Add a festive touch to your holiday celebration with a Thanksgiving mimosa! Orange juice is infused with classic Thanksgiving flavors and spices for a mimosa unlike any other. After one sip, you’ll want to make this fall brunch cocktail a holiday tradition.
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The holidays are here, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the most wonderful time of year than popping a bottle of bubbles and making mimosas. But not any mimosa will do. No, we need a mimosa filled with this holiday’s favorite flavors to put an extra special touch on our Thanksgiving gathering.
Inspired by my cranberry-spice Christmas mimosa, which uses an infused cranberry juice, this holiday mimosa brings that same concept here. Orange juice pairs so well with Thanksgiving spices and flavors — think figs, cinnamon, cloves and sage — that I knew we needed to bring these elements together in one fall brunch cocktail. The result is unique, tasty, holiday-flavored mimosa that’s sure to make this Thanksgiving celebration a memorable one.
Related: For more Thanksgiving brunch ideas, try my pumpkin chai latte and pumpkin crullers.
Ingredients
Let’s chat ingredients. Here’s everything we need to make this Thanksgiving mimosa.
- Orange juice: While I love pulp in my orange juice, we have to strain it after infusing, so whether you get pulp or no pulp, the end result is the same.
- Champagne: See below for my bubbly recommendations as well as nonalcoholic options.
- Dried figs: Fresh figs certainly work, but they’re harder to come by. Besides, the dried variety gives us a more concentrated flavor.
- Cinnamon sticks: This gives us our most prominent spice flavor for serious Thanksgiving vibes.
- Fresh sage: Sage is a popular Thanksgiving herb that gives us a slight savory quality for depth. Please note, only fresh sage will do here. Simmering fresh sage adds a gentle, subtle touch. Dried sage would be too aggressive.
- Ground cloves: I love the extra kick of spice, and orange and cloves pair together beautifully.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: To start, we need to infuse our orange juice with these wonderful Thanksgiving flavors. We take care of this step by simmering orange juice with our dried figs, cinnamon sticks, fresh sage and cloves.
Step 2: Once the mixture comes to a boil, we turn off the heat and let it steep for about 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Now we drain and chill.
Tip: Considering that this Thanksgiving mimosa isn't served over ice, I like to take care of this step the night before serving. Not only does this ensure the infused orange juice is perfectly chilled but it also makes for easy entertaining. If you don’t have time to make the infused orange juice ahead of time, you can cool it in an ice bath and then further chill in a cocktail shaker if necessary.
Step 3: When we’re ready for Thanksgiving mimosas, we grab a Champagne flute and pour a touch of infused orange juice on the bottom and then top with our bubbly of choice.
And that’s it! Clink and sip.
Recipe FAQs
For the Champagne, you don’t need to spend too much. Leave the fancy stuff for sipping on its own. A $10 bottle of Champagne is perfect for this Thanksgiving mimosa.
As far as the type of Champagne, I recommend something dry. Usually, I grab a brut Champagne, but a prosecco and cava also work.
We can certainly reach for standard Champagne flutes. They’re pretty and never go out of style. However, for this batch, I used these French Champagne glasses. I just love how these glasses blend elegance with a rustic vibe, which is perfect for Thanksgiving.
If you don’t have Champagne flutes, don’t worry. Your typical white wine glass also works. White wine glasses don’t hold the bubbles as well as flutes, but that does mean it doesn’t work as a tasty vessel for our brunch cocktail. I’ve drank plenty of mimosas out of white wine glasses in my day and have never once felt disappointed by the experience.
Sure, that’s no problem. To easily serve a crowd, we pour our Champagne into a large pitcher. After the fizz subsides, we then pour in the infused orange juice and gently stir to combine.
Just like that, we’re ready to serve mimosas for a party. The carbonation won’t last long, so let’s make sure we don’t take care of this step until we’re ready for mimosa sipping.
Absolutely. In fact, we have a few nonalcoholic options. Ginger ale, ginger beer or sparkling apple cider match perfectly with their spice backbone. A sparkling water — flavored or unflavored — also work. The same goes with a lemon-lime soda.
Expert Tips
- Since mimosas aren't served with ice, you might enjoy a chilled glass. Simply place your serving glass in the freezer at least 30 minutes before drinking. Or you could fill the serving glass with ice and water and let sit for five minutes. Give it a good stir, toss the water and ice, and you glass is chilled.
- For a cinnamon-sugar rim, cut an orange slice in the middle and run the slit along the rim of the serving glass to moisten. Mix together cinnamon and brown sugar on a small plate and then swirl the rim into the mixture.
- To make entertaining a breeze, you can make the spiced orange juice two to three days before serving.
Perfect Pairing
This Thanksgiving mimosa calls for a fun fall breakfast, and I have two perfect options for you. One is my apple cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese glaze. You’ll also love my sweet potato muffins with ginger cream cheese filling. Both are bursting with fall spice, which I just love with our infused orange juice.
For a special touch this holiday season, I hope you try this Thanksgiving mimosa. It's the perfect festive sipper for your gathering.
Cheers!
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📖 Recipe
Thanksgiving Mimosa
Ingredients
- 2 cups orange juice
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup dried figs
- 2-3 fresh sage leaves
- Pinch of ground cloves
- Ground cinnamon optional, for garnish
- Sugar optional, for garnish
- 1 Champagne bottle
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add the orange juice, cinnamon sticks, dried figs, sage leaves and cloves. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to steep for 15 minutes. Strain, pressing down on the figs to release any orange juice, and refrigerate until chilled. I recommend taking care of this step the day before serving if possible.
- If you would like a cinnamon-sugar rim, mix together the cinnamon and sugar on a small plate. On another small plate, add water and lightly dip the rim of the flute into the water to moisten. Then, swirl the moistened rim in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Add about 2 ounces infused orange juice to each Champagne flute. Top with about 5 ounces Champagne. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you'd like to serve pitcher style, add the bottle of Champagne to a pitcher. When the fizz subsides, pour in the infused orange juice and gently stir to combine. Serve immediately.
- For a nonalcoholic option, substitute the Champagne for ginger ale, ginger beer, sparkling apple cider, sparkling water or lemon-lime soda.
- Since mimosas aren't served with ice, you might enjoy a chilled glass. Simply place your serving glass in the freezer at least 30 minutes before drinking. Or you could fill the serving glass with ice and water and let sit for five minutes. Give it a good stir, toss the water and ice, and you glass is chilled.
- For a cinnamon-sugar rim, cut an orange slice in the middle and run the slit along the rim of the serving glass to moisten. Mix together cinnamon and brown sugar on a small plate and then swirl the rim into the mixture.
- To make entertaining a breeze, you can make the spiced orange juice two to three days before serving.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Cara says
WOW! As soon as I saw the name of the recipe I knew I had to make. I recently got into fancy cocktails at home (vs. ordering when we dine out) and these were so good! I want to try your Christmas version of these with the cranberry next
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
At-home cocktails are so fun! I hope you get a chance to also try the Christmas version!
Debi says
This was a fun and cheerful drink to serve to the few people I saw this year on Thanksgiving. Mostly it was fun for me to drink it! Thanks for the new drink recipe.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
You’re so welcome! Glad you loved it, Debi.
Kay says
This looks amazing and I will definitely be making this for the family over the Christmas holidays, I can only imagine the smells from this drink are awesome, bringing the festive vibes into our house for sure 🙂
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I hope you do! It’s equally great for Christmas.
Kate says
Many thanks for sharing your mimosa with spiced orange juice. As we are not celebrating Thanksgiving as big in Germany we will use that as a Christmas drink this year. 🙂 We are looking forward to it.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
You are so welcome! The spices will be just as perfect for Christmas. Happy holidays!