Our favorite summer activity is a three-way tie between going to the beach, hanging at the pool and sharing a pitcher of sangria over a meal with friends. The first two are pretty straightforward, but the third? Well, there are endless ways to reinvent the Spanish drink. And we challenge you to delve beyond the classic red wine, oranges and sliced apples cocktail. Read on for 25 summer sangria recipes that are creative, fruity and ridiculously refreshing.
25 Sangria Recipes to Serve This Summer
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Published May 18, 2022
1. Italian Sangria Cocktail
- Time Commitment: 4 hours and 10 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Starring both Italian rosato wine and Cocchi Americano, a quinine-flavored aperitif. Pile the pitcher high with fresh summer peaches and strawberries.
2. White Sangria With Peaches And Berries
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Peach juice makes this summer sipper extra sweet, while raspberries add a pop of tartness and color. Use whatever dry white wine you have on hand (we’re partial to Riesling).
3. Strawberry Rhubarb Rosé Sangria
- Time Commitment: 4 hours and 15 minutes (includes chilling)
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Let your farmers market haul shine with a rhubarb simple syrup that’s a total cinch to make. Just be sure to allot a few hours for the syrup and sangria to chill before serving.
5. Big-batch Pineapple Sangria
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
If you have a whole barbecue’s worth of thirsty guests on your hands, look no further than this 20-serving powerhouse, made with sweet white wine, pineapple juice and a variety of fresh and frozen fruit.
6. White Sangria Ice Pops
- Time Commitment: 3 hours
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Who needs a glass anyway? We’ll be chilling poolside with our sangria on a stick, thank you very much. Need more convincing? The pops are sweetened with homemade white grape simple syrup.
7. Traditional Red Sangria
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
We said you don’t need to stick to the O.G.—not that we don’t love it. It’s totally cool to keep it classic with a Spanish red, brandy, brown sugar and sliced fruit. Might we suggest pairing it with our cheater’s skillet paella?
8. Tropical White Moscato Sangria
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
When in doubt, put the lime in the coconut (water) and drink ’em both up. It’s also loaded with mango vodka, cubed mango and pineapple chunks to up the island-inspired ante.
9. Watermelon Sangria
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Any drink this pink is sure to be a hit at your next picnic. It starts with fresh watermelon purée, which is strained, spiked and chilled with berries and citrus.
10. Rosé Sangria
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
Bring on the summer fruit. We’re talking irresistibly sweet cara cara oranges, ripe melon balls and plump strawberries. The pièce de résistance is the orange sugar on the rim, made by combining sugar and cara cara zest.
11. Easy White Sangria
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes (plus chilling)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, no cook, beginner-friendly
It’s as simple as dumping the ingredients into a pitcher and stirring them together. Top it off with club soda for plain bubbles, ginger ale for bubbles and extra sweetness, or prosecco for bubbles and extra booze.
12. Summer Sangria Slush
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes (plus chilling)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Not only does this blended beauty have sweet red wine, triple sec and brandy in the mix, but it’s also thinned and sweetened with pomegranate juice. A handful of frozen blueberries gives the slush just the right texture without diluting it.
13. Strawberry And Peach Rosé Sangria
- Time Commitment: 6 hours and 10 minutes (includes chilling)
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Combine rosé and Sauvignon Blanc for a crisp, zesty sangria that can hold its own against the hottest summer day. Feel free to substitute the fresh basil with mint or thyme.
14. Summertime Rosé Tequila Sangria
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Want to make this creative take even more unique? Finish it off with zingy flavored kombucha instead of sparkling water.
15. Peach Mango Pineapple White Sangria
- Time Commitment: 8 hours (includes chilling)
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
Our favorite thing about sangria is its versatility. Feel free to swap peach schnapps for coconut rum or another tropical flavor, or use guava juice and raspberries instead of pineapple juice and chunks.
16. Ruby Red Cherry Sangria Cocktail
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
If uber-sweet sangria isn’t your thing, look no further than this mouth-puckering alternative. It’s got dry rosé, tart cherry juice, Heering cherry liqueur and fresh pitted cherries, plus a few glugs of Chambord, a raspberry liqueur.
17. Summer Fruit And Berry Sangria
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 15 minutes (includes chilling)
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Helloooo, stone fruit season. This mix of lemon vodka, sparkling rosé, fresh mint and pomegranate molasses is loaded with ripe plums and nectarines.
18. San Sebastián White Wine Sangria
- Time Commitment: 4 hours (includes chilling)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Inspired by the beachside town in Basque Country that it’s named after, this cocktail puts hyper-local Txakolina wine centerstage. While there’s no one-for-one substitute given its unique flavor, you can substitute Chablis, Albariño or Sauvignon Blanc if you can't find the real deal.
19. Spicy Watermelon Sangria
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
We can’t decide what we love more, the ancho chili-sugar rim or the fresh watermelon juice. (P.S.: This is the easiest way to cut a watermelon…just in case you need help.)
20. Frozen Watermelon Rosé Sangria
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes, special occasion-worthy
Spike the wine with your favorite vodka, a drizzle of honey and allllll the frozen fruit. Your blender will take care of the rest.
21. Wheat Ale And Orange Sangria
- Time Commitment: 1 hour (includes chilling)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, no cook
Waiter, there's beer in our sangria. Blue Moon would pair beautifully with the orange juice and orange-flavored liqueur.
22. Mint And Citrus White Wine Sangria
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Aka our favorite way to use your herb garden's mint plant. Want to make it boozier? Go the mojito-inspired route by adding rum, or add a splash of lemon-flavored vodka.
23. Easy Blackberry Sangria
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
The recipe calls for muddling blackberries and sugar together as a shortcut to making simple syrup, but feel free to go the extra mile. (It'll only take you a few minutes.)
24. White Wine Sangria With Spiked Sparkling Water
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser
Whether you're into Truly, White Claw or High Noon, your go-to boozy seltzer is a prime sangria topper. The bubbles keep the mouthfeel light and refreshing.
25. Honeydew And Kiwi White Sangria
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients
The trick here is whirling some of the honeydew with Chardonnay in the blender to create a purée. Then, tequila, brandy and more wine are added to the pitcher.
