Last Updated on 21st July 2023 by
The refreshing taste of Mountain Dew is something you can make in your own home. I’ve been making my own soft drinks for years, using ingredients and recipes I collect myself, so there are no kits involved, no mixes and no shortcuts.
Even if you are not an experienced cook or an expert cocktail maker, you can put these together. I’ve kept the instructions simple, because I want everyone to be able to make their own Mountain Dew if they want to.
If your family is anything like mine, then everyone has a favourite soft drink. One likes Coke, another likes Sprite, and another prefers Dr. Pepper. It’s tough to remember to get everyone’s favourite every time you go to the grocery. Plus, it can get expensive buying all that soda at once. Why not make it at home and save yourself some money?
One of the advantages about making soda like Mountain Dew at home is that you can control the sugar and other ingredients. You can make it healthier if you want to simply adjust the flavour as you get used to how it is made. Here is my recipe for homemade Mountain Dew. I think you’ll like the way it tastes.
Table of Contents
Mountain Dew Recipe
Homemade Mountain Dew
Ingredients
- 1 gallon carbonated water
- 3 cups sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 orange peel
- 1/2 lime peel
- 1/2 lemon peel
Instructions
- Combine your cream of tartar, sugar, and a cup of water.
- Place it on a pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and let it cool.
- Once your mixture is cool, separately boil another cup of water. Add in the fruit peels and remove from the heat. Cover and set aside, allowing it to steep. Once it has reached room temperature, you need to strain it.
- Add the citrus peel water to the sugar mixture. Blend them all together and add in carbonated water. Mix gently to combine. Once everything has dissolved, it is completely mixed and ready to drink.
Nutrition
For that authentic Mountain Dew caffeine experience, you will need to add caffeine separately, but this recipe gives you a caffeine-free version that you can enjoy with the kids with a lot less guilt. Plus, it won’t keep you up late at night.
If this recipe is no sweet enough, you can always add more sugar to suit your liking. It also won’t turn out as green as the one that’s sold in stores. You can always add in some green food colouring, but it will change the taste and texture of your beverage.
We use cream of tartar in the mixture to sweeten the drink and to hydrolyze the sugar. That basically means that the sugar gets broken down and is easier to digest. It doesn’t affect the calorie count but gives you a sweeter overall flavour.
The cream of tartar combines with the citric acid and citrus oil for a three-pronged flavour and texture experience. You get sweetness, crispness, and tartness from these three components, giving you just the right mix for Mountain Dew and for other kinds of soft drinks. You’ll need these three components for Sprite and similar drinks as well that have a citrus element to them.
How to Make Homemade Mountain Dew Ice Cream
Homemade Mountain Dew Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup mountain dew can use your homemade mountain dew
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- green food colouring
Instructions
- You need to freeze your mixing bowl first, and the longer you let it freeze for, the better this will turn out. Give it at least an hour in the freezer.
- Next, add in heavy cream to your bowl and whisk it until you see stiff peaks start to form. This will take a few minutes of whisking.
- Add in the condensed milk, but don’t mix it too much.
- Add in Mountain Dew and food colouring. Once again, don’t over mix.
- Store your ice cream in the freezer in a freezer-safe storage container. Let it rest there for 4-6 hours.
Nutrition
You can make this recipe as green as you want. Be careful about how much green food colouring you use, as it can look way too dark if you overdo it. Start off slow and add a little at a time.
The flavours may be different if you use your own homemade Mountain Dew as opposed to the official product, so be aware of that. You can always adjust the sweetness by adding in more sugar, if this isn’t sweet enough for you. You don’t have to go with green food colouring either. You can use whatever colour you want or leave the food colouring out entirely. That is an entirely optional ingredient, but the kids usually get a kick out of really green ice cream. Yes, it will colour your tongue.
How to Make Mountain Dew Cake
This is a recipe that has been adapted in so many different ways. Its’s a citrusy cake with a tartness to it that makes it stand out. You can use practically any kind of soft drink or it, though you may want to adjust some ingredients if you are going to use Coke, Pepsi, or root beer. There are recipes for all those kinds of sodas online, as people have been making soda cake for a long time.
Why should you bake with Mountain Dew? It makes your baked goods so delicious and moist. You will love how soft the cake is, and you have probably never tasted such a refreshingly moist cake outside of a lava cake.
The soda acts like baking soda, which is an important ingredient to use when making an eggless cake. If you have ever made one of those, then you know how moist they come out, which surprises people who expect the egg to add some moisture. It really doesn’t, though, and the soda has quite an impact on an otherwise typical cake recipe. It’s simple enough that we recommend you try it if you want to make something new but don’t want to stretch your skills as a cook.
Here is our version of the Mountain Dew cake that comes out so light and moist that everyone is going to want more.
Homemade Mountain Dew Cake
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 box lemon cake mix
- 12 oz Mountain Dew
- 1/2 cup Mountain Dew
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease a bundt pan.
- Combine 12 ounces of Mountain Dew, cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs. Use a mixer and combine thoroughly. Start at a low speed and mix for 30 seconds, then increase speed to medium and mix for another two minutes.
- Pour batter into greased pan and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes. The finished cake should pass the toothpick test (poke a toothpick into the middle and it should come out clean.
- Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool on wire rack.
- Once the cake is cool, you can apply the glaze. To make glaze, mix the 1/2 cup of Mountain Dew with powdered sugar. Combine well and ensure there are no remaining lumps. You may want to place some wax paper underneath the wire rack to catch any extra glaze as it falls off the cake.
Nutrition
You can serve the cake when the glaze has set, and the cake will keep in the fridge for up to three days.
These are just a few great uses for Mountain dew, so once you have made your own, you can create a bunch of different recipes.
The same recipes you can make with the homemade soda you can also make with the store bought one. It’s a good idea to perfect your recipe for homemade Mountain Dew first before you start trying it in recipes, though. You want to ensure that the taste and texture are just right and to your liking.
As you can see in the cake recipe, Mountain Dew substitutes nicely for milk with the right kind of cake. It gives you a different texture than what you might be used to in your cake, but it’s a lovely one you’ll probably want to make again and again.
If you want to make your cake have more of a lemony flavour to it, you can add some lime or lemon zest, or both. You can also make this cake into cupcakes with the same recipe, simply by pouring the batter into cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
FAQs
What are the key ingredients needed to create a homemade version of Mountain Dew?
The key ingredients needed to create a homemade version of Mountain Dew would typically include carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, natural flavors (typically citrus-based), and food coloring if desired. Please refer to the blog post for specific proportions and details.
Is it possible to make a sugar-free version of homemade Mountain Dew?
Yes, it is possible to make a sugar-free version of homemade Mountain Dew. You can substitute the sugar with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, stevia or sucralose. However, it’s worth noting that the taste might not be exactly the same as sugar greatly contributes to the classic Mountain Dew flavor.
How can I store homemade Mountain Dew, and how long does it stay fresh?
Once made, homemade Mountain Dew should be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It is best enjoyed fresh but should last for about a week in the fridge. Please remember to check for any signs of spoilage before consuming.
I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!
Deb G
Tuesday 30th of August 2022
Can you use less sugar?
Mcawood
Monday 15th of August 2022
This recipe calls for lime juice, lemon juice, and orange juice, but the instructions don’t tell when/how to use them.
Stewart
Monday 6th of June 2022
I used to find a caffeine free diet mountain dew. No more. So, as a Mountain Dew fan, I started searching for how I could make something similar, but easy. After looking at this recipe I decided to try this: (64 oz container) 2 packets lemon/lime drink mix, 1 packet orange drink mix, 1/4 cup splenda. Shake, Drink. Now, this is not perfect Mountain Dew, but is a pleasant substitute so I can get off the high caffeine real thing and help my BP