Dirty Soda Recipes: A Growing Trend For Non-Drinkers

The TikTok algorithm is funny. One minute you’re watching cute puppy videos, and the next thing you know, you’re trying Dirty Soda recipes at home. Olivia Rodrigo, a famous musician, made this trend more popular after being seen holding a cup of Dirty Soda from her video on the platform.

But what is Dirty Soda, and how did it become popular? It may come as no surprise that there is a significant overlap between Rodrigo fans and TikTok users.

According to Statista, people between the ages of 10 and 19 create the largest age group of TikTok users (25% of all accounts, to be exact), which is significantly younger than the country’s legal drinking age.

Rodrigo’s sober audience thus received a fresh hint of an unanticipated trend when she uploaded the picture of the drink.

Jump To The Dirty Soda Recipes

What Exactly Is Dirty Soda?

Since more than ten years ago, Dirty Soda has been a state favorite in Utah. It consists of cream, flavoring syrup, and the soda of your choosing (usually cola, but it can also be made with a citrus-flavored soda, root beer, or even lemonade).

Dirty Soda is simultaneously creamy and cooling. Heavy cream, coconut-flavored syrup, lime, and Diet Coke are the main Dirty Soda recipes. It is comparable to an egg cream, but instead of seltzer water, it uses flavored soda. Consider it a reversible, non-alcoholic cocktail.

When Sodalicious opened in 2013, it wasn’t long behind Swig, which had opened in 2010 and is credited with inventing dirty soda. Both soda fountains include a sizable menu with selections for drinks and a treat menu with cookies and other treats. So, if you enjoy sweets, put these soda shops on your list of places to visit.

When Nicole Tanner launched Swig in Saint George, Utah, it became a pioneer in the industry. The New York Times states that after considering many business concepts, Tanner was motivated to create a drive-by soda shop after visiting the drive-in restaurant company Sonic. Soon after, many offshoots with names like Sodalicious, Twisted Sugar, and Fiiz appeared in Utah and have since spread throughout the nation.

The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are numerous in Utah. LDS members follow church policy prohibiting drinking wine, “strong drinks,” and “hot drinks”; in other words, they are forbidden to consume alcohol, coffee, or tea for health reasons.

The LDS church stated in 2012 that the health practice only refers to hot drinks and doesn’t specify caffeine. As a result, they can still drink caffeinated beverages, like soda. Dirty Soda, which has been available since 2010, skyrocketed that year. Today, it is available in various soda shops throughout Utah and in areas with sizable LDS populations, like Arizona and Idaho.

Additionally, the craze is spreading across the country as more soda shops are opening up in regions like Oklahoma and Texas. Watch Simple Goodness Sisters make their own version of Dirty Soda on Good Day Seattle.

What Does Dirty Soda Taste Like?

Think of a Shirley Temple and an egg cream together, a melting ice cream in a root beer float, a cream soda that actually contains cream. Dirty Soda recipe is a mixture made with your preferred soda, cream, occasionally fruit, and flavoring syrups like vanilla or cranberry and, in some opinions, are a believer’s godsend.

For instance, “The Founder” at Swig is a beverage created with Diet Coke, sugar-free coconut, fresh lime, and coconut cream. Visit Sodalicious to try “Sugar Daddy” or “2nd Wife,” which are Mountain Dew drinks with fruit syrups and half-and-half (another Mountain Dew drink mixed with raspberry, pineapple, mango, vanilla, and half-and-half). It’s also difficult to find a soda store that doesn’t offer some kind of sugar cookies and pretzels on its menu. According to Tanner, adding anything to Coke makes it “dirty.”

Essentially, Dirty Soda is just an ice cream float that has melted. Although it won’t likely replace a cocktail or latte in your diet, it is a cute little party trick that you can use the next time you need to spice up the atmosphere at weddings or a baby shower.

Dirty Soda Recipes To Try At Home

In order to spread the excitement, chains known for their Dirty Sodas, like Swig and Sodalicious, have begun opening stores in new places. The “Dirty Soda” theme has many variants.

Even if you can’t visit a soda store, you can easily brew them at home, and there are countless flavor combinations to choose from! Here are some Dirty Soda ideas you can try recreating at home:

3-Ingredient Dirty Soda

Dirty Diet Coke

This Dirty Diet Coke recipe from Our Best Bites incorporates coconut syrup, fresh lime, and a dash of half and half. This is great for individuals who are trying to cut their sugar intake.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons coconut syrup
• crushed ice
• ½ lime (cut the lime into quarters and use 2 quarters)
• 12 ounces Diet Coke
• 1–2 tablespoons half and half (optional)

Instructions

1. Fill a 24-ounce glass halfway with coconut syrup. Fill it halfway up with crushed ice.
2. Squeeze the lime quarters over the ice and place them in the glass, rind side up. Pour the Diet Coke over the limes that have been used.
3. Add a splash of half and half if desired. 
4. Serve with a straw to stir.

Dirty Strawberry Soda

After seeing the trend on TikTok and people immediately coming up with different recipe combos, this Dirty Strawberry Soda is simply one of the best. The delicious strawberry and cream flavor of this drink by Kelly Stillwell makes it a genuine delight to satiate your sweet tooth.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces strawberry soda
• 4 ounces vanilla coffee creamer
• Strawberry syrup to taste

Instructions

1. Make two huge glasses of ice.
2. Drizzle strawberry syrup over the ice cubes and up and down the glass’s inside edges.
3. Fill each glass with 8 ounces of strawberry soda.
4. Fill each glass with 2 ounces of vanilla coffee creamer.
5. Garnish with fresh strawberries or whipped cream to make it seem elegant.

Orange Creamsicle Dirty Soda

This Orange Creamsicle Dirty Soda is a sweet vanilla-flavored soft drink made to replicate the famed Utah chain’s recipe. This two-ingredient drink by Princess Pinky Girl is very simple, with the ideal combination of orange and cream!

Ingredients

• 1 can orange soda
• ½ cup vanilla-flavored coffee creamer
• Lots of ice

Instructions

1. Fill your glasses halfway with ice.
2. Pour at least ¾ of the orange soda into each glass.
3. Pour the coffee creamer slowly and carefully over the ice, allowing it to layer on top of the orange soda and trigger an ombre effect.
4. Serve right away.

Dragonfruit Dirty Soda

This Dragonfruit Dirty Soda by Monin is another unique combo for the drink that was popularized in TikTok. Only three ingredients are needed to recreate this!

Ingredients

• ½ oz. Monin Dragon Fruit Syrup
• 1 oz. half & half
• 6 oz. lemon-lime soda

Instructions

1. Fill a serving glass halfway with ice.
2. Place the ingredients in the serving glass in the order stated.
3. Pour the mixture into the mixing tin and then back into the serving glass to combine.
4. Serve with garnish.

Root Beer Float Dirty Soda

Dirty sodas can be produced with any carbonated beverage of choice, such as Coke or Fanta. It’s most commonly made with root beer or cola, but lemonade can also be used. You only need a few items to make your own dirty soda with root beer, often known as a Root Beer Float Mocktail, using this recipe from Sunny Sweet Days.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces root beer
• 4 tablespoons vanilla coffee creamer
• Ice

Instructions

1. Fill two glasses halfway with ice.
2. Fill the glass halfway with root beer.
3. In each glass, add two tablespoons of coffee creamer.
4. Before drinking, give it a good stir.
5. If desired, top with whipped cream and garnish with cherries.

The sparkle of Dirty Soda may or may not be sufficient to establish it as a staple outside of the Mountain West. TikTok trends, after all, only last as long as pebble ice on a hot day. While actual Dirty Soda shops focus on the social aspect of drinking a favored drink and the sacred, forbidden pleasure that comes with daily habits, TikTok may draw enthusiasts to the drink itself. Therefore, it is unknown how long these franchises will last.

Although the name of this drink seems strange, the actual Dirty Soda recipe is creamy and sweet. The lime doesn’t have a distinct flavor; it merely helps the beverage, which is generally very sweet, provide some freshness. The creamer’s addition of coconut to the Coke is exactly the correct amount. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this if you enjoy coconut coffee or flavored Coke.

At the very least, it is certain to survive in Utah, where drive-thru soda shops always offer some treats to caffeine-deprived people.

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