Sparkling Apple Cider (a Martinelli’s copycat) is the perfect beverage to take any holiday or special occasion to the next level! Just takes two minutes to whip together, and everyone asks for the recipe!
You all know how much I love to celebrate things, and one of the easiest ways to celebrate is with a toast! Sparkling Apple Cider (Martinelli’s) is a staple for us during the holiday season. Because everyone loves it so much, not it is pretty much a feature at any big party or gathering in the Bailey house!
If you want a few other ideas for drink recipes that will please a party crowd, try our Christmas Punch or our yummy Orange Frappe.
Sparkling Apple Cider
The problem is, at $3 ish dollars a pop, when you have a big crowd that can really add up! So, of course, we needed a homemade solution! If any of you are in the same boat, you will love this easy and delicious copycat!
My kids love it so much that they totally request it on birthdays and really anytime we have company coming over, and it’s easy to oblige them when this recipe is literally easy enough for my six year old to make it! It takes all of five minutes, and honestly I love it even more than the store bought sparkling ciders we buy!
Plus, it is a great way to “fancy” things up for special occasions and holidays! Minimal effort, maximum results! Definitely my type of recipe!
How to Make Sparkling Apple Cider
Homemade Sparkling Cider is so easy to make! All you do is add frozen apple juice concentrate, white grape juice concentrate, 7up and ice in a punch bowl and serve!
If you make this recipe please leave us a comment and review! They mean so much to us.

Homemade Sparkling Apple Cider (Martinelli's)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 can frozen apple juice concentrate mostly thawed
- 1 can frozen white grape juice concentrate mostly thawed
- 2 liters 7up or Fresca
- 6 cups ice
Instructions
- In a large punch bowl add all ingredients and stir to combine. Serve immediately! *We refrigerate our leftovers and drink them the next day and it is still really yummy, but it doesn’t have the fizzy effect we all love with Martinelli’s unless you make and drink it within a few hours!
Notes
Nutrition
If you are interested in a few of our other popular non-alcoholic drinks the two others in the recipe card video are also amazing! You can find the dirty Dr. Pepper recipe here, or the easy Raspberry Lemonade here!
I hope you will get as much use out of this copycat as we do! Here’s to saving money while still celebrating life.. cheers!
xo,
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
This post was originally published March 31, 2014 and has been updated with better pictures, text and video.
Can I use just apple juice and white grape juice in a bottle? If so how much do I add to the 2 liter 7up? Thanks.
No, they won’t work the same as the concentrate! The concentrate mixes with the ice and dilutes as it is mixed.
I just made this but substituted the grape juice for berry punch. My kids loved it. Looks like we have a new drink for the holidays.
That sounds delicious! Thanks for letting us know you liked it! :)
FYI, I’ve been making your recipe Jessica for a couple of years now. I priced it out, and this recipe is definitely less expensive, and to be honest, my family likes it better. It’s always been a tradition to have the sparkling cider, so to have a more economical option that’s even better? It’s a win-win in my book!!
Any recommendation for substituting for frozen white grape juice? Can’t find it anywhere.
Yes! You can totally just use two of the frozen apple juice concentrates instead!
I did some research and Martinelli’s is cheaper than this recipe according to walmart prices.
great value apple juice Frozen concentrate is $1.18 for 12 Fl oz and the Great value White Grape Frozen Concentrate is $1.73 for 12 Fl Oz.
The 2 l 7up is $1.38 for about 67.6 Fl oz. I assumed that the optional 6 cups of ice is free.
that all adds up to be $4.29 for 91.6 fl oz while a 25.4 fl oz martinelli’s is $2.46.
that seems to be a steal but a martinelli’s costs $.10/oz while the homemade costs $.21/oz.
I have not tried the recipe, but if you’re trying it out to be more budget friendly, I’d opt for a few martinell’s instead
For some reason, when you’re filling out the comment field it is in all caps, but when the comment is posted, it is not.
That being said, please excuse the capitalization errors.
Hi Genevieve! It looks like you did a lot of work to figure that out! Unfortunately though it seems like you reversed your numerator and denominator. Your calculation is basically ounces per cent. If you switched them back with your calculations you would see that our recipe would add up to .04 per ounce while the regular Martinellis is .09. In other words about twice as expensive! But also, you forgot to add in the ounces for the ice, so it’s actually an even better deal than that!! I hope you’ll give the recipe a try, I think you’ll love it.
This is so perfect for the upcoming holiday season! Great for every party, thanks!
You’re so welcome!
I made these this weekend and they were a HUGE hit!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it!
YES, PLEASE!! This sounds fantastic!!
Thank you!
I am so excited about trying this, we love martinelli’s, thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome!
Such a great idea, i’m looking forward to trying this!
I hope you love it!
Oooh I love this!! We love Martinelli’s but with only getting 2 or 3 glasses at most out of a bottle it can get expensive. Pinning
Exactly!! That’s why we love this so much, it’s delicious too!
Hey Jessica I’m making this for our family party tomorrow for about 50 people. How many people does one batch usually serve? Debating whether I make 2 or 3.
It will serve 16 ish ppl one glass! So I would definitely triple or quadruple! You could also add more ice to thin it out, because it’s really concentrated! Best of luck!!