Non-Alcoholic Gløgg
Gløgg is a traditional Scandinavian mulled wine (or in this case, juice) that is most commonly served during the holidays. In this recipe, all ages can enjoy this warm, spicy drink since we’re using juice as the base.
Are you ready for the coziest winter drink?
Prepare a batch of this warm, spiced gløgg.
It’s the perfect drink for winter solstice, Christmas, New Year’s Eve – or really any cold winter night.
The recipe I’m sharing is a non-alcoholic version of the drink.
In Norway, non-alcoholic glögg is as common as glögg made with wine. That way, everyone – kids and adults alike – can enjoy it.
What Is Gløgg?
Gløgg (Norwegian) or glögg (Swedish) is a traditional Scandinavian mulled drink that is sweetened and served warm.
It can be made with or without alcohol:
The alcoholic version is typically made with a combination of red wine, port wine, and some liquor like bourbon and/or rum.
The non-alcoholic version has a juice base. For aesthetic purposes, the juice should be dark. But there are a wide range of different juices that will work here – from grape juice to black currant juice to a combination of grape/apple/pomegranate/pear.
The origin of the word comes from the Swedish glödga, which means to burn or mull.
About Non-Alcoholic Gløgg
For the non-alcoholic version of gløgg, juice is mulled with delicious spices (allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon), orange peel, and fresh ginger. The spices are strained out, and raisins and slivered almonds are added.
I love this non-alcoholic version, because everyone in the family can drink it!
Money-saving tip: Buy the nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon sticks in bulk.
Want More Norwegian And Scandinavian Recipes?
- Sweet soup (sot suppe)
- Potato dumplings (klub)
- My Norwegian Grandma’s meatball recipe
- Swedish meatballs
- Open-faced sandwiches
- Flatbread (flatbrod)
- Lefse (no special equipment needed!)
- Norwegian cream pudding (rommegrot)
- Norwegian rice pudding (risgrot)
- Almond kringler
- Krumkake
- Goro cookies
- Kringla cookies
- Pepperkaker cookies
- Fattigmand cookies
- A Scandinavian snack board
- Norwegian egg coffee
Pour a round of gløgg, gather around the fire, and enjoy your company. It doesn’t get much cozier than this!
Thank you to Janne, my Norwegian friend, who provided information for this post.
Non-Alcoholic Gløgg
A variety of different juices will work here: Pure grape juice, currant juice, or a mixed juice containing pomegranate, apple, pear, cranberry, or other berry juice.
Just make sure to get a dark red/purple juice, which gives it that dark, warm color.
Ingredients
- 32-ounce container of juice (see notes above)
- Peel from one organic orange
- 5 whole cloves
- 7 whole allspice berries
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 whole cardamom pods
- 1 knob of ginger, peeled
- 2 thick orange slices (save the rest of the orange for garnish)
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Place cloves, allspice berries, and cardamom on a cutting board and smash with the back blade of a knife.
- Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottom kettle. Heat to a low simmer. Allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, allowing the flavors to combine.
- Turn off heat, strain out spices, and add almonds and raisins. Serve warm with sliced oranges for garnish.