Homemade Ginger Ale Recipe
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This Homemade Ginger Ale recipe takes a few minutes, but is well worth the time! The flavors of the fresh ginger shine through and make this one glass of ginger ale you won’t want to miss!
Ginger ale is one of those flavorful drinks that I’ve always loved. Sweet and slightly tart, it is one of the most refreshing drinks and one that I am so thankful to know just how easy it is to make in my own kitchen! There’s just something about making my own that makes it taste even better, I think!
To make my own ginger ale, I make my own ginger syrup. Now, for the ginger syrup, I start with about 5 ounces of fresh ginger. You should be able to find fresh ginger in the produce section of your grocery store. In my grocery store, it is shelved in the section with green onion, chives, and other fresh vegetables and herbs.
I like to weigh my ginger to make sure that I have just what I need while I’m at the grocery store. Then, once I am home, I peel my ginger using the bowl of a teaspoon. To peel fresh ginger, just grasp the spoon close to the bowl and pull the edge of the spoon bowl along the peeling of the ginger. It should peel right off.
Once the ginger is peeled, I then cut it into a small dice and toss it, along with a bit of water, into a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the ginger to simmer for about 30 minutes and then remove it from the heat, cover and let the ginger steep in the water for another 15 minutes. Don’t skimp on this part as it imparts the most flavor to the ginger syrup. Rushing this process will produce a ginger syrup that isn’t nearly as “gingery” as you’ll want it to be!
Now, pour the ginger syrup through a sieve, reserving the ginger pieces for another purpose or discarding. Pour the syrup back into the saucepan over medium heat and add your sweetener. You can use honey, granulated sugar, maple syrup or your favorite sweetener. Bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes and then remove from the heat. Allow the ginger syrup to cool completely.
Once it has cooled, you can pour it into a Mason jar to store in the refrigerator for up to about 2 weeks for making individual glasses of ginger ale or go ahead and make a large container to serve a group. To make the ginger ale, just add the ginger syrup to a 2-quart glass pitcher and stir in fresh lemon or lime juice along with club soda or seltzer water. You can even add a sliver of fresh ginger to the glasses as you serve it for even more ginger flavor and scent.
I hope you love this homemade ginger ale as much as we do! Cheers!
Homemade Ginger Ale Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped, about 5 ounces
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, or lime juice
- 4 cups (1 quart) club soda, or seltzer water
Instructions
To make the Ginger Syrup:
- Add ginger and water to a small saucepan over medium heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to steep an additional 15 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the ginger from the syrup into a large bowl and then pour back into the small saucepan. Discard the pieces of ginger or save for another purpose.
- Add the sweetener to the saucepan and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Allow to cool completely. At this stage, the ginger syrup may be placed into a Mason jar, sealed, and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To Make the Homemade Ginger Ale:
- Pour ginger syrup into a 2-quart glass pitcher, stir in fresh lemon or lime juice and club soda or seltzer water. Serve over ice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Can I use Agave vs sugar or honey?
Ro, you can use honey, granulated sugar, maple syrup or your favorite sweetener. I hope you enjoy!
YUM!!!! I have a jar of this nectar in my refrigerator. During the day I add it to my seltzer with some fresh mint from the yard and at night I add a splash or 2 to my tea.
THANX!!
That sounds good. So glad you like this ginger ale!
Thanks for the amazing recipe!
All of the water boiled off in the 30 minutes, leaving me with flavorless ginger
I’m sorry, Simcha, but this should never come to a boil. It should just simmer. It sounds like you had the heat too high.
Are you sure the sugar is 1/4 cup for 5 oz of ginger? All the other recipes have much more sugar. Most I’m seeing is 2 TBL. grated ginger to 3/4 cup sugar.
Cheryl, you can add more sugar if you wish but I have found that I and my family like the ratio of the sweetener and the ginger in this recipe.
Robyn, I totally agree. I’ve now tried ginger ale recipes a number of ways and lessening the sugar is better. You can always add more!
I made it. Absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making this homemade ginger ale again. Thank you!
I’m so happy you liked this, Antoinette.
This is a confusing recipe . You need to start off with more then two cups of water otherwise it all boils off. Then what is the ratio of syrup to seltzer water.
I can’t wait to give this a try – it looks delicious and so fresh! Thanks for the recipe!
How much syrup and lemon juice would you use for a single glass (say 10 oz)?
There are 4 cups to a quart. The recipe makes 2 quarts. A quarter of a cup is 2 tablespoons. You would need 1/8 of a teaspoon
I have an insane love for Ginger Ale. I plan to try this on Thanksgiving break . Yum.