Orange cranberry mimosa mocktail or cocktail recipe! A gorgeous and festive holiday drink for everyone in the family.
Happy holiday season, Rhubarbarians! Today, I'm sharing a really awesome drink that everyone in your family will enjoy this Christmas, a holiday mocktail. With alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. PLUS, 10 more recipes to make the ultimate vegan holiday menu!
Festive holiday drinks are a MUST for Thanksgiving or Christmas. They are amazing to enjoy while all that good food is cooking and everyone is getting settled in and friendly. Non-alcoholic holiday cocktails are a fun way to please alcohol free friends and fam and make it seem just that much more special. It's all about holiday flavors and garnishes. 🙂
Make it festive
There's this picture of me when I was a little girl with my family, and we are all holding up champagne glasses full of bubbly and all having a wonderful time. Mine was just sparkling apple cider, but I remember always feeling so fancy when I got to have an "adult" beverage.
Make the Christmas mocktails fun by playing with holiday flavors like apple, cranberry, and cinnamon. Amp up the fanciness with garnishes like cranberries, cinnamon sticks, and rosemary leaves. Don't forget to use your fancy cocktail glasses!
So, let's raise a glass to all the youngins, pregnant ladies, and alcohol free drinkers out there! They deserve a special drink over the holidays too!
Ingredients and equipment
Here's what you'll need to make a holiday cranberry mimosa mocktail. Full ingredients and instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article.
Ingredients:
- Orange slice and sugar: to sugar the rim of your glass
- Orange juice: freshly squeezed is best
- Sweetened cranberry juice
- Sparkling apple cider: we like Martinelli's
- Garnishes: fresh cranberries, cinnamon stick, and rosemary sprig
- Ground cinnamon: just a tiny pinch
Equipment:
- Small bowl or dish: to sugar the rim of your glass
- Champagne glasses or small cocktail glasses
- 1-2 ounce shot glass or measuring cup: to measure the liquid
Step by step instructions
Here's how to make your holiday mocktail. Full ingredients and instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article.
- First things first, you'll want some champagne glasses or small cocktail glasses. Let's use the fancy ones, it's the holidays!
- To sugar the rim, pour some white sugar onto a small plate so that it's at least ⅛" deep. Spread it out to a bit wider than the rim of your glass. Wet the rim of your glass with a slice of fresh orange and make sure there is some juice on it. With your champagne glass upside down, dip the rim into the sugar and turn the glass a bit to make sure you get the rim coated in sugar.
Continued below.....
- Avoiding the sugared rim, pour in the orange juice, cranberry juice, and sparkling apple cider.
- Garnish with fresh cranberries, a cinnamon stick, and a rosemary stick for garnish. If you can fit an orange wedge in there that would be pretty too!
- Sprinkle a tiny pinch of ground cinnamon on the top.
Make it alcoholic
Just follow the same steps as the mocktail, choosing a fancy glass and sugaring the rim. But, instead of apple cider you will use champagne or prosecco.
Top with the same garnishes and everyone will feel like they are drinking the same festive cocktail! But make sure you know whose is whose.
Recipe tips and substitutions
There are a number of ways to switch this up and still have it be a delicious and festive holiday drink for everyone.
- Add a splash of vodka for a delightfully boozy mimosa.
- Use white wine or even rose instead of apple cider or champagne. It won't be fizzy, but it sure will be tasty.
- Try 7-up or Sprite rather than apple cider for more of a citrus flavor.
- Try a different flavor of sparkling cider. Cranberry cider or cherry cider would be amazing!
Orange cranberry mimosa mocktail or cocktail recipe! A gorgeous and festive holiday drink for everyone in the family
- orange slice and sugar for the sugared rim
- 1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 oz cold sweetened cranberry juice
- 2 oz cold sparkling apple cider (I used Martinelli's)
- pinch of ground cinnamon
- fresh cranberries, cinnamon stick, and rosemary sprig for garnish (optional)
-
Sugar the rim of a champagne glass by wetting the rim with a slice of orange and dipping into a some white sugar.
-
Add the orange juice, cranberry juice, and sparkling apple cider to your glass. Top with a pinch of cinnamon and all the garnishes. Enjoy!
- Add a splash of vodka for a delightfully boozy mimosa.
- Use white wine or even rose instead of apple cider or champagne. It won't be fizzy, but it sure will be tasty.
- Try 7-up or Sprite rather than apple cider for more of a citrus flavor.
- Try a different flavor of sparkling cider. Cranberry cider or cherry cider would be amazing!
OK, now for all the recipes you need to create an amazing vegan holiday menu!
Let's start with the appetizers. There are a LOT! Because, the appetizers are the best part, right? ?
Vegan cream cheese ball from Vegan Blueberry
Vegan sausage stuffed dates from Thyme & Love
Vegan spinach dip with kale from Plant & Vine
Holiday baked vegan cheese with guava swirl from Very Vegan Val
Now for the main dish!
The BEST vegan lasagna from This Healthy Kitchen
Smoky white bean puree from Healthy Helper as a healthy mashed potato option
Vegan brussels sprouts salad from Healthy Midwestern Girl
And, we HAVE to have dessert. Mmmm....
Peppermint candy cane chocolate shortbread cookies from Woman In Real Life
Vegan gingerbread cake from Nutriplanet
Vegan candy cane truffles from Baked By Clo
Go check out all of these amazing recipes! Hope you all have a very happy and safe holiday season!
I hope you’ll give this holiday cranberry mimosa a try! Snap a pic and give me a shout on social media #Rhubarbarians!
Trish
P.S. Want to see what I’m cooking up this week? Check out my Instagram stories! And don’t forget to join my FaceBook community of vegetarian cooks!
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Boyd Kobe
Gorgeous looking mocktail! It sounds so delicious too. Can’t wait to try these, everyone will love them.
Patricia Bozeman
Thank you, Boyd!
Amanda
This is an absolutely gorgeous and festive cocktail for the holiday season! I love that you have both cocktail and mocktail instructions. So many times, I have guests that would prefer a mocktail, and I always like to have an option that's great for everyone to enjoy together. This will be perfect for our Christmas Day celebration this year!
Patricia Bozeman
Thanks, Amanda! Let me know if you end up making this one this year! 🙂
Mackenzie
Ohh girl! Nothing says holidays like a cranberry drink! The thing that has me super duper excited about this is the idea of the sparkling cherry cider. As Christmas approaches, I want all the cranberry. But by the time New year's eve comes, I want a little variation. Now I don't know which I'm more excited about!
Patricia Bozeman
Oh my gosh, I LOVE cherry cider! It would be amazing in this drink!
Marisa Franca
The colors on your holiday mimosas are stunning. I want to start celebrating just looking at them. That red is so perfect for the holidays and I love the tips you give for switching up the flavors of the cocktails. I've always enjoyed a mimosa at brunch but these cranberry ones would be ideal at night.
Patricia Bozeman
Thank you, Marisa! They are super festive! This is definitely more of a dinner mimosa than a brunch mimosa. But I'll take one at both lol!
Traci
Wow! These are so beautiful and festive and cocktail-like, they should be on everyone's holiday menu! I love it that they have such healthy ingredients too! Very cool that we can serve these with booze and without booze, so party goers can have their cake and eat it too, depending on their alcohol preferences. Nicely done! thanks for sharing 🙂
Patricia Bozeman
Thank you, Traci! It's the perfect drink for being boozy, or NOT boozy. 🙂
Debra
Awesome festive drink! Thank you for the suggestions....and I love that there is a non-alcoholic choice. The kids will feel so decadent and grown up having one of these.
Patricia Bozeman
Kids all dressed up for Xmas, feeling grown up with their mocktails. SO CUTE!
Daniela
This cranberry mimosa is just gorgeous! I love that you offer options for making it with and without booze, that way everyone can enjoy it. And all the variations sound delicious! I would love some vodka in mine! 😉
Patricia Bozeman
Thank you, Daniela! I definitely have to try one with vodka. We are trying the champagne ones on Xmas Eve!
Leah
I love how perfectly holiday this cocktail is! It's great that it can be made for kids and non-drinkers, as well as the drinkers. So many great variations, and so perfect for holiday parties this time of year. Thanks for the great inspiration!
Patricia Bozeman
Thanks, Leah! It definitely tastes like a Christmas cocktail too, which I love. We are making these for Xmas eve this year for sure.
Tracy
This is SO festive! And thank you for a non-alcoholic version. I love to be able to offer that at a party so that those who don't drink or can't drink can feel a part of the fun too!
Patricia Bozeman
Thanks, Tracy! I looooove festive drinks, and it's so easy to make non-alcoholic ones! 🙂
Carmy
The colour on this is popping! I'll definitely need a glass or two of this for the holidays. I actually much rather drink mocktails than cocktails because it means I can drink an unlimited amount without getting wasted haha.
Patricia Bozeman
Hahaha! Yeah, the mocktail version would much appreciated the next morning. 🙂
Lisa
This post is really inspiring me to step up my mocktail/cocktail game over the holidays. We typically serve beer and wine -- and my Dad's Scotch, of course. Your orange-cranberry cocktails look like a refreshing - toast-worthy beverage. Not too tart, not too sweet -- and lovely to allow the kids to have their own festive holiday toast. The adults in our clan like to imbibe, so I think the vodka champagne version will make everyone happy. I'm also thinking this would make an eye popping punch bowl.
Patricia Bozeman
This would make a gorgeous punch! We have quite a few drinks at our holiday gatherings as well, and a LOT of kiddos. Thanks, Lisa! 🙂
Dana
Oh hell yes. I'm totally making these on Christmas morning! My husband and I traditionally knock back mimosas on Christmas morning, but this will be a fun way to amp things up. Not to mention the fact that I still have some cranberries leftover in my freezer. I knew I saved those bad boys for a reason! I actually use orange in my homemade cranberry sauce, so I already know how ah-mazing the combo is. Now, I can't wait to DRINK it 🙂
Patricia Bozeman
Yayayaya! You should definitely try these out! They are sooooo easy to drink. A little *too* easy, LOL! Remember to give me a tag on social if you share them! 🙂
Gloria
Love the options in this delicious drink. Perfect for all the holiday parties. Great for brunches too. So many holiday flavours in this festive drink. CHEERS!
Patricia Bozeman
Thank you, Gloria! It's definitely the perfect drink for the holidays. 🙂
Michelle @ Sunkissed Kitchen
These are stunning Trish! I have always thought cranberry juice is a lot better in a mimosa than OJ!
Patricia Bozeman
Thank you, Michelle! The cranberry makes this so Christmas-y! 🙂