Fresh Strawberry Iced Tea

Next time you need a refreshing sipper for spring or summer, start with a glass of my homemade Strawberry Iced Tea. This lightly caffeinated fruit tea is made with just 4 basic ingredients in about 10 minutes, and has the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and tannic flavor. 

There’s nothing quite like a glass of freshly made strawberry sweet tea to add a little spring to your step. This delightful combination of iced black tea, sugar, and fresh strawberries tastes like pure sunshine in a glass—just what the doctor ordered on a balmy summer afternoon.

If you’re a fan of my Starbucks copycat iced peach green tea or regular Snapple-style peach iced tea, this strawberry variation ought to be right up your alley. The process is simple—just steep some tea bags in hot water, add sugar to sweeten it, blitz and strain some fruit, then mix it all together. All in, it takes just 10 minutes to whip up a pitcher. So easy!

It’s just the thing to make when you need a hint of energy and are craving the sweet taste of strawberries, but don’t want the full buzz of an iced strawberry latte or the rich creaminess of an iced strawberry matcha latte. And for all my planners out there, you’ll love that you can make this strawberry iced tea recipe once and keep your cup full all week long!

Jump to:

• What does it taste like?
• Why You’ll Love This Fruity Iced Tea Recipe
• Ingredients Needed
• Substitutions
• How To Make Strawberry Iced Tea
• Optional Variations & Dietary Adjustments
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe Success Tips
• FAQs
• Homemade Strawberry Sweet Tea Nutrition
• Other Homemade Iced Tea Recipes
• Fresh Strawberry Iced Tea

What does it taste like?

This iced strawberry tea is lovely and layered. First, you’ll taste the bright, sweet-tart flavor of fresh berries enhanced with a sprinkle of sugar. Next, you’ll taste the slightly bitter flavor of black tea, providing a nice contrast to the sweetness. Finally, you’ll get a crisp, dry finish thanks to the tannins in the tea. It’s absolutely crave-worthy!

Why You’ll Love This Fruity Iced Tea Recipe

• Quick & Easy - With just 4 ingredients and minimal prep, this speedy tea recipe is simple enough to make on a commercial break.
• One & Done - Much like my Starbucks refresher recipes, this dairy-free drink makes enough for four servings. It’s also easy to scale up! If you’re looking for a way to brighten your whole week, strawberry iced tea is the way to go. 
• All-Natural - Unlike store-bought bottled fruit teas that are made with additives like “natural flavors” (which aren’t natural, BTW), artificial colors, and preservatives, this homemade version is made with real, easy to pronounce ingredients—strawberry, tea, and sugar.

Ingredients Needed

As promised, you only need a handful of ingredients to make this sweet strawberry fruit tea. Here’s what to grab:

• Black Tea Bags - You can use whatever brand you like—I used Lipton because it’s widely available. 
• Granulated Sugar - Plain white sugar has a neutral sweetness, unlike brown sugar which has a molasses-caramel undertone. That neutral flavor allows the full beauty of the strawberries to shine!
• Boiling & Cold Water - Use a bit of boiling water to steep your tea and make it easy to dissolve the sugar, but then add cold water so you can enjoy your iced tea straightaway. If possible, start with filtered water for the best taste. 
• Strawberries - You can use either fresh or frozen berries. (If you go for frozen, let them defrost at least partially to make it easier on your blender.)
• Strawberry Slices & Mint - Optional, but nice for a colorful garnish.

Substitutions

Need to make some changes? Not to worry. Here are a few easy swaps to try:

• Black Tea Bags - You are welcome to use loose leaf tea. Aim for about 1 teaspoon per bag, or 2.5 tablespoons total—just strain out the tea leaves before moving on to the next step. 
• Granulated Sugar - You can use the sweetener of your choice, like agave nectar, honey, or brown sugar.
• Strawberries - This easy fruit tea recipe should work with any type of berries (or mix of berries) you prefer.
• Strawberry Slices & Mint - Feel free to omit these garnishes, or swap in the toppers of your choice. (Strawberry basil iced tea, anyone?)

How To Make Strawberry Iced Tea

This quick and simple drink recipe comes together in just a few easy steps:

Step 1: Make Sweet Tea. Tie the tea bags together at the top and remove the tags for easy steeping and removal. Bring the water to a boil, remove from heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and stir in the sugar while it’s still hot.

Step 2: Add the strawberries to a blender.

Step 3: Blend the strawberries to a smooth purée.

Step 4: Strain the strawberry purée through a mesh strainer into a pitcher.

Step 5: Add the sweet tea to the pitcher with the strained strawberry.

Step 6: Mix to combine. Taste and adjust as needed.

Step 7: Serve the strawberry iced tea over ice. Garnish with strawberry slices and fresh sprigs of mint if desired. Enjoy! 

Optional Variations & Dietary Adjustments

• Sugar-Free - Swap in the cup-for-cup sweetener of your choice (e.g. monkfruit or stevia) for a low-calorie, diabetic-friendly drink. You can also just omit the sugar altogether and let the strawberries act as your only sweetener! 
• Caffeine-Free - If you’re sensitive to the effects of caffeine, consider using decaf tea (which still has nominal amounts of caffeine). You can also use an herbal alternative, like tangy hibiscus tea, to make it totally caffeine-free.
• Arnold Palmer-Style - Doesn’t a strawberry iced tea lemonade sound yummy?? Just swap out the cold water in favor of homemade lemonade and garnish with a fresh lemon wheel. 

Serving Suggestions

Iced strawberry sweet tea is a light and lovely drink you can enjoy any time of day, any time of year—no reason or add-ons needed. That said, there are a few fun ways to gussy up your glass:

• Extra Frosty - Freeze your (real glass) serving glasses for about 15-20 minutes before serving to keep your drink chilled to the last drop. 
• Flavored Ice - Swap out the regular ice cubes for lemonade ice as a fun, fruity twist. As the ice melts, the sweet citrusy flavor will meld with the strawberry iced tea so your drink doesn’t get diluted—it gets deliciously different. 
• Spiked Strawberry - For an adults-only hard sweet tea, spike the pitcher with some whiskey, vodka, or, for a lighter sangria-like version, sparkling wine.
• Party Perfect - If you’re hosting a cookout or pool party, consider making a double or triple batch of this strawberry iced tea and serving it out of a cute drink dispenser or punch bowl. (Feel free to have some bottles of booze on the side for spiking.) It’s a great option for serving with all your BBQ season favorites!

Recipe Success Tips

• Strawberry Smarts - Fresh strawberries are the cheapest and most flavorful during strawberry season (generally spring to mid-summer). When you’re picking them out, look for bright red color and an easily detectable fragrance. If fresh berries are prohibitively expensive (or if they don’t smell like much), opt for frozen berries instead. 
• Water Temps - Depending on the type of tea you use, you might want to adjust your steeping temperature. Black teas and herbal teas are usually good with water in the 203-212ºF range, so boiling the water is fine. If you swap in green or white tea, reduce the temperature—175-185ºF is preferred for the best flavor. 
• Steeping Times - If you’re using real tea (black, oolong, green, or white), over-steeping is a no-no that can cause your tea to taste bitter. Make sure to follow package directions for the preferred steeping time. That said, most herbal teas can steep indefinitely!

FAQs

Homemade Strawberry Sweet Tea Nutrition

Considering “sweet” is in the name, it should come as no surprise that this iced strawberry sweet tea packs a bit of a caloric punch—you’re looking at just under 100 calories per serving. Most of those calories come from added sugar—each glass has approximately 24 grams of carbs, 22 of which are sugars. 

If you’re on a limited calorie diet, feel free to make the “sugar-free” variation described above. The majority of the carbs and calories will disappear if you use a sugar alternative. Other than that, there’s no fat or protein, and only 6 measly milligrams of sodium per serving.

Black tea and strawberries are both great sources of antioxidants and other nutrients—both have polyphenols, black tea has catechins and L-theanine, and berries have vitamin C. Furthermore, with a lower sugar and calorie count than soda and an all-natural ingredient list, this iced strawberry tea qualifies as a healthier choice for a sweet treat. Just make sure to limit your sugar intake for the rest of the day, eat plenty of fiber and protein, and enjoy every sip!

Total nutritional content per serving is:

• Calories: 92 calories
• Total Fat: 0 grams
• Protein: 0 grams
• Sodium: 6 mg
• Carbohydrates: 24 grams
• Sugar: 22 grams

*This nutritional information is an estimate and calculated based on the ingredients used to create the recipe. The nutritional value of your ingredients may differ slightly. Furthermore, this food is not intended to prevent, diagnose, cure, or treat any disease.

Other Homemade Iced Tea Recipes

xoxo Megan