Sparkling Champagne Punch is a perfect cocktail for a holiday meal or a summer party! It's easy to make and a refreshing calorie-friendly cocktail for Christmas or New Year's Eve. This skinny version is a favorite any time of year!
Special celebrations call for party cocktails and they don't get tastier than this Champagne Punch recipe. This festive drink is great for everything from bridal showers to sipping poolside. It's an easy way to serve up a large batch cocktail with no effort. The beautiful color is eye catching too.
Try our Sparkling Fruit Sangria and Skinny Margarita too!
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What makes this skinny?
A champagne punch recipe can often include multiple types of alcohol like orange liqueur (grand marnier or triple sec), simple syrup or sugary soda like ginger ale. Thought delicious these pack on loads of calories too.
Our champagne cocktail is slimmed down from most holiday punch recipes using only sparkling wine and some cranberry juice for the calorie ingredients.
Recipe Ingredients Notes
Rose sparkling wine. You'll need 1 750 ml bottle champagne or sparkling wine. We recommend using Brut which is a dry wine (dry meaning not as sweet); the bonus is it has fewer calories too.
When making a punch we recommend using a mid-range sparkling wine. Since it's mixed with other ingredients the most expensive bottle isn't needed. The cheapest bottle however is a 'get what you pay for' situation relating to how one feels after drinking it.
Cranberry juice. We use Ocean Spray 100% Juice blend. It's sweetened with a mixture of other fruit juices not tons of sugar. Do not use unsweetened cranberry juice.
Lime seltzer. This adds more fizz without adding any calories. Lime and cranberry are refreshing and delicious together too. We used Polar brand 100% natural lime seltzer but any brand will work.
Orange. Use one rinsed orange or blood oranges, sliced. Additional slices or wedges can be added to serving glasses if desired.
What's the difference between champagne and sparkling wine?
Champagne is a type of a sparkling wine. To be called champagne the wine must be produced in the Champagne region of France. You'll notice on many sparkling wines 'méthode champenoise' translated from French to mean 'the champagne method'.
This is also known as the 'traditional method' in making sparkling wine where the wine has a second fermentation while in the bottle to create carbon dioxide. These wines are not officially champagne but made in the same way.
For this recipe any type of rose sparkling wine may be used.
How to make Champagne Punch - Step-by-Step
Combine the pink champagne, cranberry juice and lime seltzer in a large pitcher (photos 1-4). Add the orange slices and serve.
Serve in wine glasses (with stems or stemless), champagne flutes, or in a tall glass. For a finishing touch garnish with lime slices, citrus wedges, fresh berries or a sprig of fresh mint.
How to make it by the glass
Instead of making a large batch cocktail you can make this skinny champagne punch by the glass. Use these amounts:
- 3 ounces sparkling wine
- 1.5 ounces cranberry juice
- 1.5 ounces lime seltzer
- 1 orange slice
Pro Tips
Start with chilled ingredients. This allows the champagne punch to stay cold longer without using any ice. Room temperature ingredients are not as refreshing.
Make the punch just before serving. The punch takes about 2 minutes to make. To keep it fizzy which we love for holiday parties, combine the ingredients just before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
We don't recommend that because the fizzy quality of the punch will go flat. Instead chill the ingredients ahead of time so all you have to do is combine and serve.
You can but the sparkling bubbles will go away more quickly than if they are in a pitcher.
We recommend a Brut or dry sparkling wine. This prevents the punch from becoming overly sweet (and it has fewer calories). Use a mid priced champagne. Buying the best isn't needed since it's mixed with other ingredients. Buying the cheapest risks not feeling fantastic the day after drinking the punch.
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Recipe
Sparkling Champagne Punch (skinny recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 750 ml bottle rose champagne or sparkling wine Brut or dry recommended
- 1 ½ cups cranberry Juice do not use unsweetened cranberry juice
- 1 12-ounce can lime seltzer
- 1 orange or blood orange sliced
Instructions
- Start with chilled ingredients.
- In a large pitcher combine the sparkling wine, cranberry juice, and seltzer just before serving. Add the orange slices.
- Garnish with citrus slices, fresh berries and or a fresh mint sprig.
Notes
- 3 ounces sparkling wine
- 1.5 ounces cranberry juice
- 1.5 ounces lime seltzer
- 1 orange slice
nancy says
Toni this Champagne Punch is perfect! Everyone loved it at our little gathering and it was really easy to make more without a lot of time spent
Toni Dash says
Yay! So glad to hear it!
Andrea says
What a lovely, light and refreshing cocktail. Perfect for the Holidays.
Gina Abernathy says
Used sparking wine for this recipe and it was fantastic! Plan to make this again for our Christmas Eve party. I know the rest of my family will love it.
Janie says
I made this champagne punch for our brunch with my friends and they loved it! They were asking what was the recipe so I forwarded yours to them.
Liza says
The perfect light, sparkling holiday cocktail! The flavors are so delicious and the drink is so pretty.
Sisley White says
I love a cocktail and this is so fresh and fruity. Perfect all year!
Claudia Lamascolo says
I had this juice sitting here since Christmas so I made this with it and oh my gosh we loved it so good!
Gwynn says
This punch recipe was a hit at our brunch get-together. I love that you also gave amounts for making just one glass...because I'll be doing that for sure! So delicious!
Casey says
Oohhh LOVED using the Rose Champagne instead of "plain!" SOOOO great--I'll be whipping this up for a brunch I am hosting next week!
Carrie Robinson says
Such a fun cocktail idea! This would be perfect to make for Valentine's Day! 🙂
Natasha says
This champagne recipe is a winner! I've tried it and the mixture turned out so delicious, this will be my new go-to recipe for punch.
Lauren Michael Harris says
I love sparkling wine but rarely add anything to it. This champagne punch recipe is so good - will definitely be on our table for the holidays!
Dionne says
I love how delicious this punch is. Just what I have been looking for to make this holiday week!
Laura says
I'll be making these on New Year's Eve for sure. I tried them first- had to make sure they were delicious 😉 And they are! SO good! Love the cranberry and lime mix!
veenaazmanov says
Perfect time of festivity and perfect drink too. Love the combination, color and presentation. This is so refreshing.
sarah says
wow - this punch tastes amazing! and to know that it has less calories is a game changer!
April says
This is so great! Going to be serving a big pitcher of it on Christmas. 😉