Make Marcus Samuelsson’s strawberry-basil paleta recipe
It’s September, and the weather’s supposed to cool down, right?
Marcus Samuelsson, owner of Atlanta’s Marcus Bar and Grill, has a recipe you can use to cool off this unseasonably warm September. In his upcoming cookbook, “Back to Green: Rediscovering a World of Delicious, Healthy Eating,” he offers a deliciously refreshing recipe for strawberry, basil and honey paletas. The recipe comes together in minutes with just five ingredients.
Paletas (“ice pops” in Spanish) are a beloved treat in Mexico, using fresh fruits and other ingredients native to the land. Both children and adults enjoy the ice pops as a reprieve from the heat.
The book comes out on Oct. 20 and features ample “of-the-earth” ingredients from around the world, with a diverse range of plant-forward recipes.
“In this book (‘Back to Green’), I hope to take you on a journey around the world, and back, to discover ways of eating that will bring you into the future,” Samuelsson writes. “On each stop, we’ll visit a city, an island, or a community to help us build our plates to bring us back to health, and back to green.” (Excerpted from “Back to Green: Rediscovering a World of Delicious, Healthy Eating” by Marcus Samuelsson with permission of Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright @ Marcus Samuelsson, 2026)
Why add basil to strawberry paletas?
Trying to come up with ways to use up your garden basil and are tired of caprese salads and pesto? Fresh basil adds a nice, herby balance that complements the sweetness of the strawberries in these pops.
If you don’t have garden basil on hand, fresh basil is offered in many supermarkets in the produce section.
How long do homemade paletas take to freeze?
The most difficult part of this recipe is waiting four hours for the popsicles to freeze.
A pro tip: make these around noon when ingredients are already out for lunchtime, since you need to clean up anyway, so they can be enjoyed as a dessert after dinner. Or, let them set overnight in the freezer so the kids (or you) can enjoy the next day.
The recipe is easy too, with only five ingredients, making it a fun thing to involve the kids.
How to keep popsicle sticks in place
If your popsicle sticks aren’t the plastic kind that is attached to a base to keep firmly in place, and are using wooden popsicle sticks, freeze the mixture for 45 minutes until it is a slush consistency, then insert the sticks.
Since liquid expands as it freezes, make sure not to overfill the pop molds by leaving a small clearance at the top of each one.
To get the pops to release from the molds, dip the mold in warm water for 20 or 30 seconds to loosen, but never forcefully remove them, as the stick can dislodge from the pop.
Depending on the size of your molds, the recipe may yield more or less pops than it states. Popsicle molds can be found on Amazon or most kitchenware stores.
Marcus Samuelsson’s Strawberry, Basil and Honey Pops (Paletas)
Yield: 10 servings • Prep Time: 4 hours (includes freezing) • Total Time: 4 hours
Ingredients for paletas
- 8 cups strawberries, hulled
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup packed fresh basil leaves
- Zest of 1 lime
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- In a blender, blend the strawberries, honey, basil, lime zest, and salt until smooth.
- Divide the mixture evenly among 10 pop molds. Place a pop stick into each mold and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove from the freezer and unmold when ready to eat.
Makes 10 pops