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This sparkling citrus ginger pineapple juice mocktail recipe is refreshing and perfect for cooling down with! It’s loaded with nutrients, fun to drink, and can be made with or without a juicer.
The only kind of juice my hubby likes is carrot.
I don’t like to make it for him every day (a friend of a friend’s cousin’s mom swears that her baby turned orangish from feeding her carrots every day!). But I make him a fresh glass of it a couple times a week in the morning when I make my own juice blend.
One morning I made his carrot juice, set his glass on the counter, and then started on my own brew. I make a different combo for myself every morning, but that day I juiced a blend of carrot, grapefruit, apple, celery, and ginger, which came out with a ruddy orangish hue that didn’t look all that different than carrot juice.
I washed out the juicer, grabbed my glass (which was redolent with the aroma of celery), and started my morning. Juice in hand, I went to wake up Mike.
Half asleep, he thought I was bringing him his carrot juice. He grabbed my juice out of my hand and took a big swig before I could tell him that his juice was on the counter. He looked at me crossly and stated “You’re trying to trick me.”
I don’t blame him for thinking this (he knows me too well and probably still has nightmares about this escapade), so instead of trying to defend myself I just laughed and told him that his carrot juice was on the counter.
So I understand that not all juice is for everyone.
This sparkling non-alcoholic pineapple juice drink though? Yup, for anyone and everyone. If you’re looking for a refreshing summer beverage, this is it!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It starts with sweet fresh fruit juice, is kept chilled with frozen grapes, and is topped off with a little bubbly water. I used half a grapefruit for this recipe, but I also love it with an orange and a lime instead. And don’t skip the ginger because it adds a nice little zing!
This healthy, refreshing drink is perfect for adults and kiddos. Sangria was my inspiration here, but I wanted to keep things non-alcoholic so I did a little switch up. Instead of wine, I used fresh juice and integrated grape flavor with grapes as the fruit that’s normally found in sangria. Plus, I froze the grapes first so they’d double as edible ice cubes. Fun, right?!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Green grapes – For this drink, we freeze the grapes and use them as edible ice cubes. Any type of seedless grapes will work here.
- Pineapple – This is the star of the show! When you’re picking a pineapple, look for one that feels heavy for its size, smells like pineapple at the bottom, and isn’t completely hard when you squeeze it.
- Grapefruit – I peel the fruit, removing as much of the white pith as I can to reduce bitterness.
- Ginger – Ginger pairs beautifully with citrus and pineapple, and makes this drink very refreshing.
- Sparkling water – I use carbonated mineral water, such as San Pellegrino or Perrier. This makes the drink bubbly without adding sugar.
Instructions
- Juice the pineapple, grapefruit, and ginger together.
- Stir in the sparkling water.
- Add the frozen grapes to 4 glasses and pour the sparkling juice on top.
- Serve.
Storage
For the best flavor and most nutrition, make the juice for this recipe right before you want to serve it. However, if need be, you can make the juice up to 1 day ahead and store it in a covered glass jar in the fridge before mixing it with the sparkling water and serving.
Juicing Tips
If you’re new to juicing, here are a few tips I have:
- Do a little research to make sure you’re using the best type of juicer for your needs and for the kind of produce you’ll be juicing. This article from HuffPost Taste explains in detail the two common types of juicers (slow masticating/cold press juicers and fast centrifugal juicers).
- Even though I use a centrifugal juicer (which isn’t typically as efficient as a masticating juicer at juicing leafy greens), I find that if I sandwich greens in between hard fruit (like apples) or vegetables (like carrot), it’s easier for the machine to juice the greens.
- Drink your juice on an empty stomach if possible (I like to have it first thing in the morning). This allows your body to quickly and easily absorb the nutrients from the juice. (Remember, if you’re new to juicing and are on medications, talk to your doctor first!)
- Drink your juice as soon as you can after you make it. This is not only for the best flavor, but also for the benefits of the live enzymes in the juice.
- Use organic produce when possible (at least for the dirty dozen!).
- Some produce should be peeled, including: 1) anything that isn’t organic, and 2) anything with a bitter peel, rind, or pith (like melons and citrus).
- Don’t be afraid to try new flavor combos to find out what you like best. And although juicing is so much more, it is always a great way to use up produce that’s on its last legs.
Pineapple Mocktail FAQs
Yes! And there are a couple different ways you could do it.
Your first option is to use store-bought pineapple juice and store-bought grapefruit juice. This isn’t my favorite option because the flavor (and nutrition) of fresh fruit is far better!
An alternative method is to use your blender (a high-speed blender works great here)! To do so, peel and chop the pineapple, grapefruit, and ginger. Put it in a blender with enough water to come up to the top of the fruit, and process until smooth. Strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve, using a spoon to push down on the pulp to extract as much juice as possible. Voilà! You have fresh juice without a juicer.
For the 21+ crowd, if you want to add liquor, I’d recommend rum for this recipe. I’d go with white or clear rum so the color isn’t muddied, or coconut rum for more of a piña colada flavor. Other liquors that will work well here are vodka or tequila blanco (silver or white).
That is entirely up to personal preference! Most of this drink is pineapple juice, and if you use a ripe pineapple it should be sweet enough without the need for additional sweetener.
However, if you like things on the sweet side (or if you decide to add liquor to make this into a cocktail), you can add a liquid sweetener to this drink. Good options are simple syrup (which is a mix of sugar and water) or agave nectar.
More Mocktails to Make
- Virgin Mango Margarita Mocktail Recipe with Meyer Lemon
- Blackberry Lime Mocktail Spritzer Recipe (Loganberry Drink Copycat)
Let’s Connect
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Sparkling Citrus Ginger Pineapple Mocktail Recipe
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Equipment
- Juicer (or high-speed blender)
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic green grapes rinsed and frozen (do this the night before)
- 1 large pineapple peeled if not organic
- 1/2 large organic grapefruit peeled and white pith removed so it isn’t bitter
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger peeled if not organic
- 1 cup unflavored sparkling water
Instructions
- Juice the pineapple, grapefruit, and ginger together.
- Stir in the sparkling water.
- Add the frozen grapes to 4 glasses and pour the sparkling juice on top.
- Serve.
Notes
- Storage: For the best flavor and most nutrition, make the juice for this recipe right before you want to serve it. However, if need be, you can make the juice up to 1 day ahead and store it in a covered glass jar in the fridge before mixing it with the sparkling water and serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on August 27, 2014 and updated on June 23, 2024.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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