Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Seaweed Shake
Belize's creamy Irish-moss drink: cultivated sea moss simmered into a gel and blended with milk, condensed milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Belizean · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 15 min
~201 cal · 7g protein · 27g carbs · 7g fat · 0g fiber · 27g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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The Belizean seaweed shake, sometimes just called "dulce", is a sweet, creamy milk drink built on sea moss, the Eucheuma seaweed cultivated along Belize's coast and cayes. Prized as a strengthening tonic, it is a favourite from beachside stands and cool-down stops, thick and milky with only the faintest whisper of the sea.
Dried sea moss is rinsed, soaked, and simmered until it dissolves into a gel rich in natural thickeners, then blended with milk and sweetened condensed milk and flavoured with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. The seaweed gives the drink its body and its reputation for nourishment, while the spices and condensed milk make it taste like a spiced milkshake.
Refreshing and filling at once, the seaweed shake is Belize's answer to a health drink that happens to taste like a treat. An oat-milk version leaves out the dairy for the same creamy result.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1/3 cup dried sea moss (Irish moss)
3 cups water
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1
Rinse the dried sea moss thoroughly, then soak it in some of the water until it softens.
✎ Chef’s note
Rinse until the seaweed no longer smells of the sea; that is what keeps the finished shake tasting clean and milky.
2
Simmer the soaked moss in the water until it fully dissolves into a thick gel, then cool slightly.
3
Blend the gel with the milk, condensed milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla until smooth.
4
Chill well and serve cold with extra nutmeg grated over the top.
Belize City coastal tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Belize City. Hudut belongs to the Garifuna towns down the coast, Dangriga and Hopkins, rather than to the city: fish poached in a coconut broth with green plantain pounded by hand in a wooden mortar until it is smooth. Fry jacks, puffed squares of fried dough, are the ordinary breakfast alongside beans and eggs.
🗺️
Belize. Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America, and its kitchens sit side by side rather than blending: Creole coconut rice, Maya corn and recado in the west, Mestizo escabeche and salbutes in the north, and Garifuna hudut in the coastal towns of Dangriga and Hopkins, fish in coconut broth with pounded plantain.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Belize
Belizean Stew ChickenChicken marinated in recado rojo, browned in caramelized sugar, and stewed dark, served with rice and beans.
Fry JacksPuffy, crisp triangles of fried dough eaten with refried beans, eggs, or jam, the golden centerpiece of a Belizean breakfast.
GarnachesCrisp fried tortillas topped with refried beans, cheese, and pickled cabbage, Belize's favorite street snack-lunch.
Browse all Belize recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Belize meal
HudutDinner
Belizean Bread PuddingDessert
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Seaweed Shake?
Belize's creamy Irish-moss drink: cultivated sea moss simmered into a gel and blended with milk, condensed milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Where does Seaweed Shake come from?
Seaweed Shake is a Belizean dish from Belize City, Belize.
Can Seaweed Shake be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Seaweed Shake recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Seaweed Shake safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Seaweed Shake take to make?
About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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