A Refreshing Ginger Ale Recipe to Rival the Best (2024)

Peggy Trowbridge Filippone

Peggy Trowbridge Filippone is a writer who develops approachable recipes for home cooks. Her recipes range from Grandma’s favorites to the latest food trends.

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Updated on 02/22/24

Tested by

Carrie Parente

Tested byCarrie Parente

Carrie is a freelance food stylist and culinary producer who loves having a table full of guests.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 25 mins

Chill Time: 60 mins

Total: 100 mins

Servings: 12 servings

Yield: 15 cups

149 ratings

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A tall, refreshing glass of ginger ale is a fantastic drink, and it's surprisingly easy to make at home. Ginger ale is, quite simply, carbonated water sweetened and flavored with ginger-infused syrup. That really is it, and it's one of the easiest homemade sodas you can mix up. If you are a true fan of ginger ale, you'll also find that this is more economical than store-bought options.

The syrup in this recipe uses a good amount of fresh ginger along with a little lemon peel, which gives it a nice kick. Many store-bought ginger ales don't use any fresh ginger, making this homemade version more flavorful. Since you are assembling it yourself, you can control how much syrup you want in it—and thus, how sweet it is.

Once you have the syrup, all you have to do is add cold club soda and your ginger ale is ready. The syrup will keep for a week in the fridge—just add soda and enjoy. This recipe is a great springboard for so many beverages, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic.

A Refreshing Ginger Ale Recipe to Rival the Best (2)

What You'll Need to Make This Fresh Ginger Ale Recipe

A Good Vegetable Peeler

A Sharp Chef's Knife

Ingredients

4 cups water
2 cups peeled and chopped fresh ginger
3 strips lemon peel, about 4 inches each, yellow part only
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 quarts club soda, chilled

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
In a 4-quart saucepan, place water, ginger, and lemon peel. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer at a low boil, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
Add sugar, stirring constantly, and continue to boil until reduced to 3 cups (about 15 minutes).
Place a fine wire strainer over a large bowl. Pour in ginger syrup to separate solids from liquids. Discard lemon peel.The strained, cooked ginger pieces can be reserved for other uses likevanilla ice cream or yogurt, if desired.
Allow ginger simple syrup to cool before pouring into a glass container. Sealtightly and chill for at least 1 hour until cold. You can also store it for up to one week in the fridge.
When ready to serve, mix 1/4 cup ginger simple syrup with 1 cup cold club soda per serving and pour over ice. Additional ginger syrup or sugar may be added to sweeten it to taste.

Tips

Seltzer and sparkling mineral water are essentially the same as club soda, though the latter has a few mineral additives. Feel free to sub any unflavored carbonated water for the same result.
Avoid using actual sodas like Sprite or Pepsi in place of the club soda, as this defeats the purpose of making your own ginger ale and the end product will be much too sweet.
Use your ginger syrup to sweeten other beverages like hot or iced tea or to spice up a cup of hot cocoa.
Ginger simple syrups are a crucial ingredient to many spiked drinks, too, like this spin on the Moscow mule or a German Jägermeister co*cktail.

Recipe Variations

Add dimension to your ginger syrup by including herbs and spices. Try adding fresh mint leaves or a cinnamon stick to the boiling water alongside the ginger and lemon.
Substitute half of the white sugar for brown sugar to create a rich syrup with a warm winter feel.

What Alcohol Goes Best With Ginger Ale?

Ginger ale mixes well with a variety of alcohols. Popular pairings include gin to make a gin buck and whiskey to make a whiskey ginger or Irish buck. Ginger ale can also be used as part of a slightly more complicated co*cktail like a summer breeze.

Ginger Bug Recipe

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
110	Calories
0g	Fat
28g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	110
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 8mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 28g	10%
Dietary Fiber 0g	2%
Total Sugars 25g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 3mg	14%
Calcium 40mg	3%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 69mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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A Refreshing Ginger Ale Recipe to Rival the Best (2024)

Tips

Recipe Variations

What Alcohol Goes Best With Ginger Ale?

References