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For a festive and delicious holiday drink, you’ll love this Sparkling Cranberry Mocktail. It’s made with fresh cranberries, so this sparkler is naturally sweet, bright, and colorful. And all those bubbles make it one of the best Christmas mocktail recipes you’ll ever try!
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: No-cook
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Easy
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Christmas Mocktail
The most wonderful moments in my family are when we are gathered around the table, sharing food and drinks. So every year as Christmas approaches, I look forward to sharing these family meals and spending this time with those that I love. I urge you to do the same.
For me, food is love, and this sparkling cranberry orange mocktail recipe is perfect to toast as we celebrate our loved ones and cherish every moment that we have together.
I saw the idea for a homemade cranberry juice from Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish. It sounded so tasty, the color was gorgeous, and I thought with a bit of orange and a bit of fizz, it would make a totally fun holiday beverage for those that don’t imbibe. Here’s why it’ll become part of your holiday festivities…
- Fruity but sophisticated. It’s made with fresh cranberries, and naturally sweetened with orange juice and real maple syrup. So the vibrant flavors come from real ingredients, not artificial ones.
- Ready for toasting. The vibrant red color makes it perfect for serving at holiday parties. It’s truly a festive, sparkly non-alcoholic beverage to enjoy at celebrations with family and friends.
- Allergy-friendly. The simple ingredients means that it’s free from gluten, dairy, and other major allergens. It’s a Christmas mocktail recipe that everyone can enjoy!
Recipe Ingredients
A few fresh ingredients make this festive drink delicious. Here is a quick list of what you’ll need, and you can get the full amounts in the recipe card.
- Fresh cranberries – rinse them and remove any that look bad.
- Freshly squeezed orange juice – I highly recommend squeezing the oranges for the best flavor.
- Water
- Maple syrup – you can also substitute honey or agave nectar. Simple syrup is fine too, but I prefer to natural sweeteners and the flavor they add.
- Sparkling water or club soda
How to Make a Cranberry Mocktail
This Christmas mocktail is so simple to make. Let’s see what to do. Again, the details are down below in the recipe card.
- Make the cranberry juice. Place the cranberries, orange juice, water, and maple syrup in a blender, and puree thoroughly, then strain the mixture. Return the juice to the blender and puree and strain once more.
- Add the bubbles. When ready to serve, pour about 1/4 cup of juice into each flute glass, and top with sparkling water or club soda.
Tips for Success
- Use a good blender. You really want to break down those cranberries, so make sure to use a Blendtec or Ninja blender.
- Strain well. This is not a drink where you want little bits floating in it, so you’ll need a fine mesh sieve or some cheesecloth to strain the juice.
- Make it pretty. Any glass will do, but the bubbles look especially pretty in flutes.
- Prep ahead. You can prepare the fizzy mocktail an hour or so before serving and it will be just fine. But much longer than that, and it’ll lose all of its bubbles. If you do need to do some advance preparation, you can make the cranberry juice and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to add the sparkling water. It will keep for 2 or 3 days.
Make it a Celebration
Make a few more drinks like the ones I share below and add this Christmas mocktail to your parties and celebrations during the holiday season. Here are some party themes and menu ideas for you…
- Holiday open house. Serve a variety of appetizers to guests, including a platter of crackers and melty Caramelized Apple Pecan Baked Brie, a sweet and savory Pineapple Ham Cheese Ball. Don’t forget the finger foods, like Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Blue Cheese or savory Feta Spinach Pinwheels.
- Cookie exchange. Let everyone nibble on sweets like Christmas Fudge and Candied Spiced Nuts while packing containers of Flourless Oatmeal Cookies and Gluten Free Rainbow Cookies.
- Christmas dinner. A lovely Bottom Round Roast with sides of Corn Pudding Casserole, mouthwatering Honey Roasted Carrots, and creamy Scalloped Sweet Potatoes and Apples makes a fabulous feast.
More Mocktail Recipes
Sparkling Cranberry Mocktail
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or to taste (see Note). You can also substitute honey or agave nectar
- Sparkling water or club soda (see Note)
- Frozen cranberries to serve as ice cubes if desired
Instructions
- Place the cranberries, orange juice, water, and maple syrup in a blender, and puree thoroughly.
- Strain through a mesh strainer.
- Return the juice to the blender and puree once more. Strain again.
- Keep juice in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, pour about 1/4 c juice in each champagne flute, and add about an equal amount of sparkling water or club soda.
- Garnish with frozen cranberries, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this?
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This looks great. How many cocktails does this make?
Carolyn, the recipe as written makes 2 mocktails.
Life is a funny thing. There are far too many times when you don’t know if it’s appropriate to laugh or cry. When tragedy strikes, I too tend to close myself off from the world as a form self preservation. It’s especially hard and most important when you have little ones to keep safe and care for.
Your post was beautifully written and your photos are incredible! They were time away from the TV, well spent. I wish you and your family a blessed and safe 2014!
Thank you Renee. Every time I come back to this post, it strikes a chord for me.
Beautiful drink and very well said about the tragedy. Thanks for sharing a great recipe & your thoughts !
Thanks Sue! You kn ow how I struggled, and your kind words mean a lot.
Brianne, what a beautiful post. I also found it strange to be writing a post about celebrating and cracking jokes as I normally do against the backdrop of Friday’s event. However, I feel the same as you when it comes to the intent behind Sunday Supper – it’s all about bringing together families and appreciating the time we have together, especially in the wake of tragedy, especially at Christmas time. I love this drink and your action shots are awesome, especially the photo the big splash coming out of the glass. I’m sorry you can’t drink this year but come next year, you’ll have a new lil one in the house and can drink to your heart’s content 🙂 Happy holidays!
Thank you. I really tried hard to balance celebration and solemnity. I have so much to celebrate, even if I can’t do it with a cocktail 🙂
Looks and sounds so good! I love all of these festive drinks!
Thank you! Yes, it is fun to drink something holiday-ish!
I was pregnant last Christmas so I can totally sympathize with you. But like you I was able to find wonderful drinks like this that make me feel less like the odd one out. There is nothing worse then being at a party where everyone is drinking these fun drinks and you are stuck drinking water. So something fun like this is perfect.
Yes, I wanted to enjoy something on Christmas Eve while the rest of the family is having their wine.
So pretty! Great that it works for everyone at the party!
Yep, and those that can/do drink alcohol can use sparkling wine for the club soda, or make it as is, and add some vodka.
Beautiful photos! I love cranberry anything!
I have really been into cranberry stuff lately, too!
Simply gorgeous! And I’m so impressed you made your own cranberry juice!!!!
Thank you! The fresh cranberries really give an amazing color!
Wonderful!
Thank you!
What a pretty little drink! I love that you could switch out the sparkling water for sparkling wine if you wanted to make an adult version too…
Absolutely! And I plan on doing that next Christmas 🙂 A little vodka, maybe some orange vodka, would not be terrible either if you use the club soda!
I have really gotten into cranberry juice lately. Mainly because they have started selling 300ml bottles in 3 packs! This looks like it would go down very well. Maybe something I could make for New Years Eve. You have a beautiful blog!
Thank you very much. You could definitely make this with bottled cranberry juice!
These look perfect for a celebration, so festive! I love the pic where the cranberry seems to be doing a loop!
Thank you! That is my favorite picture, too!
This sounds so refreshin, I love the cranberry splash picture:)
Connie
Thanks so much!
Love y0ur drink and all the fun pictures!!!
Thanks! It was quite entertaining.
This is one of my favorite recipes for today. I love that it’s non alcoholic. I too can’t help but think of those 20 families in Danbury Connecticut ; my heart goes out to them.
Aww, thank you! Of course, next year I may be making it with sparking wine 😉
Your mocktail looks so festive and sounds so good, Brianne! I love that you added the orange juice, it sounds like a great combo with the cranberries!
Thanks for the great idea! I love cranberry and orange, and thought it would also add a touch of natural sweetness.
I love your action shots! And I bet this tastes so refreshing!
Thanks! But I was bouncing cranberries all over my kitchen 🙂
These will be perfect for Christmas! We are going to my mom’s and there is no alcohol in her house but this will be a fun and festive beverage she’ll allow em to serve!
Oh perfect! Enjoy!
Well Said! Your Mocktail looks fun and festive and sounds yummy. I will be sharing this one with my kids.
Thanks! Yep, I’ll be sharing with my underage cousins, and my sister who is not much of a wine drinker.
Such a pretty drink! It sounds nice and refreshing too. And I love the photos of the cranberries being dropped into the drink.
Thank you! It is quite refreshing – perfect after working all day in the kitchen making Christmas dinner.