If you can’t resist the yin and yang of tart lemons and sweet blueberries, you’ll love this adorably pinky purple Prosecco spritz. The muddled thyme adds an herbal dimension that makes it feel a little more grown-up.–Danielle Centoni

Blueberry Prosecco Spritz FAQs

Can I make a non-alcoholic version of this spritz recipe?

Absolutely. Just omit the Prosecco and add your favorite lemon-lime soda, lemon sparkling water, or more tonic or club soda in its place.

Can I use frozen blueberries instead of fresh blueberries?

Sure thing. You won’t need to muddle them nearly as much as the freezing process will have already broken them down a bit. Your beverage will also be darker than if you used fresh berries, but just as tasty. Toss a few of those whole frozen berries in as a final garnish, too. They’ll help keep your spritz cool without watering it down.

What’s the best way to remove blueberry stains?

Muddling can get messy, especially if you’re working with frozen fruit. The first rule is to address any stains right away.

For surfaces like countertops or cutting boards, wipe up spills or splats immediately and rinse with cold water. If your countertops are NOT marble or natural stone, you can saturate a dish rag or paper towels with white vinegar or lemon juice and lay it flat over the stain on the surface for about ten minutes, then rinse again, and repeat as necessary.

For natural stone or marble, use a non-acidic cleanser to avoid damage to your surfaces.

For fabric, rinse with cold water then use white vinegar or lemon juice to pretreat. Let that sit for about five minutes, then rinse under cold water again. Repeat as necessary.

Can I make other flavored spritz recipes?

Love a fruity spritz? For an autumn-inspired version, try this caramel apple spritz.

Two short glasses of blueberry prosecco spritz on coasters with thyme sprigs for garnish.

Blueberry Prosecco Spritz

5 from 1 vote
This simple recipe for a low-alcohol cocktail is made with muddled blueberries, fresh thyme, lemon juice, simple syrup, sparkling wine, and tonic or soda water. It's simple, refreshing, and perfect for a hot summer day.
David Leite
CourseDrinks
CuisineItalian
Servings1 drink
Calories147 kcal
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Ice
  • 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1 ounce simple syrup
  • 3 ounces Prosecco, chilled
  • 1 ounce elderflower tonic water, plain tonic water, or soda water, chilled
  • Skewered blueberries, for garnish (optional)

Instructions 

  • In a sturdy wineglass, muddle the blueberries and 1 of the thyme sprigs.

    ☞ TESTER TIP: If you don’t have a muddler, a wooden spoon will work just fine in its place.

  • Fill the glass three-quarters full with ice and stir.
  • Pour the lemon juice, simple syrup, and Prosecco over the ice and top with the elderflower tonic.
  • Gently stir to combine and garnish with the remaining thyme sprig and the skewer of blueberries, if using.
Just a Spritz Cookbook

Adapted From

Just a Spritz

Buy On Amazon

Nutrition

Serving: 1 drinkCalories: 147 kcalCarbohydrates: 30 gProtein: 1 gFat: 0.2 gSaturated Fat: 0.03 gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02 gSodium: 29 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 26 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2022 Danielle Centoni. Photo © 2022 Eric Medsker. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

Sweet, tart, herby, refreshing, with a titch of antioxidant. This Prosecco cocktail recipe has this tester’s choice designation. It’s a bubbly review.

Two glasses of blueberry prosecco spritz with a skewer of blueberries and a sprig of thyme on top.

I do have two things to say. First, make at least one cup of the simple syrup. You will want more, and you will want to share. Secondly, pour the tonic gingerly lest your drink “bubbleth” over and you lose some of your precious “elixir”. If you add the ingredients in the order listed, the muddled blueberries may be somewhat contained on the bottom of your tumbler. A straw may come in handy for sieving out the “debris”.

My guest tester’s feedback was that this was a summer drink. Nonetheless, this qualification didn’t prevent them from sipping the entire cocktail on a cool winter evening.

Since I couldn’t find elderflower tonic water, I used plain. Now I’m excited to try this with the elderflower tonic water and add “floral” to my list of compliments. Cheers!

I don’t make a lot of cocktails at home, but I will definitely be making this blueberry Prosecco spritz at least a couple more times this summer. This is a really lovely, simple and elegant summer cocktail. It’s bubbly, fruity, citrusy, and refreshing, plus has a beautiful purple color.

A glass of blueberry prosecco spritz with sprigs of thyme for garnish.

I didn’t find the taste of thyme super noticeable in the drink itself, but I loved the way I could smell the thyme garnish with each sip I took. I tried both the Prosecco version and the mocktail version with extra tonic in place of Prosecco and enjoyed both!

Refreshing, light and breezy! This blueberry Prosecco spritz is the perfect beverage for a summer day— or a snowy April day!

Because blueberries are not in season I used frozen blueberries; they will be a good substitute until I can get sweet seasonal blueberries in the summer. The thyme lent a nice herbal accent and I loved that the spritz was not too sweet. I recommend using the Fever-tree Elderflower tonic water; it’s the perfect accent.

This blueberry spritzer is a fun drink! A delicious combo of sweet and sour, with the addition of thyme makes the drink festive, fresh, and attractive! A variation – use elderflower syrup in place of the simple syrup/elderflower tonic water.

The level of sweetness in this drink is easily adjustable to your preference. A great spring and summer drink. Easily made in a pitcher for a large batch.

I made this as a mocktail, and I think this would be delicious with Prosecco or Cava. Both versions would be a nice spring/summer drink as it is light and refreshing. I love the thyme, and you could replace with fresh basil when herbs are abundant. Would definitely make again, both as a cocktail and mocktail.

This Prosecco cocktail is fabulous and refreshing! Muddling the blueberries brought a nice sweetness to the drink that balanced out the lemon juice. The hint of thyme made for a nice finish. I made this with plain tonic water and it was perfect.

Yum! That about sums up this super easy mock/cocktail. Not many ingredients makes for a super quick prep time and much of this can easily be prepared in advance of any party. I made this without the Prosecco (since I had none on hand, but I did have some sparkling lemon Perrier) and it was excellent.

It would be super fun to prepare the wine glasses with the muddled thyme and berries and let guests fill them up as desired. This is a must have for any spring/summer brunch!

Early summer in a glass – this drink is spectacular! As a spritz lover, I wore my new J. Crew Spritz t-shirt and invited four friends over to test these delicious drinks. The first batch I made as written, but then we quickly discovered that we didn’t even need the additional tonic water or soda water.

The spritz is fresh, bubbly, delightful to drink with its purple color, and just the right amount of sweetness. Bliss!

The kids also got mocktails and LOVED these special drinks! For something so simple, this really is a magical concoction!

This blueberry lemon cocktail was everything I expected – the perfect mix of herby-ness, sweetness, tartness, and bubbly-ness. I loved the combination of flavors and it was simple and quick to make.

The only thing I would change was to strain the cocktail because when you muddle the thyme, you end up with leaves floating in your drink and an unpleasant mouth feel.

For years, I have been looking for a cocktail that I could enjoy without the overpowering (to me) taste of alcohol. I have finally found it. In 5 minutes flat I had a fizzy, not too sweet, not too tart, refreshing beverage. In all honesty, I was planning to take a sip, pass it off to my husband, and then make the mocktail version for myself. He was just as surprised as I was when I told him that I finished it.

I still made the mocktail version, which I found to be a little too sweet. I substituted a sparkling elderflower lemonade for the Prosecco and also added the simple syrup and elderflower tonic. Next time, I will try plain lemon seltzer. I’m looking forward to many more of these this spring and summer.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


Hungry For More?

Roasted Potatoes with Dill

A handful of cheap ingredients. The exact perfect temperature and timing. And a little patience, please, while spuds are elevated from simple to stellar.

1 hr 5 mins

9 Impressive Easter Lamb Recipes

Impressive lamb recipes for your Easter dinner that are guaranteed to elicit oohs and ahhs. Find your favorite new way to prepare lamb chops, shoulder, or leg of lamb.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  1. Do you have a recipe for making elderflower tonic?
    I make my own tonic water and I use the cinchona bark and elderberries along with juniper, star of anise, anise seeds, cardamom, lemongrass, honey, lemon peel, etc – it’s an ongoing experiment.
    It’s delicious but it has a lot of flavor so might overwhelm the cocktail.

    Any other ideas?

    1. Larissa, we don’t have a recipe for elderflower tonic. Your version sounds wonderful, but I can see why you think it might be overwhelming. We tested the recipe using Fever-Tree elderflower tonic, so if you have to opportunity to purchase or sample some, you could see how they compare. Alternatively, you could use a smaller amount of your own tonic, and replace the extra with regular tonic or soda water.

  2. 5 stars
    Wow, just amazing. I loved this recipe. I think this drink is a perfect solution for the summer season.