This refreshing Strawberry Sangria Recipe is a crowd-winner-over. With fresh fruit, white wine, and a sweet yet tart kick, this is one of my favorite sangria recipes to sip during the spring and summer!
Who doesn’t love a good sangria? One of the things I look forward to most about a new season is a delicious sangria recipe like our Blackberry Sangria, Moscato Sangria, and Cranberry Christmas Punch.
While sangria is known as the perfect summer drink, peak strawberry season is generally considered April through June, so that is the best time for this fruity great-tasting homemade strawberry sangria recipe.
You can serve this sweet and fruity cocktail at casual summer parties or even a simple brunch with family and friends.
What is Sangria?
Traditional sangria is the perfect cocktail for lazy afternoons or brunch. Made with wine and fresh fruits, it offers the perfect balance of easy sipping. Truly traditional sangria is made with red wine but some recipes may include soda, juices, or additional flavored liquors.
For today’s variation, strawberries and limes go together perfectly with their mix of sweet and mild sour flavors. However, you could use other fruits such as peaches, lemons, or mangos if you want to try something different.
What Goes in a Good Sangria?
I love how simple this is, but I have included a few notes for anyone who has questions about the ingredients.
Limes and Lime Juice. You need about ¼ cup of lime juice plus limes for garnish. You can use lime juice, Rose’s lime juice (which has some added sugar), or fresh RIPE Persian limes to make the juice.
Fresh Strawberries. Fresh fruits are best because frozen can become a little mushy as it thaws and muddle the drink.
Soda. I use ginger ale. You can also use sparkling soda or club soda for less sugar. Sprite, as well as diet or sugar-free sodas are options as well.
Wine. I have a rule: If you like the wine, you will like the sangria. Pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, or Riesling are excellent choices. A sweet white wine or rosé wine would also be a tasty choice if that’s what you like. Make sure it is chilled!
Variations and Additions
This homemade recipe is perfect as is. However, if you are looking for a boost of additional flavor you could add the following:
Lemon Slices – I love the taste of the lime in this recipe. However, you can also add or substitute lemons and lemon juice to make Strawberry Lemonade Sangria!
Triple Sec – Add 2 ounces for a bit of orange liqueur. A little goes a long way.
Fresh Berries – While this recipe already has strawberries, the addition of raspberries or blackberries are delish too.
How To Make Strawberry Sangria
For this recipe, I include a delicious strawberry syrup rather than a simple syrup. It just makes the flavor so much better and even.
Slice the strawberries and toss with ⅔ cup of sugar to coat. I muddle the strawberries a bit – crush them a little with the back of a spoon. You aren’t trying to break up the strawberries, just expose more surface to the sugar.
As the strawberries sit, the sugar causes them to release their juices. Leave about 30 minutes and strain the juice through a cheesecloth or mesh strainer to remove any pulp.
Don’t toss the leftover strawberries though! Reserve half (or more) of the larger slices. Gently rinse any pulp or small pieces away before adding to a large pitcher.
For the sangria itself, it’s as easy as pouring your favorite wine, and fruit juices along with some lime slices and soda to create the perfect drink.
Tips for Making Sangria
- Leftover sugared strawberries can be used as a delicious strawberry topping for pancakes, angel cake, punch bowl cake, or in smoothies.
- Pino grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, or Riesling are excellent choices for the wine.
- Buy a wine you like, but don’t waste an expensive bottle on Sangria. An everyday grade of wine (around $7-10) is perfect.
- You will need 1.5 liters of wine, 2-750ml bottles.
- Chill all of the ingredients overnight before starting the syrup.
- This recipe easily doubles! I would probably keep the amount of strawberry syrup the same or add more slices to the glass pitcher. Double the other ingredients.
- Add the ginger ale just before serving. It doesn’t affect the taste, but the sparkling bubbles are a nice touch.
- This can be served immediately, but it is better to let the flavors mellow and mix for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. Then add the ginger ale.
Want More Cocktail Ideas? Check out these Recipes:
- Christmas Punch
- Pumpkin Spice White Russian
- Caramel Apple Sangria
- Blackberry Sangria
- Blueberry Margaritas
- Royal Apple Cocktail
Frequently asked questions
There are a few ways to adjust the sweetness to your personal preference. Firstly, the wine you choose will change how sweet or dry the sangria will turn out. If you prefer a sweet-tasting sangria, then Moscato, Riesling, or White Zinfandel are a few options. If you prefer a lighter, less sweet flavor, then Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or a Chardonnay are some good choices. You can also reduce the amount of sugar in the strawberry syrup or substitute sparkling water for the Ginger Ale.
Fancy it up even more with slices of lime cut into wheels, whole or sliced strawberries, or go wild and do both!
I don’t recommend letting it sit overnight with the fruit in it. While the flavor will still be delicious, the strawberries may start to break down and the limes will not be as vibrant in color. Without fruit, the sangria will last about 3-4 days.
Pino grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, or Riesling are good choices for white sangria. Buy a wine you like, but don’t waste an expensive bottle. An everyday grade of wine (around $7-10) is perfect.
Red wine sangria has its place too, though. You could make this recipe with your favorite red wine but be warned that it’ll taste a bit dryer and not as light and fruity. Red wine tends to pair better with citrus fruits.
The only fruits I would avoid are papaya, bananas, and any canned fruits. These tend to disintegrate and make the drink cloudy. Almost any other fruit is wonderful. Choose 2-3 base fruits (think apples, cherries, or citrus) that pair well with the wine you intend to use.
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Strawberry Sangria
Ingredients
- 2 lbs strawberries
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 1 cup lemon lime soda sprite, ginger ale or sparkling water
- 1.5 liters white wine pino grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, or reisling are good choices.
- 3 limes for garnish
Instructions
- Hull and slice 2 lbs strawberries. In a large bowl, toss all strawberries in ⅔ cups sugar to coat. With the back of a spoon, gently press the strawberries to help release some of the juices. You aren't trying to break the strawberries up, just rub the sugar into them a bit. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
- With cheesecloth or a mesh strainer, strain the juice from the strawberries to remove any pulp. You should have about 1 cup of syrup. A little less won't make a huge difference though. Reserve strawberries.
- In a pitcher, pour 1.5 liters white wine, ¼ cup lime juice, and strawberry syrup to the pitcher and stir.
- In a colander, gently rinse half of the reserved strawberries to remove any small bits of pulp and excess sugar. Drain well and to the pitcher.
- Can be served immediately, but it is better to let the flavors mellow and mix for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Just before serving, add 1 cup lemon lime soda (or sparkling water if you prefer less sugar). Slice 2 limes into circles and add to pitcher. The rest of the limes can be used for garnishing glasses.
Recipe Notes
- I ensure to chill all of my ingredients before starting the recipe, just to get a jump on keeping the cocktails cold for serving.
- This is a sweet sangria, but if you prefer less sugar, use sparkling water instead of sprite or ginger ale.
- This recipe easily doubles! I would probably keep the amount of strawberry syrup the same or add more slices to the pitcher. Double all the other ingredients.
- I like to add the soda just before serving rather than during making. It doesn’t affect the taste, but I really like the bubbles.
Gina says
Tasty! Even better, added some coconut rum for a more tropical taste!
Dianne says
It’s so easy to make, and I appreciate that I can adjust the sweetness to my liking by adding more or less sugar.