Strawberry, orange and mint mocktail
- Preparation 10 min
- Servings 8
- Freezing I do not suggest
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🍓 Mocktail #2 in my summer series
After my peach, carrot and ginger mocktail, I’m continuing my summer mocktail series because I don’t drink alcohol anymore and I want us to treat ourselves with really interesting drinks. This mocktail celebrates the strawberry in all its glory. A homemade strawberry puree that you make ahead and keep in the fridge for a week, fresh strawberries in quarters, orange and lemon cubes muddled with a pestle, fresh mint, my signature touch of strawberry jam, and sparkling water. The result is a drink that bursts with flavor, celebrates strawberry season, and can be served in any large glass or Mason jar.
🍯 The secret: strawberry jam in the muddling
My signature trick is adding a tablespoon of strawberry jam when muddling the fresh fruit. I saw this idea on Instagram and thought it was completely incredible, so I tested it. The jam brings a sweet, concentrated, jam-like quality that adds depth you don’t get with just honey and puree. You double the strawberry dose (puree + jam) and get a mocktail where strawberry dominates everything. Homemade or store-bought jam. Doesn’t matter, as long as it’s thick with real pectin. I tested with store-bought jam and it was absolutely delicious.
🌞 Right in Quebec strawberry season
This is THE recipe to make during local strawberry season, in June-July. The season goes by fast and we definitely don’t want to miss it. Buy your strawberries from your local producer, prepare your puree in the morning for the evening dinner, and you have a summer mocktail ready for entertaining at any time. Sunday brunch, patio aperitif, BBQ with friends, afternoon by the pool. It hits every time. And the bonus with this homemade puree system: you can make a whole batch for the week and serve yourself a mocktail like crazy every day without having to start over.
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🍓 My #2 mocktail in the summer series
This strawberry mocktail is part of my summer mocktail series that I’m developing because I don’t drink alcohol anymore and I want us to treat ourselves with real drinks. The first one in the series is my peach, carrot and ginger mocktail. The concept is the same: a concentrated meal-prep puree that keeps a week in the fridge + quick assembly with muddled fresh fruit + sparkling water. You already have my system.
🍯 Strawberry jam in the muddling, my signature secret
This is what sets this mocktail apart from all the other strawberry-mint versions you see out there. I add a tablespoon of strawberry jam at the moment of muddling the fresh fruit. It brings a small concentrated, sweet, jam-like side, and it doubles the strawberry dose (puree + jam) so the mocktail really tastes strawberry in all its glory. I saw the idea on Instagram and adopted it immediately.
🍯 Which jam to choose
Store-bought jam OR homemade jam. Both work. My test with store-bought jam was absolutely delicious. The important thing is that it’s a THICK JAM with real pectin, not a compote or a runny spread. If you want to push the homemade side, my strawberry and rhubarb jam with lemon or my strawberry jam with orange are perfect for this.
🥄 Muddle with a real pestle
You really want a good muddler that will crush things well. My favorite is a muddler with a plastic tip with little spikes. It releases aromas without shredding mint into mush. A few firm presses are enough to release all the juices from the fruit, incorporate the jam, and release the essential oils from the orange and lemon peel. Muddle for about 10 to 15 seconds, no more.
🍊 WHOLE citrus cubes with the peel
Important: you take an orange and a lemon, you cut them in medium cubes about ½ inch WITHOUT PEELING (with the peel). It’s the peel that brings the essential aromatic oils when you muddle. And that’s what gives the mocktail its citrus depth. The pulp brings the juice, the peel brings the aromas. The combo of both is what sets my mocktail apart from versions that use just juice.
🧪 The meal-prep week puree + popsicle bonus
The system is genius: you make your puree on Sunday in 5 minutes, you keep it in a Mason jar in the fridge, and all week you build yourself a mocktail like a crazy person every day. If you ever have leftover puree at the end of the week, turn it into homemade popsicles. Pour into popsicle moulds and freeze. You won’t be sad, I swear.
🍸 Alcoholic variation. Vodka or gin
For those who want to turn this mocktail into a cocktail, add 1 ½ oz (45 ml) of vodka to keep it neutral and let the strawberry flavors shine, or gin for an herbal side that pairs beautifully with the mint. The structure of the drink stays the same. The concentration of flavors frames the alcohol perfectly. Add the alcohol at the moment of assembly before the sparkling water.
✅ What to serve with my strawberry, orange and mint mocktail?
It’s a versatile drink that does its job in all summer contexts. Bring it out for terrace aperitifs, Sunday brunch with my blueberry and lemon waffles, by the pool in a large Mason jar, or as an accompaniment to a BBQ with friends. If you have several guests who don’t drink (Dry January, pregnancy, or just sober), simply double the puree and keep it in the fridge. Everyone serves themselves as they go.
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Strawberry puree (makes about 4 cups / 1 L. For 8 mocktails)
- 3 cups (750 ml) hulled strawberries
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup (60 ml) liquid honey
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
For 1 mocktail
- 3 strawberries, cut in quarters
- 5 medium orange cubes about ½ inch (with peel)
- 5 medium lemon cubes about ½ inch (with peel)
- 4 large fresh mint leaves
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) strawberry jam
- ½ cup (125 ml) strawberry puree
- Ice cubes
- Sparkling water, to top
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Preparation
- Prepare the puree: in a blender, combine strawberries, lemon juice, honey and water. Blend until smooth consistency. The puree keeps up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight Mason jar.
- For assembly, in a large 500 ml Mason jar or large glass, place the quartered strawberries, orange cubes, lemon cubes, mint and strawberry jam.
- Muddle vigorously with a muddler until everything is juicy and well incorporated.
- Fill the container with ice cubes to the top. Add the strawberry puree.
- Top with sparkling water. Add a straw and mix well.
The best partners for strawberry are citrus fruits (orange, lemon, lime, limoncello), other berries (raspberry, blueberry, rhubarb), vanilla, fresh mint, basil and black pepper. In this mocktail, we combine three classic partners: orange, lemon and mint. The result is a balanced flavor profile where each fruit amplifies the other without any overpowering the main strawberry.
Fresh mint pairs beautifully with citrus (lemon, lime, orange), red fruits (strawberries, raspberries), cucumber, ginger, basil and chocolate (for desserts). In a mocktail, the classic combo remains strawberry-orange-lemon-mint like in this recipe, or lime-mint (mojito style), or cucumber-mint (spa water style).
The strawberry puree (about 4 cups / 1 L) makes about 8 mocktails at ½ cup (125 ml) per glass. So you can make a whole batch of puree on Sunday and serve yourself a mocktail per day during the week, or host 8 friends on Saturday night without having to blend every 10 minutes. For a big party of 16 people, simply double the puree recipe.
Absolutely. Add 1 ½ oz (45 ml) of your choice of alcohol during assembly, before the sparkling water. Vodka stays neutral and lets all the strawberry flavors shine. Gin brings an herbal side that pairs beautifully with mint. You can even add a splash of limoncello to enhance the lemon. The drink structure stays the same. The puree and fresh fruit frame the alcohol perfectly.
Serve it on the terrace as an aperitif, at Sunday brunch with my blueberry and lemon waffles or my tomato bruschetta, by the pool in a large Mason jar, or as a refreshing drink during a BBQ with friends. It’s also a perfect substitute for wine/cocktails for guests who don’t drink. Much more interesting than a simple glass of sparkling water. Also serve it with my peach, carrot and ginger mocktail to offer two summer mocktail options to your guests.
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