Name: Copycat Starbucks Pink Drink
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 14 ounces Ocean Spray White Cran-Strawberry Juice; 6 ounces Unsweetened Coconut Milk; ⅓ cup Fresh Strawberry Slices (about 2 strawberries); 2-3 teaspoons Simple Syrup (optional); 1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla; Ice

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This copycat Starbucks Pink Drink recipe is ready in just 5 minutes and costs a fraction of the drive-thru price. It is sweet, fruity, creamy, and made with simple ingredients you can grab at any grocery store.

Starbucks Pink Drink in a clear cup with ice, strawberry slices, and green straw.

I tested a lot of versions of this before landing on the one I actually make at home now. The biggest thing I kept running into was thin strawberry flavor. Most recipes just toss in freeze-dried strawberries at the end, which looks pretty but does not do much for the taste. Starting with fresh strawberries and muddling them right in the glass first was the game changer. You get real fruit juice built into the base of the drink from the very first sip. The other thing that matters more than you would think is the juice. Regular cranberry juice will turn everything dark and overpower the whole drink. White Cran-Strawberry keeps the color light and lets the coconut milk blend into that perfect pale pink shade. Once I figured out those two things, this drink got so much better.

If you love easy homemade beverages, you also need to try my Strawberry Sweet Tea and State Fair Lemonade.

What is in a Starbucks Pink Drink?

The coffee shop version is made with a Strawberry Acai Refreshers base, coconut milk, and freeze-dried strawberries. What a lot of people do not realize is that it also has about 45mg of caffeine from green coffee extract, so it is not always the best pick for kids or anyone avoiding caffeine. That is one of my favorite things about making it at home. You get the same great taste with zero caffeine and for way less money.

Key Ingredients & Why They Work

Take a look at the key ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe. You can find all the exact measurements in the recipe card below.

White Cran-Strawberry Juice: This is the base of the drink. It gives a strong strawberry flavor while keeping the liquid clear enough to blend into that perfect pale pink shade. Regular cranberry juice will not work the same way.
Unsweetened Coconut Milk: This adds the smooth, dairy-free creaminess the drink is known for. Using unsweetened gives you full control over how sweet the final drink turns out.
Fresh Strawberries: Muddling fresh strawberries releases their natural juices right into the base before anything else goes in. This builds real fruit flavor from the bottom up and gives you that pretty floating berry look at the top.
Clear Vanilla Extract: A small splash adds a little depth without changing the color of your drink. Make sure you use clear vanilla since regular vanilla extract will turn the drink brown.
Simple Syrup: Completely optional, but great if you want to match the sweetness level of the coffee shop version. tart with 2 teaspoons and adjust from there.

Starbucks Pink Drink in a clear cup with ice and strawberry slices, green straw ready to sip.

How to Make a Copycat Starbucks Pink Drink

Step 1: Muddle the strawberries.
Place the sliced strawberries in the bottom of a large glass. Use a muddler to gently press out their juices without fully crushing the fruit.
Ingredients for Starbucks Pink Drink: sliced strawberries, ice cubes, pink juice bottle, milk, and muddler arranged on soft pink surface.

Step 2: Add the coconut milk.
Pour the unsweetened coconut milk directly over the muddled strawberries.
Pouring coconut milk from a measuring cup into pink strawberry-cranberry juice and fresh berries.

Step 3: Add the vanilla and sweetener.
Add the clear vanilla to the cup, followed by the simple syrup if you’re using it.
Ocean Spray juice, milk, sliced strawberries, ice, and strawberry powder ready for Starbucks Pink Drink in a cup.

Step 4: Pour in the juice.
Add the White Cran-Strawberry juice and give everything a gentle stir with a long spoon.
Barista pours pink Ocean Spray cran-strawberry juice into a cup of milk over ice, with fresh strawberries nearby.

Step 5: Add ice and serve.
Add ice to your preferred level, then stir again. Top with an extra strawberry slice or two and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

Drink it fresh. I always recommend making this right when you are ready to drink it. The fresh strawberries and coconut milk both start to break down quickly once they are combined.

Sweetened coconut milk shortcut. If you can find sweetened vanilla coconut milk at your store, you can use it in place of the unsweetened coconut milk, clear vanilla, and simple syrup all at once. It is a little harder to find, but it does simplify the ingredient list nicely.

Use the right glass. Make sure your glass holds at least 24 ounces. The liquid ingredients on their own yield about 20 ounces, and the drink grows to around 24 ounces once you add ice.

Starbucks Pink Drink with strawberry chunks and ice in a tall cup.

Substitutions & Variations

Use freeze-dried strawberries. If I do not have fresh berries on hand, I toss in a small handful of freeze-dried strawberries just like the coffee shop does. They will not muddle the same way, but they add color and strawberry flavor. Just add them directly to the glass before pouring in the other ingredients.
Adjust the ratio to your taste. I like it with a little more coconut milk for extra creaminess, but if you prefer it lighter and more tart, just use a little less coconut milk and a little more juice. There is no wrong answer.
Make it low carb. I swap the White Cran-Strawberry juice for a sugar-free strawberry water enhancer mixed with water, use unsweetened coconut milk, and sweeten with a keto-friendly liquid sweetener.
Make a big batch. This recipe scales up really easily. I keep the ratio of juice to coconut milk at roughly 2 to 1 and stir everything together in a large pitcher. I hold off on adding ice until I pour individual glasses so the drink does not get watered down.

Storage Tips

Storage: This drink doesn’t store well in the fridge because the fresh strawberries can become mushy and the coconut milk may separate from the juice. It only takes 5 minutes to make, so it’s always best to prepare it fresh right when you’re ready to enjoy it.

Starbucks Pink Drink in a clear cup with green straw and fresh strawberry slices on top.

More Drink Recipes You May Enjoy

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it turned out in the comments below.

No ratings yet