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Home » Recipes » Beverages

Published: Dec 23, 2019 · Modified: Oct 12, 2023 by Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Spiced Cranberry Mimosa for Christmas Morning

Jump to Recipe
Two cranberry mimosas on a wintry white surface with holiday decor around them and text overlay on top of the image.
Two cranberry mimosas on a wintry white surface with holiday decor around them and text overlay on top of the image.

Pop the bubbly and sip on this spiced cranberry mimosa for Christmas morning! The holidays are here, and we need a jolly mimosa to celebrate in style. With its vibrant hue and bundle of holiday flavors, this cranberry-spice Christmas mimosa is the perfect signature cocktail for a festive brunch.

Two cranberry mimosa drinks on a white surface with fake snow and Christmas decor around them with lights in the background.
Jump to:
  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Variations and Substitutions
  • Expert Tips
  • Perfect Pairing
  • Sip on More Festive Holiday Cocktails
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Your holiday brunch calls for an extra special sipper that’s unlike your classic mimosa. Also known as a poinsettia cocktail, a cranberry mimosa is the perfect drink for any holiday gathering, but my version is even better.

  • Enjoy that infused cranberry juice with warm spices and fresh orange zest for an explosion of holiday flavor.
  • Get plenty of uses from one recipe and serve this mimosa for other holidays, like your Thanksgiving dinner and Valentine’s Day.
  • Calls for make-ahead preparation to keep your Christmas morning stress-free.

Related: For more Christmas cocktails, try my peppermint-chocolate martini, cranberry bourbon smash and cranberry old fashioned.

Ingredients

The drink ingredients on a gray marble countertop with black and white labels by the different items.

And now to gather our simple ingredients for the perfect holiday mimosa, so we can start celebrating ASAP. Here are a few ingredient notes to set you up for success.

Cranberry juice: I always use the cranberry juice cocktail variety rather than 100 percent pure cranberry juice. Think Ocean Spray or something like that. This gives us a bit of sweetness, so we don't have to bother with simple syrup.

Sparkling wine: Please don’t feel like you need to get overly fancy here with pricey Champagne. In fact, I advise against it.

The good stuff is meant for sipping unadorned. A $10 bottle of Champagne works perfectly.

Brown sugar: Dark brown sugar is my favorite because of the extra molasses flavor, but light brown sugar also works.

Spices: In addition to the cinnamon sticks, we need nutmeg, cloves and ginger to make one festive drink.

Orange zest: We want to use fresh orange zest rather than dried for the best flavor.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: To get those festive flavors, we create an infused cranberry juice. This is as simple as adding that tart cranberry juice, orange zest, dark brown sugar and the spices to a small saucepan and bringing the mixture to a boil like so (photo 1).

The cranberry juice in a small stainless steel saucepan boiling with the spices, orange zest and brown sugar.

Step 2: Once the cranberry juice boils, we turn off the heat and allow the mixture to steep (photo 2). This really gives those wonderful flavors and spices a chance to meld.

Steeping the cranberry juice in a small stainless steel saucepan with the cinnamon sticks and spices.

Step 3: Now we strain the cranberry mixture over a fine-mesh sieve and store it in the refrigerator to chill (photo 3).

Straining the cinnamon sticks, orange zest and spices in a fine-mesh sieve over a measuring cup in the kitchen sink.

Step 4: After chilling, we simply pour our spiced and sweetened cranberry juice into a Champagne glass and top with plenty of bubbles (photo 4).

Pouring a bottle of Champagne into the fluke filled with the infused cranberry juice on a gray marble countertop.

Now we clink and sip away on our perfect holiday cocktail. You'll never need another cranberry mimosa recipe once you taste those wonderful spices.

Recipe FAQs

What’s the best wine for mimosas?

As far as wine varieties, go with something dry. I typically use a brut Champagne, though you can’t go wrong with a prosecco and cava either. Just avoid the sweet sparkling wines and you’re good to go.

If you'd like a little inspiration, check out this list on the best sparkling wines for mimosas.

Can you serve these Christmas mimosas at night?

Totally! Honestly, I served this festive cranberry mimosa for some friends at our annual “Elf” watch party, and everyone gushed over them.

I’ve also served them for New Year’s Eve. For someone who loves to constantly try new recipes, you know it’s a seriously delicious cocktail when I plan on serving it back to back like that.

If you feel weird about serving mimosas for an evening holiday party, you can always rebrand them and call them cranberry-spice holiday sparklers or something like that.

Can you make nonalcoholic mimosas?

Absolutely, simply substitute your favorite fizzy drink for the Champagne.

Ginger ale is a delicious option, and you can even pick up a cranberry version this time of year. A lemon-lime soda also works. Sprite has a spiced cranberry variety that would be perfect. Of course, your favorite sparkling seltzer water or club soda both work well, especially if it's cranberry flavored.

What glassware should you use?

Champagne flutes are the obvious choice for any bubbly drink. That slender shape maintains those fizzy bubbles we all love. Besides, sipping out of Champagne flutes always makes me feel extra fancy.

However, if you don’t have Champagne flutes, you can always use white wine glasses. Coupe glasses also work.

Looking straight on to two cranberry mimosas on a wintry white surface with a bottle of Champagne and holiday lights in the background.

Variations and Substitutions

  • Give your Christmas brunch an extra kick and add ½ ounce orange liqueur to the glass. You can use Cointreau or Grand Marnier for a top-shelf drink or triple sec for a more economical option.
  • Add fun garnishes to amp up the holiday spirit. Drop in some fresh cranberries, add a rosemary sprig to the glass or place an orange twist on the rim.
  • Infuse other fruit juices for a different spin — pomegranate juice, for instance, would work beautifully here.
  • Make a vanilla cranberry mimosa and add a split vanilla bean with the seeds to the infusion.
  • Split the full spiced cranberry juice amount for equal parts fresh orange juice and cranberry juice as a nod to your standard mimosa.

Expert Tips

Plan ahead: Because this cranberry mixture needs to chill, I recommend making it the night before serving. That way, you don’t have to worry about lukewarm mimosas, and your hosting duties will be a breeze. How’s that for a win-win?

Chill the Champagne: The ideal serving temperature is between 42-46 degrees F, so make sure you plan ahead and get that sparkling white wine in the refrigerator.

Use a microplane grater to get fresh orange zest: A microplane grater does an amazing job at extracting those oils and getting a fine texture.

Grate your own nutmeg: It takes just a few seconds, and the flavor is much better than store-bought ground nutmeg. You can find whole nutmegs in the spice aisle and use that same microplane grater.

Perfect Pairing

You need my gingerbread waffles with this festive mimosa. The spices all play perfectly together while the acidity from the cranberry and bubbles keep your palate refreshed from those rich waffles and syrup.

To help celebrate the holiday season, I hope you try this spiced cranberry mimosa. I have no doubt it will become your new favorite cocktail for Christmas morning.

Cheers!

Looking down on a cranberry mimosa surround by fake snow, cranberries and Christmas decor on a white surface with twinkle lights to the side.

Sip on More Festive Holiday Cocktails

  • Two cups of maple eggnog on red coasters with holiday decor around them and a small Christmas tree in the background.
    Buddy the Elf’s Favorite Maple Eggnog
  • Two Sugar Plum Fairy Martinis on a marble board with a nutcracker and lights behind them.
    Sugar Plum Fairy Martini
  • A wine glass filled with holiday sangria on a fluffy white piece of fabric with lights in the background and cranberries to the left.
    Holiday Sangria With Cranberry and Apple Cider
  • Two Christmas cranberry Moscow mule cocktails on a wooden platter with burlap and sugared cranberries and rosemary around them with lights in the background.
    Christmas Cranberry Moscow Mule

If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe

Two cranberry mimosa drinks on a wintry white surface with a bottle of Champagne and Christmas decor surrounding them.

Spiced Cranberry Mimosa for Christmas Morning

Pop the bubbly and sip on this spiced cranberry mimosa for Christmas morning! The holidays are here, and we need a jolly mimosa to celebrate in style. With its vibrant hue and bundle of holiday flavors, this cranberry-spice Christmas mimosa is the perfect signature cocktail for a festive brunch.
5 from 163 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 drinks
Calories: 150kcal
Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Small saucepan

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups cranberry cocktail juice
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg preferably freshly grated
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • 1 Champagne bottle

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, stir together the cranberry juice, cinnamon sticks, dark brown sugar, orange zest, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar.
  • Turn off heat. Allow to the infused cranberry juice to steep for 20 minutes.
  • Strain the cranberry juice over a fine-mesh sieve and chill in the refrigerator.
  • In each Champagne flute, pour in 2 ounces of spiced cranberry juice. Top with 4 ounces of Champagne. Alternatively, you can pour the spiced cranberry juice in a pitcher, top with a bottle of Champagne and gently stir. Enjoy!

Notes

  • It's best to make the cranberry juice ahead of time to give it time to chill, but if you don't get a chance to make it ahead of time, you can always add it to a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice and shake until chilled. You can make the spiced cranberry juice several days in advance.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1drink | Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Sodium: 1mg | Sugar: 12g
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @BurrataandBubbles or tag #burratandbubbles!

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Comments

    5 from 163 votes (158 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Tonje says

    December 27, 2019 at 8:09 pm

    5 stars
    Such a festive drink! We had these Christmas morning, and it was lovely. We also made a non alcoholic version for the kids, and they loved it too.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 27, 2019 at 9:48 pm

      Love hearing that, Tonje!

      Reply
  2. Chris Collins says

    December 27, 2019 at 8:00 pm

    5 stars
    I can see me sipping on way too many of these this festive season! looks delicious 🙂

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 27, 2019 at 9:48 pm

      Thanks, Chris! It goes down easily!

      Reply
  3. Beth says

    December 27, 2019 at 7:34 pm

    5 stars
    Made a batch for Christmas and it was good! The flavor was great!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 27, 2019 at 9:45 pm

      Yay! Hope it was a fun way to celebrate.

      Reply
  4. kim says

    December 27, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe! So easy and yummy! I'll definitely be making again and again!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 27, 2019 at 9:45 pm

      Thanks, Kim! So glad to hear it.

      Reply
  5. Jessica Formicola says

    December 27, 2019 at 7:09 pm

    5 stars
    We had these mimosas on Christmas morning and they were wonderful! We might make them for NYE, too!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 27, 2019 at 9:45 pm

      I hope you do! I'm right there with you. ?

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Amanda, a Denver-based lady who believes life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor.

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