This festive and bubbly cranberry orange mocktail is easy to prepare, looks so beautiful and uses fresh cranberries instead of cranberry juice! To make it easier to serve this non-alcoholic drink for gatherings, make the syrup ahead and combine it with sparkling water just before serving! Perfect holiday drink recipe for everyone!
This fresh cranberry orange mocktail recipe makes for a delicious and bubbly non-alcoholic refreshing drink that feels super festive, which is the perfect party drink for the holiday season that everyone can enjoy!
Just like in these super moist vegan cranberry orange muffins, cranberry + orange are a match made in heaven! In this mocktail, the bubbles from sparkling water give it a nice fizzy effect and although optional, I added some fresh ginger for a nice punch in flavor. A must-try!
We love mocktails and make them all the time, even on regular days! Especially this healthy apple cider vinegar mocktail and this coconut water pineapple mocktail, they are our go-to 5-min mocktails to make after a long day.
But now I made this delicious cranberry mocktail recipe for the winter celebrations when fresh cranberries are easy to find everywhere, such as during Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year. It is a fun recipe to use the extra cranberries you didn't need for your cranberry coulis or sauce!
Let me know if you give it a try! ❤️
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❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Easy and very festive drink to serve to your non-drinking friends!
- Made using simple ingredients
- Perfect holiday mocktail packed with favorite seasonal flavors
- Healthy drink made without a lot of sugar (just a little maple syrup!)
- Rich in vitamin C and made without alcohol
- Delicious flavor combining the tartness of the cranberry with the natural sweetness from oranges
🍹 Holiday fresh cranberry mocktail
Using fresh cranberries instead of cranberry juice adds so much authentic flavor! The small berries add tartness plus a fresh essence that you won't get if using juice, although this festive cranberry juice mocktail made with lime is great in a pinch or if serving a crowd!
Plus, fresh cranberries are super easy to find starting mid-October all through the colder months, which makes this cranberry mocktail perfect for the holiday season, but also to enjoy during any winter celebration!
🗒 Ingredient notes (+ substitutions)
- Fresh cranberries: don't mistake them for dried cranberries, you are looking for small fresh berries. They usually come in bags in the produce section. Frozen cranberries work too!
- Fresh ginger: this is optional, you don't have to use ginger, but I find that it adds so much flavor so try to include it.
- Oranges: large sweet oranges are best for making drinks. You can use any type of oranges you like or have, but my favorites are Navel oranges. Blood oranges or Cara Cara oranges work too. Fresh orange juice is best but you can also use store-bought orange juice if that's easier!
- Maple syrup: or any sweetener of your choice. Simple syrup works too.
- Sparkling water: soda, ginger ale or ginger beer work too.
⭐️ Full ingredient list with quantities down below in the recipe card!
🍽 How to make cranberry orange mocktail
Step 1: Add the fresh cranberries, ginger slices and water to a small pot, then bring to a simmer. After a few minutes, the small fruits will become softer, so you can crush them using the back of a spoon. The mixture is ready after about 7-10 minutes or when about half of the water has evaporated.
Step 2: Place a fine mesh colander over a bowl and add the fruit purée over. Also, pour the orange juice through the colander. This will help get more cranberry juice out of the purée, plus it strains the larger pulps from the orange.
Step 3: Use the back of the spoon to help the juice strain into the bowl. Discard the remaining ginger and large pulps/skins left in the colander.
Step 4: Add the maple syrup and stir. This is the fruit syrup that will be used as a base when building your mocktail. Cover the syrup and transfer to the fridge to chill until ready to use.
Step 5: When ready to make your drink, fill a glass with ice cubes and extra fresh cranberries, then pour some of the syrup over (about 3-4 tablespoons).
Step 6: Top off with sparkling water (about ½ - ¾ cup), stir and enjoy!
⭐️ Detailed recipe down below in the recipe card!
💡 Helpful tips
- Don't forget to chill your sparkling water ahead so your mocktail is extra frosty.
- Do not combine the cranberry syrup with the sparkling water ahead of time as this can create a flat drink.
- Freeze a few fresh cranberries (they freeze super quickly) ahead of time and use them as ice cubes!
- You can use unsweetened flavored sparkling water, such as lime, orange or grapefruit.
- If using fresh ginger, then I recommend first peeling it. I found that boiling the unpeeled ginger slices created flakes with the peels with some that were small enough to go through my fine-mesh colander.
➡️ How to make cranberry orange mocktail ahead
The cranberry-orange syrup is best when first chilled before combining it with sparkling water as you don't want to warm up the mocktail. This makes it a perfect mocktail to make ahead when hosting.
Simply make the fruit syrup, transfer to a covered container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Also, don't forget to transfer a few cranberries to the freezer to garnish the drink and help keep it cold.
When ready to serve, transfer the syrup to glasses and top off with sparkling water!
❓ FAQs
You can make the recipe x 4-5 times and simply serve it in a beautiful pitcher or punch bowl. Pour the equivalent amount of sparkling water (x 4-5 as well) right into the serving container and add some frozen cranberries, ice cubes and orange slices for a festive look. Display with a ladle and serving glasses around the bowl, so people can serve themselves.
The flavor won't be exactly the same but yes, you can use cranberry juice! Be sure it is not cranberry 'cocktail' as it is filled with sugar.
To make it, simply swap the water and the cranberries for cranberry juice. You will have to simmer the juice only if you want to use the fresh ginger (simply simmer the cranberry juice + sliced ginger for 5-7 minutes, just enough to infuse some of the ginger flavors).
Other vegan holiday recipes you might like
I hope you enjoy this cranberry orange mocktail as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!
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📖 Recipe
Sparkling Fresh Cranberry Orange Mocktail
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- 3-4 slices of fresh ginger (about ¼ inch thick each) - peeled, OPTIONAL
- 2 tbsp maple syrup - or other sweetener
- 2 Navel oranges - juiced
- sparkling water - plain or lime flavored, unsweetened
- ice cubes - for serving
Instructions
- Transfer the fresh cranberries to a small pot and add the slices of ginger (if using) with ¾ cup of water. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to medium. Keep uncovered and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until the water is half evaporated and the cranberries are soft and start to break apart.
- Then, roughly mash the cranberries to a coarse texture (you can just use a spoon). You should end up with a loose purée.
- Place a fine-mesh colander over a bowl or wide jar and pour the cranberry mixture over. Add the orange juice and use a spoon to help strain. Remove the colander and discard the remaining ginger (if you used it) and fruit pulps. Add the maple syrup to the juice and stir. This is the concentrated syrup.
- Ideally, let the syrup completely cool down in the fridge before enjoying, which makes it a great drink to make ahead.
- When ready to make your drinks, fill 2 glasses with ice cubes, divide the cranberry mixture in between the glasses and add sparkling water over (about ½-¾ cup per drink). Stir and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The concentrated syrup can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Combine with sparkling water only when ready to serve (otherwise your drink can become flat).
- This recipe makes for 2-3 drinks, so don't hesitate to double the ingredients to make more drinks!
- You can freeze a few cranberries ahead to use as ice cubes.
- If using the ginger, then I recommend first peeling it. I found that boiling the unpeeled ginger slices created flakes with the peels with some that were small enough to go through my fine-mesh colander.
- Don't forget to chill your sparkling water ahead so your mocktail is extra frosty.
- Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.
So good and pretty easy, will make for Christmas again!
When we triple the recipe should we triple the 3/4c water that is used to bring the cranberries to a boil? It doesn’t change when I change the 2x or 3x.
Thank u!
Hi Alyssa! Yes, triple the water too 😊