17 Delicious Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Recipes For Kids

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Cocktails are alcoholic beverages made by mixing alcoholic beverages, such as vodka or whiskey, with a mixer, such as fruit or vegetable juice or soda (1). These drinks aren’t suitable for children and teens and may encourage underage drinking. As per the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a significant portion of children aged 12 to 20, approximately 34.4%, corresponding to 13.4 million people, acknowledged having consumed at least one alcoholic beverage in their lifetimes. As such, you may try non-alcoholic cocktail recipes for kids. We have shared a few recipes in this post.

These recipes, often termed mocktails, are as colorful and attractive as the cocktails but contain healthy ingredients, such as cordials, ice tea, homemade fruity punch, and fruit shakes. These mocktail recipes are relatively healthy options for children and adolescents and can be relished on different occasions.

Read on as we give you different non-alcoholic homemade cocktail recipes you can try at home or as party drinks using healthy alternatives such as fruit punch, squash, and milk.

17 Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Recipes For Children

Here are some easy-to-prepare, mouth-watering, non-alcoholic cocktail recipes that you can try as an occasional treat for your children and teens. These may also serve as delicious and healthy summer drinks.

Fruit Punch

It is a non-alcoholic beverage prepared by mixing fruit juice, water, and sweeteners, such as white sugar. Commercially, fruit punch is sugar-laden, with little or no fruit juice. Besides, it often has fruit-flavored soda or carbonated water, making the drink unhealthy for kids (2). However, you can make fruit punch as a healthy drink at home and use it to prepare no-soda mocktail recipes for kids.

Below are some no-soda, non-alcoholic fruit punch recipes that you can make for your child.

1. Honey Lime Swirl

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 5 cups water
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves (chopped)
• 1 lemon slice

How to prepare:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate the drink for 30 minutes.
2. Serve chilled, garnished with a lemon slice.

2. Tropical Fruit Punch

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• ¼ cup orange juice
• ½ cup pineapple juice
• ½ cup mango juice
• A splash of grenadine syrup or raspberry syrup
• ½ cup crushed ice
• Maraschino cherry (chopped, for garnishing)

How to prepare:

1. Pour the grenadine syrup into a martini glass and add some crushed ice.
2. Add orange juice, followed by pineapple juice, and mango juice one over the other to create colorful layers.
3. Garnish with chopped cherries and serve immediately.

Quick tip

To enhance the versatility of the drink, you can use pomegranate molasses instead of grenadine or raspberry syrup to make this drink. Alternatively, you can cook frozen raspberries with sugar and some water to make raspberry syrup at home.

3. Pink Grapefruit Punch

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 1 cup pink grapefruit juice
• ½ cup homemade lemonade
• 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• 2 tablespoons date syrup
• 4 cups water
• 1 grapefruit (for garnishing)

How to prepare:

1. Mix grapefruit juice, lemonade, cherry juice, date syrup, and water in a pitcher, and refrigerate for 15–20 minutes.
2. Pour the drink in a highball glass, garnish with grapefruit slices, and serve immediately.

4. Homemade Hawaiian Punch

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 2 cups water
• 1 passion fruit
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 2 cups guava nectar
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ cup apple juice
• ½ cup papaya nectar
• ¼ cup apricot nectar
• ¾ cup date syrup
• ½ tablespoon natural red food coloring or cranberry juice

How to prepare:

1. Blend passion fruit and a cup of water into a smooth-flowing liquid, using a blender.
2. Strain the liquid into a punch bowl with a fine-mesh sieve.
3. Add the remaining water and all the other ingredients into the punch bowl and whisk until the date syrup dissolves.
4. Refrigerate the drink for an hour.
5. Serve it with pinwheel sandwiches or feta cheese and grilled vegetable salad.

5. Banana slush

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 1 ripe banana (chopped)
• 2 cups fresh pineapple juice
• 2 cups homemade ginger ale
• 1 cup frozen orange juice (thawed)
• 1 cup frozen lemonade (thawed)
• 1 cup raisin puree
• 3 cups water

How to prepare:

1. Blend banana pieces, raisin puree, and water into a smooth-flowing liquid, using a blender or food processor.
2. Pour the blend into a large bowl
3. Add pineapple juice, orange juice, and lemonade, and mix well to make a delicious juice blend.
4. Store the drink in the refrigerator, and take it out after approximately four hours. Add two cups of ginger ale to each cup of the banana blend and serve right away!

Homemade Cordial Or Squash

Cordials are non-alcoholic, syrup-like, high-sugar beverages that are considered to have medicinal properties. As a non-alcoholic drink, they are often mixed with carbonated water/soda to prepare mocktails, which may not be healthy. However, you can tweak these recipes and create tasty, refreshing, non-alcoholic, low-sugar, and healthy drinks for kids at family gatherings and festivals.

6. Cucumber And Lime Cordial

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 1 cucumber (roughly chopped)
• 2 fresh limes (juiced)
• 100g unrefined coconut sugar
• 200ml water

How to prepare:

1. Add sugar and 200ml of water in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer, over medium heat.
2. Blend the cucumber in a food processor or blender to get a smooth puree.
3. Strain it into a bowl through a fine strainer, pressing gently with a spoon/ladle to extract the juice.
4. Add sugar syrup and strain the mixture again into an airtight jar. Add lime juice and refrigerate for two weeks.
5. To serve, pour 30 to 40ml of the mix in a flute glass or cocktail glass, add a cup of ginger ale, and serve immediately.

Trivia

Cordial is one of the oldest non-alcoholic beverages that became popular around the 1850s. It’s available in sugar-sweetened, non-sugar-sweetened, and unsweetened forms.

7. Blackcurrant Cordial

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 500g blackcurrants
• 200g coconut sugar
• 100ml homemade ginger ale
• 300ml water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

How to prepare:

1. Put coconut sugar and 300ml of water in a saucepan, and boil to make a thin syrup over medium heat.
2. Turn the heat low and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and blackcurrants into the syrup.
3. Boil the mixture over medium heat for 15–20 minutes or until the blackcurrants soften. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.
4. Pour the mixture into a bowl through a fine strainer lined with a muslin cloth. Keep the mix in the fridge for up to a month.
5. While serving, mix 100ml of ginger ale to 25ml of cordial.

This fruity cordial could also be served as a healthy festive drink, leaving your guests asking for the recipe.

8. Sweet And Tangy Raspberry Cordial

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 500g fresh raspberries (chopped)
• 250ml date syrup
• 300ml water
• 1 cup homemade ginger ale
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime zest

How to prepare:

1. Put raspberries, date syrup, water, and lime zest in a large saucepan and boil over medium heat.
2. Boil the mixture while gently stirring until the raspberries turn soft and mushy and the mixture thickens. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for ten minutes.
3. Add lime juice, mix well, and strain it into a large bowl through a fine strainer lined with a muslin cloth.
4. Transfer the mixture into an airtight jar, seal it, and refrigerate for up to a month.
5. Dilute 30ml of the mix in a cup of chilled ginger ale and serve.

9. Refreshing Mint Cordial

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 30g fresh mint with stems
• 80g honey
• 2 drops mint extract (optional)

How to prepare:

1. Crush mint leaves in a pestle mortar until you get a coarse paste.
2. Add the paste to 150ml of boiling water in a bowl and stir well. Cover the bowl and let the mixture stand for about two hours.
3. Pour the mixture into a fine sieve and press it well with a spoon to extract all the juice into a saucepan.
4. Put the saucepan over medium heat, boil the mixture for two minutes, and add mint extract if needed.
5. Transfer the cordial to an airtight bottle or jar, let it cool, and store in the fridge.
6. Mix 30ml of mint cordial with a cup of water, and serve.

10. Mango Squash

Image: IStock

You will need:

• 1 cup homemade, fresh mango juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 cups water

How to prepare:

1. Add water and brown sugar in a saucepan and let the mixture boil over low heat.
2. Once the mixture starts boiling, turn the heat to high and continuously stir until you attain a mixture with one-thread consistency.
3. Switch off the flame, add lemon and mango juice, and mix everything well.
4. Serve right away or chill the squash for an hour. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight jar or bottle for a few days.

11. Shirley Temple

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 1 cup of ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda)
• 1-2tbsp grenadine syrup
• 2tbsp fresh lime juice
• Ice cubes
• Cherries (for garnishing)

How to prepare:

1. Add ice to a large glass. Stir in the lime juice and ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda).
2. Pour the grenadine syrup over the soda slowly, and then top with one or more cherries.
3. Serve chilled, and let your child savor it.

12. Butterbeer

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

For whipped cream

• 3tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream

For butterbeer

• 5tbsp butterscotch topping
• 2L chilled cream soda
• ⅓ cup butterscotch topping
• 2tbsp butter extract

How to prepare:Whipped cream:

1. Lightly whisk in the powdered sugar gradually while whipping the heavy cream until soft peaks develop. Keep it aside.

Butterbeer:

1. Add one cup of cream soda to a large pitcher and stir in butter extract and butterscotch topping. Blend thoroughly.
2. After mixing it, add the remaining cream soda one tbsp at a time until the entire 2-liter bottle is added.
3. Pour into eight-ounce glasses, then cover with the butterscotch topping and the prepared whipped cream before serving.

Quick tip

Add a ginger slice, and some chopped mint leaves to boost this drink’s fresh feel. Alternatively, add pepper powder and rock salt to give this drink a salty-tangy punch.

Non-Alcoholic Cocktails With Milk

These creative drinks provide some simple yet unique non-alcoholic mixology ideas and are made by mixing milk (animal or plant-based) with fruit or fruit juices, just as shakes. Generally, non-alcoholic cocktails with milk contain full-fat milk or cream, but you can alter the recipe and make it healthier.

13. Berry-Berry Cocktail

Image: IStock

You will need:

• 1 cup fresh berries (chopped)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ cup crushed ice
• 1 tablespoon honey

How to prepare:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend into a smooth-textured liquid.
2. Pour the cocktail into a Collins glass, add some crushed ice, and serve.

14. Virgin Pina Colada

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• ½ cup fresh pineapple juice
• ½ cup canned coconut milk
• ⅛ cup coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon vanilla paste
• 1 pineapple (for garnishing)

How to prepare:

1. Blend all the ingredients into a smooth-flowing liquid using a blender or food processor to make this delicious virgin drink.
2. Pour the liquid into a glass, garnish with pineapple slices, and the drink is ready to serve.

15. Coco Lemonade

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 1 cup frozen pineapple (thawed)
• 1 cup fresh homemade lemonade
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 pineapple slice (for garnishing)

How to prepare:

1. Put frozen pineapple, lemonade, and coconut milk into a blender and blend them into a smooth-flowing liquid.
2. Pour the drink into a clean coconut shell or glass, garnish with a pineapple slice for a cool presentation, and serve.

Quick fact

Thick, creamy, nutty-tasting coconut milk can offer children several nutrients, such as healthy fats, calcium, and vitamin D, which can contribute to their growth and development (6).

16. Great Good Morning

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• ½ orange (peeled and deseeded)
• ½ lime (peeled and deseeded)
• ½ apple
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 tablespoon apple juice
• A dash of coconut cream

How to prepare:

1. Grind all the ingredients into a fibery-liquid using a food processor.
2. Pour the mixed drink into a mason jar or glass, garnish with a dash of cream, and it is ready to serve!

17. Papaya Splash

Image: Shutterstock

You will need:

• 2 cups papaya (sliced)
• ½ cup skimmed milk or almond milk
• 2tbsp coconut sugar

How to:

1. Blend the ingredients until you see a smooth liquid.
2. Pour it into a glass and serve immediately.
3. Add a handful of crushed ice, and serve the drink chilled.

Infographic: Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Recipes For Children

Non-alcoholic cocktails can be an excellent choice for children to enjoy at parties or other events. Check out this infographic for ideas on making fun and refreshing non-alcoholic drinks for your child’s party. Feel free to experiment with different fruit juices and mix-ins to come up with your unique creations. Keep this infographic handy for future reference

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Illustration: Delicious Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Recipes For Kids

Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team

Join us in making a delicious and fun non-alcoholic rainbow beverage for children. Follow us as we walk you through the steps involved in creating this colorful and delectable drink.

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Natasha UspenskyHolistic Nutrition

Natasha Uspensky is a certified holistic nutrition counselor, Ayurvedic practitioner, wellness blogger, and founder of NU Health & Wellness and The Organic Beauty. With over 11 years of experience, she practices a holistic approach to wellness.

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  Brooke PiekeMS Brooke Pieke is a nutrition educator at fitness organizations across the US, including Fitness Formula Clubs. She did her MS in Nutrition from Dominican University, IL and has over four years of experience in counseling independent clients in weight loss and management.
  
  Brooke Pieke is a nutrition educator at fitness organizations across the US, including Fitness Formula Clubs. She did her MS in Nutrition from Dominican University, IL and has over four years of experience in counseling independent clients in weight loss and management.

Swati PatwalM.Sc. (Food & Nutrition), MBA

Swati Patwal is a clinical nutritionist, a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and a toddler mom with more than a decade of experience in diverse fields of nutrition. She started her career as a CSR project coordinator for a healthy eating and active lifestyle project catering to school children.

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