Homemade Ginger Ale comes together in no time with just four simple ingredients: fresh ginger, sugar, lime juice, and club soda. It’s incredibly refreshing! You’ll never want to buy ginger ale from the store again after you try this version.
I’ve never been a huge fan of soda, but ginger ale is an exception. I don’t drink it often, but every now and then I crave it. It’s a refreshing treat, and homemade ginger ale is no different!
In fact, I think this version is even more refreshing than the store versions, most likely due to the simple ingredients.
How to Make homemade ginger ale
- Water is gently simmered with chopped, fresh ginger to create an infusion.
- The ginger water is then heated with sugar to create a ginger syrup.
- You mix the syrup with club soda and freshly squeezed lime juice.
That’s it! The total recipe time is 2 hours, but it’s almost entirely inactive. Letting the infusion steep and the syrup chill, etc.
Recipe Notes
- If you’ve never peeled ginger before, I find that it’s easier to use a spoon instead of a vegetable peeler, especially if the ginger is oddly shaped. This tutorial from Bon Appetit shows you how.
- I don’t own a SodaStream, but based on other recipes I’ve seen, this recipe should work fine with your machine.
- The one trick with this recipe is finding the proper balance of fizziness when mixing the ingredients at the end, since you’re diluting some of the club soda with a non-carbonated syrup and lime juice. Using a soda machine would help eliminate this issue.
- If you want to experiment, there’s another type of homemade ginger ale that’s fermented, similar to kombucha. It takes a bit more work, and I haven’t tried it myself, but I thought it was worth mentioning!
Looking for More Ginger Recipes?
You might also like my Teriyaki Salmon, Soft Gingerbread Cookies, and Baked Chai Spiced French Toast! I also love this 20 Minute Garlic Ginger Chicken Stir Fry from Voraciously.
Homemade Ginger Ale
Ingredients
For the Ginger Syrup
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup chopped, peeled ginger
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
For the Ginger Ale
- Ginger syrup
- 1 quart club soda or seltzer water (approximately)
- 2-3 medium limes, juiced (approximately)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the water and ginger to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low heat. Loosely cover the pan so steam can vent from one of the sides. Gently simmer for 40 minutes. The liquid should be barely bubbling; you don’t want the water to reduce. The point is to infuse the ginger flavor into the water.
- Remove from heat and let steep, covered, for 20 minutes, then strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Discard the ginger.
- Return the ginger-infused water to the saucepan, adding the sugar and a pinch of salt, then place over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, approximately 5 minutes. Chill syrup in a covered jar until cold, around 2 hours (you can place the syrup in the freezer to speed up this process).
- Assemble drinks: Mix ginger syrup with club soda and lime juice (start with 1/4 cup syrup, 2 teaspoons lime juice, and 3/4 cup club soda, then adjust to taste).
- Leftover ginger syrup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Joanna Cismaru says
Wow, I never thought of making my own ginger ale, but this looks so easy!
Cathy Pollak says
Never ever have I thought about making this homemade…I love it and I bet so much better than a can.
Heather says
I adore this recipe!! So delicious and better to make it homemade.
Carrie says
Great recipe. I love ginger ale.
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
Oh, I need to try this! Looks refreshing!
Joanne says
Such incredible flavor in this, and so much better then the ginger ale I had as a child!
Stephanie Manley says
I used to make sodas by fermenting them with yeast. This looks so much easier.
Javier says
The Mojito is prepared with soda, but I always use ginger ale. Commercial.
Now I’going to prepare this ginger ale for my mojitos.
Thanks for this recipe.
Lori @ RecipeGirl says
My son has been asking me if we can do this, so guess what we’re doing this weekend??
Jannae says
I’ve made two batches so far, and about to run to the store to replenish my ginger supply. I’m heavy handed with the lime juice, but this base is everything you could ask for in a good ginger ale.
Lucy says
Mine did not come tasting good at all
Monica says
Excellent! Easy to make and tastes like real ginger ale should be!