Ever wondered how to make homemade soda? Discover my favorite recipes for fruity Caffeine-free homemade sodas, made from fresh fruit and without any artificial sweeteners. The perfect soda replacement for a healthy lifestyle!
A while back, I shared the 7 steps I took to finally quit sugar. Staying as far away from soda, even the diet kind was a big part of it. Yes, you know it’s not that good for you, but we all crave a tall, ice-cold glass of a sweet drink every now and then.
Sure, a glass now and then won’t do you much harm, but as soon as those hot summer days start rolling in, it can be hard to stop at just one glass. Then, the one-time treat becomes a habit and you’re hooked.
In order to avoid the temptation, you could start by avoiding that aisle in your local supermarket. Another option is to make make your own homemade soda.
Believe it or not, it’s actually super easy to make homemade soda. You only need a few basic ingredients, including your favorite fresh fruit. I love that, when you’re making homemade soda, you can control the sweetness. Now, you can enjoy a tall glass of refreshing fizzy bubbles without the artificial sugars, colors, and preservatives. Woot!
Homemade soda is much healthier for you, as you can use real fruit and also experiment with flavors. Start by making my favorite 5 Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda recipes!
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SODA
Making this fizzy fruity refreshment at home is quite simple, really. Plus, homemade soda is so much healthier than regular soda and you can make it to your own liking.
The key ingredients of these homemade soda recipes are (1) fresh fruit “syrup” and (2) seltzer water. We will be using fresh fruit and a simple syrup made from raw honey and water to sweeten the soda. To make your honey simple syrup, just combine some raw honey with water and cook in a pan over medium-high heat until the honey is dissolved, and then set aside to cool. Easy peasy.
Next, comes the fresh fruit. Depending on the fruit you’re using, you’ll either need to juice it (lemons, lime, oranges…) or add them to a blender and chop them (grapes, strawberries, etc.).
Once you’ve got the fruit broken down, you can strain it using a fine mesh strainer. You could leave the pulp in, but the soda will have a different texture. Then, transfer the fruit syrup to a bottle, add seltzer water, and any simple honey syrup to sweeten. Seal the bottle and place it in the fridge to cool. You could also just drink it right away over ice, if you prefer.
HOW TO REMOVE CAFFEINE
One of the best things about this homemade soda is that it is caffeine-free. I love having this sweet drink later in the evening, at times when I really don’t want to have any caffeine. I’ve found it difficult to find low calorie, unprocessed, caffeine-free soda options out there so making these sodas has been a great way to remove caffeine from my evening and still enjoy a fizzy beverage.
HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE SODA
Before we get started, we need to talk bottles. While you could make these sodas right when you want them and pour them over ice, you can also prep them ahead, which is what I prefer so I have them ready in the fridge when I want a drink.
I’m using these sealable bottles and I can leave the link for you in the description below. If you dob’t have something that will seal it tightly enough to keep in the bubbles, you can just wait to add the seltzer water until it’s time to drink.
WHAT’S THE BEST SODA WATER FOR HOMEMADE SODA?
For the carbonated water, you can use club soda, seltzer water, or sparkling mineral water — they all have bubbles and will work. I like using Seltzer (Sparkling Water) most because it’s just plain water that has been carbonated, but is (usually) lacking in minerals and any added flavor. That being said, any of them will work fine and you can experiment to see what tastes best to you.
5 Easy Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda Recipes
HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY SODA
Bold both in color and in flavor, Homemade Strawberry Soda will soon become your favorite summer drink.
HOMEMADE ORANGE SODA
Freshly squeezed orange juice is great on its own, but it’s even better when you mix it with seltzer water and some raw honey to make Homemade Orange Soda.
HOMEMADE LEMON LIME SODA
This Homemade Lemon Lime Soda is my go-to drink! Zesty lemons and limes, subtle sweetness of raw honey and bubbles. What’s not to love?
HOMEMADE GRAPE SODA
Unlike most store-bought grape beverages, Homemade Grape Soda actually tastes like grapes! My Caffeine-free homemade Grape Soda is made from fresh grapes and without no added sugar!
HOMEMADE BLACKBERRY SODA
Drink your daily dose of rich antioxidants by enjoying a glass or two of Homemade Blackberry Soda made with all-natural ingredients.
How to Make Homemade Soda + 5 Easy Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda Recipes
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1 lb. strawberries (to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice)
- 1/2 - 1 liter seltzer water
- 2 oranges (to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice)
- 1/2 - 1 liter seltzer water
- 4-6 lemons (to yield a minimum 1/3 cup juice)
- 1-2 limes (to yield a minimum 3 tbsp juice)
- 1/2 - 1 liter seltzer water
- 1/2 lb grapes (to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice; I used seedless black grapes)
- 1/2 - 1 liter seltzer water
- 1 1/2 cups blackberries (to yield a minimum 1/2 cup juice; I used seedless black grapes)
- 1/2 - 1 liter seltzer water
-
Combine water with raw honey and cook over medium-high heat in a sauce pan until the honey is dissolved, then allow to cool. Set this aside because we’ll be using it in a little bit.
-
Add fresh strawberries to a blender and quickly chop them to break them down.
-
Then transfer the blended strawberries to a fine mesh strainer to press through the liquid into a bowl below. Repeat with the remaining strawberries until you have all the condensed strawberry juice in your bowl.
-
Then, add that strawberry juice to the bottom of our bottle.
-
Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top.
-
Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink - you can taste at this point and decide how much you need.
-
Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.
-
Juice the oranges to get fresh orange juice. You can either strain the pulp from this juice or leave it as is. To strain it, press the juice through a fine mesh strainer.
-
Then, add the orange juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.
-
Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top.
-
Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink - you can taste at this point and decide how much you need.
-
Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.
-
Juice the lemons and limes. To strain it, press the juice through the fine mesh strainer.
-
Then, add that lemon and lime juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.
-
Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top.
-
Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink - you can taste at this point and decide how much you need. You’ll probably need to add more of the simple syrup in this soda than the others, since the lemons and limes are less sweet naturally.
-
Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.
-
Ad fresh black grapes to a blender and quickly puree them. You can use any grapes, but I find black grapes to give the best color and flavor.
-
Then transfer the blended grapes to a fine mesh strainer to press through the liquid into a bowl below. Repeat with the remaining grapes until you have all the condensed grape juice in your bowl.
-
Then, add that grape juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.
-
And, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top.
-
Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink - you can taste at this point and decide how much you need. The grapes are already pretty sweet so you wont need to add much simple syrup at all.
-
Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.
-
Add fresh blackberries to a blender and quickly puree them.
-
Then transfer the blended blackberries to a fine mesh strainer so we can press through the liquid into a bowl below. You may need to add a little water to help it out in case it get’s too thick. Repeat with the remaining blackberries until you have all the condensed blackberry juice in your bowl.
-
Then, add that blackberry juice to the bottom of the bottle or glass.
-
Next, slowly add the seltzer water to the bottle, almost all the way up to the top.
-
Then add a little of our raw honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink - you can taste at this point and decide how much you need.
-
Continue to fill almost all the way to the top with your seltzer water and then seal bottle and place in the fridge to get nice and cold.
Recipe Video
This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
so i know that you made these to be fairly free and clear of pulp by pushing the puree through the mesh, but could this be done with the puree *whole* or even just a small amount of the actual puree in it? I would like the idea of keeping more of the natural nutrients from the fruit with the experience of the soda as well and think it may be an interesting take while simultaneous givingly more yield with less used fruit.
My daughters were making when they were 9 years old because we had a sodastream they carbonated the water themselves..
Hi Lam, thank you for your comment. That’s awesome, be sure to share this recipe with your daughters!
I was looking at this and was wondering, how long can this be stored as long as its airtight.
I would love to know the same thing!! I’d love to make many at a time to store.
Hi SP! Because these sodas will last between 5-7 days, consider freezing some if you want to make many at a time. Lacey generally recommends using a freezer bag or a rigid, airtight container when storing them in the freezer. -Jen
One more thing to mention! It’s recommended that you freeze the juice ONLY (add the seltzer water after thawing). -Jen
Hi Connor – Thank you for your comment! I’m Lacey’s blog moderator and can help you with this question. So because this recipe does call for fresh fruit and does not contain preservatives, each soda will last between 5 to 7 days. I hope this helps! -Jen
Any ideas on cherry soda? That was my favorite when I was a kid. Impossible to find nowadays. Of course, there is cherry cola, but that’s not the same.
Hi Deanna, great idea! I’m Lacey’s blog moderator and just wanted to pop in with a few suggestions after speaking with her. We’d treat cherry soda similar to how the strawberry soda is made. Just use fresh cherry’s instead and make sure to remove the pits! Simply adjust the amount of raw honey simple syrup to taste and see what you think. Maybe add a tiny bit of vanilla extract? We’d love to hear how it goes so be sure to comment back if you make a batch! -Jen
I don’t recommend using stuff like tangerine la croix as a substitute for seltzer water
It’s ok but probably not what this is going for
Is there any reason you are not recommending reusing the same bottle the seltzer comes in?
maybe you should try a peach soda
The recipes sounds amazing. I also love the bottles do you mind sharing where to purchase the bottles from. The link that is provided is no longer available.
Thank you
hey, y’all. i don’t know if you’re still looking the bottles, but i found something on amazon that looks similar: https://www.amazon.com/Flip-Glass-Bottle-Liter-Pack/dp/B07JZYL568
Please send me the details of the supplier for the unusual shaped bottle. Thank you.
Tamara,
Did you ever get a response on the bottle? I was looking for it as well and the link is no longer available.
I found these exact ones on amazon, I just received them today. They come with 6!
I love blackberries and can’t wait to try your blackberry soda recipe! MM that just sounds soo good!
very helpful
Any alternatives to honey that will work? I’m allergic to honey.
I assume any natural sugar. ie. Stevia, Maple Syrup (sap-based sugars), cane sugar, or even corn syrup (thats a no no though)
I would imagine your recipes were good and really would have liked to have read them. However, with all the live commercials and videos going on the “page” kept jumping. Finally I said to heck with it. I thought I’d write this in case you are unaware of that.
Sorry I couldn’t stick around. That simply drove me nuts.
Hello! Thank you for sharing your recipes! Do you happen to have any that don’t need to be refrigerated? We are brewing beer for wedding favors and would like to have a tasty bottled non-alcoholic alternative for kids and adults who prefer not to have alcohol.
I am going to try your recipe. I would like to know how long can I let the lemonade in the fridge (in the bottle/glass)? Thanks for your answer.
I am going to try your recipes. Natural foods fascinate me. Plus, these thirst quenchers could not come at a more opportune time. Thanks so much for sharing, Lacey.
Awesome – I am so glad you will be able to put these summer drinks to good use! xoxo