Italian Sodas are a popular coffee shop drink made with flavored syrups, seltzer water, and a splash of something creamy (I’ll share a couple different ideas below!) This is one of our favorite things to do at parties and gatherings. An Italian soda bar is a fun way for people to create their own drink combinations with a few basic ingredients. Keep a few bottles of flavored syrup around and you can whip these up any time! Read below for lots of tips and tricks to make these for a crowd.
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
- Ice – any type of ice will do, but I particularly like pebble-style ice. If you don’t own a pebble ice maker, you can buy inexpensive bags of ice from Sonic. For a party-style Italian soda bar, place ice in a cooler or large bowl with a scoop.
- Cups – if I’m making these for a party, or particularly for groups of kids, I prefer plastic cups with lids. Restaurant Supply Stores are a great source for these. My preference is 16-20oz cups. Sometimes it’s tempting to get the largest cups available, but remember that larger cups just mean more ingredients used, so they will get used up faster.
- Straws – straws aren’t just fun to drink with, they’re necessary to stir the Italian Sodas. If you don’t have straws, you’ll need something available to stir.
- Flavored Syrups – these are the style of syrups used at coffee shops. They are shelf stable and come in lots of flavors. My favorite source for flavored syrups is local restaurant supply stores, and you can also order from Amazon! For a soda bar I highly recommend also purchasing pump tops for your bottles.
- Carbonated Water – anything fizzy! Seltzer water is the inexpensive standard and you can purchase it in 2 liter bottles for a crowd. Something like Topo Chico looks a little fancier if you want it to look extra nice. Another option is lightly flavored carbonated waters like LaCroix. Even if you hate drinking them on their own, they’re perfect for Italian sodas because you’ll be adding sweetness to them and they just add a slight hint of flavor to the overall drink. You can even use less-traditional but super delicious options like Fresca (my favorite) or 7-up or Sprite.
- Half and Half – at the end you’ll add a shot of something creamy. Half and half works great, but another fun option are flavored coffee creamers- Coconut is my favorite!
How to Make and Italian Soda
- Fill a cup about half full with ice.
- Add several pumps of flavored syrup. The exact ratios will be to preference. I’ve found I like a couple tablespoons (4-6 pumps) of syrup for a 20oz cup. You can always add more after stirring!
- Fill your cup almost full with your carbonation of choice.
- Add a shot of half and half or flavored creamer (about a tablespoon) and stir.
- Give it a taste and adjust ingredients as needed!
Tips for setting up an Italian Soda Bar
- Less is More – It’s tempting to have 10+ flavors out for variety, but I’ve found for and Italian soda bar for a large group, it’s great to stick to just a few that can be mixed and matched and are delicious in any combination. It keeps the line moving and decreases decision fatigue. I like to pick one berry flavor like blackberry, raspberry, strawberry or huckleberry. One other fruit or citrus flavor, like peach, lime, lemon or blood orange, and one creamy flavor– like coconut or vanilla.
- Help with Measuring – With direction, people can eyeball syrup and seltzer, but it helps to have a small shot-glass style measuring cup with the creamer/half and half. People often add way too much of this, overpowering the flavor of the syrup and causing them to go back and add more and more flavor.
- Give Instructions – Many people will see these ingredients and know exactly what to do, but others will feel lost. Print out instructions for how to make an Italian Soda, or cover your table with brown paper and write it right on the table!
Love Fun Fizzy Drinks? Here’s a few more you might like!
Strawberry Coconut Lime Spritzer
How To: Italian Sodas
Perfect for a party (and so much easier to pull off than you might think!) Perfect to make at home for one, or to serve a crowd.
Ingredients
- Clear Cups with Lids I prefer 20 oz
- Straws
- Flavored Syrups
- Ice preferably crushed or pebble style
- Soda water/sparkling water/seltzer
- Half and half or creamer
Instructions
- Fill cup about half way with ice.
- Add several pumps of flavored syrup (start with 4-6 for a 20 oz cup)
- Add sparkling water about 1-1 1/2" from the top.
- Add a splash of half and half (about 1 tablespoon).
- Stir with a straw and serve!
Notes
Note
- Berry flavored syrups work the best, other flavors are fun for mixing and matching.
- Coffee creamer also works as a great cream option.
- In place of sparkling water, you can use lightly flavored options like LaCroix, or even Fresca, Sprite, or Ginger Ale.
- feel free to use Feel free to mix and match flavors or add fresh fruit garnishes like cherries, strawberries, or lime or lemon wedges.
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
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Questions & Reviews
I am thinking about making these for my graduation party that is this weekend. We are expecting about 130 people so I was curious on how cheap this would be? I don’t know how much you can get sparkling water and the syrups for. If you could let me know that would be so helpful!
Just FYI, if you have a Smart and Final, they also have a huge selection of Torani syrups, both regular and sugar free. And the price is the lowest of anywhere I’ve seen.
Instead of half and half I use French Vanilla coffee creamer….. the vanilla gives it a even creamier taste. 😉
Hi,
I was wondering what Torino flavors are the best and what Stasero flavors are the best? Thanks so much!!
Just depends on what you like! Most people tend to like the fruity berry flavors the best for Italian Sodas.
In the text you mention 3 pumps=3 TBS, but the recipe says 6. Which do you usually use?
Cash and Carry has the biggest selections of syrups that I have ever seen!
Where did you find those incredible cups? Also how much were they?
My son had an Italian soda bar at his 16th birthday. It was a hit! The only suggestion I have is to use lemon-lime flavored soda (sprite, 7-up, etc.). I had both soda water and 7-up. The kids much preferred the added sweetness of the 7-up over the soda water.
Hi Kate,
I wanted to gift my sister-in-law’s family ingredients for an Italian soda night for christmas! She has teenagers and I thought it would be fun for her family. My hope is that they will have a party together on New Year’s Eve with Italian Soda’s! We will see! When you say soda water, do you mean a club soda?? Thanks!!
In your description you say that 3 pumps = 3 TBS but in the recipe instructions you say that 6 pumps = 3 TBS…just an FYI…
I tried these and they were wonderful, but I noticed that sometimes the half and half curdles or clumps together. Does anyone else have this problem and how do you solve it?
I have seen some sites say to mix the syrup and cream together first…maybe that will work?
Cute! Love this. I now know what I will be making with the kids this weekend, thanks.
We had some friends over for family home evening and needed a special treat for after the lesson. Our friends that came over are on a gluten free, dairy free diet. I decided to take on the “challenge” (for me it is a challenge since we don’t have any allergies) to make a treat that worked for them. We made the italian soda bar. In addition to putting out the half and half I also got some coconut milk for our friends. It worked great and was a huge success. Thanks for the great recipe. (P.S.: we have had italian sodas daily since then :D)
I’m going to try these with coconut milk instead of half and half due to a milk allergy. We’ll see how it goes. Yum!