When I was growing up in the Caribbean my mom used to make a drink called ginger beer. It was the best homemade Caribbean ginger beer. The good news is, you can get the recipe below.
When I was a kid, I didn’t appreciate this treasure of a beverage. My mom made it every Christmas and sometimes for Thanksgiving too. As you can imagine, ginger is an acquired taste especially for a child. Now that I’m an adult, I have grown to appreciate the taste and potency of ginger. Not to mention the nutritional benefits. Now before you go on thinking that child protection services should have been called, although the name of the beverage is ginger beer, this drink doesn’t have any alcohol in it so don’t let the name throw you off. Ginger beer originated in the 1700 in England and was indeed a fermented drink. Some people still ferment it and others don’t.
Health Benefits of Ginger
Whether or not you like ginger you’ll find these health benefits of ginger helpful.
Ginger is one of the most healthful ingredients that you can use in your kitchen. It is a potent anti-inflammatory ingredient and a great anti-emetic. That makes ginger great at treating ailments like osteoarthritis, nausea, and even Alzheimer’s disease. Ginger may also also help to reduce cholesterol, prevent cancer, and may help decrease muscle pain.
The bottle line is you definitely want to increase the amount of ginger that you consume.
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Some people also spike it…but I’ll leave that up to you.
But every Carnival, food sale and definitely around the holidays it was hard to escape the pungent smell.
As an adult, I now realize the nutritional powerhouse that ginger and hence ginger beer is. Minus the sugar, you can’t meet the anti-inflammatory benefits of ginger beer. Well of course turmeric’s anti-inflammatory effects is nothing to sneeze at either, but we can talk about that on another day.
So when my mom visited recently, I asked her to whip up a batch. Just like in this video, we got working in the kitchen. She took the lead, and I took crazy notes because of course she had nothing written down!
This is one of the reasons that I wrote my own e-cookbook. It’s an easy way to share my healthy easy recipes for years to come. As a fact, if you’d like your own copy of my free e-cookbook, you can get it here.
Ingredients in Caribbean Ginger Beer
- Ginger
- sugar (Also tastes great with honey. Swap cup for cup)
- cinnamon stick
- lime
- water
- cloves
- vanilla
How to Make Caribbean Ginger Beer
Soak ginger root in enough water to cover.
Remove outer skin.
Cut into pieces.
Blend together with some water.
Boil a bit more water and pour over grated ginger.
Add cinnamon stick and cloves.
Let ginger beer sit to steep, tasting every few hours.
Strain the ginger beer.
Add 2-4 cups more water depending on taste along with sugar, vanilla and lime.
Use sugar to sweeten according to taste.
Read below for the recipe for Caribbean Ginger Beer. Served chilled and have a good ole’ time. I used this blender to get some of the quick and easy blending done. Don’t worry you can get the specific and printable recipe for the Caribbean Ginger recipe below.
Ginger is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory agents that you can have in your health and wellness arsenal.
Oh, and I highly recommend these bamboo straws if you want to get fancy.
Here’s a Great Place to Store the Ginger Once It’s Finished:
Caribbean Ginger Beer
An authentic recipe for Caribbean ginger beer. A traditional spicy drink that packs a nutritional punch.
Ingredients
- 2 hands or 4 medium pieces ginger root
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lime or 1/2 large lemon
- About 6-8 cups cups water
- 4 cloves
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Soak ginger root in enough water to cover for about 30 minutes to loosen dirt and debris.
- Lightly scrape ginger with knife to remove most of outer skin.
- Cut each piece of ginger into 2 pieces.
- Add to blender, add 2 cups of water and blend until you get a pulp (about a few seconds).
- Boil approximately 3-4 cups of water and pour over grated ginger. The amount of water you add will depend on how strong you want the ginger beer to be.
- Add cinnamon stick, and cloves. Let the ginger beer sit on counter for at least 2-4 hours. I recommend, tasting it every hour or two. The longer it sits, the stronger the ginger beer will be as the flavor is extracted.
- Strain the ginger beer after 2-4 hours.
- Add 2- 4 cups more water (depending on your desired taste) sugar, vanilla, and lime. Use the sugar listed above as a guide on how much to add depending on your taste.
Notes
The original recipe for ginger beer recipe also included a small amount of rice. We've eliminated the rice to make this recipe grain free and it was just as good.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 82Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 46mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 0gSugar 20gProtein 0g
Use this nutrition information only as a guide.
If you liked this recipe, you’re going to love my FREE cookbook. That’s right the e-cookbook is free. No strings. You can download your copy here.
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Q & A about making Caribbean ginger beer and tips
How far ahead can I make the ginger beer?
Make your ginger beer up to two days in advance.
Do I have to refrigerate the ginger beer?
The ginger beer can stay in a cool spot in one your kitchen counter for no more than 24 hours. After that, please refrigerate it or else it will begin to ferment.
How long can the ginger beer stay in the fridge?
Refrigerate up to 7 days. Shake well before serving.
Can I use honey instead of sugar in the recipe?
Absolutely! In fact I highly recommend it. Traditionally, this recipe is made using sugar, but you can swap the sugar for honey, cup by cup. And it tastes great!
Another ginger drink you’ll love.
Try some of my other immune boosting recipes and see what you think.
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Looking for other Healthy Caribbean recipes? Then try this Virgin Islands Sweet Potato with Raisins.
If you liked this recipe, do me a favor and rate it. All you have to do is click the appropriate number of stars in under the recipe. Recipes with more ratings do better on Google. Thank you so much!
And this Island Curry Coconut Shrimp is pretty good too.
Original: May 30, 2018
Updated 7/30/2021, 10/7/22
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Comments ( 8 )
Jan
Can we use Stevia in lieu of sugar
Dr. Lisa
I don’t see why not. The best recommendation is to try it in small amounts first and see if you like the taste. Alternatively, you can let the ginger beer cool first without the sugar and add the sweetener in after according to your taste.
Herfinn Árnafjall
Saved it a while back. Trying it right now 🙂
Dr. Lisa
So happy to hear. Enjoy!
Kim
You had 1/2 tsp of Vanilla and 1 lime of 1/2 Lemon in the ingredients, but it was not mentioned under the instructions. How/When do I add those ingredients?
Dr. Lisa
Very true Kim. Good catch. Add the vanilla and lime after straining the ginger out. The correction is reflected in the recipe.
Rick
Hi what if you use honey instead of sugar
Dr. Lisa
I would recommend organic agave instead if you can get your hands on it. The honey would change the flavor. But you can definitely try it and see if you like it.