Mango Lassi Recipe - Restaurant-Style in 10 Minutes

Fresh Mango vs Mango Pulp

Fresh mango wins when it is ripe and in season: it gives a brighter, fresher flavour than pulp. Alphonso is the classic pick, with Kesar, Champagne and Kent as substitutes. Frozen mango chunks are the next best option, and freezing ripe mango before blending makes the lassi thicker and colder without extra ice.

A mango lassi recipe with mango pulp is what most restaurants outside India use: canned sweetened pulp, where 1 cup of pulp replaces 1½ cups of chopped fresh mango. The catch is citric acid: pulp tastes tarter than fresh mango, so balance it with milk and a little more sugar. Use the lower amount with ripe Champagne mangoes. And check the label, since canned pulp is sweetened and already sugared.

The ratio in the card is 280 g of mango to 175 g of yogurt and 120 ml of milk. Pulp replaces fresh mango at 1 cup to 1½ cups. Because it is tarter from citric acid, balance it with milk and taste before adding more sugar.

Three ways to get the lassi cold, and they are not equal. Ice cubes are the quick substitute: they chill the drink and add water so it is not too heavy. They add no flavour, and too many will thin it. Canned pulp is the third option, and the most consistent year-round, but it trades freshness for convenience. The citric-acid tartness means more milk and sugar to balance it.

Why This Recipe Works

• Chilled mango, chilled yogurt and ice keep the lassi cold to the last sip, so the drink stays thick instead of thinning as it warms.
• Mango outweighs yogurt — 280 g of mango to 175 g of yogurt. So the mango flavour leads and the yogurt adds tang rather than taking over.
• The yogurt goes in last and blends only briefly, which keeps the lassi smooth; over-blending after the yogurt is added can turn it slimy.

Ingredients

• 280 g ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped (1½ cups)
• 175 g plain whole-milk yogurt, chilled (¾ cup)
• 120 ml cold whole milk (½ cup)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (24 g)
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, optional
• 4 ice cubes, optional
• 2 tablespoons sweetened mango pulp (40 g), optional
• 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios, to garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Chill and prepare the mango —Peel the ripe mangoes and chop the flesh into chunks, then chill the mango, yogurt and milk until really cold. Cold ingredients keep the finished lassi thick and cold to the last sip, so skip this step only if you are adding ice. If the mango is at room temperature, add the ice cubes when blending.
2. Blend the mango and milk —Put the chopped mango, cold milk, sugar and cardamom into a blender jar. Blend on high for about 2 minutes, until the mango is completely smooth, with no fibres left. This first blend is the one to be thorough with, because the yogurt goes in after.
3. Add the yogurt and blend briefly —Add the chilled yogurt and the mango pulp, if using, to the blender. Blend just until smooth, then stop — over-blending once the yogurt is in can turn the lassi slimy. Taste and add more sugar if the mango is tart, or a splash of milk if the lassi is too thick.
4. Pour and serve chilled —Pour the lassi into chilled glasses straight away, while it is cold and thick. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top, with a pinch of cardamom if you like. Serve at once, or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

What a Mango Lassi Is

What is a mango lassi? A sweet, creamy yogurt drink from the Indian subcontinent, made by blending ripe mango with yogurt, milk and a little sweetener. It is thick enough to pour slowly, golden in colour, and served chilled. The drink sits in our weeknight and desserts collection because it works as a dessert, with a spicy meal, or as a summer afternoon refresher.

Lassi itself is older than the mango version: plain lassi is yogurt thinned with water, served sweet or salted. Mango lassi adds ripe mango to that base: its sweetness means the drink needs only a little sugar. Its pulp gives the thick, smooth body.

This mango lassi drink looks like a smoothie when it first comes off the blender. The difference is the base: a lassi is built on yogurt, not fruit and juice. It stays lighter and more drinkable than a smoothie, with the yogurt's tang balancing the mango's sweetness.

What is mango lassi?

Mango lassi is a sweet, creamy yogurt drink from the Indian subcontinent, made by blending ripe mango with yogurt, milk and a little sweetener. It is thick enough to pour slowly, golden in colour and served chilled. Plain lassi is yogurt thinned with water; the mango version adds ripe mango for sweetness and body.

Mango Lassi Ingredients

The mango lassi ingredients are five: ripe mango, plain yogurt, cold milk, sugar and cardamom, with ice and mango pulp as options. The mango matters most — use a ripe, sweet, low-fibre variety such as Alphonso, Kesar or Champagne (Ataulfo), and taste it first. The yogurt should be plain and whole-milk: Indian dahi is the traditional choice, and it is thinner and less sour than Greek yogurt.

Add milk a splash at a time for a thinner pour. With a very sweet Alphonso, start at the low end.

What is in a mango lassi?

This mango lassi has 280 g of ripe mango, 175 g of plain whole-milk yogurt, 120 ml of cold milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a quarter teaspoon of ground cardamom, with ice cubes and mango pulp as options. Mango outweighs yogurt, so the mango flavour leads and the yogurt adds tang rather than taking over.

How to Make Mango Lassi

Start with everything chilled — mango, yogurt and milk — then blend the mango, milk, sugar and cardamom first, until no fibres remain. Adding the yogurt after the mango is blended smooth is the step that protects the texture.

Blend in the yogurt only briefly, just until the drink is smooth, then taste and adjust: more sugar if the mango is tart, more milk if the lassi is too thick, more mango if the flavour is faint. Pour into chilled glasses and serve at once.

How to make mango lassi with yogurt?

Blend 280 g of ripe mango with 120 ml of cold milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of cardamom until smooth, with no fibres left. Add 175 g of chilled plain whole-milk yogurt and blend just until smooth, then stop — over-blending after the yogurt goes in can turn the lassi slimy. Serve in chilled glasses at once.

How to make mango lassi?

Blend 280 g of ripe mango with 120 ml of cold milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of cardamom until completely smooth, with no fibres left. Add 175 g of chilled plain whole-milk yogurt and blend just until smooth, then pour into chilled glasses and serve at once.

Authentic Restaurant-Style Mango Lassi

An authentic mango lassi recipe from a restaurant is thicker, sweeter and more deeply mango-flavoured than a home smoothie. The difference is mostly pulp: restaurants outside India build the drink on canned Alphonso or Kesar pulp, then round it out with milk or cream to soften the pulp's citric-acid tartness. A spoonful or two of pulp alongside fresh mango gets you most of the way there at home.

The other touches are small: serve it ice-cold, with cardamom or saffron on top and chopped pistachios. Serve it as the cooling finish to a rich meal. It sits naturally beside gulab jamun and kheer on a dessert table — or on its own as a summer afternoon drink.

Dairy-Free and Vegan Mango Lassi

A vegan mango lassi recipe is easy to build, because the mango and the blender do the structural work and the yogurt mainly adds tang and body. Swap the yogurt for coconut yogurt and the milk for coconut, almond or oat milk, keeping the same quantities: 175 g of plant yogurt and 120 ml of plant milk for this batch. Coconut yogurt is the closest match, since its richness stands in for whole-milk yogurt.

Sweeten to taste, since plant yogurts vary in sourness — a squeeze of lemon can add back the tang if your yogurt is mild. Find more drinks in the drinks collection, and serve the vegan lassi chilled, with mango cubes on top.

How Long Does Mango Lassi Last in the Fridge?

How long does mango lassi last in the fridge? Up to 24 hours, sealed, in the fridge. Drink it the same day if you can: the flavour is brightest in the first few hours. The lassi thickens and loses freshness as it sits. Stir it before pouring, as it settles overnight.

She advises drinking that version within 2 hours. If the lassi smells sour beyond the yogurt's normal tang, or the texture has separated and will not stir back together, throw it away rather than tasting it again.

How long does mango lassi last in the fridge?

Up to 24 hours in a sealed container in the fridge. Drink it the same day when you can, since the flavour fades after a few hours. Stir it before pouring, as the mango and yogurt settle overnight. Shake before serving.

Tips

• Freeze ripe mango chunks ahead of time for a thicker, colder lassi.
• Taste before adding all the sugar: a sweet Alphonso mango needs far less than a tart one.
• If the lassi is too thick, blend in a splash of cold milk. If it is too thin, blend in a few more mango chunks rather than more yogurt, which would dull the mango flavour.

Storage

Fridge: Up to 24 hours, sealed, in the fridge — best the same day, as the flavour fades.

Freezer: Not recommended for the drink itself; pour leftover lassi into ice-lolly moulds and freeze until set instead.

Reheat: Do not reheat — mango lassi is served chilled.