Starbucks Pink Drink
Updated
Updated
This Starbucks Pink Drink Copycat is as close to buying the real thing as it gets, but super easy to make with just 3 ingredients and way less money! It’s slightly sweet, light, refreshing, and dairy-free. Perfect for summer sipping or enjoy all year-round!
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5 STAR REVIEWS
Copycat Starbucks Strawberry Acai Drink
If I’m not grabbing a coffee, I’m likely grabbing the “Pink Drink” when I’m at Starbucks. The Starbucks strawberry acai drink took the world by storm back in 2016 and I loved it immediately. It’s part of their Refreshers line, featuring a strawberry acai base, coconut milk, Tazo tea, and real strawberries.
But like many restaurant favorites, it turns out that it’s pretty easy to make a homemade pink drink. And I’ve figured out how to do it with just 3 ingredients, which means I get to enjoy this drink whenever I want and for way less money!
There are several different copycat versions of this drink out there, many that use the powder refreshers and/or tea bags, but I think it’s more work and more expensive, with the same results as this recipe. This Pink Drink recipe is slightly sweet, but not at all overpowering. It’s quite light and so refreshing.
Helpful Tips & Possible Variations
- Strawberries. Fresh strawberries will give you the best flavor, but frozen (thawed) strawberries or freeze-dried strawberries can be used, if needed.
- Oceanspray White Cran-Strawberry juice. This will get you closest to the original flavor, but if you have trouble finding it, cran-raspberry works great, too!
- Sweetened vanilla coconut milk. I use sweetened vanilla coconut milk so it’s dairy free and also gives the drink a touch of sweetness. This can be replaced with canned coconut milk (don’t forget to shake it first!) or coconut cream, if preferred. (Note: I personally have not tried these substitutions, but readers in the comments said they had success using vanilla almond milk, vanilla oat milk, and coconut almond vanilla creamer.)
- Make it sweeter. If you like a super sweet drink, add in some simple syrup. Another option is to add a bit of sugar with the sliced strawberries and macerate prior to adding along with the juice.
Starbucks Pink Drink
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup stemmed and sliced fresh strawberries, (plus more for garnish)
- 2 cups Oceanspray White Cran-Strawberry Juice
- 1 cup sweetened vanilla coconut milk
- 4 teaspoons simple syrup, (optional, for added sweetness)
- small ice cubes
Instructions
- In a pitcher, add 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries. Very gently crush the strawberries by using a muddler. (The goal is to release some of the juices, not to smash them completely. The slices should still be intact.)
- Add 2 cups white cran-strawberry juice, 1 cup sweetened vanilla coconut milk, and 4 teaspoons simple syrup; stir to combine.
- Pour over ice in glasses to serve. Add additional strawberry slices for garnish, optional.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
FAQ’s
- Can I Make This For A Crowd? Absolutely! Just double or triple the ingredients to make the desired number of servings. You can even assemble everything in the pitcher earlier in the day and keep it in the fridge. Just give it a good stir before pouring into individual glasses over ice.
- Is the Pink Drink at Starbucks healthy? As far as Starbucks’ drinks go, this strawberry acai drink is relatively healthy. It’s not as sugary sweet as some of the other drinks, like frappes, or as high in calories.
- Is the Pink Drink safe for kids? Yes, the Pink Drink is great for kids – especially this homemade version! The OG Starbucks version does contain a bit of caffeine but this copycat version does not.
More Refreshing Drinks:
- Shirley Temple Drink
- Cherry Limeade (Sonic Copycat)
- Southern Style Sweet Tea
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Watermelon Juice
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
So happy I found this recipe earlier. Before tasting it, I smelled it and immediately knew it was a carbon copy. This is absolutely my favororite drink at Starbucks, and now it’s only costing me $2 instead of nearly $7. Thank you so much!!
This is absolutely amazing! I am hooked on the pink drink and, wow! Thank you for putting out this cost effective copycat! Like other reviews mentioned, I got strawberry crystal light energy and put a small bit in so I can get the caffeine fix. If you haven’t made it, do it! I have gone through an entire gallon of the ocean spray.
This was absolutely wonderful! I love the pink drink and this is a great way to make it at home!
This is great! My boyfriend loves the Starbucks pink drink but wanted to try making it at home and this is so similar to the original. We are saving this in our recipe book! Thanks!
I I love this Pink Drink. It is as good as Starbucks ! I couldn’t believe it was so darn easy.My husband loves Starbucks Pink Drinks. I just made this so this is going to be a surprise. He is taking a nap. Thank You for your wonderful recipe.
Me and my friend tried this and it was great. We loved it! Thank you so for putting this up.
Just made it for the first time, but it won’t be the last! I didn’t use the simple syrup and found it to be sweet enough. What a refreshing drink. Thank you so much!
I love this recipe so much
Super good! I used strawberry simple syrup instead of the regular and skipped out on the actual strawberries because I can’t afford to buy strawberries everytime, super good still!! And whisking the coconut beforehand with a fork or whisking helps it not separate curdle as much
Delish! I feel it has more flavor than the one at Starbucks. I wasn’t able to find any vanilla coconut milk so I substituted with vanilla oat milk and looked and tasted good to me!
Omg loved this!! Tasted just like Starbucks. I’ve seen all the other copycats with the tea bags and it’s just too much work. You’re my hero, Amy!
This is amazing! So delicious and easy! Thank you.
Loved this. Couldn’t find vanilla coconut milk at my Walmart but almond worked just fine ! Thank you!
I made these for a staff meeting and they were a huge hit!! Thank you! I ended up using Trader Joe’s coconut almond vanilla creamer instead of sweetened coconut milk. They were delicious and mixed well!
Better than Starbucks
This recipe was fantastic! Tasted just like the original! I did have an issue with the coconut milk kinda curdling or separating. Any tips on how to fix that? It tasted fine, but wasn’t pretty.
I used the canned coconut milk, and it was yum! Just make sure to stir coconut milk in can before mixing with juice. Thank you for the recipe.
Absolutely delicious! Tastes just like try a real thing. We’ve made it fresh, frozen and freeze-dried strawberries – all have been delicious. My kids love it! We buy the Aldi brand coconut milk. Love!
I loved this
I loved this pink Drink
I was skeptical but I made it following the recipe and my daughter’s eyes got wide and she said “ mom you made a pink drink! It tastes even better than a pink drink!” I sliced fresh strawberries and added sugar to them to macerate prior to adding along with juice
I messed up and used canned coconut milk, so if you’re like me and have never used a carton of coconut milk make sure you look for that! It still tasted good, but the cream in the canned kind made a weird texture. I’m excited to try this again with the right ingredients!
Like the Kool Aid man said…… Oh yeah!!!
Any testing on how long this will hold refrigerated for a larger batch? Going on a trip to DW and i would love to make a batch to last the week we’ll be there
Thank you! This copycat drink is amazing! I used unsweetened Coconut Vanilla milk and it is delicious!
FANTASTIC copycat recipe!! Tastes just like it and so simple with easy to find ingredients. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Whoo hoo delicious tastes just like Starbucks
This. Is. Amazing!!!!
THANK YOU! You are going to save me so much money now that I can make this at home! It tastes exactly like the Starbucks one and I didn’t need to add any more simple syrup. Easy and delicious!
Thank you for sharing!! My daughter and her friends are obsessed with the Starbucks Pink drink and it gets pretty pricey when they’re all wanting to go to Starbucks to get one. My daughter and I made this recipe (without the simple syrup) and she absolutely loved it!! She said it tastes just like the real thing!! Will definitely make a pitcher next time her friends are over.
This is an amazing recipe! I added a splash of Malibu rum ?. So good!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My granddaughter is obsessed with the Pink Drink so I decided to give this recipe a try. It does not disappoint! Even she, who can be very picky, especially about her Starbucks drinks, says it tastes identical to Starbucks. The only issue now is that she asks me to make it ALL THE TIME! Lol! Who am I kidding……it is for my granddaughter…..it’s not an issue at all! Making her happy makes my heart smile!
This was just awesome. Thanks for sharing!
I love your recipe, I hate Starbucks. They give you the wrong recipe. Thank you for providing the right recipe.
I absolutely love the Starbucks pink drink, but don’t like spending money everyday. I was so surprised at how cheap the ingredients are and how much it takes just like the original! Will be my new staple at home. Shared it with my mom & two nephews and they loved it as well!
I loved it.
I made this for my work crew and it was a HUGE hit, everyone loved it. I did not add any sugar to it I used mildly sweet almond milk.
My daughter is obsessed with Starbucks pink drink with cold foam so I was anxious to try this super simple recipe. I got everything at Walmart and she LOVED it! I found another recipe for the cold foam with milk, cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. She wants me to have one ready for her in the morning. Haha! Make it, you will not be disappointed!
Fantastic copycat and so much cheaper. Thank you for sharing this method!
This is delicious
What brand of coconut milk would you recommend using for this recipe?
I love Blue Diamond Almond Breeze.
I loved this! I did not add simple syrup but I still enjoyed every sip of it!
I use 1/2 gallon of Silk Coconut Milk
This is so good! I used this recipe and added a bit of half and half to a blender with some vanilla syrup to replicate the vanilla sweet cold foam. It was so good! I will be making this again!!!
Fooled My Teenager! I made this recipe using unsweetened coconut milk and strawberry simple syrup instead of regular simple syrup. I saved plastic Starbucks cups and took off the stickers and washed them to see if my teenager and her friend would be fooled into thinking that this was actually from Starbucks. They loved it and totally thought it tasted just like Starbucks! Save you money and make this at home!
Obsessed!
This is the easiest recipe I’ve seen for a copycat Pink Drink and the only one I’ve tried but I will look no further! This tasted EXACTLY like the real thing and so inexpensive. I’m so happy I can make this all the time now for a fraction of the cost! I didn’t have simple syrup so left that out but I honestly don’t think it needs it. The sweetness from the sweetened coconut milk plus the sugar that’s already in the juice is plenty :) Don’t let not having the simple syrup stop you from making this recipe. Thank you!!!
I don’t usually leave reviews, but this copycat pink drink is amazing! I’ve tried other recipes but they don’t even compare to this one! If you like the pink drink, you’ve got to try think one.
I was so skeptical about this copycat, but it was perfect! Save your money people and use this recipe!!
I’ve tried a few other copycat recipes but this was by far my favorite, the easiest, and cheapest!! Thank you!
Delicious! I even had to substitute unsweetened almond milk (that’s what I had) and added a dash of vanilla and an extra teaspoon of simple syrup and turned out awesome!
I can’t believe this recipe doesn’t have more reviews!!
I made this today after a Starbucks run to get a pink drink. While I was waiting in the drive-thru I googled how to make the drink – found this recipe and decided what the heck, might as well give it a go!
Everything I needed I found at the grocery store beside the Starbucks (except only unsweetened vanilla coconut milk was available). Which is absolutely fine.
When I got home I put everything in the blender – minus the ice. I prefer not to have chunks of strawberries. The drink tastes fine without added sugar, but I did put a bit of honey in mine.
Personally, I think this way tastes better than the original. My wife, who is not usually a fan of the pink drink tasted what I made and wanted a glass for herself!
Good job to the creator who figured out this wonderful combination. I would have never guessed White Cran – Strawberry.
– Stephanie
Fantastic copycat and SO easy. Thank you for much for sharing this!
I loved this so much!!! I was worried I wasted my money but no!!! It’s so gooood!!!!!
I’ve made the other copycats with the tea bags and refreshers and this version was so comparable…and WAY easier. Thanks for sharing!
I love this drink and recipe it’s so delicious!
Simple and tastes just like a pink drink! Every other copycat recipe I’ve tried turns out grayish purple and sad, or requires too many ingredients than I want to bother with. Mixing this ocean spray juice blend with unsweetened vanilla coconut milk alone was perfect, no extra sweet needed.
I loved it! I used freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh strawberries and this drink honestly tasted as good as the OG Starbucks Pink Drink! Now I can make one at home anytime! I did not add any simple syrup either and I think the sweetness was perfect.
Tasted really similar to the original, thanks for a great recipe!
For those who want a caffeine kick in the Pink Drink, I added a little of Mío Energy. You could probably add any caffeine based water enhancer in a flavor that would compliment the strawberry- I chose strawberry pineapple splash. Tasted great!
Also, shaking the drink to mix it or possibly blending together the ingredients might give it a slightly more light texture that you would typically get in a Starbucks drink.
Overall, great recipe!
It was good. Tastes dang close. I’m missing my caffeine but I like it. I didn’t add the simple syrup the second time and liked it even more.
Great recipe its delicious