If you love orange soda, you'll love this 3-ingredient homemade version even more! It's super refreshing, bubbly, delicious and easy to make. When it's this easy to make your own soda at home with fresh, seasonal ingredients, why even make a trip to the store?
Recipe by Lexi on February 20, 2026
Prep time: PT10M
Cook time: PT10M
Total time: PT20M
Keywords
homemade orange soda
Ingredients
2 tablespoons orange zest (3-4 small oranges or 2 large oranges)
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (juice of 3-4 small oranges or 2 large oranges)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Sparkling water
Categories
Drinks
Cuisine
American
Steps
Using a microplane, zest and 2 large or 3-4 smaller oranges, then juice them. Set the juice aside.
To a medium-sized bowl, add the granulated sugar and orange zest. Use your fingers to massage the sugar into the zest, until the sugar is uniformly orange in color.
To a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the zest and sugar mixture and the juice. Heat to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally until all of the sugar has dissolved, then turn off the heat and let the zest steep in the syrup for at least 20 minutes, ideally until fully cooled.
Once cooled, strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest. Transfer the syrup to a mason jar or other storage container (we use this pump top bottle).
To make your orange soda, add anywhere from 2-4 tablespoons of syrup to an ice-filled glass and then top off with sparkling water. Stir gently and enjoy!
