Easy Traditional Root Beer Float

Two frosted rootbeer floats in handled mugs, topped with whipped cream and cherries, with red and white striped straws.

Ice Cream From Scratch

An easy recipe for a delicious Root Beer Float features a frosty mug of root beer mingled with scoops of creamy vanilla ice cream.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Chilling/Freezing Time 20

Total Time 25

Course Ice Cream Recipes

Cuisine Dessert

Servings 2 Servings

Calories 538 kcal

Ingredients

6 scoops vanilla ice cream
16 oz root beer
¼ cup whipped cream topping
2 maraschino cherries

Instructions

Place two beer mugs or milkshake glasses in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Place 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream in each mug.
Top each mug with 8 oz of root beer, making sure that the mug does not overflow.
Pipe or dollop whipped cream topping on top of the root beer float.
Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Serve immediately.

Notes

Keep the ice cream in the freezer until just before ready to scoop. The root beer will melt the ice cream quickly.

Make sure the root beer is chilled before using. Cold ingredients will help prevent the ice cream from melting too quickly.

Technically, all you need for a root beer float is vanilla ice cream and root beer. You don’t have to top your root beer float with whipped cream and a cherry, but I think it’s a fun way to take your root beer float to the next level!

I used two 16 oz beer mugs, which was the perfect size to fit 2-3 scoops of ice cream and 8 oz of root beer. Depending on the size of your glasses, you may need to adjust the amount of root beer and ice cream in each glass.

I personally like to add the ice cream first and then pour the root beer on top of the ice cream. This way, you will know when to stop pouring the root beer and there is less mess. However, you could pour the root beer first and top with scoops of ice cream if you prefer.

Keyword how to make a root beer float, root beer float