Looking for a festive holiday drink that will be fun for the whole family? Try this candy cane mocktail and your little guests won't be disappointed.
If you're looking for other Christmas drinks, make sure to try our recipes for sparkling cranberry mocktail and this English wassail.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 8 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 18 minutes
- 🍽️ Yield: 5-6 eight-ounce glasses
- 🥕 Dietary Info: Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
- ⚡ Calories: 321 calories per serving (based on nutrition facts in recipe card)
- 🍓11 Ingredients: sugar, water, strawberries, vanilla extract, lemon juice, mini candy canes, cranberry juice, sparkling water, cranberry Sprite, grenadine, and Angostura bitters.
- 🥣 Method: Stovetop (for syrup) and Stirred (for mocktail)
- ⌛ Time-Saving Hack: Make the strawberry simple syrup in advance and chill it until you're ready to use it.
- 🔪 Equipment: small saucepan, metal strainer, glass pitcher.
- ⭐ Expert Tip: Decorate the rims of the glasses up to 2 hours in advance.
- 🍹 Flavor: This delightful mocktail has a wonderful strawberry-cranberry flavor with bubbles and a hint of peppermint.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Festive Color & Presentation: This fun drink is perfect for entertaining during the Christmas season.
- Make Ahead Friendly: The strawberry syrup can be made in advance, and the other ingredients can simply be chilled in the fridge.
- Easy to Make Dye Free: Simply omit the grenadine and the red sugar on the rim.
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I like the combination of fruit and peppermint in this strikingly red mocktail. Easy to make and fun to drink!"
- Beth
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Ingredients
You don't need a ton of ingredients to make this candy cane mocktail! Grab these key ingredients to make this easy festive drink, along with a few others, and you'll be ready to go!
- Cranberry Juice: This juice pairs perfectly with the strawberry syrup, and brings an all-natural festive color to the drink.
- Strawberry Simple Syrup: This recipe shows you how to make this absolutely delicious and super easy syrup! You'll want to use this in many other mocktails, too. It would be delicious in our virgin strawberry margarita or our Cinderella mocktail!
- Cranberry Sprite: We love using this fun ingredient in Christmas and New Year's mocktails! Swap with regular Sprite if you can't find it. But if you have extra, use it up in our family-favorite sparkling cranberry mocktail.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Candy Cane Mocktail
Start by gathering the ingredients for the strawberry simple syrup.
- Dissolve the sugar in the water, stirring constantly over medium high heat. Reduce the heat and add the strawberries and vanilla extract, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to infuse for two hours. (image 1)
- While the syrup is infusing, garnish the drink. Dip the rim in lemon juice, then in colored sugar. (image 2)
- To build this in the glass, start off with the cranberry juice, strawberry simple syrup, and the grenadine. Pour in the cranberry Sprite and the sparkling mineral water, then top it off with the Angostura bitters. (image 3)
- Gently stir with a long handled spoon. (image 4)
- Garnish with a mini candy cane. (image 5)
- Enjoy this candy cane mocktail right away. It's sure to be a hit! (image 6)
Recipe FAQs
Try plain white granulated sugar, sanding sugar, or demerara sugar.
Food processor: add drops of food coloring to the granulated sugar. Pulse until well mixed.
In a plastic bag: add sugar and a few drops of food coloring. Seal bag and shake.
In a jar: add sugar and a few drops of food coloring. Tighten lid. Shake.
On a plate: add sugar and a few drops of food coloring. Rub between your hands.
For one 8 fl. oz. serving, there are 166 calories and 40.9g of carbs. This recipe is also high in vitamin C. For more nutritional information, scroll past the recipe card.
Serving Candy Cane Mocktail
Looking for other fun festive mocktails to enjoy during the holidays? You'll definitely want to try our non-alcoholic sangria.
If you're looking for New Year's Eve drinks, you'll want to try this indulgent chocolate mocha martini or peek through this roundup of 11 New Year's Eve drinks.
Expert Tips
- Make the strawberry simple syrup up to two weeks ahead of time and store in fridge.
- Decorate the rims of the glasses at one time. You can do this up to two hours in advance.
- Mix up a pitcher full of the drink and chill it in the fridge. Add the sparkling mineral water and Sprite just before serving.
- Quadruple the recipe and serve it in a punch bowl for your next holiday party.
More Mocktail Recipes You'll Love
Recipe
Candy Cane Mocktail
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Simple Syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup strawberries, hulled and sliced (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Rim & Garnish
- ⅓ cup concentrated lemon juice
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- few drops of red food coloring
- 4 mini candy canes, one for each glass
For the Drink
- 1 cup 100% cranberry juice, chilled
- 1 cup strawberry simple syrup, chilled
- 1 cup sparkling water, chilled
- 1 ⅓ cup cranberry Sprite, chilled
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons grenadine, 4
- 1 teaspoon Angostura bitters
Instructions
Making the Strawberry Simple Syrup
- Pour the sugar and water into a small saucepan set over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is dissolved.
- Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the strawberries and the vanilla. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool. Let the strawberries infuse in the simple syrup for a minimum of 2 hours to achieve maximum flavor, then strain out the strawberries and pour the syrup into an airtight mason jar. It can keep in the fridge for two weeks.
Decorating the Rim
- Pour the lemon juice and sugar into two separate, shallow bowls. Add a few drops of red food coloring to the sugar and mix it together by rubbing the sugar between your hands.
- Dip the rim of the glass in the lemon juice, then swirl it in the colored sugar.
Making the Drink
- Mix the cranberry juice, strawberry simple syrup, sparkling water, cranberry Sprite, grenadine, and Angostura bitters in a large pitcher. Pour into the prepared glasses and garnish with a mini candy cane. Serve cold.
- For an individual serving, pour ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon cranberry juice, ¼ cup strawberry simple syrup, ⅓ cup cranberry Sprite, ¼ cup sparkling water, 2 teaspoons Grenadine, and ⅛ teaspoon Angostura bitters into a glass. Stir until blended. Garnish with a mini candy cane. Serve cold.
Video
Notes
- Make the strawberry simple syrup up to two weeks ahead of time and store in fridge.
- Up to two hours ahead of time, decorate the rims of the glasses at one time.
- Need a larger batch? Mix up a pitcher full, but leave out the bubbly ingredients then chill it in the fridge. Just before serving add the sparkling water and the Sprite.
- Need this in a punch bowl? Quadruple the recipe for your next holiday party.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Beth
I like the combination of fruit and peppermint in this strikingly red mocktail. Easy to make and fun to drink!
Emma Fajcz
We're so glad that you enjoyed it, Beth! Thanks for your kind words.
OtterNonsense
If people are avoiding alcohol they should stay away from the Angostura!
Emma Fajcz
Yes, it's easy to omit if you'd like.
Beth
This is festive and cheery with it's red shine. This is interesting because it contains strawberries 🍓 and cranberries.
Emma
Yes, the combination of strawberries and cranberries is really nice. I'm glad that you enjoyed this drink, Beth!