15-Minute Homemade Root Beer
This simple 15-minute homemade root beer is so fun and festive to make! Plus, it is the tastiest root beer in all the land. Truth.
Growing up, homemade root beer was a staple. We thought it was terribly exciting to watch the dark root beer bubble and pop while the billowy white fog spilled from the container.
Brian, who happens to love root beer with his whole soul (I think it’s the one and only thing, besides BBQ sauce, that he’s actually kind of a snob, in the very best sense of the word, about).
His feelings about this homemade root beer? “Man, this is really, really good root beer.” I’ll take that.
Best Extract for Homemade Root Beer
A lot depends, of course, on what you use for extract. I’ve learned my lesson over the years that not all root beer extracts are created equal.
I won’t dissuade you from using widely-recognized brands out there, but I will tell you that my favorite extracts are Watkins root beer extract or Cook’s pure root beer extract. Both of these extracts are extremely delicious and have an intense but well-balanced root beer flavor.
The slight carbonation and extra chilliness from the dry ice makes me think I could get behind homemade root beer more than just once a year.
Precautions When Using Dry Ice
While homemade root beer is ridiculously easy and food-grade dry ice is completely safe to drink once it is melted, please keep in mind that there are definitely precautions to take when using dry ice.
- Because dry ice is so cold, it can cause burns if touched directly so always use insulated gloves or tongs to transfer and take care when using it around small children in case they aren’t aware they shouldn’t touch the dry ice.
- Make the root beer in a large, ventilated room or outside so the carbon dioxide doesn’t build up as it works its magic.
- Dry ice evaporates quickly (a 5- to 10-pound block can evaporate within 24 hours; learned that the hard way when I opened my freezer and my stash of dry ice was just empty plastic bags!) so try to buy just the amount you need when you know you’ll use it quickly.
- Store dry ice in a styrofoam cooler or a well-wrapped container to keep it cold longer, instead of in a commercial freezer – since it’s so cold, it can sometimes cause the internal thermostat to shut off.
This simple 15-minute homemade root beer is such a fun, festive drink for the fall and Halloween season, but it is definitely delicious enough to make year round!
The root beer doesn’t keep well if you want to make it days in advance. Over time, the carbonation dissipates, so it’s best to make this right before you want to enjoy it.
15-Minute Homemade Root Beer
Ingredients
- 4 quarts cold water
- 2-3 cups granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want it; 2 cups is perfect for us)
- 3 tablespoons root beer extract (see note)
- 1-2 pounds food-grade dry ice broken into pieces (use the smaller amount if you want it to dissolve quickly and the greater amount if you want it to foam and bubble while serving)
Instructions
- In a large pitcher (I use glass), stir together the water, sugar and root beer extract until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Take a little taste to see if you need more extract or sugar.
- In a well-ventilated area, carefully add the dry ice to the pitcher using insulated gloves or tongs and stir with a long-handled spoon so that the dry ice doesn’t stick to the bottom and sides of the container. The root beer will bubble and the dry ice fog will spill from the container (cool!).
- Continue stirring until it is mostly melted, 10-15 minutes.
- Ladle into cups, avoiding any large pieces of unmelted dry ice, and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (just like we made it growing up)
As I said , i’ve got the Root beer One from the company watkins. It\n Says water. And then after you use the 2 1/4 cups of water with the mixture and mix it together in a saucepan, it tells you to let it cool. Add the mix, your mix.\n And it tells you to use Club soda force, sparkling water.And now someone Says you can use seltzer water 2, but my main question is, do you use regular water first when you’re mixing the sugar and water together or do you use some other sparkling water or seltzer? Or club soda after it’s done being cooked on the stove. This is all I’m asking, does anyone got an answer for me? Mal, do you you’re the one that made this page? So please let me know you got my email. Thank you. But I haven’t tried it yet, but I want to, but I’m not understanding the way the ingredients were.This is the reason why i’m asking
I use regular tap water for my recipe.
I got the watkins The recipe is on back of the box. What I want to know is you gotta use regular water first before you use the sparkling water cause it says on the back of The box of the root beer extract\n The 2 and 1/4 cup of water is that regular water before you add the sparkling or club soda. I haven’t tried it yet because I’ve been trying to make a small amount of it. It says it serves 3 cups of root beer. I want to try it but I need to know this first. Do you use both regular water?\n And then the sparkling water for club soda\n I do not want to use dry ice. The recipe on the back of the box doesn’t require block dry ice.It requires water.And then it says club soda or sparkling water, so is it regular water first in the ingredients?And then you add the club soda to it I can only give it a 3 right now. Because I haven’t even tried it yet. I’m trying to find out if you got to use regular water plus sparkling water. That’s what the recipe calls for or they’re talking about the sparkling water and boiling it on the stove.
Turned out really great!!! I also added in about 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract as well. I’ll be making this again very soon.
Where can I get edible dry ice. Every store says it’s not edible.
Hi Angela, in my area, Albertsons and Winco sell food-grade dry ice. If you do a google search for “food-grade dry ice in my area” and include your specific city, hopefully you can find some options!
I have tried it yet but I think it will be good
I can’t find root beer extract anywhere local and in a hurry- but I do have root beer oil, does anyone know if that would work? I know to use a lot less, it works great in baked goods but I wasn’t sure if it would be different in something consumed “raw”…
Why not use seltzer instead of water and dry ice?
It looks like Zatarains is discontinued. Do you have any other recommendations? Thank you!
Hi Katherine, this extract is really good, too! I’ll update the post with the link.
This is baloney. Why not publish an article about making homemade Kraft Mac & Cheese?
I grew up on making root beer this way every Halloween 🎃. Not sure why you are disappointed? I came on to check the ounces for root beer extract to water so a recipe is still needed otherwise you end up with flat soda or watered down. Even kraft has a recipe for noodles. Sorry you’re disappointed.
Do you have to use dry ice in the root beer
Yes, it is necessary for the carbonation in homemade root beer.
Or you could just make it with seltzer.
It”s the best I have had home made. I made it with my grandsons, then had floats. Best time ever.
Thank you so much.
Can you make the root beer in advance and just add the dry ice right before serving?
Yes
So I got the Watkins extract and it is absolutely colorless. It turned into a giant clear slushee. We decided to add some blue foot coloring and blootbeer was born. It tasted terrific, how did you get your rich color?
Hi Slade – the Watkins extract I’ve bought in the past is a dark brown. I wonder if they’ve changed their extract “recipe”?
I do think they must have changed their recipe. I should have read the reviews first and tried the cook’s extract. We tried with Watkin’s and were dissappointed in the flavor. The dry ice is fun though.
Can I ask where you go the awesome serving container?!
Can I ask where you got that awesome glass bowl/container/whatever it is that you made the rootbeer in?!
Hi Karlee – I picked it up at a thrift store years ago. Sorry I don’t have a link!