Everyone tells you to drink seltzer instead of soda, and almost nobody tells you how to make it taste like something. Plain seltzer in a can is fine. It’s also the reason people give up in week two.
The trick is treating seltzer as a base, not a destination. These seltzer water drinks start with very cold plain seltzer and add one or two real ingredients, so you get the fizz and bite of a can with a fraction of the sugar.
Quick answer: To make a seltzer drink that tastes like soda, pour 1 cup of very cold seltzer over ice, add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened juice and a squeeze of lime or lemon, and stir once. The juice gives flavor, the citrus gives bite, and the seltzer gives the fizz.
Ingredients (the base formula)
- 1 cup very cold plain seltzer
- 2 tbsp unsweetened juice
- A squeeze of lime or lemon
- Fresh or frozen fruit, mint or ginger
- Ice
How to make a seltzer drink
- Chill the seltzer and the glass.
- Fill with ice, add juice and citrus.
- Pour the seltzer slowly down the side of the glass.
- Stir once and garnish.
Six seltzer recipes to try
1. Lime seltzer. Squeeze a whole lime into the glass and drop the shell in. Add 3 mint leaves if you like. It’s the most basic one and the one to start with.
2. Cranberry seltzer. 2 tbsp unsweetened cranberry juice, a squeeze of lime. Pink, tart, and good in a wine glass. Use 100 percent juice, not cranberry juice cocktail, which has sugar added.
3. Ginger lemon seltzer. A coin-size slice of fresh ginger muddled with a lemon wedge. It tastes like a dry ginger ale. For a real fizz of that kind, see our homemade ginger ale.
4. Raspberry seltzer. Muddle 5 raspberries with a squeeze of lime and top with seltzer. Strain if you hate seeds.
5. Peach seltzer. 3 slices of ripe or thawed frozen peach, a squeeze of lemon, a few drops of vanilla. The peach does the sweetening.
6. Spiced orange seltzer. Squeeze in ½ an orange and a squeeze of lime, add 2 tbsp pomegranate juice, a cinnamon stick and a drop of vanilla. It won’t taste like cola, but the dark, spiced, citrusy profile is as close as you’ll get without a bottle.
Tips for flavored seltzer that doesn’t taste like water
- Cold is flavor. Warm seltzer tastes flat and a bit metallic. Keep a few in the coldest part of the fridge.
- Always add acid. A squeeze of citrus is what stops it tasting like fizzy water.
- Use a real glass. Drinking from a can is fine, but pouring over ice with a garnish makes it feel like a drink, not a substitute.
- Wash the fruit. The FDA says to wash produce under running water and to scrub firm ones with a brush.
- Use a machine if you drink a lot. A home carbonation machine pays for itself in bottles, and some people like making their own. Flavor it in the glass afterward.
Mixed drinks with seltzer
For parties, seltzer is the best mixer for a no-alcohol drink: cranberry, orange and lime over ice, or a seltzer mojito with mint and lime (see our virgin mojito). It dilutes less than soda and adds almost nothing.
How seltzer drinks replace your can of soda
The fizz is the part of soda most people miss first. Seltzer has that, completely. It’s also cold, comes in a can you can open with a satisfying hiss, and can be flavored to something that tastes like it came from a bottle.
What it doesn’t have is sweetness. The CDC says one 12-ounce can of soda has more than 10 teaspoons (about 42 grams) of added sugar, so what you’re giving up is quite a lot. The juice splash gives you a hint of fruit and the citrus gives you sharpness, and that’s usually enough within a week or two.
There’s no caffeine in any of these, so they work at any time of day.
Add it to your Swap Shelf
Seltzer is on a lot of people’s shelves but never gets a fair test, because it’s usually served plain. In FizzFree, add your seltzer drink to your Swap Shelf and tap whether the swap worked, and compare the plain can against the flavored glass.
FizzFree is a habit tracker and not medical advice. If you have a health condition or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing what you drink.
Questions
What's the difference between seltzer and club soda?
Seltzer is plain carbonated water. Club soda has minerals or salts added for a slightly different taste. For these drinks, either works. Tonic water is different again: it contains sugar and a bitter ingredient, so it isn't a stand-in.
What ingredients are in flavored seltzer?
Check the label. Many flavored seltzers contain only carbonated water and natural flavor. Others add sweeteners or juice. If you're avoiding added sugar, look for a label that says no sweeteners and compare it against plain seltzer.
Can I make my own flavored seltzer at home?
Yes. Buy plain seltzer or carbonate water with a home carbonation machine, then add fruit, citrus and herbs. Add the flavor to the glass, not into the machine: most makers say to carbonate plain water only.
How do I keep seltzer from going flat?
Keep it cold, pour it slowly down the side of a tilted glass, stir once, and don't mix it far ahead. Seal opened bottles tightly and finish them within a day.
Is cranberry juice and seltzer a good mix?
It's one of the best. Two tablespoons of unsweetened cranberry juice in 1 cup of seltzer gives you a tart pink drink with just enough juice flavor. Cranberry juice cocktail is sweetened, so look for 100 percent juice.
FizzFree is a habit tracker and not medical advice. If you have a health condition or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing what you drink.