Italian Sodas are fun and easy drinks to customize. Let me show you how to make Italian soda at home with just 3 ingredients: sweet syrups, half-and-half, and club soda.
This Italian Soda costs about $1.05 per serving to make! You cannot buy a drink at Sonic for that price. I love being able to serve fun drinks at home like my Virgin Pina Colada or my Horchata Recipe for a fraction of the cost.
Italian Soda
Whenever I am in charge of drinks at a get-together, I ALWAYS think of the Friends episode where Phoebe gets put in charge of cups and ice. She goes way over the top by bringing every kind of ice possible and making anything and everything out of cups. Haha, it’s classic!
I guess I think of Italian Sodas as over the top because everyone loves them, and everyone always seems impressed when there’s a fun drink bar. They always tend to be a showstopper (just like Phoebe’s ice and cup presentation)! In reality, they are SUPER easy to make.
This Italian soda recipe is excellent for any party and any occasion because they’re so easy to customize. We even set up an Italian Soda bar at my brother’s wedding reception, and it was a huge hit. There are so many other occasions where these drinks would be lovely, below are some ideas.
Different Occasions to Serve Italian Cream Sodas at:
- Mother’s Day brunch or dinner
- Baby showers (pick syrup colors to match the party theme)
- Bridal showers
- Fun movie night with family and friends (they would be perfectly paired with my Movie Theater Popcorn)
- Birthday parties
My all-time favorite way to serve these Italian cream sodas is by turning them into floats for summertime parties (think end-of-the-school-year parties, 4th of July, etc.). What you do is set out the club soda, ice, ice cream, and syrup flavors and let your guests do the rest! It does not get much easier than that.
HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN SODA:
STEPS 1 AND 2: First, assemble ingredients. Add 1-2 ounces of the syrup of your choice to a 16-ounce glass. Next, fill the glass half-way with crushed ice. Next, pour in one ounce of half-and-half or cream.
PRO TIP: Sonic has the best-crushed ice, and the best thing is that you can buy it by the bag-full.
STEP THREE AND FOUR: Then slowly pour in the club soda. Lastly, top with whipped cream and a cherry and enjoy your delicious creation!
What is Italian soda?
Italian soda is a fun drink made from carbonated water and flavored syrup. The cream is typically added to the drink as well as crushed ice and whipped cream. These drinks are fun because there are so many syrup flavors you can choose from to make a delicious concoction.
How is Italian soda different from regular soda?
Like soda, Italian sodas are made with carbonated water and syrup but without the caffeine! That’s huge in my book.
Italian sodas are also different because there are so many flavored syrups that range from vanilla to peppermint, to pumpkin, to strawberry. And the list goes on and on, the options are endless.
Why is it called Italian Soda?
One would think these drinks were first made in Italy, but that is not true! These are an American drink.
Torani, the syrup company, made the first Italian Soda. In 1925 they created the drink by mixing the flavored syrup with soda water.
What are some Italian soda flavor combinations?
There are so many flavor combinations, and I have my go-to (pina colada), but I always enjoy asking others what concoction they came up with and love making a different combo each time. What flavor combination will you make?
The sky’s the limit when it comes to Italian soda flavor combinations. Here are some of the favorites in my family:
- Pineapple and coconut (pina colada)
- Strawberry and banana
- Peach and vanilla
- Orange and vanilla (creamsicle)
- Cherry and lime
- Mango and banana
- Strawberry and coconut (tiger’s blood)
- pomegranate and lime
- peach and mango
- mint and lime (virgin mojito)
Cook’s Tools and ingredients:
- Torani syrups. I’ve found that these are the best syrups. Plus, they come in so many different flavors.
- pumps for the syrups
- club soda
- pretty paper straws
- maraschino cherries
How much will this Italian Soda recipe cost to make:
RECIPE COST: $1.05
PER SERVING COST: $1.05
NOTE: The recipe prices are calculated by using grocery store websites. The actual cost of the recipe will vary depending on what ingredients you already have.
- 2 ounces of flavored Torani syrup – $0.68
- crushed ice – $0.00
- 1-ounce half-and-half or cream – $0.05
- 8 ounces club soda – $0.32
If you love these sodas, then you’ll want to try a Shirley Temple or Non-Alcoholic Moscow Mule.
More Drink Recipes:
- Cranberry Limeade
- Horchata
- Kinderpunsch
- Lemon Cream Pie Float
- Limeade
- Non-Alcoholic Christmas Punch
- Peach Lemonade
- Pineapple Smoothie
- Shirley Temple
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Strawberry Smoothie
- Virgin Pina Colada
More from Food Folks and Fun
How to Make Italian Soda
Ingredients
- 1-2 ounces of flavored Torani syrup
- crushed ice
- 1 ounce half-and-half or whipping cream
- 8 ounces club soda
- whipped cream optional
- maraschino cherries optional
Instructions
- Pump the Torani syrups(of your choice into a 16-ounce glass. Next, fill the glass halfway with ice.
- Pour in the half and half. Then, slowly pour in the club soda. Stir everything together.
- Finally, top with whipped cream and a cherry (optional, but not optional for me!) and serve.
Video
Nutrition
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How to Make Italian Soda post was first published in May of 2019. I have since updated the post with more photos and a recipe video.
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Italian Sodas are always a hit! I love your idea of making them into floats, genius!
These Italian sodas are on the summer bucket list! YUM!
Italian soda is just about the perfect drink for hot summer days, and it’s so fun that it’s so easy to create different flavors to suit everyone’s taste. 🙂
Wow! So pretty and so easy! I never would have guessed making amazing Italian soda would be this easy!
These look so fun and so colorful! Great way to cool down!
I never heard of Italian soda. love those different colours. I will try it out!
This is such a beautiful drink recipe. I love an the fun colors and flavors that can be made possible with this drink. Can’t wait to make some. Thanks for an the helpful tips.
These looks so fun and I love how easy they are!
These look so delicious and the perfect summer drink! My daughter loves Italian sodas! Can’t wait to make these!
I’m always after new drinks to keep the kids happy. We have a soft spot of syrups so have quite a few to pick from in the cupboard whenever we feel like indugling in one of these – kind of like a milkshake but with an exciting edge to it.
Absolutely delicious! We added in several tablespoons of homemade simple syrup, but it was absolutely delicious!
We forgot to get the syrup earlier and had guests that wanted to have Italian Soda. I substituted syrup with Raspberry “jam” preserves melted first in the microwave. Used lemon club soda, real cream. It tasted great.
Wow, very clever substitutions!
Simpler recipe and only one carb. I buy a bottle of the sparkling ICE brand with zero sugar (about $1) pour it over ice and add a little half and half. Stir and enjoy
THANK YOU for leaving quantities per the cup size!
Can’t wait to make this 🙂