Do you remember when Anne Shirley thought she served Diana Barry raspberry cordial, but it really was something stronger! Let's learn how to make this delicious drink.
If you enjoy making your own fruity drinks, try our homemade blueberry lemonade and cherry lemonade.
Quick Look at Raspberry Cordial Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 40 minutes
- ⏲️ Inactive Time: 26 hours (cooling/steeping in fridge)
- ⏲️ Total Time: 26 hours 40 minutes
- 🍽️ Yield: 9 servings
- 🥕 Dietary Info: Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
- ⚡ Calories: 212 calories per serving (based on nutrition facts in recipe card)
- 💦 5 Ingredients: raspberries, lemon juice, water, sugar, and sparkling water (for serving).
- 🥣 Method: Stovetop
- ⌛ Time-Saving Hack: Use pre-washed frozen berries.
- 🔪 Equipment: Dutch oven, sieve, and citrus reamer.
- ⭐ Expert Tip: To mix up a pitcher, blend 1 cup of sparkling water (or more to taste) with the 6⅔ cups of cordial.
- 🍋 Flavor: This raspberry cordial has the perfect balance between sweet and tangy from the berries and lemons, and has an incredible and refreshing raspberry flavor.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Make with Fresh or Frozen Raspberries: This recipe can be made any time of year with either fresh or frozen raspberries!
- Refreshing & Easy: This cordial is super easy to assemble and is made with just 4 ingredients. There's minimal hands-on time; most of the time it's steeping in the fridge.
- Can Be Frozen or Canned for Long Storage: This drink can be frozen for up to 6 months, or canned in mason jars for even longer storage in the pantry.
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I loved the Anne of Green Gables books and I have always loved raspberries so I found this recipe simply marvelous."
- Beth
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Ingredients
You don't need anything fancy to make this delicious raspberry non-alcoholic drink! Let's discuss the key ingredients you'll need for this recipe.
- Raspberries: You can use fresh or frozen raspberries for this drink. There's no need to defrost frozen berries before using them.
- Lemon Juice: Squeeze your own juice from fresh lemons for the best flavor. This enhances the tartness of the raspberries.
- Sugar: This sweetens the drink to counteract the tart raspberries and lemon juice. Regular white sugar is a good choice here.
- Water: This dilutes all the strong flavors in the drink. When you drink it, you'll need a little extra filtered water or sparkling water to cut it even more.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Raspberry Cordial
Start by measuring the ingredients for our raspberry drink recipe: raspberries, lemon juice, sugar, and water.
- Toss the raspberries in the lemon juice.
- Stir the sugar and water together over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the raspberries. Let the mixture cool, then refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Mine sat for 48 hours.
- Strain out the raspberries and seeds with a strainer.
- Gently squeeze the berries with a spoon to release more juices.
- Mix the raspberry cordial with a little sparkling water, then sit back and enjoy!
Raspberry Cordial FAQs
It's made with fruit and sugar syrup. In our recipe, fresh raspberries are cooked and mixed with simple syrup to form the base of the drink. The base is diluted with water to make it less sweet.
No, it is not alcoholic, although many people do mix it with alcohol.
A cordial is much sweeter and has a more concentrated fruit flavor than juice.
It is generally mixed with water to dilute it and make it a bit less sweet. Traditionally plain water is used but we prefer a more modern approach by mixing it with sparkling water. It is generally served chilled without ice and is meant to be sipped.
Serving Suggestions
If you're looking for other summer drinks to serve with raspberry cordial, don't miss our recipes for frozen cherry limeade, frozen strawberry lemonade, and watermelon slushie. You'll also love our agua de guayaba.
Expert Tips
- Use either fresh or frozen raspberries for this recipe.
- Keep the strained-out raspberries and use as a fruit spread on toast or ice cream.
- To mix up a pitcher instead of an individual glass, blend 1 cup of sparkling water (or more to taste) with the 6⅔ cups of cordial.
- You may preserve it by canning it in sterilized jars. It will keep for a whole year.
- You can keep it refrigerated for up to 5 days, but it probably won't last that long!
More Non-Alcoholic Drinks You'll Love
Recipe
Raspberry Cordial
Ingredients
- 5 ½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries, slightly thawed (24 ounces)
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 6 cups filtered water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- Sparkling mineral water, for serving
Instructions
Making the Cordial (25 minutes + at least 24 hours steeping)
- Stir together the frozen raspberries and freshly squeezed lemon juice until blended.
- Pour the water and sugar into a large Dutch oven and stir over medium-high heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Once the sugar syrup is boiling, remove it from the heat and stir in the raspberry mixture. Allow to cool on the counter for 1-2 hours, until it's no longer really hot, then cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. This steeping time will infuse the raspberry flavor into the syrup.
Straining & Serving (10 minutes)
- Place a large, fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Pour the raspberry syrup into the sieve to separate the seeds and berries. Gently push down the berries with a large spoon to squeeze out the remaining juices.
- Pour the cordial into a large jug and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Mix the cordial with the sparkling water to taste, preferably with an 80-20 ratio of cordial to water. For a small 8 ounce glass, mix ¾ cup cordial with ⅛ cup sparkling water, and for a large 11 ounce glass, mix 1 cup cordial with ¼ cup sparkling water. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Use fresh or frozen berries, whichever you have available.
- To mix up a pitcher, blend 1 cup of sparkling water with the 6 ⅔ cups of cordial.
- Keep the strained out raspberries and use as a fruit spread on toast or ice cream.
- For an old-fashioned twist, use plain filtered water instead of sparkling water.
- This should keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Beth
I loved the Anne of Green Gables books 📚 and I have always loved raspberries so I found this recipe simply marvelous.
Emma
Since I am also a big fan of Anne of Green Gables, I was really excited to make raspberry cordial. It's definitely a must-try drink!