Homemade Grape Soda

We've been experimenting with homemade sodas at home (orange soda, sprite, even strawberry vanilla), and this grape version is one of our favorites so far! You can make your own grape soda at home with just 5 ingredients and no expensive equipment. It has less sugar than store-bought, with no artificial sweeteners, colors, or additives!

Soda is Easy to Make at Home

We've been on a run of making homemade soda recipes, and each one has turned out so well, because the process is just so simple. Just like the other 3 sodas we've shared so far, this soda starts out by massaging some lemon zest into sugar. This helps provide a slightly acidic base that really enhances the flavor of fresh fruit.

We then add the grapes, blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a small saucepan and cook, mashing the fruit every once in a while, until it's completely softened. Then we strain out the solids and what's left is a concentrated flavored syrup! Pump a bit over ice, then top with sparkling water, and voilà! Homemade soda!

The fun part about homemade soda is that it's SO easy to swap out your favorite fruit. Try it with blackberry syrup, lime syrup, or even pomegranate syrup.

This recipe is part of our viral social media series, Better Than Store-Bought, where we create homemade versions of store-bought snacks, drinks and meals! Try our homemade brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts or fig newtons next.

Jump to:

• Soda is Easy to Make at Home
• Key Ingredients Needed for Homemade Grape Soda
• How to Make This Homemade Grape Soda
• Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
• More Homemade Drinks You'll Love
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Key Ingredients Needed for Homemade Grape Soda

Grapes: Most grape sodas are based on the flavor of concord grapes, but they can be hard to find in stores and are only in-season in the fall, so we used red grapes instead, though you can use whatever grape variety you like the best, including muscat, green, or even cotton candy.

Blueberries: We used a small amount of frozen wild blueberries to add a touch of color to the syrup.

How to Make This Homemade Grape Soda

1. To a small bowl, add the sugar and the zest of one lemon. Use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar, until no wet clumps of zest remain.

2. To a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the grapes, blueberries, lemon juice, and the lemon sugar. Cook for 15-20 minutes, mashing the fruit occasionally, until you're left with a wine-colored mash of grape skins and liquid.

3. Strain out the solids and move the syrup to the refrigerator to cool to room temperature.
4. Once the syrup is cooled, add ¼ cup of the syrup to an ice-filled glass, then top with sparkling water. Stir, and enjoy!

Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!

• Storage: Kept in a jar or airtight pump-style container, this syrup will last a month or so in the fridge.
• Soda ratio: We usually use ¼ - ⅓ cup of syrup per cup of sparkling water, but you might find you like it stronger or more diluted, depending on your tastes.
• We used red grapes in this recipe, but concord grapes (if you can find them) will provide a more classic grape soda-like flavor.
• Cooking tips:
  • Mash the grapes while cooking. After about 5-7 minutes in the saucepan, the grapes should have softened a bit and you can use a wooden spoon, muddler, or other implement to mash them up a bit.
  • Use low/medium low heat. You just want to simmer the grapes gently. It's OK if there's some light bubbling, but you want to avoid the whole thing bubbling over and getting sugar all over your stovetop.
  • Let the syrup cool before adding it to containers or using it in your homemade sodas.

More Homemade Drinks You'll Love

We can't wait for you to make this homemade grape 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!

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📖 Recipe