Beat the heat with a homemade strawberry cream soda. This nostalgic beverage combines fresh strawberries with creamy vanilla ice cream and seltzer for a satisfying and incredibly simple summer treat.
There's something special about a creamy, carbonated beverage, and it only gets better when you add fresh fruit syrup to the mix. The season for fresh strawberries is so short, and I wanted to create a drink that truly showcases the fruit.
😍 Here's why you'll love this recipe
- The strawberry syrup is not only simple to make, but it's great for several other uses aside from this cream soda. You could pour it over ice cream, stir it into yogurt or oatmeal, and use it to flavor your seltzer.
- It's a great combination of dessert and beverage, making it a perfect summer treat. Since no alcohol is included, it's suitable for all ages, too.
- Make just one, or make many. You can easily make one drink and save the remaining syrup for later, or, with only a little more effort, you can double or triple the amount of syrup and have enough for a large batch of cream sodas. Just pre-scoop your ice cream, and you'll be good to go.
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If you're looking for more inspiration for enjoying summer fruits, check out my Blackberry Scones with Thyme, Banana Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberries, and Sour Cherry Blackcurrant Granita recipes.
But if you enjoy creamy and fruity desserts, try this Cherry Tiramisu and Plum Fool.
🍓Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make your strawberry cream soda at home.
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are essential to this recipe because they have the richest flavor. You'll use them to make a quick fruit syrup. Ideally, you'll want to make it using fresh strawberries when they're in season in your area. You'll notice that these berries are deeper red in color, juicier, and so much tastier than bland, unripe, out-of-season berries from the grocery store. If you can't get fresh berries when they're in season, opt for frozen ones instead, which tend to be frozen at peak ripeness. Or if you're lucky enough to pick your own berries, you can always freeze some to create treats like this throughout the year. Another strawberry recipe you'll want to check out is my Strawberry Puff Pastry Pop Tarts.
- Sugar: For sweetening and thickening the strawberry syrup.
- Lemon juice: A splash of lemon juice adds a slight tartness to the syrup.
- Vanilla ice cream: You can't have a cream soda without ice cream. Vanilla ice cream complements the strawberries while serving as a relatively neutral base. Use high-quality ice cream from a local dairy producer in your area. In Vermont, I often buy Wilcox ice cream made in Arlington, VT.
- Seltzer: Gives the cream soda its fizz.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
🫐Substitutions & Variations
- Make it a raspberry cream soda - Use fresh raspberries instead of strawberries. Blueberries would also be delicious. In fact, probably any berry would be great.
- Try flavored seltzers - Want to combine additional flavors with strawberry? How about orange, coconut, or lime? This is easy to experiment with by trying out different flavored seltzers.
- Add Toppings - Feel free to make your cream soda extra special by topping it with whipped cream, extra pieces of strawberry, chocolate shavings, sprinkles, or whatever else you prefer.
- Make it boozy - Why not add a splash of vanilla vodka?
🥄Instructions
Here's how to make a strawberry cream soda:
- Step 1: Wash your strawberries, trim and discard the green tops, then slice. Fancy folks can use a strawberry huller.
- Step 2: Add the strawberries to a small saucepan with sugar, water, and lemon juice.
- Step 3: Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Step 4: Use an immersion blender to puree the strawberries until smooth.
- Step 5: Simmer on low for another 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Keep stirring as it simmers to avoid bubbling over. Remove from the pan and cool. The syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Step 6: Place some of the strawberry syrup into the bottom of a chilled glass.
- Step 7: Add two scoops of vanilla ice cream.
- Step 8: Top the glass off with seltzer. Continue adding more seltzer as the ice cream fizzes.
- Step 9: Top the float with some more of the strawberry syrup.
- Step 10: Garnish with a strawberry and a straw and enjoy.
🌟Top Tips
- Using high-quality strawberries and vanilla ice cream in this strawberry cream soda recipe is key. There are only three ingredients here, so make sure they're fresh and flavorful.
- To help keep everything cold, chill your glasses in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before making the cream soda.
- If you don't want the ice cream to melt so fast, or if you're making several of these cream sodas at once, you can pre-scoop your ice cream, place the scoops on a baking sheet, and put the tray in the freezer until you're ready to assemble your beverages.
- For more creative ideas on customizing and perfecting ice cream floats (this also applies to cream sodas), check out this article I wrote for Tasting Table.
🫧Equipment
Immersion blender - An immersion blender makes blending the cooked berries into strawberry syrup fast and easy. A traditional blender or food processor will work fine if you don't have one.
SodaStream - If you have one on hand, save yourself the money of buying seltzer and make your own. Otherwise, store bought seltzer is just fine.
🫙Storage
The cream soda should be served immediately. However, the strawberry syrup may be stored in an airtight jar in the fridge for one to two weeks or frozen for up to three months.
💭FAQ
Cream soda is often considered a carbonated vanilla-flavored beverage. Although this recipe is probably closer to an ice cream float, I find that the combination of vanilla ice cream and plain seltzer creates a beautiful cream soda base without having to use additional flavorings and ingredients.
It tastes like strawberries, vanilla, and cream with a pleasant punch of fizzy bubbles. The combination is sweet and refreshing.
Not that much. Ice cream sodas tend to include flavored syrups (like the strawberry syrup in this recipe) and cream, while floats are generally ice cream and soda.
🍪Pairing
These are my favorite recipes to serve with this cream soda:
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Cream Soda
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Beat the heat with a homemade strawberry cream soda. This satisfying drink is made with fresh strawberries and creamy vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces strawberries
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 8 scoops vanilla ice cream
- about 2 liters seltzer
Instructions
- Prep the strawberries. Wash the strawberries, cut off the green tops, and slice them up. Add them to a small saucepan with the sugar and water. Pop 4 glasses into the freezer to chill.
- Make the strawberry syrup. Set the pan on the stove over medium heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes until the strawberries are soft. Off heat, use an immersion blender to blend the strawberries until smooth. Return the pan with the strawberry puree to the stove, and continue to simmer on low for 5 more minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir often to prevent overflowing. The syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Assemble the strawberry cream sodas. Pour ¼ cup of the strawberry syrup into the bottom of 4 glasses. Add two scoops of ice cream to each glass, then slowly pour in the seltzer. Continue to top off with more seltzer to fill the glasses as the soda settles. Spoon additional syrup over each glass. Serve the cream sodas with strawberry garnishes and straws.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Pureeing
- Cuisine: American
🥤Related
Looking for other drink recipes like this one? Try these:
Ruth Triglia says
Steve, I can’t thank you enough for this perfect ice cream soda recipe. The strawberry syrup is divine, and the convenience of making it ahead then just adding the ice cream & seltzer when serving is too easy. It was refreshing and delicious, and my guests loved it, too! Total win!
Steve says
Awesome! I'm happy to hear you and your guests enjoyed it, Ruth! Thanks for sharing!
Ruth Triglia says
Steve, I can’t thank you enough for this perfect ice cream soda recipe. The strawberry syrup is divine, and the convenience of making it ahead then just adding the ice cream & seltzer when serving is too easy. It was refreshing and delicious, and my guests loved it, too! Total win!