This cranberry mimosa is a festive and easy holiday cocktail.
With just three ingredients, it’s simple to keep everything on hand for impromptu gatherings.
And of course, this cranberry mimosa recipe is a perfect fit for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or Christmas get-togethers.
A festive drink can really put you into the holiday spirit this time of year.
However, Thanksgiving dinner itself can be a little tasking with an eye catching entrée, many side dishes, and pie to follow.
So it’s nice to have a holiday cocktail that is ridiculously easy to make, as well as eye-catching.
A bubbly cranberry juice mimosa goes well with an holiday meal, because it isn’t overly heavy.
It has a light effervescence that doesn’t weigh you down.
Plus, with just three ingredients, it’s simple to keep cranberries, cranberry juice, and sparkling wine on hand for impromptu holiday gatherings.
(Fun fact: This colorful drink is also known as a Christmas mimosa. And with the addition of orange liqueur, it’s called a poinsettia cocktail.)
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.
Cranberries: Whole cranberries are used for a colorful garnish. Frozen or fresh cranberries will work. (Don’t use dried.)
Cranberry juice: Use either 100% cranberry juice or a cranberry juice cocktail blend.
Sparkling wine or Champagne: Any sparkling wine, Champagne, or Prosecco will work here.
(Sparkling wine can only officially be called Champagne if it’s from the Champagne region of France.)
Blanc de Blancs from Trader Joe’s is vegan.
Check Barnivore to find out what other sparkling wines & Champagnes are vegan-friendly.
Step by step instructions
Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
Chill all of the ingredients before serving.
Sparkling wine & cranberry juice are at their best served cold.
And cold cranberries work as their own ice cubes to keep the drinks cool without muting the flavors.
Put a few whole cranberries into champagne flutes.
Pour cranberry juice into each glass, even with the cranberries.
(Roughly one Tablespoon of cranberry juice per drink.)
Finish the glass with Champagne or sparkling wine.
How to serve a group
To serve a group, garnish each glass with cranberries, cover with cranberry juice, and finish with sparkling wine or Champagne.
One standard-sized bottle of champagne will serve 5 or 6 drinks, depending on the size of your Champagne flutes.
I don’t recommend mixing the Champagne & juice in a pitcher separately, because it will lose its bubbles.
Make it your own
You can make this drink your own by varying the ingredients or amounts.
- Add more cranberry juice for a bolder flavor
- Add less cranberry juice for a more muted flavor
- Replace cranberry juice with pomegranate juice
- Vary the type of sparkling wine to be drier or sweeter
- Add a squeeze of lime juice for brightness
- Add ½ ounce Cointreau or other orange liqueur for a poinsettia champagne cocktail
- Jazz up the garnish with a sugared rim, sugared cranberries, and/or fresh rosemary sprigs
Alcohol-free mocktail alternative
Prefer this cocktail without alcohol?
Here are some sparkling wine alternatives:
- Sparkling grape juice
- Sparkling water
- Club soda
- Tonic water
Use any of the above in equal quantities as the sparkling wine.
(If using an unsweetened mixer like sparkling water, I recommend using sweetened cranberry juice. Otherwise, it will be too tart.)
Serving ideas
This festive cocktail works just as well at a Christmas brunch, New Year’s Eve party, or Thanksgiving dinner.
Brunch pairings:
Appetizer pairings:
Dinner pairings:
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Cranberry mimosa
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 whole cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1 Tablespoon cranberry juice
- ⅔ cup sparkling wine or Champagne
Instructions
- Put 3 or 4 whole cranberries into a champagne flute.
- Cover the cranberries with cranberry juice. The cranberries float once they come into contact with the liquid. So you won’t be able to measure it that way exactly. But it’s basically one Tablespoon of cranberry juice per drink.There’s no reason to be super scientific about this. A little more or less won’t hurt anything.
- Fill the glass the rest of the way with sparkling wine or Champagne.
Becky Striepe
I love this recipe! We made it last year at Thanksgiving, and it was a total hit. I love that it’s festive and delicious without needing a ton of ingredients or prep.
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear it was a hit with your family, Becky! Thanks for letting me know!
Shell
The cranberry mock-tail sounds great to me! Cranberry juice is a favorite of mine. Really any juice is a favorite of mine, but cranberry is near the top of the list. This would be a great addition to a holiday meal for sure.
Cadry
Without the champagne, it reminds me of a cranberry fizz! Do you remember that drink we used to get at the Ingersoll Dinner Theatre? They had such fun mocktails. You could also use Cranapple for this. It always makes me think of you!