Homemade Orange Soda Recipe

The moment we were allowed to each summer, my sister and I would collect our quarters and jump on our bikes. We’d weave through our suburban streets, heading off in the direction of the asphalt path that would lead to the corner store.

Bike locks optional, we’d lean our pedals and handlebars against the brown brick exterior and head inside, the cold blast of air conditioning hitting us in the face and prying our eyelids open on the way in. In the back corner we’d sit, staring through the floor-to-ceiling cooler doors at the bottles of colored soda.
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Photo by Shaina Olmanson | FoodforMyFamily.com

My kids have been deprived of the orange glow soda I grew up with, the kind that stained your upper lip if you gulped it from a sweaty glass on a hot summer day. That faintly orange-tasting liquid with a bit of pucker punch at the end hasn’t been a part of their daily diet or their childhood memories. The nostalgic side of me has taken over and decided I should give them a bit of my childhood, just without the can.

Making your own soda is easy. The concept is simply syrup and carbonated water combining into bubbling bliss. The colder this bubbled beverage is served in summer, the more refreshing and sought after it is. So, make a bottle of syrup, keep a bottle of well chilled sparkling water or club soda on hand, and get ready to open your very own soda station.

Homemade Orange Soda

Homemade orange soda with all the nostalgia and none of the artificial food dyes or HFCS.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: beverage
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 99kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 oranges juiced to make 2 cups
  • Zest from 4 oranges
  • Zest from 1 lime
  • 2/3 cup honey use a light honey or 1 cup sugar

Instructions

  • Place the orange juice, orange zest, lime zest, and the honey/sugar into a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by 1/3, stirring frequently.
  • Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Strain the syrup through a cheesecloth to remove any large pieces of zest and pulp. Place in a bottle and keep refrigerated.
  • To enjoy orange soda, mix 1 part orange syrup with approximately 3 parts sparkling water or club soda depending on personal preference. Serve over ice.

Notes

For even more pucker, add a small bit of citric acid to the mix at the same time as the orange juice, 1/8-1/4 teaspoon depending on your personal pucker preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 36.5mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 0.2mg

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Photo by Shaina Olmanson | FoodforMyFamily.com

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39 Comments

  1. This sounds incredible! My brothers and I used to drink orange soda all the time until we realized it was not all that great for us!! Your homemade version sounds SO good!

    1. The real secret here is that we weren’t allowed to drink soda as kids either, but on summer afternoons when we were old enough to be allowed off on our bikes in the neighborhood, we would collect our coins until we could afford to buy a bottle to share. My sister is actually the orange soda fiend. I always chose those Clearly Canadian bottles with their light blue bottles showing off the clear soda inside.

    1. I’ve found that most of my kids can’t even handle how sweet soda is when they are given it at weddings and family events and often end up abandoning it. We never have soda or juice unless we make our own or, on rare occasions, we buy a package of Izze Fruit Juice Sodas for large barbecues and about once a year we have a root beer float night with Goose Island Root Beer or another pure cane sugar variety.

  2. What a great recipe for the kids to enjoy. My kids don’t drink pop but they like juice. Sometimes I will mix half juice with half soda to their juice.

  3. My siblings and I grew up drinking orange soda and strawberry soda. Great memories. Every time we went to the river to go fishing we would bring out sodas. I will have to make this for my son. He doesn’t know what he is missing out on in his childhood.

  4. One of my goals this summer was to make my own syrups for soda. I loved orange soda growing up but I’ve tried to cut out things like that as an adult. I can’t wait to re-introduce orange soda (really, orange pop) into my life again!

  5. 5 stars
    Hi Aimee, you have written a beautiful evocation of childhood…I can almost taste those warm,sunfilled orangey days! Nice recipe too 🙂

    1. Hi, Mary. My name is Shaina. I’m so glad you enjoyed my writing and the orange soda recipe. I am a contributor for Aimee and Simple Bites, and it is so nice to hear that people appreciate my presence here, especially since I’ve been here since its inception and hope to continue on for quite some time. 🙂

  6. I grew up in a house that drank soda, and funny thing is, now as an adult I don’t really care for it, and neither of my kids drink it much……although my husband makes up for all of us! lol

    I think we all would LOVE to make our own, orange soda was always a favorite as a kid when my parents would buy the generic sodas in all the different flavors. I can only imagine how much better this tastes!….maybe over a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream in a tall glass too 😉 mmmmmm

  7. This brought back memories! I used to love Orange Crush. My parents would buy it on rare occasions. Sometimes we’d have it when I’d babysit my younger brothers, usually while eating homemade pizza… Mmmm, I need to make this. Thanks for sharing!

  8. 5 stars
    Today I had a real need for something orangy, and I remember having some delicious orange soda from my friends house. I made your recipe, and it was absolutely fantastic! It’s so nice, I made two batches or syrup because I accidentally drank it all in one sitting! This is so good, defiantly gonna make it again another time.