Sparkling Paloma with Grapefruit Juice
It’s hard to find a fruity mocktail drink that’s free from added sugar and ticks a lower-carb box. That’s why I love this refreshing sparkling paloma recipe made with fresh grapefruit juice.
The Pink Paloma is the national drink of Mexico. Many traditional recipes feature a blend of tequila, lime juice and grapefruit-flavored soda. However, I’ve changed this recipe up to be alcohol free, so it’s a mocktail. Also, rather than using sugared soda I’ve replaced it with club soda or seltzer plus pink grapefruit juice and sugar-free simple syrup.
When I attended the Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas in January 2025, I saw plenty of low carb and sugar free ingredients for making drinks, hot and cold, mocktail or cocktail. One of them was at the Lankato booth, makers of my favorite monk fruit sweetener. There I saw a monkfruit and allulose version of simple syrup, which offers a sugar-free and low-carb version for adding to your drinks. It works perfectly to counterbalance the slightly tart flavor of the grapefruit juice in this recipe.
Ingredients
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- Himalayan rock salt fine
- 1 large lime cut into wedges
- ice
- 6 ounces pink grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 6 ounces club soda or plain seltzer
- lime wheels and/or twisted grapefruit peel garnish
- sugar-free simply syrup if needed
Instructions
- Pour the Himalayan salt onto a shallow dish. Wipe the rim of each glass with a wedge of lime and place the wet edge into the salt to line the rim. For best results, rotate and firmly press the rim into the salt several times.
- Fill each glass with ice. Divide the grapefruit juice and lime juice between the two glasses and give the mixture a quick stir to combine.
- To serve, top off each glass with club soda and sugar-free simple syrup, if needed. Garnish with a lime wheel and/or a piece of grapefruit rind. Enjoy!
Notes
Palomas are commonly served in highball glasses. If none are available, whiskey glasses, stemless wine glasses or other forms of glassware can be used.
You want to use pink grapefruit to get the perfect pink color of this drink. However, if you only have a ruby red grapefruit, you can get a similar look.
One large grapefruit should yield approximately six ounces of juice if using a manual juicer. This recipe comes out at around 13g of net carbs so take that into consideration if you’re very strictly keto. Enjoy it on a day when your carb count is very low.
Don’t have access to fresh grapefruit? You can use store-bought pink grapefruit juice, such as the Simply Grapefruit brand. Or go for a sugar-free version such as Ocean Spray Diet 5 Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice.
Sparkling Paloma with Grapefruit Juice
Ingredients
- Himalayan rock salt fine
- 1 large lime cut into wedges
- ice
- 6 ounces pink grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 6 ounces club soda or plain seltzer
- lime wheels and/or twisted grapefruit peel garnish
- sugar-free simply syrup if needed
Instructions
- Pour the Himalayan salt onto a shallow dish. Wipe the rim of each glass with a wedge of lime and place the wet edge into the salt to line the rim. For best results, rotate and firmly press the rim into the salt several times.
- Fill each glass with ice. Divide the grapefruit juice and lime juice between the two glasses and give the mixture a quick stir to combine.
- To serve, top off each glass with club soda and sugar-free simple syrup, if needed. Garnish with a lime wheel and/or a piece of grapefruit rind. Enjoy!