These easy mocktail recipes prove you don’t need alcohol to make a delicious drink! Every non-alcoholic cocktail on this list is worth mixing up tonight.
Turns out, you don’t need alcohol to make a tasty drink! As a cocktail and drink expert, I’ve gotten into mocktails: aka non alcoholic mixed drinks without the liquor (either eliminated entirely or with a non-alcoholic spirit). Mocktails are the perfect choice for people avoiding alcohol: which is becoming quite the trend!
I’ve found there are a few different ways to make a mocktail. You can follow a mocktail recipe to make virgin drinks based on classics, from the Margarita to the Mojito! You can also make a tasty mix-up of juices and bubbles, or more of a free-form mocktail without a recipe. You’ll just need to keep a few tricks in mind when building your drinks so they don’t come out tasting like bubbly fruit juice!
My Top 21 Mocktail Recipes
Craving a margarita but can’t drink? Or serving a crowd and need a non-alcoholic option? Enter the Margarita Mocktail! It’s tangy and refreshing, punctuated by that classic salt rim. Even better, it’s got a surprise that brings a bit of “funk” to the flavor that’s reminiscent of tequila. It’s the non alcoholic mocktail spin on our Classic Margarita.
Ingredients: Lime juice, lemon juice, pickle juice, simple syrup, tonic water
Are there any cocktail drinks more refreshing than a mojito? This iconic Cuban drink is one of the greats. Here’s a recipe for it that’s spot on perfection: not too sweet, bubbly, and minty fresh. For the mocktail version, just omit the rum! Or for our favorite version, substitute double the simple syrup for orgeat, an almond flavored syrup that adds a delicious complexity.
Ingredients: Lime juice, fresh mint, soda water, simple syrup or orgeat
This easy pomegranate mocktail combines sweet-tart pomegranate juice with lime and ginger beer for a delicious non alcoholic drink. It’s perfect for entertaining or any celebration!
Ingredients: Pomegranate juice, ginger beer, lime juice, apple cider vinegar
This lemon blueberry mocktail is zingy and refreshing, and looks like a craft cocktail! Ready in just 5 minutes with fresh ingredients, it’s the perfect non-alcoholic drink for any occasion.
Ingredients: Blueberries, lemon, mint, tonic water
This non alcoholic Aperol spritz mocktail has all the herbal citrusy flavor of the Italian classic, but no alcohol required. It’s bubbly, gorgeous, and ready in minutes!
This cranberry mocktail with ginger beer and orange is sweet tart and delicious with only 3 ingredients! It’s easy to whip up for parties and everyone raves!
Ingredients: Cranberry juice, orange juice, ginger beer
A virgin piña colada is really just a fancy name for a pineapple smoothie…but giving it a mocktail moniker makes it all the more fun! It comes out frosty and tropical, with a hint of fruity coconut and just sweet enough. It's the mocktail spin on our Frozen Piña Colada: hold the rum.
Ingredients: Pineapple, coconut milk, simple syrup
Here’s a bubbly drink that’s equally as refreshing as a cocktail or mocktail: the Lime Rickey! This refreshing drink is a cousin of the classic Gin Rickey, with no alcohol. Take one sip and it’s fizzy, bubbly, and ultra tangy: with effect of jumping into a cold pool on a hot summer day.
Ingredients: Lime juice, simple syrup or caper juice, soda water
Here’s everyone’s favorite mocktail: the Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri! Hands up: who ordered as a tween to feel sophisticated and grown up? This recipe makes a beautifully fruity version of the classic drink, no rum required. There are a few secrets to avoid tasting like a strawberry smoothie This delicious homemade mocktail is berry-forward, sweet tart and fruity, with a hint of intrigue on the finish.
Ingredients: Frozen strawberries, lime juice, simple syrup, tonic water or lemon lime soda
Here’s a fruity, refreshing drink everyone should try: the Shrub! This sweet and sour drink works perfectly as a mocktail, pairing a fruity vinegar syrup with soda. It’s very simple to make a shrub drink at home: all you need are 2 days and a bit of fruit, vinegar and sugar.
Ingredients: Vinegar, fruit, sugar, sparkling water
This sparkling apple cider mocktail combines fresh apple cider, ginger beer, and mint with a cinnamon sugar rim for a winter and fall drink that’s great for parties or holidays. Ready in just 5 minutes!
Ingredients: Apple cider, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, ginger beer
Here's the most famous mocktail of them all: the Shirley Temple! This isn’t the overly sweet, syrupy version of this drink. The classic way is actually made without soda: just three ingredients and totally clean flavors. It’s not just for kids! This mocktail works for anyone looking for a bubbly, refreshing non-alcoholic drink. Even better: try our all-natural homemade grenadine that skips the artificial flavors and colors.
Also try: Roy Rogers, a variation with cola!
Ingredients: Grenadine, lime juice, ginger ale or ginger beer
Here’s a great mocktail trick that works for people of all ages: the Non Alcoholic Mimosa! This drink is so simple to put together, and it’s totally customizable for kids or people avoiding alcohol. You can make this virgin drink at the same time as the classic Mimosa, and it works for a crowd! It tastes surprisingly balanced: citrusy and bubbly with a hint of ginger on the finish.
Ingredients: Orange juice, ginger ale
Craving a Bloody Mary but can’t do alcohol? Make this Bloody Mary mocktail, aka the Virgin Mary, and you’ll hardly know the difference! It’s so full of flavor: savory, tangy, spicy, and salty all at once! You’ll hardly believe it’s a mocktail. In fact, we almost like this one even better than our classic Bloody Mary, especially because you can drink as many as you want.
Ingredients: Tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, olive juice, Tabasco, celery salt, black pepper
Try this Spicy Grapefruit Ginger Fizz mocktail! Full of bold, spicy, and fresh flavors, it might remind you of a Moscow mule. It’s minimally sweet, and it’s easy to whip up in just 5 minutes. via Gimme Some Oven
Ingredients: Grapefruit juice, lime juice, mint, jalapeno pepper, ginger beer
This Honey, Blackberry and Sage refresher taste sweet, tart and woodsy. Each sip of this non-alcoholic pick-me-up is packed with crisp, cool flavor. via Grandbaby Cakes
Ingredients: Blackberries, honey, sage, lime juice, ginger beer, seltzer water
Take the tequila out of the sunrise with this mocktail! It uses only 4 ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make! Its refreshing sweet, tart flavor makes it the perfect sweet nonalcoholic drink. via Crowded Kitchen
Ingredients: Orange juice, lime juice, grenadine, non alcoholic tequila
Skip the tequila for these zero-proof Palomas and use muddled jalapeño for a spicy take on the classic! This virgin drink is topped off with fresh grapefruit and lime juices and sparkling water for a refreshing drink without the alcohol. via Skinny Taste
Ingredients: Jalapeno pepper, grapefruit juice, lime juice, sparkling water, agave syrup
Here’s an iconic drink that’s more than the sum of its parts: the Arnold Palmer! It’s simple, but somehow it stuck: a mix of zingy lemonade and earthy iced tea. There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot day! This works well as a party drink or mocktail.
Ingredients: Lemonade, unsweetened iced tea
This mocktail made with blood orange juice, honey, and vanilla is citrusy and refreshing! If you can't find blood oranges to make this sparkler, substitute fresh orange juice. via Marisa Moore
Ingredients: Blood orange juice, honey, vanilla, lime sparkling water
Here’s a bright, beautiful mocktail: the Cherry Lime Rickey! Something about the combination of cherries and lime is pure genius, where the tart of the citrus perfectly accentuates the sweet berry. So combining it into a homemade mocktail or cocktail? Well, it’s pretty darn perfect. Here you’ll take a lime rickey mocktail and add a cherry syrup to bring in that candy-colored flavor. (You can also add gin for the alcohol drinkers!)
Also try: Raspberry Lime Rickey
Ingredients: Lime juice, cherry cocktail syrup, soda water
How to Make a Mocktail Without a Recipe
How to make a mocktail? It’s easy to mix something together: but often with no alcohol it ends up testing like fruit juice. Instead, here are a few tricks for adding complexity to the flavor of your free-form mocktails:
- Use bubbly mixers. Soda water, tonic water, and even ginger ale or ginger beer and great for adding lift to your mocktails with carbonated bubbles. When in doubt: add bubbles!
- Consider a “mock” alcohol to add complexity. Here’s a cool mocktail trick: a teaspoon or two of caper juice or pickle juice can taste like alcohol! It sounds weird, but it actually works. Our Virgin Margarita recipe below has a hint of pickle juice, which gives a finish that tastes oddly like tequila.
- Try fancy simple syrups. Layering flavors helps mocktail recipes taste interesting instead of one-note. Try a homemade syrup like Mint Simple Syrup, Ginger Simple Syrup, Rosemary Simple Syrup or Lavender Simple Syrup.
- Consider non-alcoholic bitters. A few dashes of bitters add herbal complexity to cocktails. There are some non-alcoholic brands that you can experiment with for mocktails, too! See also: this Bitters and Soda almost mocktail!
- Load up on fancy garnishes and clear ice. It’s all about presentation! The fun thing about our cocktail recipes is not just that they taste good: they look beautiful, too! Try clear ice, artisan style crystal clear ice that makes your drink look like it came from a fancy bar. Depending on the drink, load up on cocktail cherries, citrus wedges, or fresh herbs.
Mocktails are Low Calorie Drinks
Mocktails are very low calorie, since the alcohol is what contributes the most calories to cocktails. They’re great if you’re looking for a fitting low-cal replacement for your favorite cocktail. Also try our top low calorie alcoholic drinks.
See also: Best Non Alcoholic Beers
Hello,
Thank you for sharing these mocktail recipes! I was wondering if you ever made any of these in bulk size. I’m looking to make a vat of a few mocktails for a luau theme party and would like to have them already made up and sitting in a 3 gallon beverage dispenser.
Thank you,
Jennifer
Great question! I think the easiest would be a Virgin Mojito Pitcher — follow this Mojito Pitcher recipe and leave out the rum — increase the soda water to 3 cups. Then multiply that by however many pitchers you’d like! Let me know what you think!
Want to learn mocktail receipe
Thank you for the ideas, any party I cater and use your ideas it is always a hit.
Great Suggestions and Recipes!
“This recipe isn’t sweet! (Three different juices and ginger ale)” 🙄
Waaawuu so amazing thanks alot
I can’t wait to give these a try! I love getting mocktails while at bars or restaurants but haven’t experimented much at home.
I am very interested to try this!