Grinch punch is a festive non-alcoholic drink that's perfect for your next holiday party. This pineapple lime punch is kid-friendly, fruity, sweet, and fun!
Recipe summary
Flavor: Fruity and sweet with flavors like pineapple and lime.
Great for: Grinch themed party, family movie night, Christmas party.
Yield: This recipe makes 1 gallon, or 16 eight-ounce servings
Serve with: Grinch Sugar Cookies and Grinch Oreo Balls for a themed Grinch party!
Similar to: Halloween Sherbet Punch and Chai Christmas Punch
Ingredients and substitutions
- Lemon-lime soda - For this recipe, you'll need your favorite lemon-lime soda, like Sprite, 7-up, or any generic brand with the same flavors.
- Pineapple juice - Adds fruity flavor to the punch. Can be substituted with orange juice for a slightly different flavor.
- Frozen limeade concentrate - Can be substituted with frozen lemonade concentrate if desired.
- Kool-aid lemon-lime packets - Necessary to add green color and extra lemon-lime flavor to the punch. I found lemon-lime kool-aid at two different local grocery stores as well as on Amazon: Kool-aid lemon lime drink mix. If you can't find kool-aid, any off-brand unsweetened powdered drink mix that is green will work as a substitute. You could also add a few drops of liquid food coloring instead.
How to make grinch punch
- Add pineapple juice to a large punch bowl or pitcher.
- Add frozen limeade concentrate.
- Add green kool-aid packets and stir until dissolved.
- Top with lemon lime soda and gently stir to incorporate.
Tips and tricks
Use large ice cubes - If your punch will be set out in a serving bowl, it is important to keep it chilled for several hours. If adding ice to your punch, it is best to use large ice cubes. They melt slowly and do not dilute the punch as quickly as small cubes. Here's a set of large ice cube trays (Amazon) you can try.
Make a bundt cake ice ring - Did you know that you can make a large, ring-shaped ice cube in a bundt cake pan? Simply fill up partially with water, freeze, and you've got a giant ring sized ice cube. If you don't have a bundt cake pan, you can also use any smaller baking pan, like an 8 inch round cake pan or a loaf pan.
Red garnishes - Sliced strawberries (as shown), cherries, or cranberries make the perfect holiday garnishes. You could also add a red sugar rim to your punch glasses or add red and white striped paper straws.
Make ahead
Grinch punch is easy to make ahead of time before serving. Add your pineapple juice, limeade, and kool-aid to a pitcher, stir to combine, then refrigerate. This can be done up to a day ahead of time.
When you're ready to serve your punch, add the prepared mixture to a punch bowl, then add lemon-lime soda and mix gently to combine. This ensures the soda doesn't lose its carbonation sitting around hours before the party.
Frequently asked questions
For a short event that's only serving cake, you may need as little as 4 to 8 ounces of punch per person. For an event lasting several hours with appetizers and mingling, you may need up to 12 ounces of punch per person. This is a helpful article: How to Calculate Punch for a Party.
In some stores it can be difficult to find lemon-lime kool-aid or an off-brand unsweetened green drink mix. If this is the case, a few drops of liquid green food coloring can be added to your punch for that classic green grinch color.
Green Hawaiian punch is a store bought punch that's already prepared and ready to go as is. However, if you'd like to add it to this recipe, I recommend substituting half of the lemon-lime soda with an equal amount of Hawaiian punch.
This recipe makes 1 gallon, or 128 ounces, of punch. One batch of punch easily fits into a 2 or 2.5 gallon punch bowl along with ice and garnishes.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Grinch Punch
Ingredients
- 46 ounces pineapple juice
- 2 packets kool-aid lemon lime drink mix
- 14 ounce frozen limeade concentrate
- 2 liters lemon-lime soda
- 5 sliced strawberries, optional
Instructions
- In a gallon-sized pitcher or bowl, add pineapple juice, frozen limeade concentrate (no need to thaw), and kool-aid packets. Stir and mash limeade until incorporated. Add lemon-lime soda and gently stir to combine.
- Optionally, top punch bowl with sliced strawberries or cranberries, or use as a garnish on individual punch glasses. Serve cold.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- To make ahead: Combine punch in a pitcher, omitting lemon-lime soda, then store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Add lemon-lime soda just before serving.
- Use large ice cubes: Add an ice ring (made in a bundt pan) or large ice cubes to punch bowl to keep cold for several hours while serving.
I haven’t made this yet, but i was wondering how important it was to use **frozen** limeade. Can we use a regular limeade like Simply Limeade?
Hi Jess, the frozen limeade in the recipe is a concentrate, so replacing with a ready made drink like limeade would dilute the flavor.
You deserve all the kudos. Cute recipe, but, you have a jump to recipe button!!!! You rock! Thank you!
If they have no koolaid can you substitute Hawaiian Punch? And how much would you add?
If it's a powdered concentrate, it can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio. If it's a liquid, I'd recommend replacing half of the lemon-lime soda with Hawaiian punch and adjust as needed for taste.
Thank you so much for such a great idea of a quick and easy punch that can be prepared early. I tried this delicious punch. I had trouble finding the Kool - Aid in that flavor, the cashier suggested food coloring. I checked with my son the bartender and he said yes. So we tried it! color was beautiful and great tasting. Made the punch for 10 people with rimmed red sugar glasses. It was requested that we make more. We did and at the end of the night that was gone also!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Brenda. Food coloring is a great solution!