Are fruit popsicles better than ice cream?

A fruit sorbet popsicle usually has less fat than ice cream and no dairy. It's still a dessert, so think of it as a lighter treat rather than a health food.

Are popsicles okay for kids?

As an occasional treat, yes. Choose pops made from real fruit with no artificial colours, which many parents prefer to avoid.

What are House of Pops popsicles made with?

Real fruit, and milk for our creamy pops and specials. No artificial colours, no artificial flavours and no added preservatives.

Are fruit popsicles healthy? An honest answer

We make popsicles for a living, so you might expect us to say they're a superfood. They're not. But not all popsicles are equal, and the difference between a good one and a bad one is bigger than most people think.

The honest part: it's still a treat

A popsicle is a dessert. It's a treat, not a meal and not a medicine, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. What you can choose is what that treat is made of.

Where popsicles can be the better choice

Portion control is built in. One pop, one stick. It's much easier to stop at one than with a family tub.
Fruit sorbets have no fat. A fruity pop is real fruit, with no cream or oil.
Real fruit pops keep some fruit goodness. A pop made from whole fruit pulp, like our Mixed Fruit with visible kiwi, grapes and pomegranate, is a very different thing from coloured syrup.
They hydrate. On a 40°C day, a fruit-based pop is mostly water and fruit.

The question isn't "are popsicles healthy?" It's "what is this particular popsicle made of?"

What to avoid

Artificial colours, especially in pops aimed at kids.
Long lists of stabilisers, emulsifiers and flavourings.
"Fruit-flavoured" pops with little or no actual fruit.
Vegetable-fat "frozen desserts" pretending to be creamy fruit.

Our quick guide to reading a popsicle label takes about ten seconds.

Better pops for kids

Parents ask us about this all the time. Our advice: pick pops where the colour comes from the fruit and the ingredient list is short. Fruity sorbets suit kids with dairy sensitivities. Creamy pops like Strawberry and Alphonso Mango are firm favourites at birthday parties.

Fruit popsicles vs fruit juice

A lot of people think of juice as the healthy choice and popsicles as the treat. A real fruit pop made from whole fruit pulp can actually be closer to eating fruit than drinking packaged juice, which is often filtered, concentrated and sweetened. It's still not a replacement for eating fresh fruit, but it's a much better treat than a coloured ice lolly.

Real fruit, real milk. That's the whole list.

No colours, no preservatives, no fillers.

See the menu

Our take

Enjoy a popsicle the way you'd enjoy any treat: because it makes a hot day better. Just make it one worth eating. Real fruit, real milk if it's creamy, and nothing you'd need a chemistry degree to understand. That's the only kind we make, and you can read exactly what goes into each one.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes or a specific dietary need, check with your doctor about sweets and treats.