We've made homemade Sprite, orange soda and even cherry limeade, but this homemade peach soda is our first foray into a dirty soda (soda plus a splash of cream) and it's absolutely delicious! It's easy to make, creamy, sweet (but not too sweet), made with real fruit and it basically tastes like liquefied peach ice cream.
You can also make this without the cream for a regular soda, or try the peach syrup in a summer cocktail, like a Bourbon Peach Smash!
Less sugar, more flavor!
If you're tuned into food media, you may have seen this week that Crumbl just debuted a dirty soda that contains a whopping 186 grams of sugar in one 32 ounce serving. For context, that's equivalent to 19 Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts. Pretty absurd, right?!
We've been making our own sodas at home lately (try our grape or strawberry vanilla soda next!) with way less sugar, real fruit flavor and no artificial colors. It's as easy as making a concentrated simple syrup with fruit, then combining it with sparkling water!
Peaches are starting to come into season, so we were inspired to try them out for our latest soda recipe. It's one of my absolute favorites we've made to date!
We combine it with a little lemon zest and juice for some extra punch. We tried it both ways (with and without lemon) and it really does make a big difference. It somehow intensifies the peach flavor, kind of like how coffee intensifies chocolate!
For this soda, we did something a little different, which was adding in a bit of fresh peach purée for extra color and flavor. It's an optional step– it's plenty sweet and plenty peach-forward without it.
The addition of cream is also totally optional, but it really does taste incredible. You only need a very small amount to make it creamy, so it's definitely worth a try!
Key Ingredients Needed for Peach Soda
How to Make Peach Soda
- To a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers, massage the sugar and zest together until fragrant and evenly incorporated.
- To a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the diced peaches, sugar and zest mixture, and water. Cook over medium low heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the peaches have softened and begin to break down. You'll want to mash them a bit throughout the cooking process using a wooden spoon or similar utensil.
- Strain the cooked syrup to remove the solids, using a spatula or spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Save the leftover peaches! They're basically like a jam.
- Move the syrup to the refrigerator to cool completely.
- To an ice-filled glass, add about 2-4 tablespoons of the peach syrup. Top with sparkling water and enjoy!
- To make it a dirty soda, blend up ½ of a peach with about ¼ cup of water, then strain to make peach juice. Add 2 tablespoons of peach syrup to an ice-filled glass, then top with ¼-1/3 cup of peach juice, then top with sparkling water and about a tablespoon of heavy cream or coffee creamer. Stir and enjoy!
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
- The riper your peaches, the sweeter the syrup will be. If your peaches aren't very ripe, you may want to add a little more sugar to the syrup.
- Don't throw out the leftover peaches after straining the syrup. It basically turns into a jam! It's delicious on toast with butter, or mixed into oatmeal or yogurt.
- Make it dairy free: Use a nondairy cream substitute of choice. (Just keep in mind that coconut milk may not be the best option as it can curdle when combined with an acid.)
- 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 2-4 tablespoons of syrup per cup of sparkling water, but you might find you like it stronger or more diluted, depending on your tastes.
More Summer Drinks You'll Love
We can't wait for you to make this Peach 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
Peach Soda
Ingredients
Method
- To a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers, massage the sugar and zest together until fragrant and evenly incorporated.
- To a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the diced peaches, sugar and zest mixture, lemon juice, water and vanilla bean paste. Cook over medium low heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the peaches have softened and begin to break down. You'll want to mash them a bit throughout the cooking process using a wooden spoon or similar utensil.
- Strain the cooked syrup to remove the solids, using a spatula or spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Save the leftover peaches! They're basically like a jam.
- Move the syrup to the refrigerator to cool completely.
- To an ice-filled glass, add anywhere from 2-4 tablespoons of the peach syrup (depending on your preferred level of sweetness). Top with sparkling water and enjoy!
- To make it a dirty soda, blend up ½ of a peach with about ¼ cup of water, then strain to make peach juice. Add 2 tablespoons of peach syrup to an ice-filled glass, then top with ¼-1/3 cup of peach juice, then top with sparkling water and about a tablespoon of heavy cream or coffee creamer. Stir and enjoy!
Jay says
When do I use the vanilla bean paste as well as the lemon juice?
Lexi says
Hi, they go in with the peaches and sugar in the simple syrup. Thank you for calling this out – I just adjusted the directions!