Name: Shirley Temple Drink
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 cups of ice; 2 liter bottle of lemon lime soda (7UP or Sprite works great); 12 oz bottle of Grenadine; 6-10 oz jar of maraschino cherries; Skewers 8 - 16, depending on how many candy skewers you want to place in each drink. I find 2 at the most to be enough.; Your choice of gummy candy such as: gum drops, gummy ribbons, candy orange slices or watermelon, (select a 2-3 different kinds).

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Do you want to make a pretty drink that’s also tasty? This Shirley Temple Drink is a recipe that is honestly so easy, you’ll wonder why you haven’t made it before. You can describe this drink as being pink and fuzzy, but very delicious.

shirley temple garnished with a maraschino cherry, blue straw, and multicolored candy skewer

Some of you have enjoyed a Shirley Temple drink by yourself before. However, this specific recipe is for the whole family. You deserve to be able to put your foot up and enjoy a fun and delicious pink drink.

We have done mocktails before, like this apple cinnamon cranberry fauxmosa. This drink, however, feels fancy, but you can drink it in your pajamas. Here’s to you and this Shirley Temple Drink recipe you’re about to make!

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What’s in a Shirley Temple drink?

Now that I have hyped you up about this cocktail, you naturally want to know what’s in this drink. My favorite part of this cocktail is that you get to add candy skewers full of your favorite gummy candies.

Some of my choices are gumdrops, gummy ribbons, candy orange slices, or watermelon. You’ll want to pick 2-3 different kinds. You’ll also need ice, 2-liter bottles of lemon-lime soda (7UP or Sprite works great), 12 oz bottle of Grenadine, and 6-10 oz jar of maraschino cherries.

overhead photo of shirley temple ingredients

Grenadine – You may have had this put in your drinks before. I would describe grenadine as being sweet and tart. It’s also known as being a non-alcoholic bar syrup.
Lemon-lime soda – You can literally buy this flavor of soda anywhere. You can buy the generic lemon-lime soda if you’d like.
Maraschino cherries– These sweet cherries are literally the cherry on the top when it comes to this drink. So yummy! (I like this brand of maraschino cherries from Italy.)
Gummy candy – I buy a little of each kind of gummy candy because it’s a lot of fun to have choices.

There are many different versions of the Shirley Temple Drink. Keep in mind this one is different and non-alcoholic.

3 glasses ready to be used for shirley temples

How to Make a Shirley Temple Drink

Since this is a recipe for nonalcoholic cocktails, you can make this for the whole family. I’ll walk you through how to make this and make it as easy as possible for you. Here is how to make a Shirley Temple Drink.

Step One: First prepare your skewers by placing 1-3 candies at the end of each. Alternate different candies to create a pattern or pierce the candy ribbon back and forth for a fun swirly design. Get creative and have fun with it!

Step Two: In each glass place 1⁄2 cup of ice. Pour 8oz of lemon-lime soda and 1oz of grenadine over ice.

Step Three: Top each glass with 2-3 maraschino cherries.

Step Four: Lastly, place 1-2 candy skewers in each glass and enjoy it!

As you can see, it’s not hard and won’t take you long to create a drink you can enjoy with everyone around you.

grenadine being poured into a glass with ice

lemon lime soda being added to a glass of ice

Shirley Temple Tips & FAQ

Now that you’ve decided to make this, you may have some questions. I’m going to take a few minutes to answer some of these questions. As I made this, I took some notes, so I could pass a few tips onto you.

Assemble Skewers First: I recommend preparing the candy skewers first so your ice doesn’t melt.
Be Prepared: Depending on how tall your glasses are, you may need to cut your skewers down to size using some craft snippers or kitchen scissors.
Cut Sharp Tip Off: Saftey first! After placing your candies on the skewers you can cut the sharp tip off.
Tall Glassware: Look for glassware like pina colada and hurricane glasses.

As you can see, these tips will help make your drink recipe run a whole lot smoother. The skewers are so much fun for the kids too because they get to make their own drink and choose their own gummy pattern style.

3 shirley temple drinks in tall glasses on a white wooden table garnished with candy kabobs

What’s in an adult recipe for Shirley temple drink?

Now that we’ve covered the kid-bases for this drink, you may want to know what’s in the adult version? If you were making this as an adult beverage, you would add 1 ounce of vodka over the ice. If you want to make a virgin recipe of the drink, leave the vodka out.

Can kids have a shirley temple cocktail?

Of course! Just keep in mind that there are different versions of this drink. The recipe I’m sharing is the virgin version and kid-friendly. If the adults in the family want to make it non-virgin, they just need to add an ounce of vodka.

I hope you enjoy making this Shirley Temple Drink recipe. You just can’t go wrong with something this adorable to drink and enjoy.