Easy Homemade Italian Soda
Light and bursting with flavor, these Italian sodas are a wonderful warm weather refreshment. They’re perfect for an afternoon treat and a great drink option for group hangs or parties because they can be tailored to each person’s individual preferences. Naturally alcohol-free, these drinks can be enjoyed by teetotalers and kids alike (and if you want to spike them with alcohol, go right ahead). With this recipe, we’ll show you how to make an Italian soda at home so that you can get on your way to feeling relaxed and refreshed as soon as possible!
Why We Love These Sodas
- Refreshing and simple. We love drinking these on hot summer days. They’re refreshing and light and super unfussy. We prefer to make our own simple syrups for these sodas because we love unique flavor combinations and knowing what goes into them, but you can also use store-bought flavorings.
- Control the amount of sweetness level. Unlike sodas you might get at the grocery store or fast food joint, you can control the sweetness of these Italian sodas by using more or less flavored syrup.
- Often a healthier option than regular soda. Depending on what simple syrups you use and if they include whole ingredients, homemade Italian sodas may have more nutrients than regular soda. Using our carrot ginger simple syrup, for example, allows you to sneak in some vitamin rich carrot juice into your drink.
What is an Italian Soda
A bubbly combination of flavorful sweet syrups and carbonated water, these drinks have a much more humble origin than their name might suggest. While you might assume these drinks are from Italy, they are actually believed to have been created in San Francisco, California by the flavored syrup company Torani, which was founded in 1925 by Italian immigrants Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre. With the increased popularity of soda fountain drinks through the 1950s, Torani syrups found a home in Italian sodas, and then in coffee drinks a couple of decades later.
These days, you’ll still find most Italian soda recipes using the same Torani syrups, but we like to make our own for maximum flavor and freshness.
Ingredients in an Italian Soda
- Crushed ice – we like smaller pieces of ice in our Italian sodas, so crushed is usually perfect.
- Carbonated water – be sure to use unsweetened, unflavored carbonated water here. The syrups are already sweet and flavorful enough that you don’t need extra flavorings in the water.
- Flavored syrups – you can use our homemade simple syrup recipe to make your own syrups, or you can use store bought.
- Heavy cream or half and half (optional) – this is an optional addition, but one we really enjoy. It makes the refreshing drink even more special, soft, and creamy. You don’t need much, just 1 to 2 tablespoons. If you add cream, these drinks become Italian cream sodas, also called “French sodas.”
How to Make an Italian Soda at Home
STEP 1: Add ice to a tall glass. Add enough crushed ice to almost fill up a glass. This may be about 1 ½ cups of ice, but it will depend on the size of your glass.
STEP 2: Fill the glass with bubbly water. Pour enough carbonated water to the same glass that it almost fills it up, leaving about an inch at the top (enough space for the flavored syrups or cream, if using).
STEP 3: Add syrup. As soon as you add the carbonated water, you’ll want to add some flavored syrup before the ice melts. We suggest adding about 2 to 4 tablespoons of syrup, but you can use however much you want. More syrup will make the drink sweeter, and less will keep it mildly flavored. We like using our blueberry lemon, strawberry mint, carrot ginger, and pineapple jalapeño simple syrups.
STEP 4: Add an optional splash of cream. If you want to turn this into an Italian cream soda, you can add a splash of cream or half and half, about 1 to 2 tablespoons to the drink at the end.
STEP 5: Mix it up! Now add a straw and mix the drink up a little to blend all of the flavors together. Sip and enjoy!
Easy Homemade Italian Soda
Equipment
- 16 ounce glass
Ingredients
- Crushed ice enough to fill glass ⅔ of the way full
- 8 to 12 ounces carbonated water enough to fill the glass while leaving an inch at the top
- 2 to 4 tbsp flavored simple syrup depending on sweetness preference (1 to 2 ounces)
Optional
- 1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream or half and half
Instructions
- Add crushed ice to a glass, enough to fill it about 2/3 of the way.Crushed ice
- Fill the glass most of the way with carbonated water, leaving about an inch at the top (enough space for the flavored syrups or cream, if using).8 to 12 ounces carbonated water
- Add your desired amount of flavored syrup. More syrup will make the drink sweeter, and less will keep it mildly flavored.2 to 4 tbsp flavored simple syrup
- Add an optional splash of cream or half and half, if desired. This will turn the drink into an Italian cream soda, also called a “French soda.”1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream or half and half
- Mix the drink up a little to blend all of the flavors together.
