Non-Alcoholic Christmas Punch Recipe
Who said that you need to have alcohol to have a good time? When the holidays roll around, there are plenty of parties and family get-togethers that happen. Just thinking about the holidays, especially Christmas, makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. While there are plenty of different beverages for adults to enjoy during the holiday months, it's nice to have a non-alcoholic drink that the whole family can enjoy together. This punch is filled with fruity flavor, and a little splash of ginger ale adds some bubbles and fizz that take it up another notch. Garnish the drink with a few orange slices, some pomegranate seeds, and a sprig of rosemary, and you have one of the most delicious punch recipes out there.
Recipe developer Jaime Shelbert of Wholly Nourished is the brains behind this wonderful recipe that tastes incredibly refreshing and is something that kids and adults can enjoy. "It's pretty, festive, and versatile," Shelbert shares about her favorite qualities of the punch. "You can change up the juice, add orange juice, fresh cranberries, or offer spirits on the side for those who want to add them in."
Keep reading to find out how to make this wonderful punch!
Gather the ingredients for the punch
Once you are ready to get started, you need to make a list of ingredients to grab at the store. You will need a cup of water to start. The good news is that you should have one at home already — yay for the small wins and for free ingredients. At the store, swing by the baking aisle and grab some sugar. You will also need some fresh rosemary and cranberry juice. Next, pick up some pomegranate juice and ginger ale.
You will need to make one more stop to get oranges and pomegranate seeds. As an option, you can grab some more rosemary for garnish on top of your drink. Instead of the "cherry on top," we'll call it the "rosemary on top."
Start by making the simple syrup
Once you have all of the ingredients in front of you, it's time to get down to business. This is one of the simplest recipes that you can make, and it only takes a few minutes. The first thing you will need to do is make the rosemary simple syrup. Grab a saucepan and place it on your stove on medium heat. Toss in the water, sugar, and rosemary first. Heat and stir the contents until the sugar completely dissolves. "It will take about 3 minutes," Shelbert says.
Once the mixture comes to a simmer, add the rosemary and then remove the saucepan from heat. Set it aside while the syrup cools down. Then, run it through a strainer to remove the rosemary and set the syrup to the side.
Pour in the juices and whisk
Once you have strained the simple syrup, you can continue adding the other liquids to the punch bowl. Start with your cranberry juice, followed by the pomegranate juice. Then, pour the ginger ale into the punch bowl. The nice part about the ginger ale is that it adds a little bit of fizz to this drink.
Last but not least, pour in the cooled simple syrup and whisk to combine. "You can dump it all in," Shelbert says of the simple syrup mix. "You can use a spoon but the whisk incorporates it quicker."
Add the orange slices and pomegranate seeds
As you can see, the punch is really coming along. The last two items that you will need to add to the mix are your fruits. Start with the orange slices. As a reminder, you should have sliced these into ¼-inch rounds ahead of time. "Slice the ends off first and use a sharp knife to cut into rings holding the orange firmly," Shelbert says. "The orange adds a hint of orange flavor and dresses up the punch making it more festive."
Then, toss in the pomegranate seeds. "You can buy the Pom seeds," Shelbert says. "It will save a lot of work too!"
Garnish the fruit punch and serve
Now, it's finally time to enjoy your punch. Feel free to serve it in wine glasses if you want to dress it up, or you could just use stemless glasses instead. Heck, a plastic cup even works. Garnish the drink with a rosemary sprig if you'd like. If you want to make it more adult-like, you can add a bit of alcohol. "Yes you could definitely add booze. Vodka or Prosecco could work," Shelbert suggests.
Anything left? Shelbert says that "it's best consumed the same day," or else "the added ginger ale will go flat." We hope you love this punch as much as we do!
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 3 cups cranberry juice
- 2 cups pomegranate juice
- 1 (20-ounce) bottle ginger ale
- 1 orange, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds, about ¼ of a large pomegranate
- rosemary for garnish
- Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Heat and stir the contents until the sugar dissolves.
- When the mixture comes to a simmer, add the rosemary sprigs and remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Set it aside to cool, then strain out the rosemary.
- Add the cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, and ginger ale to a punch bowl.
- Whisk in the cooled rosemary simple syrup.
- Add the orange slices and pomegranate seeds to the punch.
- Serve and garnish with rosemary sprigs if desired.
| Calories per Serving | 162 |
| Total Fat | 0.5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.1 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 40.7 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.0 g |
| Total Sugars | 37.9 g |
| Sodium | 11.3 mg |
| Protein | 0.4 g |
