Mocktails and cocktails are perfect to make with this 3-ingredient grenadine syrup recipe from scratch! All you need is pomegranate juice, sugar, and lime juice to make this grenadine recipe at home. No preservatives, dyes, or crap in this grenadine syrup recipe!
Be sure to also check out demerara syrup, another favorite simple syrup, and put this batch to work in a Shirley Temple drink or a splash of party punch.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 2 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 15 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 17 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: about 1 cup of syrup
- ⚡ Calories: 652kcal for the full cup
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Rich and sweet with hints of cherry and pomegranate
- ✋ Difficulty: Boil juice and sugar until thick, cool, stir in citrus.
Quick Answer
In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of 100% pomegranate juice and ⅔ cup organic sugar to a boil on high heat and boil for about 10-15 minutes, stirring, until it thickens. Let it cool, then mix in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon or lime juice. Store it in a sealed airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Jump to:
Grenadine is a simple syrup made of 100% pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon or lime juice. When boiled it thickens and turns into a thick sugary simple syrup that is perfect for a Tequila Sunrise and non alcoholic drinks like a Shirley Temple or Roy Rogers plus various other mocktails and cocktails.
Store-bought versions of grenadine syrup are found at liquor stores and consist of high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, preservatives, and food coloring such as red 40 and blue 1, along with artificial flavors. This grenadine recipe is 100% natural without all that yucky stuff!
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Three real ingredients. Pomegranate juice, sugar and citrus replace the corn syrup, dyes and preservatives in the store bottle.
- The boil does the thickening. 10-15 minutes at a boil reduces the juice and sugar into a thick, pourable syrup with no thickeners needed.
- Citrus goes in off the heat. Stirring the lemon or lime juice into the cooled syrup keeps its fresh, bright edge.
- Real cherry-pomegranate flavor. Pomegranate juice combined with sugar naturally tastes faintly of cherry, which is the classic grenadine flavor.
- It keeps for weeks. Sealed airtight in the refrigerator, the syrup holds up to 3 weeks.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 3 ingredients and 17 minutes for a whole bottle of homemade grenadine.
- No red 40, blue 1, or high fructose corn syrup like the liquor store bottles.
- Mixes with everything: tequila, gin, rum, or vodka, plus sodas and juices for kid-friendly drinks.
- Naturally gluten-free, and easy to make lower sugar with monk fruit sweetener.
- Homemade bar cred. It joins my white tea shot and espresso martini on the DIY drink shelf.
Key Ingredients
- 1 cup 100% unsweetened pomegranate juice - the flavor and color of real grenadine.
- ⅔ cup organic sugar or turbinado sugar - for an alternative grenadine, use monk fruit sweetener (or a combination) for less sugar.
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice or lemon juice - stirred in at the end for brightness.
Full recipe ingredients and measurements are in the recipe card below.
What Does Grenadine Mix Well With?
Grenadine syrup is famous for being used in kid-friendly beverages like a Shirley Temple and Roy Rogers drink (grenadine mixed with coke, ginger-ale, or lemon-lime soda). It is also used in cocktails like a Tequila Sunrise where it is mixed with orange juice to look like a sunrise in the glass.
- With soda: coke, ginger-ale, or lemon-lime soda for a Shirley Temple or Roy Rogers.
- With spirits: this grenadine syrup recipe mixes well with just about any alcohol - tequila, gin, rum, or vodka.
- With juice: orange juice for a Tequila Sunrise look, or a splash into watermelon juice or fresh mango juice.
- In a crowd: add a splash to holiday drinks and party punch, or a mango black tea cocktail for something different.
- Measuring help: scaling a batch up? My ounces in a cup guide keeps the ratios straight.
How to Make Grenadine Syrup
1In a saucepan, heat the pomegranate juice and sugar on high heat to bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes, stirring during heating, until it thickens.
2Let it cool, then mix in the citrus juice (lemon or lime juice).
3Store in a sealed airtight glass jar or dressing container for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Stir while it boils. Sugar scorches fast on high heat; keep it moving for the full 10-15 minutes.
- It thickens more as it cools. Pull it when it coats a spoon, not when it looks like store syrup in the pot.
- Preserve it longer: you can add ¼ ounce of vodka to this grenadine recipe to extend the shelf life, but it does alter the flavor.
- Less sugar: swap some or all of the sugar for monk fruit sweetener.
- Cherry twist: you can use cherry juice in place of pomegranate juice; grenadine naturally has a cherry flavor when combined with sugar.
- Pomegranate fans: put the rest of the bottle into my healthy pomegranate salad or pomegranate persimmon salad.
Serving Ideas
Pour a splash over ice with lemon-lime soda and a maraschino cherry for the classic Shirley Temple, mix it into a Tequila Sunrise, or set the bottle out at brunch next to a batch of chocolate granola. On the no-sugar days the fridge holds strawberry detox water and a cortisol cocktail instead. The flavor of this pomegranate grenadine syrup recipe is rich and sweet with hints of cherry and pomegranate taste.
Grenadine Syrup FAQs
Is grenadine alcoholic? No, grenadine syrup does not have any alcohol in it. You can add ¼ ounce of vodka to this grenadine recipe to preserve it and extend the shelf life, but it does alter the flavor.
It does have a hint of cherry flavor. In fact, this grenadine recipe uses pomegranate juice, but you can use cherry juice. It naturally has a cherry flavor when combined with sugar.
Yes, grenadine syrup is naturally gluten-free, although it is best to make sure all the ingredients say "gluten-free" on them. Some ingredients that are naturally gluten-free are prepared in facilities that may contain gluten.
Real grenadine is made of 100% pomegranate juice, sugar and a little lemon or lime juice. Store-bought versions often swap those for high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, preservatives, artificial flavors and food dyes like red 40 and blue 1.
Up to 3 weeks stored in a sealed airtight glass jar or dressing container in the refrigerator. A ¼ ounce of vodka extends the shelf life if you do not mind the flavor change.
Boil the juice and sugar about 10-15 minutes, stirring, until it visibly thickens and coats a spoon. It thickens a little more as it cools in the jar.
Grenadine Syrup Recipe
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Plus get latest recipes and emails.
Ingredients
- 1 cup 100 % pomegranate juice unsweetened
- ⅔ cup organic sugar or turbinado sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat the juice and sugar on high heat to bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes, stirring durring heating, until it thickens. Let it cool then mix in the citrus juice (lemon or lime juice). Store in a sealed airtight jar for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Leave a Reply