Refreshing Sorbets and Granitas

Lighter than ice cream but just as flavorful and refreshing, sorbets and granitas are the perfect escape from summer heat. From fruity granitas to boozy cocktail granitas to creamy sorbets, we've collected our favorite recipes to enjoy all summer long.

A granita is a frozen treat that's easy to make at home. By scraping a liquid mixture as it freezes, you produce a crystalline structure that is light and airy. In Sicily, locals like to use sweetened espresso to make granita. For something fruity and effervescent, try our vanilla-grapefruit granita made with grapefruit juice and soda. Our creamy rhubarb granita is colored and sweetened with strawberries.

Granitas are often a family-friendly dessert, but we love making adult-only granitas inspired by cocktails. A mint julep is already served over crushed ice, so a granita just takes it one step further. For an intense digestif, look to our citrusy, bitter Fernet and coke granita. For the wine lover, white wine and sherry are both great bases for this frozen treat.

For a frozen dessert with a smoother, richer texture than a granita, try sorbet. Our raspberry sorbet is a simple dessert sweetened with sugar and brightened with lemon juice. What really makes it is adding whole raspberries at the very end of the churning to give it a chunky texture. While most sorbets are dairy-free, our lime juice-inflected cream cheese sorbet is a rich variation.

Find these desserts and more in our collection of sorbet and granita recipes.