My kids love heading to the snow cone shack on warm summer evenings, but with seven of us it ends up being at $15-$20 every time we go. I recently realized I could make snow cones at home for way less money, and I figured out how to make them sugar free (without buying pricey syrups)! The kids get a fun snack without the sugar, and I save my money for expensive ice cream to eat after they go to bed. Sounds perfect, don’t you think?
My kids love heading to the snow cone shack on warm summer evenings, but with seven of us it ends up being at $15-$20 every time we go. I recently realized I could make snow cones at home for way less money, and I figured out how to make them sugar free (without buying pricey syrups)! The kids get a fun snack without the sugar, and I save my money for expensive ice cream to eat after they go to bed. Sounds perfect, don’t you think?
The one thing you do need is a way to make shaved ice at home. I have a Blendtec blender, and it makes “snow” from ice cubes in seconds. Literally. Just dump a tray of ice in, press ice crush, and about 15 seconds later you’ve got snow.
You can crush ice with a VitaMix blender too, although you’ll want to google the proper procedure. If you don’t have a heavy duty blender, you can get a great deal on an electric Snow Cone Maker from Amazon – only $23 right now (marked down from $80). If your family likes snow cones, it’ll pay for itself quickly!
Instead of buying expensive syrups in one or two flavors, I figured out how to make my own in just about any flavor. I made sugar-free snow cone “syrup” three different ways: 1) using Crystal Light drink mix, 2) using Kool-aid and Splenda, and 3) using the small containers of liquid “water enhancer.” With all these options, any flavor in the drink mix aisle can become a snow cone (cherry limeade, lemonade, fruit punch, blue raspberry, apple, coconut, lemon lime, berry burst, watermelon, you name it!).
I bought clear squeeze bottles from Walmart for 98 cents each, then used them to hold a concentrated flavoring for the snow cones. Since there’s no sugar in these sugar free concentrates they aren’t as thick as a traditional snow cone syrup, but the squeeze bottles have such a small opening that it’s still very easy to squirt them on the snow. The kids loved all the flavors we tried and no one could tell they were sugar free.
Here’s how I made each batch:
For Crystal Light sugar free snow cone syrup I used one packet (for use with 2 quarts of water) and mixed it with 1 cup of water. I whisked to combine, then poured the concentrate into the squeeze bottle.
For Kool-Aid sugar free snow cone syrup I mixed 1 packet of Kool-Aid with 1 cup of Splenda and 1 cup of water, whisking to combine. Into the squeeze bottle! We used lemon-lime and it was really, really good. If you prefer, I’m sure you could use Stevia instead of Splenda.
For sugar free snow cone syrup made with water enhancer, mix 1 tablespoon water enhancer with 1 cup of water, then pour it into the squeeze bottle. You may need to experiment a little with different water enhancer flavors to figure out the concentration you prefer. We tried the ICEE blue raspberry flavor and it seemed quite strong and not quite as sweet as the other two varieties. It was certainly easy, however!
Each squeeze bottle is enough to flavor 6-8 snow cones, enough for our whole family, and I’d say the cost for one bottle’s worth of syrup/concentrate is under 75 cents. Pretty good compared to almost $20 at the shave ice shack!
Kristin Salvhus says
I’ve got sugar free energy drink packets. I won’t have to add the stevia or Splenda. So, should I just add less water ?
JeannineRuiz says
This is the best food for the hot summer. I made it and it is really tasty. I can eating it while playing bloxd io. Thanks for sharing
Rebecca says
Do i need to refrigerate any leftover syrup?
Snowgirl says
I don’t think so. I use water enhancers in my plain seltzer and I don’t have to refrigerate.
Debbie Nims says
No, but if the syrup is cold it doesn`t melt the ice as fast.
Scotty says
Hi There… Thanks for this post. I just want to add what I did with Crystal Light Water Enhancer. I followed the recipe for the Icee water enhancer, but with Crystal Light. I like it very sweet, so I added about another tablespoon of Crystal Light and about a tablespoon of Splenda for baking. I actually used Walmart’s version of Splenda and there is no difference.
** NOTE: I only tried this with Crystal Light Blueberry/Raspberry. Some other varieties may be more or less sweet and you should adjust to your taste.
Tonya says
Thank you so much for posting this. I was online looking for snow cone syrups for my kids and when i saw how much sugar was in them I almost fainted. I am trying to limit the sugar intake in the house and these options will be great for the kids. They get the cool treats of summer time, anytime of the year and it doesn’t cost me a fortune, nor does it send them into sugar overload.
I will use monkfruit sweetner since it doesn’t affect the glycemic levels.