Italian Soda

A homemade Italian soda is a bright and bubbly drink made with flavored syrups and carbonated water. Quick and delicious, this two-ingredient drink is easy to make and refreshing to sip.

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Italian Soda recipe

We’ve all heard we should drink more water. Flavored sparkling water has answered the call, but did you know you could make your own flavored sparkling water at home?

It’s called an Italian soda, and this bright and bubbly drink is one of the simplest and most delicious ways to quench your thirst.

Made by mixing any flavored syrup with carbonated water, it’s the perfect drink for any occasion.

Though rooted in Italian cuisine, the Italian soda is very much American. The invention of the soda fountain helped to popularize this unique drink.

Since they can be made with just about any flavored syrup, you’ll find that Italian sodas are incredibly versatile — they are the perfect summer drink! They are also a great non-alcoholic option for those wanting something more interesting than regular water or soda.

More mocktail recipes: Shirley Temple • Arnold Palmer • Virgin Moscow Mule

Why you’ll love this recipe

The Italian soda is a delicious drink you can enjoy anytime. You’ll love it because…

• The Italian Soda has only two ingredients and it’s SO easy to make.
• It’s a great non-alcoholic drink for kids or non-drinkers.
• This alternative to regular soda is caffeine-free.
• You can customize each drink with your favorite flavors and homemade syrups.

Try mixing up a single Italian soda for an afternoon refresher. Or set up an Italian soda bar with many flavor choices for any party, such as a baby shower, bridal shower or birthday party.

What is an Italian soda?

An Italian soda is an iced beverage that adds a sweet, flavored syrup to carbonated water. The result is a bubbly soda with the delicious flavor of your choice.

While you’d think Italian soda was invented in Italy, it was created by syrup-maker Torani in the United States.

In 1925 Torani’s founders, Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre, started selling their hand-crafted syrups in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. The recipes were ones they brought over from Lucca, Italy. Their first flavors were anisette, grenadine, lemon, orgeat and tamarindo.

According to Basta Pasta, the Torres coined the term “Italian soda” for a drink of soda water sweetened with flavored syrup.

Today, Italian sodas can be ordered at coffee shops, soda shops, restaurants and bars as a delicious non-alcoholic drink.

Some popular flavors include vanilla, strawberry, blueberry, and cherry. But you can get creative with less conventional flavors. In addition, the level of sweetness and taste can be customized by adding more or less syrup.

For example, you can make a pumpkin soda with pumpkin spice syrup or a lavender soda with lavender syrup. The possibilities are endless, really.

Italian Soda vs. French Soda

The difference between an Italian soda and a French soda is just one ingredient.

Italian sodas are made with flavored syrup and carbonated water. French sodas follow the same recipe but feature an additional splash of cream.

As such, the French soda is deliciously creamy with a hint of bubbles.

Tools & glassware

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make Italian sodas at home.

You can use a carbonated water maker to make your soda water if you have one. (I have this Phillips soda maker.) If not, feel free to use your favorite sparkling water.

An Italian soda can be made in just about any glass, but a tall glass, such as a highball glass or collins glass, showcases that pretty ombré gradient.

Ingredients

One of the best things about Italian sodas is how easy they are to make. You only need two ingredients to whip up this drink: flavored syrup and carbonated water.

Simple Syrup

For this sweet drink, you can purchase flavored syrups at grocery stores, specialty shops or online.

Torani syrups are the originals, but homemade simple syrups are easy to make with sugar, water and some flavoring.

Start by perfecting plain simple syrup, which is lovely for sweetening iced coffee and iced tea.

Then you can experiment with flavors like chocolate syrup, cinnamon syrup and fruit syrups made with fresh fruit.

You can even make homemade syrups that mimic store-bought sodas, like cola syrup and ginger ale concentrate.

Carbonated water

Carbonated water goes by many names, including soda water, club soda, seltzer water, fizzy water and sparkling water.

They’re pretty much the same — just water with bubbles. So if you have a favorite brand or type of carbonated water, start there.

But if you want something really Italian, try San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water.

You can either use plain sparkling water or try flavored fizzy water to create your own flavor combinations.

There’s also tonic water (which you may have heard of in the gin & tonic). It has a slightly bitter flavor but would be fun to experiment with in an Italian soda.

How to make Italian Soda

With just two ingredients, the Italian soda is super easy to whip up.

Add your syrup to a glass of ice.

Then pour some carbonated water on top — and voila! You have a delicious drink that’s easy to make and perfect for any occasion.

Give it s a gentle stir with a bar spoon or straw to distribute the syrup and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the glass.

Add a colorful paper straw, fresh berries, a lime wedge or fresh herbs to make it look more impressive.

Tips & tricks

Always put the ice in the glass first. Next, add the syrup and then pour the soda on top. If you add ice last, you risk the drink bubbling over the glass. Adding the syrup last will make it more difficult to distribute evenly, but you can always give it a stir.

Dress them up with fancy ice cubes if you like. This will give them a sophisticated look, but the drink will smell amazing as the ice melts. A few ideas:

• berry ice cubes
• herb ice cubes
• flower ice cubes

Variations and substitutions

The beauty of the Italian soda is how versatile it is! Try one of these variations:

French soda: Adding a splash of milk or a bit of heavy cream makes it a French soda, but you could also call this an Italian cream soda recipe.

Italian Soda with more/less sweetness: Use less syrup when making an Italian Soda.

Ice cream float: Turn your Italian soda into a float by adding a scoop of ice cream.

Non-carbonated soda: If carbonation bothers you, use distilled water to make non-carbonated flavored water.

Sugar-free Italian soda: Use sugar-free syrups to make your Italian soda.

Italian Soda Flavors

With so many different flavored, sweet syrups out there, you can customize these easy drinks to your heart’s content.

Here are a few different flavors to try:

• Vanilla soda — made with vanilla syrup
• Strawberry soda — made with strawberry syrup
• Blueberry soda — from blueberry syrup
• Cherry soda — made with cherry syrup
• Honey soda — with honey syrup
• Mint soda — featuring mint syrup
• Cranberry soda — made with cranberry syrup
• Peach soda — make it with peach syrup
• Prickly pear soda — from homemade prickly pear syrup
• Raspberry soda — featuring raspberry syrup
• Apple soda — made with spiced apple syrup
• Blackberry soda — made from blackberry syrup
• Lavender soda — from homemade lavender syrup
• Ginger soda — made with ginger syrup

You can also experiment with mixing two or three syrups to create unique flavor combinations. Herbal and savory syrups like jalapeño syrup and sage syrup are a nice match for sweet ones.

Or ask your local coffee shop barista to suggest a flavor, especially if they make their own syrup flavors in-house.

Have a different combo you love for this tasty concoction? Comment below — we’d love to hear it!

Food pairings

Italian sodas are a great non-alcoholic option to serve with your favorite Italian dishes like this creamy penne rosa recipe or this hearty pasta fagioli recipe.

Or enjoy them with an appetizer of crunchy and fresh bruschetta, creamy Italian white bean hummus or flavor-packed Tuscan white bean dip.

FAQ

More non-alcoholic drinks

• Classic Lemonade
• Virgin Mimosa
• Citrus Spa Water
• Strawberry Lemonade
• Virgin Bloody Mary