Starbucks Strawberry Acai Refresher Recipe

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Make Starbucks popular Pink Drink at home! A fruity and refreshing drink made with strawberry flavors and coconut milk, this pretty pink beverage will delight your taste buds and save you a trip to Starbucks.

Starbucks Pink Drink in a cup with ice and sliced strawberries.

Recipe Highlights

Pink Drink is a popular Starbucks Refresher beverage made with ice, Strawberry Acai Base, Coconutmilk (Starbucks coconut milk blend), and freeze-dried strawberries. It's a caffeinated drink since there is caffeine in the Strawberry Acai Base.
This drink is harder than other Starbucks recipes to recreate since it's hard to pinpoint what's exactly in the Strawberry Acai Base but I got the recipe as close as possible after many attempts. Starbucks makes their Pink Drink with just 4 ingredients but since the Strawberry Acai Base isn't available for sale, 3 ingredients are used in its place.
This recipe makes a grande (16 ounces) Pink Drink.
No need for special machines to make this drink since all you need is a cocktail shaker or a jar with a tight lid.

RELATED: TikTok Pink Drink (Starbucks Secret Menu)

Ingredient Notes

Starbucks Pink Drink copycat recipe ingredients.

Starbucks VIA Instant Refreshers, Very Berry Hibiscus
Starbucks makes instant packets so you can make Refresher drinks at home and I use the packets to recreate the Strawberry Acai Base.
Strawberry syrup
This is a strawberry puree made into a syrup by adding sugar. This will bring out the strawberry flavor that's in the drink and sweeten it.
White grape juice
On the list of ingredients for the Strawberry Acai Base, white grape juice is listed towards the top. The Strawberry Acai Base is a blend of flavors and the white grape dominates so the drink won't taste the same without it.
Coconut milk
Get coconut milk in the refrigerated section instead of the ones sold in cans since the ones in cans are too thick. Starbucks uses a sweetened coconut milk that's more like coconut water and the refrigerated versions are the most similar.
Freeze-dried strawberries
Starbucks calls freeze-dried fruit that they put into drinks, inclusions. These add-ins flavor the drink as they rehydrate in the liquid.
Ice
Use filtered water to make ice if possible for a better tasting drink since ice makes up half the beverage.

RELATED: Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino Copycat

Step-by-Step Instructions

Two photo collage showing steps to make the Starbucks Pink Drink at home.

For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to the recipe.

Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake.
No cocktail shaker? Use a wide-mouth jar with a tight lid.
Pour drink into a cup.

Expert Tips

When making the drink, add the strawberry syrup first, then the Refresher instant powder to prevent the powder from clumping.
Since the drink uses strawberry syrup, the freeze-dried strawberries are more decorative than for flavoring, so it's an optional garnishing ingredient and can be taken out. However, it gives the beverage the signature Pink Drink look.
Don't use coconut milk in a can since they're not the same as what Starbucks uses to make the drink. They use a thinner, more watery version which can be found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.
There's no acai in my recipe even though Starbucks makes theirs with a Strawberry Acai Base since I didn't think it added much.
A packet of Starbucks VIA Instant Refreshers has a little less than 2 tablespoons of instant powder. We're using just ½ teaspoon in this recipe. There's a little bit of caffeine in this drink due to the caffeine in the Starbucks VIA Instant Refreshers.

RELATED: 21 Strawberry Starbucks Drinks

Questions You May Have

What's in Starbucks Strawberry Acai Base?

Water, Sugar, White Grape Juice Concentrate, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Natural Green Coffee Flavor, Fruit And Vegetable Juice, and Rebaudioside A makes up the Strawberry Acai Base. Aside from the white grape juice, other flavors are listed under "natural flavors" which makes the drink hard to recreate.

Is there a way to make this drink caffeine-free?

The caffeine is in the Starbucks VIA Instant Refresher so if you take that out, it'll make the drink caffeine-free. But it'll also make the drink taste less like the Starbucks Pink Drink.

What are some ways to customize this drink?

You can add more freeze-dried strawberries and add Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam to dress it. Or add matcha to the cold foam to make the bottom of the drink pink and the top, green.

Can I make the drink without coconut milk?

Replace the coconut milk with whatever milk you like! Heavy cream, soy, oat, and almond milk are good substitutes if you don't like coconut milk but it just won't taste the same.

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Starbucks Pink Drink Copycat

A recreation of the popular Starbucks Refresher drink!

Prep Time 3 mins

Total Time 3 mins

Yield 1 serving (16 ounces)

Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake 10 times or until well combined.

No cocktail shaker? Use a wide-mouth jar with a tight lid. Make sure to put the strawberry syrup in first, then the Refresher instant powder to prevent the powder from clumping.
Pour drink into a cup.

A packet of Starbucks VIA Instant Refreshers has a little less than 2 tablespoons of instant powder. We're using just 1/2 teaspoon in this recipe. There's a little bit of caffeine in this drink due to the caffeine in the Starbucks VIA Instant Refreshers.
Since the drink uses strawberry syrup, the freeze-dried strawberries are more decorative than for flavoring, so it's an optional garnishing ingredient and can be taken out. But adding it gives the beverage the signature Pink Drink look.
Get coconut milk in the refrigerated section instead of the ones sold in cans since the ones in cans are too thick. Starbucks uses a sweetened coconut milk that's more like coconut water and the refrigerated versions are the most similar.
There's no acai in my recipe even though Starbucks makes theirs with a Strawberry Acai Base since I didn't think it added much.
If you don't like coconut milk, replace it with whatever milk you like! Heavy cream, soy, oat, and almond milk are good substitutes if you don't like coconut milk but it just won't taste the same.
Use filtered water to make ice if possible for a better tasting drink since ice makes up half the beverage!