Shirley Temple

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A Shirley Temple is pretty, pink, and irresistibly fizzy. It turns any occasion into a celebration, and it’s the perfect beverage for every age.

Shirley temples in three clear glasses with a clear bowl filled with cherries.


 

Recipe ingredients

Shirley Temple drink ingredients.

Ingredient notes

  • Grenadine: A deep red, pomegranate-flavored syrup.
  • Soda: Modern Shirley Temples are made with white soda such as Sprite or 7UP. For a more traditional approach, substitute ginger ale (you could add a splash of orange juice, too).

Instructions

  • Fill a glass with ice, then add about 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of grenadine. Top with white soda, then garnish with maraschino cherries.
Grenadine and an ice cube in a clear glass with sprite being poured into it from a bottle.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: Makes 8 drinks.
  • Roy Rogers: Substitute Coca-Cola for the Sprite.
  • Cherry juice: It’s not the same as grenadine, but using the maraschino cherry juice from the jar tastes good too (and also makes a pink drink).

More ways to quench your thirst

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Shirley temples in three clear glasses with a clear bowl filled with cherries.

Shirley Temple

A Shirley Temple is pretty, pink, and irresistibly fizzy. It turns any occasion into a celebration, and it's the perfect beverage for every age.
Prep Time 1 minute
Total Time 1 minute
Servings 8 servings
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Calories 216
5 from 137 votes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Fill a glass with ice. Add 1 ounce (2 tbsp) grenadine, then top with 8 ounces lemon-lime soda. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.

Recipe Video

Notes

  1. Grenadine: A deep red, pomegranate-flavored syrup.
  2. Soda: Modern Shirley Temples are made with white soda such as Sprite or 7UP. For a more traditional approach, substitute ginger ale (you could add a splash of orange juice, too).
  3. Yield: Makes 8 drinks.
  4. Roy Rogers: Substitute Coca-Cola for the Sprite.
  5. Cherry juice: It’s not the same as grenadine, but using the maraschino cherry juice from the jar tastes good too (and also makes a pink drink).

Nutrition

Serving: 1drinkCalories: 216kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 1gSodium: 36mgPotassium: 14mgSugar: 45gCalcium: 8mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. When visiting my daughter in southern Michigan, I ordered my first Shirley Temple. I was amazed at how delicious it tasted, and it didn’t contain any alcohol at all, so it would be safe for anyone to drink it.
    I’m afraid that now I’m hooked on Shirley temples, and I intend to buy the grenadine, and do the variations that I found online for it.
    It’s become my very favorite drink.

  2. It doesn’t say to mix but I think you probably should or add the grenadine on top? Or am I doing something wrong5 stars

    1. Hi King Charles, when the lemon-lime soda is added after the grenadine, it mixes itself naturally. You can also stir if needed! Enjoy – Meggan

  3. I saw this photo online,clicked the recipe, and started watering at the mouth when i found out how easy this is!! I immediatly started craving it and the second I went home I made it and LOVED it!!!!!!!!!! TYSM!!!5 stars

  4. Thank you for posting this recipe! Me and my dad found it delicious. I am just a kid but I love making things like food and drinks and stuff. I made it with maraschino cherry juice instead and it turned out great!5 stars

  5. Grenadine is made from pomegranates. Not cherries, so the juice from a jar of cherries would be a different drink.

  6. I wonder how this would be made with original Smirnoff Ice (which is kind of a lemon-lime thing) to begin with, and just cut out the middle man. XD I’ll update with a report on how it goes!

  7. I make a Shirley Temple Punch at Christmas and use a big punch bowl. (It’s actually a “Dirty Shirley” punch because I add vodka to it!) Either way, virgin or dirty, what I think is key is making ice cubes with 7-Up. I assemble the punch as the guests start arriving – cold 7-Up, grenadine, (vodka) and maraschino cherries – then to keep it cold for a while, I dump in 2 trays of 7-Up ice cubes. Adjust to taste. No watered down punch from melting (water) ice cubes. Making it again this year too – It’s super festive and looks so pretty all set up on the bar / counter!

  8. Was reading your replies to London and Tiffany regarding making this as a punch. You mentioned doing something fun like putting the cherries in the ice cubes. Got me thinking…why not make some that you pour into ice cube trays and drop a cherry into each one. (A standard ice cube tray uses about 1 ounce liquid per cube, so your posted recipe would make 9 cubes, actually more if you put a cherry garnish in each one, as you’d use less liquid per cube.) This way you get cute ice cube decorations that won’t dilute the punch as they melt. :)

    1. Hi Sondrea, this is such a cute idea! I want to photograph the punch separately for another blog post because people ask about it so much, so I might just steal your idea. :) Thank you so much! Take care! -Meggan

  9. This might be a stupid question but can i mix the whole 2 liter and bottle of grenadine together in a punch bowl or pitcher , so we dont have to make individual or will it not stay mixed good ? My daughter is having a cooking party and wants this as the beverage. She is telling everyone “shirley temple punch”

    1. Hi Tiffany! YES. Mix it all together. I don’t have it that way because some people don’t have a big enough punch bowl, but yes. Please mix it, it won’t separate (and you’ll have a ladle in there anyway so just give it a stir). Obviously don’t add the soda until serving time so it doesn’t go flat. I have “Shirley Temple Punch” on my list of things to post so no one else ever has to wonder this again! Good luck and thanks for giving the recipe a shot. I appreciate you! And I love the cooking party idea!

  10. In Canada Shirley temples have orange juice also in them . They are sooo good. I am 45 and that’s all we order when out . If you want a adult version put 1 oz of Malibu ( coconut rum) in !! 

    1. Hi Calley! Yes, the link just goes to a basic search for clear plastic Christmas cups on Amazon’s website because I think the reindeer ones are discontinued now. I got them a few years ago at Walmart, they were Solo brand. I am so sorry about that!

  11. Hi do you think there is a way to make this recipe in bulk and then put in a punch bowl? I’m wanting to do them for a birthday party and thought it might be easier and faster than making each drink individually, thanks!!

    1. Hi London, YES! It’s a great idea, making punch. Here’s some math to figure it out. 2 liters of soda is about 67 ounces which is roughly 8 servings of Shirley temple (assuming you are doing 8 ounces of soda in each). I do a ratio of 8 ounces of soda –> 1 ounce of Grenadine. If you wanted to stick with that, you would add 8 ounces of Grenadine to the punch bowl with your soda. However, I’d probably just add the whole bottle of Grenadine, all 12 ounces… heck, it’s the holidays PLUS then you can add ice and not worry about it watering everything down. So that’s what I’d do. Bonus points if you stick maraschino cherries in your ice cubes… LOL!!! I’m definitely going to do a post with Shirley Temple Punch. Best idea ever.

    2. Not a good idea. The soda will loose it’s carbonation therefore it’s fizz much faster sitting in a bowl. Carbonation is the sole reason of choosing soda over any other type of liquid. I am not saying you can’t or shouldn’t but since we are discussing a specific recipe, quality does matter.

  12. Mom was head barmaid and always served us Shirley Temples when we had an outing to the place she worked in Manhattan. They were always made with ginger ale as the base beverage and the maraschino cherry with the stem was mandatory :)5 stars

  13.  We also make these for the young men in our family. But we do not call and Shirley temples we called him Roy Rogers. We have done this for years with our kids party functions. Now with 14 grandchildren we do it for them at family functions. And toaster being made  we use the sparkling grape juice. Let’s the children to fill a special as the adults.

    1. Roy Rogers – ha! I love that! This was always my favorite drink as a child and, if I’m being honest, I love it as an adult too. :) And that sparkling grape juice, THAT is good stuff. I could drink a whole bottle. Thanks so much for finding my post and sharing your story. I’m so grateful! Take care Debbie!

    2. I grew up in having Shirley Temples and Roy Rogers because I was an only child and often out with adults… Suppose it made me feel grown up to get a drink that looked the part! From what I can recall, however, a Shirley Temple was with 7up and. Roy Rogers was basically the same drink, but made with Coke. We always have grenadine in the liquor cabinet, but I don’t think I’ve made any of my four little ones a Roy Rogers to date, had forgotten all about it!5 stars

  14. Meggan!
    How many drinks can you get out of this recipe? Thank you :) Excited to try these at our NYE Wedding this year! Thought this might be a fun drink for those who can’t or don’t drink alcohol!

    1. Hi Kennady! I have down 8 servings for the recipe. That is because you’ll have about 80 ounces of liquid between the 2L of soda and the grenadine. So, that means 10 ounces per drink (roughly) which, if you put some ice in the glass, should be pretty good for a serving. I hope that helps! If you have more questions just let me know. Thanks so much for your nice comment and I hope you give it a try. This is still my favorite drink ever!!!! So good. :)

    1. Hi Misty!!! These are just plastic Solo cups that I bought at Walmart a few years ago. :) Keeping it classy, ha ha! Thank you so much. :)

  15. Look up a recipe for homemade grenadine.  It makes all the difference in the world and it’s easy to make.

    1. Karen, thank you for that!! I love making things like that from scratch and never even thought about grenadine. :) I’ll definitely check that out! Thank you so much.

  16. I actually have never had one but I’d love a boozy one.You’ve made these look so pretty and festive.5 stars

  17. Omg! This was my absolute favorite drink when I was a kid! Any time we went out to eat, I always ordered one! To this day, I still enjoy Shirley Temples!5 stars

    1. So I’m not the only one then? :) I always thought it was the best drink ever when I was a kid. It has been fun having the Grenadine on hand and making one of these with dinner every night for the past week!