The Perfect Mimosa: Our Most Reliable Recipe

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Alt text: An orange juice mimosa in a champagne glass garnished with an orange wedge

Mimosas are a go-to brunch staple. With two simple ingredients, this drink is one of the easiest and most delicious cocktail options to serve at bridal showers, morning celebrations or a casual at-home brunch with friends. 

But don’t let the simplicity of this drink fool you—there’s still a method to getting the perfect mimosa every time. Wow your brunch crew this weekend with our tried and true classic mimosa recipe! 

How to Make a Delicious Mimosa Every Time 

A classic mimosa recipe has two ingredients: orange juice and sparkling wine. Seems simple, right? Hold up. There’s more to a mimosa than you might think.

The Mimosa Glass

Source: Briona Baker, Unsplash

Let’s be real—you can make a cocktail in just about anything that will hold a liquid. But mimosas are traditionally served in Champagne flutes. Why? Because science, that’s why. With a stemmed Champagne flute, you can hold the glass at the stem instead of around the “cup” part. This prevents the warmth of your hands from transferring to your beverage so your drink keeps cold longer. Mind. Blown. 

Choosing the Right Alcohol

What is the best alcohol for making a mimosa? A traditional mimosa is made with Champagne, but you can use any sparkling wine you’d like, including Prosecco and Cava. 

There are so many different types of sparkling wine to choose from—how can you narrow it down to just one? The best mimosas use a dry (non-sweet) sparkling wine like Korbel Extra Dry or Andre Extra Dry to complement the natural sweetness of the orange juice. Look for “dry,” “extra dry” or “brut” on the label. Most Cava sparkling wines are also on the dryer side unless labeled otherwise. 

On the other hand, if super sweet cocktails are your thing, opt for a sparkling Moscato or dolce Prosecco. Really, any sparkling wine labeled as “sweet,” “demi-sec” or “dolce” will satisfy sweet palates.

Getting the Freshest Orange Juice

The fresher the orange juice, the better when it comes to crafting the perfect classic mimosa. For ultimate freshness, you can make orange juice from scratch by juicing naval oranges and straining to remove the pulp. If you don’t have that kind of time, something like Simply Orange Pulp Free Juice will work great. Just make sure that the orange juice you use is free of pulp if you want your mimosa to have a nice bubbly fizz.

The Golden Champagne-to-Orange Juice Ratio

You’ve probably seen the TikTok of brunchers making “mimosas” by using a spray bottle of orange juice to lightly spritz a glass of Champagne. Some days definitely require more Champagne than others, but a classic mimosa calls for equal parts Champagne and orange juice—basically half and half. 

When it comes to pouring the perfect glass, you should pour your bubbly first so it has a chance to settle before topping off the glass with juice. But, in our opinion, sometimes it’s best to follow your heart and pour in the order that makes you happiest.

What matters most is the temperature of your ingredients. A classic mimosa recipe doesn’t include ice because it would take up too much valuable space in a Champagne flute. Not even the most expensive Champagne can cover up the taste of lukewarm orange juice, so it’s super important that both ingredients are served extra-chilled. Keep the Champagne and orange juice in the fridge until it’s time to serve, or place them out in ice buckets. 

While there are plenty of classic brunch cocktails to choose from, you can’t host a mid-morning gathering without a bottomless mimosa bar. Use the recipe below for restaurant-quality drinks at your next home brunch! 

The Perfect Mimosa Recipe 

Chill time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Prep time: 3 minutes

Total time: 3 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of dry Champagne

• 52 oz container of pulp-free orange juice

• Oranges slices and strawberries for garnishing (optional)

Directions

1. If you haven’t yet chilled your orange juice and Champagne, put them both in the refrigerator or an ice bucket for 30–60 minutes before serving. 

2. Fill a Champagne flute halfway with Champagne. Be sure to pour slowly so the fizz doesn’t cause an overflow. Let the Champagne settle for 30 seconds. 

3. Top off the rest of the flute with orange juice. 

4. Garnish the glass with a slice of orange or strawberries (optional). 

5. Sit back, relax and enjoy each sip of this classic mimosa.