Homemade Italian Cream Soda {3 Ingredients}
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Our homemade Italian Cream Soda is made from scratch using just 3 ingredients. A fun addition to family dinners or special occasions but especially refreshing on a hot summer day.
If you’re a bit older cream sodas will take you back to your childhood when you could find soda bars on every block. While they are old school and vintage you can still find these fun beverages on restaurant menus.
When you do find a restaurant that serves these retro drinks you’ll discover they are expensive! So making them at home is much cheaper option.
We’re sharing tips to help you get the best results with this recipe. If you don’t need the tips, scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and a printable recipe card.
I love that you can use different syrups to change the flavors and colors. Not only are they refreshing during warmer months, you can adjust the flavorings to coordinate for special occasions, holidays and theme parties.
When I make these it reminds me of the food court days at the mall, cruising with friends and sipping down on an Orange Julius.
Are Italian Cream Sodas Actually Italian?
Not at all. Torani, the maker of the famous flavored syrups, came up with the idea so it actually originated in the United States. Fun fact – the founders of Torani are Italian.
Ingredients Needed
- Ice – you can use crushed or cubed
- Sweetened flavored syrup – Torani has a wide variety of syrups to choose from. You can also use sugar free if preferred.
- heavy cream – swap for half and half if you prefer a lighter version
- club soda
- Optional garnishes: whipped cream, fresh fruit, maraschino cherries, sprinkles, cute paper straws
How To Make Homemade Italian Cream Soda
Add ice to a tall glass, filling about ¾ of the way full.
Pour in the club soda.
Add a few tablespoons of your favorite flavored syrup.
Slowly pour in the heavy cream or half and half.
Top with garnishes like whipped cream, fruit, and a festive paper straw.
Stir to mix the ingredients and serve immediately.
Tips for Making
- This recipe is for a single serving. If you need to make more than a single Italian cream soda, simply adjust the quantities for the amount needed.
- Flavor combinations: we like raspberry or strawberry with vanilla, cherry with lime, peach and mango, and pineapple with coconut – which tastes like a pina colada, yum! Mix and match flavors for your favorite combo.
- To make your whipped cream look pretty, transfer it to a piping or Ziploc bag. Snip the end, then squeeze in a circle to make a dollop.
Cream Sodas for Special Occasions
Use these ideas to make festive drinks when celebrating holidays or occasions or to coordinate with a party theme.
Baby Shower – Make blue or pink using blue raspberry and strawberry syrups
Patriotic – Use blue raspberry (or blueberry) and cherry along with the cream for red, white, and blue vibes.
Christmas – They have green apple, kiwi, and lime for the green. There’s also a pomegranate syrup that would be great for the winter season.
Valentine’s Day – Go for pink and red and top with whipped cream and cute sprinkles.
How to Host a Cream Soda Bar
If you’ve been around here for any time at all you know when there’s a crowd I am all about hosting a themed bar! We make taco bars all of the time and our guests love the concept.
Create an Italian Cream Soda bar for easy entertaining. Set out the drink ingredients, a bucket of ice, provide a variety of syrups, tall glasses, straws and garnishes and let everyone create their own drink.
Common FAQs
Italian soda lacks the creaminess because there isn’t any heavy cream or half and half added.
It’s actually sparkling water that is naturally carbonated, whereas club soda manufacturers add carbonation and minerals after the fact.
You can. Club soda adds a little more flavor and has a little salt to balance the sweetness of the drink.
MORE FAMILY Favorite
Summer Drinks and Treats
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Homemade Italian Cream Soda
Equipment
Ingredients
- Ice, crushed or cubed, to fill glass about ¾ full
- 3-4 Tablespoons sweetened flavored syrup
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- ½ – ¾ cup club soda
- Optional garnishes: whipped cream,, fresh fruit, maraschino cherries, sprinkles
Instructions
- Fill a tall glass ¾ full with ice.
- Add ½ – ¾ cup club soda.
- Add 3-4 Tablespoons of flavored syrup.
- Slowly pour in 2 Tablespoons heavy cream.
- Garnish with whipped cream, fruit and a straw, if desired.
- Stir to combine the ingredients and serve immediately.
Notes
- Recipe can be easily double or tripled for multiple drinks.
- You can substitute with sugar-free flavored syrups if preferred.
- Substitute half and half for the heavy cream for a lighter version.
- How to create an Italian Cream Soda bar: set out drink ingredients, including a variety of syrups, ice bucket, tall glasses, straws and garnishes so guest can make their own drinks.
Nutritional Estimate
Nutritional information is provided as a reference, using an online calculator. We recommend verifying the information independently for accuracy.
