Satisfy your sweet tooth with this refreshing, caffeine-free Starbucks Pink Drink copycat recipe! It's made with white cran-strawberry juice, coconut milk, pink lemonade drink mix, and freeze-dried strawberries. Make this recipe in less than five minutes with five easy to find and inexpensive ingredients!
Jump to:
- Why You Need This Homemade Pink Drink Recipe
- What is a Pink Drink?
- Does the Starbucks Pink Drink Have Caffeine?
- How did the pink drink come to be?
- Five Easy to Find Ingredients
- Other Variations
- How to Make a Caffeine Free Pink Drink
- Storage & Yield
- FAQ
- More Starbucks Copycat Recipes You'll Love
- Recipe
- Comments and Ratings
Why You Need This Homemade Pink Drink Recipe
You're going to love this copycat Starbucks pink drink recipe. It's caffeine free, which makes this simple recipe the perfectly fun drink for anyone to enjoy, especially kids too!
This drink is as close to the real deal as you'll get from home. I tried a few different variations and this version is what we landed on because it uses simple ingredients that are easy to find and it tastes delicious!
Unfortunately, some recipes you'll find call for discontinued, hard to find ingredients or ones that just don't quite replicate the flavor of the original pink drink.
This light and refreshing drink is so close to the store-bought version and is sure to become a favorite in your house, too.
What is a Pink Drink?
A Starbucks Pink Drink is a crisp Strawberry Acai Refresher beverage, with accents of passion fruit, that is combined with creamy coconut milk. It's fruity, a little tart and tangy, yet refreshing! The Pink Drink is prepared by shaking the refresher base with coconut milk, ice, and freeze dried strawberries.
Does the Starbucks Pink Drink Have Caffeine?
Yes, the Starbucks Pink Drink has caffeine! It contains green coffee extract, which yields 45 mg caffeine in the grande size. The caffeine amount ranges from 35-90mg depending on the size ordered.
I found out the hard way that this drink has caffeine. Somehow my daughter convinced me to let her get a pink drink. I have know idea how she knew about it, but I acquiesced. About 20 minutes later that girl was bouncing off the walls! I thought to myself, does the pink drink have caffeine? So I looked up the ingredients on the app and sure enough... caffeine!
Now truly, I don't know if she was just wound up or if it was the caffeine that caused this girl to go crazy, but I still don't think my kiddo needs to be drinking caffeine on the regular.
This discovery is what led us to go home and create this caffeine free copycat pink drink recipe! We're so glad we did too! This pink drink is so quick and easy to make and my kids think it's fancy!
How did the pink drink come to be?
The "Pink Drink" gained popularity on Instagram starting in 2016. It was a match made in heaven for this photogenic drink and highly curated Instagram feeds. The pink drink first popped up as a secret menu item, ordered as strawberry acai refresher sub coconut milk, but it became such a social phenomenon for its unique, aesthetically pleasing color that one year later, Starbucks made the beverage an official menu item.
Since then, the pink drink remains popular, many proclaim it to be their favorite drink! Not only has the pink drink remained on the Starbucks menu since then, it has spurred other variations, like the Dragon Drink and Paradise Drink.
Five Easy to Find Ingredients
- White Cran-Strawberry Fruit Juice: You can find this juice easily in the juice aisle at most grocery stores. The main ingredient is actually white grape juice, which if you look at the ingredients in the Starbucks' pink drink, you'll see is also one of the main ingredients there, too.
- Pink Lemonade Drink Mix: Powdered pink lemonade drink mix adds just the right bit of tanginess to the pink drink, just like the original! One of the ingredients in the Starbucks refresher base is citric acid, which is also found in lemonade drink mix.
- Coconut Milk: Look for coconut milk where you find the dairy-free milks at your grocery store. For me, it's near the organic section.
- Freeze Dried Strawberries: The 'strawberry inclusions' in the original pink drink are actually freeze-dried strawberries! You'll find this in various sections at the grocery store, if you can't seem to find them, check the baby food aisle! You could use fresh strawberries, but that is not what Starbucks uses.
- Ice: This drink gets shaken with ice. This helps the coconut milk mix in with the juice, makes the drink extra cold, and also makes it frothy!
Other Variations
Some recipes call for the Starbucks VIA Instant Refreshers Very Berry Hibiscus which based on the ingredients, I do believe was a great dupe for making a homemade pink drink. Unfortunately, I think this product has been discontinued. Plus, it had caffeine, which may not be a great choice for kids.
Other recipes call for Tazo Iced Passion Tea Concentrate, which is an herbal tea concentrate that contains an infusion hibiscus flowers, natural tropical flavors, citric acid, licorice root, orange peel, cinnamon, rose hips, lemongrass, and fruit juice extract. While none of the flavors really match the flavors in the original pink drink, which is mainly made from white grape juice, citric acid, natural flavors, and green coffee flavor, I did try this recipe using half of this concentrate and half of the fruit juice. It turns out similar to the Starbucks version, but I am not convinced it added that much. I liked the version with all fruit juice just as much. Plus, it's one less ingredient to buy and this was the most expensive of all the ingredients.
I experimented with adding açaí powder to this drink, but I wasn't super happy with it. The powder didn't mix in very well and it didn't add much to the drink. My kids definitely noticed the specks floating in it too. But, if you want to add a scoop for a boost of nutrition, feel free.
How to Make a Caffeine Free Pink Drink
- Add the white cran-strawberry juice and coconut milk to a jar or cup that has a tight fitting lid, you could also use a cocktail shaker. We're going to shake this drink, so make sure it's leak-proof!
- Then add the lemonade drink mix, a scoop of strawberries, and ice to the jar.
- Tighten the lid and give the jar a good shake. This helps the coconut milk to combine and makes the drink frothy.
- Pour into your favorite glass and enjoy!
It's that simple, you just made your own pink drink! This homemade version of the pink drink is perfect for a hot summer day because it is so light and refreshing. But let's be honest, this drink is sure to brighten your day any time of year!
Storage & Yield
This drink is best served and enjoyed immediately after shaking. The longer it sits, the drink starts to separate.
Store leftover coconut milk and white cranberry strawberry juice in the refrigerator. The freeze dried strawberries need to be kept sealed tightly in an airtight container or they will lose their crispness.
This recipe makes about 1 - 16 ounce drink, including the ice. Feel free to make more or less, based on your needs. You can click the 2x button on the recipe card below to double the recipe, if desired.
FAQ
The ingredients in a Starbucks pink drink are: ice, strawberry acai base [water, sugar, white grape juice concentrate, natural flavors, citric acid, natural green coffee flavor, colored with fruit and vegetable juice, rebaudioside-a], coconutmilk [water, coconut cream, cane sugar, contains 2% or less of tricalcium phosphate, coconut water concentrate, sea salt, natural flavors, xanthan gum, gellan gum, corn dextrin, guar gum, vitamin a palmitate, and vitamin d2], freeze-dried strawberries.
The Starbucks Pink Drink contains sugar in both the strawberry açaí base and coconut milk, which are ingredients used in the preparation of the drink.
The pink drink is made by adding strawberry açaí concentrate, coconut milk, freeze dried strawberries, and ice to a cocktail shaker. The drink is shaken until frothy and then poured into a Starbucks cup.
Technically the Starbucks pink drink is gluten-free, as there are no ingredients that contain gluten, but there is a risk of gluten cross-contact if you order this drink as is. At Starbucks, the pink drink is prepared in unwashed shakers that could have been used for a drink that did contain gluten. If you would like to order a pink drink at Starbucks and are highly sensitive to gluten, ask the barista to prepare the drink directly in the cup or ask them to wash the shaker before preparing your drink.
More Starbucks Copycat Recipes You'll Love
If you enjoy a good Starbucks copycat recipe as much as I do, be sure to check out more of my creations!
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Recipe
Starbucks Pink Drink Recipe with White Cran-Strawberry Juice
Ingredients
- ½ cup White Cran-Strawberry Juice, such as Ocean Spray
- ½ cup Coconut Milk, from a carton, not canned
- 2 teaspoons Pink Lemonade Drink Mix, such as Country Time
- 1 large spoonful Freeze-Dried Strawberries
- ½ cup Ice Cubes
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a jar with a tight fitting lid, such as a mason jar.
- Shake until well combined.
- Pour into serving glass or drink right from the jar. Serve immediately.
Kathy
Looks so refreshing! Now I’ll be in search of freeze dried strawberries.
Nick
Should the coconut milk be sweetened or unsweetened?
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside
You can use either, I used sweetened here.