We've made homemade orange soda, grape soda, and homemade Sprite (lemon lime soda), but I think this Strawberry Vanilla Bean Soda might be my favorite so far! Perfect for spring and summer, it's sweet, refreshing, fruit-forward and tastes like a cream soda, thanks to the addition of vanilla bean paste. It's easy to make with just 5 ingredients and you can keep the strawberry vanilla syrup stored in your fridge for weeks!
Why You Should Make Your Own Sodas at Home
It's so easy to make your own sodas at home with less sugar and no artificial colors or flavors. There's really no reason not to give it a try! It's also a fun way to use up leftover fruit, and there are SO many flavor variations you can experiment with.
All it takes is simmering your favorite fruit with some sugar, straining out the solids, and then topping the syrup off with sparkling water for lots of fizz.
You can customize the sweetness to your liking, and you can even use a sugar free sweetener like monkfruit if preferred.
It's also a fun way to use up leftover fruit, and there are SO many flavor variations you can experiment with. Try a blackberry syrup, lime syrup, or even pomegranate syrup! Really any seasonal fruit will work well.
Best of all, you don't need any special or expensive equipment. Let's make it!
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Key Ingredients Needed for this Strawberry Vanilla Bean Soda
- Strawberries: fresh or frozen work equally well.
- Vanilla bean paste: We used vanilla bean paste for a serious kick of vanilla flavor that you can't quite get from plain extract.
How to Make this Strawberry Vanilla Soda
- To a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest and massage the zest into the sugar until the zest is evenly incorporated throughout the sugar.
- To a small saucepan, add the diced strawberries, zest and sugar mixture, lemon juice, and still water. Cook over medium low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the strawberries have softened and broken down.
- Strain the cooked syrup to remove the strawberry solids, using a spatula or spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Stir or whisk in the vanilla bean paste, and move the to refrigerator to cool.
- Once cooled, add anywhere from 2-4 tablespoons of the syrup to an ice-filled glass, and top with sparkling water.
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
- Storage: Once the syrup is fully cooled, keep it stored in an airtight jar like a mason jar. We like to use this pump top bottle for easy dispensing. It should keep for about 1 month in the refrigerator. If you use a sugar substitute, it will not last this long.
- Ratio of syrup to sparkling water: You can vary this up according to how intense you want your flavor to be, but a ratio of about ¼ cup of syrup to 1 cup of sparkling water should work well. For less sweet soda, try just 2 tablespoons.
More Homemade Drink Recipes You'll Love
We can't wait for you to make this homemade strawberry soda in your own home! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!
Recipe
Homemade Strawberry Vanilla Bean Soda
Ingredients
Method
- To a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest and massage the zest into the sugar until the zest is evenly incorporated throughout the sugar.
- To a small saucepan, add the diced strawberries, zest and sugar mixture, lemon juice, and still water. Cook over medium low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the strawberries have softened and broken down.
- Strain the cooked syrup to remove the strawberry solids, using a spatula or spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Stir or whisk in the vanilla bean paste, and move the to refrigerator to cool.
- Once cooled, add anywhere from 2-4 tablespoons of the syrup to an ice-filled glass, and top with sparkling water.
Tammy says
Can I use honey instead of sugar for this recipe?
Lexi Harrison says
Yes, that's fine!