this butterscotch milkshake! Butterscotch and vanilla go hand in hand, so it just makes sense to amp up a classic vanilla milkshake with homemade butterscotch syrup!
Jump to:
What is the best milkshake flavor?
I firmly believe that the best milkshake is the one in your hand at any given moment. So for me, this butterscotch milkshake is WAY up there! You may disagree, but before you decide, take a few sips of this super easy frozen treat and get back to me!
What is butterscotch sauce made of?
If you're not familiar with butterscotch sauce, you may not know that it's like caramel, but made with brown sugar. It provides a deeper, richer flavor with a touch of vanilla and sea salt. I also find that it's a little easier to make -- there isn't as much of concern with getting the sugar cooked just right the way there is with homemade caramel -- for that reason, the homemade sauce for this butterscotch milkshake comes together so easily!
How to Make - Butterscotch Milkshake Ingredients
- unsalted butter - puts the "butter" in butterscotch milkshake! Although I often use salted butter in baking, here we'll use unsalted so that we can more carefully add salt in later.
- dark brown sugar - the extra molasses in dark brown sugar adds even more rich flavor and color to our butterscotch sauce.
- heavy cream - so important to provide the body of our sauce, heavy cream makes it velvety and smooth.
- vanilla extract - the perfect flavor to complement the brown sugar in this sauce. I recommend using a high-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- sea salt - complements these flavors so well and offsets a little of the sweetness.
- vanilla ice cream - Your favorite vanilla, vanilla bean, or French vanilla ice cream will do well in this butterscotch milkshake. Or switch it up and try chocolate, chocolate chip, or coffee ice cream!
- milk - I used whole milk so that my milkshake would be extra-creamy, but you can always lighten it up a bit with skim or low-fat milk. I haven't tried this milkshake with nondairy milk, but let me know if you do! I'd love to know how it is!
- whipped Cream - this is optional, but definitely recommended. A nice high mound of whipped cream will take your butterscotch milkshake to the next level!
Equipment
This butterscotch milkshake is a quick and easy recipe, and what makes it even easier for me is to use an immersion blender. Also called a stick blender or a hand blender, it allows you to blend up this milkshake without putting it all into a traditional blender. It's just a bit quicker, but you can definitely use any blender you have as well! Here are a few other tools you'll need:
Tips and F.A.Q.
It's pretty simple -- whereas caramel is made with granulated white sugar, butterscotch is made with brown sugar, often dark brown sugar. So it has a deeper flavor and richer color than caramel, and it usually includes cream and vanilla to round out the flavors and textures.
The "butter" part of the name comes from, well, butter. On the other hand, the origins of the second part of the name are a bit unclear. Some say it comes from the candy's origins in Scotland, and others say it comes from the word "scorch," referring to the cooked brown sugar.
I love the idea of adding crumbled praline candy, butterscotch chips, or crushed salted peanuts. But I'm sure that any topping you can think of will be delicious!
And if you're a big butterscotch lover, you've got to try my Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies!
More Ice Cream Recipes You'll Love
- No-Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
- No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
- Strawberry Banana Sorbet
- Peanut Buster Parfait Ice Cream Pie
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon (56 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (110 g) dark brown sugar - packed
- ½ cup (119 g) heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon (4 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (2 ml) sea salt
- 8 scoops vanilla ice cream - about 3 cups
- ⅓ cup (81 g) milk
- whipped Cream - for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Add butter, brown sugar, and cream to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.4 tablespoon unsalted butter, ½ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup heavy cream
- Bring to a low boil and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Set aside to cool -- sauce will thicken as it cools.¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- To make the milkshakes, add milk, ice cream, and ½ cup of cooled butterscotch sauce to a blender. Blend just until smooth and immediately pour into two glasses to serve. If desired, top with whipped cream, more butterscotch sauce, and more sea salt.8 scoops vanilla ice cream, ⅓ cup milk, whipped Cream
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Notes
Nutrition
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Last Updated on March 13, 2025 by Chenée Lewis
Rubye Dorman says
I was looking for a milkshake recipe for my kids and saw your recipe. I made it and it was delicious. My kids loved it and so did I. Want more recipes like this form you.
Chenée Lewis says
Glad you liked it!
Jenny Grave says
I tried this butterscotch milkshake, and I just had to come back to comment. It is heavenly. My husband has even requested it for his birthday!
This one goes into our all-time favorites recipe collection. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much! It's definitely a favorite over here too!
Jacqueline Debono says
You had me at butterscotch, I love it! Great idea to add it to a vanilla milkshake. On my to make list!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! Butterscotch sauce is one of my favorites!
Luke Ratford says
We love butterscotch and this milkshake was the best milkshake I've tried in a long time 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you for trying it! Glad you enjoyed!
Alex says
I made this for my dad and it brought back childhood memories for him. Thank you! I'll definitely make them again soon.
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad it was a hit! Thanks!
Erin says
We made these last night and they were SO good! Thanks for the recipe!
Chenée Lewis says
So glad you liked them!
Priya Maha says
I totally love this butterscotch milkshake have already made it 5 times. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you!! I'm so glad you like it!
Tammy says
This is such an indulgent treat! Oh my gosh I want one right now...a perfect way to kick off the weekend!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! It's so easy and such a great treat to celebrate the weekend!
Lauren Michael Harris says
This butterscotch milkshake looks AMAZING! I'm adding this to the weekend line up as dessert after we grill some burgers for a fun old school diner style meal!
Chenée Lewis says
Such a great idea for a weekend meal!
Adriana says
What a scrumptious milkshake cannot wait to make it at home buying all ingredients tomorrow
Chenée Lewis says
Yay! I hope you love it!
Leslie says
Butterscotch is one of my all-time favorite flavors! This butterscotch milkshake recipe is heavenly!!!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! It's so good!
Colleen says
Butterscotch is my favorite, so this was a perfect treat for dessert after burgers and fries. Thanks for sharing!