Uncork your favorite red wine and make a flavor-packed sangria that’s a little bit healthier! With seasonal fruits like apples, cranberries, and pears, our red sangria recipe makes the perfect cocktail for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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If you’re looking for a lighter version of sangria, look no further! This homemade sangria is healthier than regular sangria because it has way less sugar, and tons of extra fruit!
The combination of flavors is the perfect drink to enjoy with family and friends for the holiday season, but can easily be customized with whatever fresh fruit you have in season.
Enjoy this cocktail with your Thanksgiving Dinner or Christmas Meal for an extra special drink your guests will love (that’s secretly low calorie!)
Why you’ll love this Homemade Sangria
This is such a delicious fall cocktail! It’s one of our favorites because:
- Simple to make in large batches. You won’t need to have a bartender on hand mixing drinks one at a time. Just make a few pitchers the sangria recipe ahead of time, and keep them cold in your fridge.
- Lower in sugar than other fruity cocktails. This sangria recipe stands out as a healthier alternative due to its lower sugar content. By using minimal sugar and opting for unsweetened apple cider, it highlights the natural sweetness of the fruit and wine.
- Impressive and beautiful. There’s so much festive holiday flair in a red sangria, your dinner guests will feel like they’re at a fancy dinner party.
Ingredients
For this homemade sangria you’ll need:
- water
- granulated sugar
- cinnamon sticks
- cabernet sauvignon – This is our favorite red wine for a sangria.
- unsweetened apple cider – Look for one with apples as the only ingredient.
- apple whiskey – Any brand is fine, but if you’re adventurous, you can make apple brandy easily at home!
- fresh or frozen whole cranberries – Be sure to use fresh, not dried cranberries.
- pears – any variety is fine. We prefer Anjou because they’re easiest to find during the fall and winter.
- apples – We use a combination of tart Granny Smith and sweet Fuji apples.
- oranges
Substitutions and Variations
Sugar: If you don’t want to use granulated sugar, you can use coconut sugar, but we don’t recommend it. You’ll need to dissolve it in hot water. You can also use 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. I haven’t tried making this sugar-free, but I think it would be fine to skip the sugar entirely if you’d like!
Wine: If you aren’t a fan of Cabernet, substitute it with Pinot Noir, Rioja, or Malbec. Or, make a white winter sangria with Pinot Grigio.
Apple Cider: Use pure apple cider with no added sugar. If you’re not making this during the fall or can’t find cider, you can sub with 1 cup of unsweetened apple juice.
Apple Whiskey: You can swap the apple whiskey out for fireball, apple brandy, or vodka. We skipped the sugar liqueurs in this recipe to keep it lighter.
Fruit: You can add more or less of any fruit depending on what is seasonally available, or your personal preferences. Pomegranate arils are beautiful in fruity cocktails! Straeberries, raspberries, peaches and blackberries all go well in sangria. We skipped the lemon and lime in this recipe and went for fall flavors instead.
Add sparkling water: You can easily add sparkling water to your glass to dilute the sangria.
How to make Sangria with Red Wine
- Make the Cinnamon Simple Syrup: Combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a small pot over high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool.
- Add the fruit into a large pitcher.
- Add the syrup, cabernet sauvignon, apple cider, and whiskey and stir.
- Place the sangria into the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve with some of the fruit from the pitcher and a stick of cinnamon for garnish.
Liz’s tips for the best sangria
- Choose a good quality wine. Use a red wine that you enjoy drinking. The wine is the base of your sangria, so its flavor significantly contributes to the overall flavor of the cocktail.
- Be sure the sugar dissolves completely. As the water comes to a boil, stir the sugar and water together well. Otherwise, your fall sangria may end up with a grainy texture.
- Allow the sugar syrup to cool completely. Place the syrup into the fridge for 20 minutes or so before you finish adding ingredients. Or, save time by making the simple syrup up to 4 days ahead of time!
- Chill the mixture for at least 4 hours for the best flavor.
- Garnish the cocktail glasses with some of the fruit from the pitcher and a stick of cinnamon
Sangria Recipe (Red Wine Version) FAQs
We love these flavors with a cabernet sauvignon, but you could also use Pinot Noir, Rioja, Malbec, or make a white wine sangria with Pinot Grigio.
Sangria is good for up to four days in the refrigerator. The fruit will start discoloring after day 2 but it will be fine to drink!
You can use any fruit you like or is in season. We love apples, pears, oranges, and cranberries for a festive fall sangria!
Storage
Can you make sangria in advance? I don’t recommend making it more than two days in advance. The fruit will start to get very discolored, and you will get too much of that cinnamon flavor.
Storing:You will want to store the sangria in a serving pitcher in the refrigerator. Cover the top with plastic wrap so the cocktail doesn’t absorb any flavors from nearby foods. Sangria will keep in the fridge for up to four days.
Freezing: Unfortunately, sangria cannot be frozen. By its very nature, alcohol doesn’t freeze.
What to serve with Red Sangria
Here are some of our favorite things to serve with sangria:
- A Seasonal Cheeseboard
- Dips like Bruschetta or Feta Dip
- Pineapple Mango Salsa
- Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad
- Apple Pork Tenderloin
- Alongside Thanksgiving Dinner and your turkey breast In crock pot
Homemade Sangria
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 750 ml cabernet sauvignon
- 2 cups apple cider look for pure apple cider, no added sugar
- ½ cup apple whiskey
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup pear diced (1 large pear)
- 1 cup granny smith apple diced (1 large apple)
- 1 cup fuji apple diced (1 large apple)
- 1 cup orange diced (1 large orange)
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a small pot over high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool.
- Add the syrup, cabernet sauvignon, apple cider, whiskey, cranberries, pear, apple, and orange in a large pitcher.
- Place the sangria into the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Serve with some of the fruit from the pitcher and a stick of cinnamon for garnish.
Notes
- Choose a good quality wine. Use a red wine that you enjoy drinking. The wine is the base of your sangria, so its flavor significantly contributes to the overall flavor of the cocktail.
- Be sure the sugar dissolves completely. As the water comes to a boil, stir the sugar and water together well. Otherwise, your fall sangria may end up with a grainy texture.
- Allow the sugar syrup to cool completely. Place the syrup into the fridge for 20 minutes or so before you finish adding ingredients. Or, save time by making the simple syrup up to 4 days ahead of time!
- Chill the mixture for at least 4 hours for the best flavor.
- Garnish the cocktail glasses with some of the fruit from the pitcher and a stick of cinnamon
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