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If you’re tired of boring strawberry mocktails, you have to try this strawberry mocktail spritzer! Made with fresh or frozen strawberries, ginger, fennel and sparkling water, this non-alcoholic drink is refreshing, perfectly pink, and has an elevated flavor profile. Great for a warm summer day.
A Quick Look: Strawberry Mocktail Spritzer
- Prep time: 25 minutes to make the strawberry simple syrup, and only 2-3 minutes to make the mocktail!
- Servings – Makes at least 10-15 drinks.
- Main ingredients: Strawberries (fresh or frozen), fresh ginger, fennel seeds, sugar, and lemon.
- When to serve: Great for Galentine’s day or Valentine’s day, Mother’s day, baby showers, or a refreshing summer mocktail, it pairs well with BBQ like these dry rub ribs in the oven or slow cooker pork shoulder.
- Dietary information: This recipe fits a Mediterranean-inspired diet and HYH diet with a small edit. It is gluten free, dairy free, as well as vegetarian and vegan.
- Why you’ll love it: These strawberry mocktails are unique in flavor – with ginger for some spice, fennel seed for bitterness, and lemon to add acidity and brightness. The strawberry simple syrup is easy to store in the fridge for future mocktails.
This non-alcoholic spritzer is great for parties or if you want a more elevated drink, but if you’re looking for a faster alternative, you’ll love this strawberry adrenal cocktail or blueberry mocktail.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for amounts needed – these are just some details on variations and what to look for at the grocery store.
- Strawberries – I used fresh in recipe testing, but frozen will also work and may be more cost effective depending on the season. Use leftovers in these strawberry cream cheese muffins. You can also use other types of berries like raspberries or a mixed berry blend. Remove the top stems before making the syrup.
- Sugar – Use regular white cane sugar. It seems like a lot of sugar, but this makes a concentrated strawberry syrup, so it is not the full amount you’ll have in one drink.
- Fresh ginger – You can also use 1/3 cup of homemade ginger juice if you have that on hand and add that at the end. Fresh works best here and I don’t recommend dried. Dried ginger is best in baking and warmer drinks, whereas fresh gives the best flavor in cold drinks like this.
- Fennel seeds – It sounds strange, but fennel seeds add a mild bitter flavor that adds complexity to this strawberry mocktail. You can leave it out if you don’t have this on hand, but I highly recommend it.
- Sparkling water or plain club soda – Any plain sparkling water will work – Perrier, San Pellegrino, Topo Chico. I personally prefer one with a lot of carbonation for mocktails. Club soda will also work!
- Lemon – Optional for some brightness. If histamine sensitive or on the HYH diet, you can use 1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid instead.
You can always add more garnishes like fresh mint or lime juice instead of lemon, if preferred. The lime pairs really well with the ginger for more of a strawberry mojito flavor – good for summer! Herbs like basil or rosemary also work well.
How to Make This Strawberry Mocktail
Step 1: Start by making the strawberry syrup. Place strawberries, water, sugar, and ginger in a medium pot and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. In the last 5 minutes, stir in the fennel seeds. Stir frequently with a wood spoon until sugar has dissolved and mixture has thickened enough to coat the spoon.
Step 2: Pour the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a glass jar. You can use the leftover strawberry ginger mixture as a jam for toast. Just remove the larger ginger pieces. Add lemon juice.
Step 3: Place 1-2 ounces of the strawberry syrup in a glass, pour ice over top, and top with sparkling water or club soda. The simple syrup allows for plenty of drinks! Just adjust how much you use based on your taste. If you want to lower the sweetness, add more sparkling water and lemon juice.
Recipe Tip
After straining the strawberry syrup, pick out the pieces of ginger from the cooked strawberries and use it on top of toast or bagels or add to smoothies. It’s very good!
Storage Information
If using fresh strawberries, the simple syrup will store in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also store it in the freezer in 2 tablespoon ice cube trays for up to 3-4 months. Then just add sparkling water when you’re ready to serve the mocktails.
Serving Suggestions
This non-alcoholic spritzer is served with sparkling water in a regular glass, but because we’re using a simple syrup, there’s a few ways you can make it.
- Strawberry spritzer – Serve in coupe or martini glasses with just a splash of sparkling water to top it off. This will be a much more concentrated flavor!
- Best for summer BBQ’s and cookouts – This drink pairs well with slow cooker BBQ chicken thighs, Mediterranean chickpea pasta salad, or baked chicken kabobs.
- Strawberry ginger ice cubes – Store the strawberry syrup in ice cube molds and then pour sparkling water or Sprite over top of it. Top with fresh mint. Serving it this way is also great for kids!
More Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipes
For other non-alcoholic drinks that are just as delicious, try this blueberry iced tea, blueberry mojito mocktail, homemade sprite, or watermelon juice with mint.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Strawberry Mocktail Spritzer
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Simple Syrup
- 2 pounds strawberries, fresh preferred, but frozen will work
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 inch piece of ginger cut into chunks
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, optional, but recommended
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, optional, but recommended
For the Mocktail
- 1-2 ounces strawberry syrup
- 4 ounces sparkling water or club soda
Instructions
- Quarter strawberries, and bring strawberries, water, sugar, and ginger to boil in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the mixture is nice and fairly thick, coating the back of a wood spoon. In the last 5 minutes, stir in the fennel seeds. Cool for about 5-10 minutes.
- Pour the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to squeeze the last of the juice and color out of the berries. (You can pick out the larger ginger chunks and use the strawberries for jam.)
- Combine the cooled syrup with lemon juice (or citric acid). Pour about 1-2 ounces into a bottom of a glass, then top with ice and 4-5 ounces of sparkling water or club soda. Garnish with fresh strawberries or mint.
Notes
- This makes about 2 cups of syrup so you can use more or less in each drink. This can make 10-16 drinks. Feel free to adjust the simple syrup amounts to your liking. Generally I find 1-2 ounces of simple syrup with 4-5 ounces of sparkling water is a light and refreshing drink. You can also make this more concentrated, using 1 ounce of simple syrup in a coupe glass and a small splash of sparkling water on top.
- Storage – Store the strawberry syrup in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Citrus adjustment – Citric acid alternative – Use 1 1/2 teaspoons of citric acid in place of lemon juice. Or leave out entirely if sensitive.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made it for a Mother’s Day brunch and everyone loved it! I’ll be making it again for sure.
Thanks, Win!! This is a favorite of mine too!
SO GOOD OMG
This recipe was so easy and VERY delicious. My new favorite summer drink as a preggo lady