I was at a pool party recently and they were serving a gorgeous white sangria to go with our lobsters and other delicious goodies. It was a great time for a lot of reasons, but days later it was that sangria that I was still really obsessing about.
There is something about enjoying a fun cocktail outside in the summer with friends that just can’t be beat – and while I enjoy a splash of plain bourbon or scotch in the evening sometimes, it doesn’t really work as well during the day, especially when it’s hot outside.
Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of good low carb cocktail options available – and even I get sick of sugar free margaritas after awhile.
That summery sangria was incredibly refreshing and delicious, though not at all keto friendly thanks to the white wine base and all of the fresh fruit that was in it. I knew I could come up with a low carb version that would have similar flavors, but without all the sugar and carbs. So I got to work on it.
My job – it’s so hard sometimes. Tee hee.
After some (read: LOTS OF) experimenting to get the flavors right (again, it’s a tough life for me,) I came up with a light and refreshing summer cocktail that really does have a convincing sangria flavor – even though there isn’t a drop of wine in it!
Since so many white sangria recipes contain peaches, I used a small amount of pureed peach in the mixture so that it would have an authentic flavor and texture.
I also used sugar free Torani brand mango flavored syrup, which I love for it’s versatility. I’ve used it in drinks (iced tea or lemonade), desserts (easy flavored whipped cream or mousse), and even in savory recipes like this awesome low carb Smoky Tomato and Mango BBQ Sauce and pulled pork recipe!
You can find it online or in stores like TJMaxx or Cost Plus/World Market for around $7 if you have one near you. Totally worth it!
If you don’t have or can’t get the sugar free mango syrup, you can use a zero calorie mango flavored water like this one instead, which will give you convincing fruit flavor and sweetness. You can usually find them at a reasonable price in the water aisle of your local grocery store.
If you use this, add one bottle of it to your mix and omit one of the seltzer cans to compensate for the extra liquid.
For the alcohol I used a mixture of vodka and bourbon – for the best results don’t use the super cheap stuff, but you also don’t need to spring for crazy high end here since the flavors are masked by the fruitiness.
There is just enough alcohol in here to make it fun, but it’s light enough that you can have a few of them over the course of the day or evening and not get blitzed. But be sure to drink lots of water and have a designated driver anyway, just to be on the safe side.
Finally, to bulk it up without adding a lot of extra carbs or calories, I used a mandarin orange flavored seltzer water (any brand will work) which gave it a nice fizz. If you’re serving these to a crowd, I recommend adding the seltzer right before, since over the course of a couple of hours it will lose the sparkle – still tasty, just not as fun.
I was going to experiment with adding some fresh basil to it since I’m a fan of herby cocktails, but I liked the flavor of this so much as is that I decided not to mess with it other than to throw a few frozen raspberries in for color.
You can totally tweak it even further to dress it up or down for company depending on how swanky your want to get.
In fact I recommend trying it this weekend! And next weekend. And maybe the weekend after that…
Low Carb Sparkling White Sangria
- Yield: 9 four oz servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This refreshing low carb sangria recipe has all of the flavor of the real thing, without the sugar and carbs! Keto friendly at only 50 calories and 1 net carb per serving! Please drink responsibly!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pureed fresh or frozen peaches
- 1/4 cup Torani sugar free mango flavored syrup (see post for alternate recipe)
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute (I used Swerve)
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 24 oz (2 cans) mandarin flavored seltzer water
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large pitcher and stir well. Serve over ice. Garnish with raspberries and/or slices of fresh peach if desired. Please drink responsibly.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per serving: 50 calories, 0g fat, 1g net carbs, 0g protein
- Category: Low Carb Cocktail
- Cuisine: American
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Susan says
July 15, 2018 at 8:31 amThe link to the alternative mango syrup is not working… can you tell us what to use instead… is it mango flavored seltzer?
Thanks.
Carolyn says
October 5, 2015 at 12:41 pmI made this recipe in a single sering size to try it out, and it’s a good thing I did, since it was so delicious I probably would have drunk more than I should if I’d made a bigger batch. I had mango puree and peach syrup, so I reversed those from the recipe. I might buy some mango syrup to try it the original way, too. I might also try blending it for a daquiri-type drink. So many delicious possibilities. Thanks for the inspiration!
Kat says
August 20, 2015 at 11:48 amI don’t really like the taste of Bourbon. Are there other alternatives you reccomend?
Mellissa Sevigny says
August 20, 2015 at 12:35 pmI would say you really can’t taste the bourbon Kat but as an alternative you could use all vodka. Rum would probably be amazing but it has carbs in it so I don’t recommend it unless that’s not an issue for you!
barbara rettek says
August 20, 2015 at 9:12 pmrum does not have carbs.