10 Recipes for Non-Alcoholic Drinks

If you’re looking for a fun beverage to share with friends but want more non-alcoholic options to choose from, it pays to have go-to recipes you can stir up yourself. Fortunately, there are plenty of flavors and ingredients to experiment with — and the first element is always clear, great-tasting water.

Here’s everything you need to know about non-alcoholic drinks, including how to make your own.

Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipes

There are plenty of reasons to skip the alcohol and choose soda, water or juice. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up the fun of a colorful cocktail or social drinking. Instead, try these recipes that cater to all tastes:

Mocktails

Enjoy all the color and taste of cocktails without the alcohol. For an added twist, serve them in fun glasses or add edible decor like colored sugar.

Sparkling Strawberry Sipper

Inspired by the Pimm’s Cup, a favorite cocktail in England, this mocktail includes just a few easy ingredients:

• Filtered water
• Simple syrup
• 2 sliced strawberries per glass
• 2 slices of seedless cucumber per glass
• Lemon seltzer
• Ice

Put your strawberries and cucumber slices in each glass. Add lemon seltzer, simple syrup and a little filtered water to taste.

Chocolate Mock-tini

This martini-inspired non-alcoholic beverage is perfect for chocolate and sugar lovers. Grab these ingredients:

• Ice
• Chocolate syrup
• Chocolate chips or kisses
• 3 oz. milk or cream per glass

Start by drizzling chocolate syrup in each glass to taste. Drop a few chocolate chips or one of your kisses into the bottom. Next, fill a shaker with ice and pour in the milk or cream and some additional syrup. Shake for about 30 seconds and strain evenly into glasses. Add extra chocolate chips or syrup as a garnish.

Infused Water

Known for simple ingredients and fun flavor, infused water recipes can put fruit to work in tasty ways.

Ginger Fruit Water

There are many benefits of drinking ginger water, and you can enjoy them all with these simple ingredients:

• Filtered water
• Strawberries
• Watermelon slices
• Lemons
• Cucumber
• Ginger

The best part about this recipe is that you can add more of your favorite fruit depending on the size of your container. Just remember that ginger can have a strong flavor, so use it carefully.

Once you’ve perfected the fruit ratio, add the ingredients to a large mason jar or pitcher, pour water on top and chill overnight. Then, pour it into glasses and serve.

Orange Basil Water

This non-alcoholic drink only requires three ingredients:

• Filtered water
• 2 sliced oranges
• A handful of basil leaves

Add the oranges and basil to a 32 oz. mason jar, pour in the water and chill overnight. When you serve it, consider adding a twist of lemon or lime juice to complement the orange flavor.

Smoothie and Juice Blends

From a great breakfast to a tasty treat, smoothies can do it all. Plus, you can swap out ingredients to create new combos.

Summer Colors Smoothie

With fresh fruit and delicious juice, this refreshing smoothie is a great choice for warm weather. Grab these:

• 1 mango, skin removed, diced
• 5 strawberries
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 1 cup orange juice

Start by freezing your fresh fruit to add a little texture to your smoothie. Next, put the fruit and orange juice into the blender and puree until it’s smooth — about 3 minutes. For different twists on the standard recipe, try adding a splash of lemon or cranberry juice.

Breakfast Smoothie

If you want something that’s a little more breakfast than beverage, you’ll need these ingredients:

• 2 ice cubes
• ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 banana
• 1 ½ cups plain coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup frozen mango cubes
• ¾ cup frozen pineapple cubes

Start by blending the oats to a powder. Add the ice cubes, banana, coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and blend again. When the mixture is smooth, add the mango and pineapple and blend one more time for about 1 minute. Then, pour into glasses and enjoy.

Tea

Whether you prefer it hot or cold, tea is a classic non-alcoholic beverage that can suit all taste buds.

Sweet Iced Tea

Make sweet tea into a delicious alcohol alternative by adding your favorite flavors:

• Sweet tea
• Orange juice
• Pineapple juice

Combine the orange and pineapple juice in different amounts depending on which you want to taste more strongly. Then, pour that into a pitcher of sweet tea, mix well and chill. Remember, you can always switch things up by adding a splash of cranberry juice or a little fresh lemon.

Jasmine Iced Tea

Looking for something fresh and floral? Grab these ingredients:

• Filtered water
• 1 oz. loose-leaf jasmine green tea
• 1-2 Tbsp. raw sugar / 1-2 Tbsp. honey
• Lemon juice

Combine the tea and water in a large pitcher. Dissolve your sugar or honey in 1 cup of hot water and add to the pitcher. Put this in the fridge overnight, and when you’re ready to serve, strain the beverage and add lemon juice to taste.

Kid-Friendly Options

Want something the whole family will love? Try making these kid-friendly drinks with your little ones.

Strawberry Lemonade

This sweet treat is perfect for summer days, and you need just a few simple ingredients:

• Filtered water
• ½ lb. strawberries
• 6-8 medium-sized lemons
• Simple syrup

Puree your strawberries and strain the mixture (if your kids don’t like seeds). Juice your lemons and strain them into a pitcher, then add the simple syrup and pureed strawberries. Finally, stir it all together and chill before serving.

Non-Alcoholic Blue Lagoon

This colorful drink is sure to catch your kids’ eyes. You just need two ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. blue curaçao syrup
• 1 cup lemonade
• Ice

Combine the syrup and lemonade slowly for an even mixture, then pour over ice and serve. For a fun twist, find blue edible flowers or cocktail umbrellas.

The Most Important Ingredient in Every Drink

Whether you’re stirring up a non-alcoholic cocktail or making your favorite fruit into a mouthwatering smoothie, you’re always going to need a particular ingredient, and that’s high-quality tap water.

Even if a recipe doesn’t call for water, you’re still washing your fruit and glasses in it. That means water will always have an impact on the taste and quality of your non-alcoholic beverage — and sometimes even the color and odor.

The problem is that tap water isn’t perfect. Even when it comes from a city treatment plant, it may smell like chlorine. Well water may smell like rotten eggs, taste metallic or be cloudy. It’s also possible to have potentially serious issues that can’t be seen, tasted or smelled, like PFAS (known as forever chemicals) or lead — and those are never good ingredients.*

To address these issues and make sure your tap water is always ready to be turned into a delicious drink, you need comprehensive water filtration. Reverse osmosis is a top choice for both well and city water users because with the right system, it can address a huge range of problems, from forever chemicals and heavy metals to viruses and bacteria. It can also improve the taste, odor and appearance of your water.

Find the perfect RO drinking water filtration system for your home.

If you want to go the extra mile and make your water even better, you can also consider water softening. This process removes hard minerals that can make your dishes spotty or cloudy — and messy glassware is a good way to ruin a beautiful mocktail. Although it’s not generally a health concern, hard water also negatively impacts your skin, hair, nails, water-using appliances, plumbing and more, which means you’re getting a lot more than just crystal-clear drinking glasses.

FAQs About Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Want to learn more about fun drinks without wine, beer or other alcohol? Here are a few FAQs:

Are Non-Alcoholic Drinks Healthier Than Alcoholic Beverages?

In many cases, non-alcoholic options are healthier alternatives to your favorite alcohol drinks. That’s because alcohol can potentially impact your brain, heart, liver and pancreas and may even contribute to cancer risk. Plus, recipes like the ones covered above include ingredients that can do great things for your body; for example, ginger can help reduce inflammation and decrease nausea, while oranges and lemons are packed with vitamin C that’s great for immune health.

Can Non-Alcoholic Drinks Help With Hydration?

Did you know that alcoholic drinks can actually dehydrate your body? Luckily, non-alcoholic beverages — especially those with added water — often do the opposite. They’re a great way to get the water you need and avoid the added sugar from soda or energy drinks. They’re also fun to drink, which can encourage you to hit your daily hydration goals.

Are Non-Alcoholic Beverages a New Trend?

According to America’s CNN, Cornell Chronicle and Forbes and Canada’s Global News, you’re likely in good company if you’re interested in non-alcoholic alternatives. As it turns out, this is a growing trend — which means it’s more helpful than ever to have a few fun recipes on hand.

Make Your New Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink

The best part about non-alcoholic beverages is that you can switch them up as much as you want. From tea and lemonade to colorful mocktails and fruit smoothies, there’s nothing stopping you from experimenting with different flavors. Just remember that the first ingredient is always the same: fresh, filtered tap water.

The key to getting that ingredient right every time is a home water filtration system. To learn which one is right for you and why, you’ll need a professional water test to identify what’s coming out of the tap.

Get started today by scheduling your free, in-home water test and consultation.

*Contaminants may not be present in your water.