How to Make the Perfect Mimosa

This classic mimosa recipe is made with bubbly sparkling wine instead of expensive champagne, adding one more reason to toast “cheers” to lazy weekend brunches or any special occasion.

There’s no better way to say “cheers” than with a little bubbly spiked with a dash of something sweet. Bubbly and fizzy, light and bright, a perfect mimosa is the ultimate brunch cocktail for adding festive flair to any celebratory occasion. From Easter and Mother’s Day to wedding showers, and everything in between, a fresh mimosa is the ideal celebratory brunch or lunch cocktail. They’re the perfect companion to a quiche Lorraine, bagel brunch, or eggs benedict. I make my mimosa recipe with crisp, sparkling wine instead of expensive champagne, making the cha-ching of dollars dropping into your hand one more reason to toast “cheers!” My family and I visited where legend has it the mimosa was created, at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, so naturally I imbibed and took notes on how to make the perfect mimosa!

What’s in a Mimosa?

The list of mimosa ingredients is short and sweet: Champagne and orange juice. Authentic champagne comes from grapes grown only in the Champagne region of France—making it so other regions can’t call their sparkling wines champagne. It’s expensive, and because mimosas are a blend, I suggest you save the champs for celebrations on their own and use a less spendy sparkling wine instead.

What’s the Best Champagne for Mimosas?

• Choose a dry or semi-dry sparkling wine from California, Oregon, or Washington at about $12-15 a bottle.
• A Spanish Cava or Italian Prosecco are fine choices. The dryer wine balances out the sweetness of the juices making mimosas more drinkable.
• If you want to flaunt and impress with champagne, choose a dry Brut.

How Many Glasses of Mimosas Can You Get Per Bottle?

• For every 750 ml bottle of sparkling wine, plan on getting 6-8 mimosas.
• Mimosas are best served without ice so keep your champagne is kept cold.

What’s the Best Juice for Mimosas?

• With just two ingredients in this champagne mimosa drink recipe, make the most of what you’ve got by spending the most you can to get the best you can afford.
• For the best mimosa, use a pulp-free, high-quality orange juice and make sure it’s chilled.
• Fresh orange juice is best, but a good quality store brand also works great. 

How to Make a Mimosa

If the short ingredients list didn’t give it away, this mimosa recipe is easy, with the perfect ratio of bubbles to OJ.

• Pour the orange juice into a champagne flute
• Top the orange juice off with champagne.
• Once the champagne bubbles have subsided, top off your glass with more champs as desired.
• Serve your homemade mimosas as is, or garnish with your favorite fruits, berries, or herbs.

see more: 20 Make-Ahead Holiday Breakfasts

The Best Juice to Champagne Mimosa Ratio

Mimosas should never taste overly sweet, so when deciding how many parts of orange juice to sparkling wine aka champagne, use the ratio of ⅓ juice to ⅔ sparkling wine, or about 2 ounces of orange juice per drink.

You can add the juice either before the sparkling wine or after, but either way be careful of it flowing over, which in my experience means 1 out of 5 glasses likely will.

Can I Make a Non-Alcoholic Mimosa?

For a non-alcoholic mocktail mimosa, substitute plain or flavored sparkling water or sparkling grape juice instead of sparkling wine.

My Go-To Mimosa Garnishes

Leave the mimosa as is or garnish with fresh fruits like:

• pomegranate seeds
• raspberries
• blueberries
• strawberries
• blackberries
• fresh herbs like mint, basil, rosemary sprigs
• orange slices
• pineapple wedges
• kiwi rounds

My Favorite Champagne Flutes for Mimosas

You may wonder if you need a special glass for your champagne. Yes! Because it’s all about the bubbles. The narrow top of a champagne flute provides less surface area to keep the wine’s bubbles going strong and the carbonation bubbling. The narrow top also brings the drink’s aroma closer to the nose. 

From stemmed to stemless, I have quite the collection of champagne flutes. Most flutes you’ll find come in 8 to 9-ounce sizes, with plenty of space for bubbles to rise, fall, and sip, including:

• These basic champagne flutes are sturdy and you won’t feel bad if someone accidentally breaks (shown above).
• I love my modern-looking stemmed beauties I used for my version of the French 75 Champagne cocktail.
• I probably use these stemless flutes most often (plus they’re cheap).
• But for when I’m feeling extra special, this is the set of champagne flutes I break out just because.
• Or, if you don’t have a set to show off, these plastic champagne flutes will do the trick. Avoid the plastic flutes that come in two pieces and attach the base—they never stay on.

TIP: If you have leftover champagne, science says to keep it cold and the fizz will last for days with or without a stopper.

Tips for Making the Best Mimosas

• If you’re of the adventure-seeking type, mix and match flavors by using peach nectar (to create a bellini), pomegranate juice, mango juice, pineapple juice, or cranberry cocktail as I did in my DIY Mimosa Bar.
• And because this cocktail is served without ice, be sure to use chilled sparkling wine and cold orange juice. Chill the sparkling wine for at least 3 hours before serving.
• Lastly, don’t stir a mimosa. Stirring disrupts the bubbles in the champagne and makes them go flat.

Mimosa Variations

Mimosas are delicious made the traditional way, but you can’t go wrong with any of these twists:

• For even more orange flavor, add a dash of Grand Marnier or Cointreau
• For a hint of raspberry, add a dash of Chambord 
• Elderflower syrup would lend a lovely floral note to your mimosa
• Grapefruit juice or blood orange juice are excellent alternatives to regular navel orange juice
• Fresh strawberry purée would also be tasty instead of juice

More Brunch Recipe Ideas

• How to Serve a DIY Bagels and Lox Brunch Bar
• Asparagus and Mushroom Frittata with Goat Cheese
• Coconut Baked French Toast With Oatmeal Crumble
• Spinach, Artichoke and Goat Cheese Quiche
• Easy Instant Pot Monkey Bread
• Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
• Strawberry Arugula Salad with Watermelon and Feta

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

More Champagne Drinks to Brunch With

• How to Set Up a DIY Mimosa Bar
• Bubbly Champagne Punch
• Champagne Mojitos
• Bubbly French 75 Champagne Cocktail
• Pomegranate and Orange Champagne Punch

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