These immunity-boosting ginger shots are the perfect start of a day. They are like a magical elixir and will keep you in tip-top shape all year long. The flavor is a little bit intense, especially if you are new to ginger shots, but so tasty!
Ginger shots are nothing new. They are sold everywhere these days, from regular grocery stores and health food stores to juice bars and even cafes. You can also purchase them online and have them shipped straight to your doorstep.
Other than ginger shots (or ginger lemon shots), they are also often labeled as wellness shots, ginger elixirs, or ginger tonics. The main ingredients are freshly squeezed ginger juice and lemon juice, but other ingredients, such as coconut water, honey, or cayenne pepper are quite frequent as well.
Here is a list of the most popular brands and the ingredients they use in their most popular ginger shots:
- JUS: ginger
- KOR: ginger juice, lemon juice, coconut water, cayenne pepper
- Well: ginger juice, lemon juice, honey
- Ginger Time: ginger juice, lemon juice, honey
- The Ginger People: ginger juice, lemon juice, cayenne pepper
- Tulua: lemon juice, ginger juice
All of these are amazing – cold-pressed, high-pressure processed, organic… the only downside is the price. You can easily pay over $3 for a 2 oz. shot.
Fortunately, there is nothing easier than to make your own ginger shots at home. Yea, that is definitely an exaggeration, but really, there isn’t a reason to buy ginger shots in the store.
Tips for Making Ginger Shots
Ingredients
You don’t really need a recipe to make ginger shots. If you’re hard-core, you can even tip back pure ginger juice. But if you find ginger a little too spicy, you can add other ingredients that will tame the flavor of raw ginger. Here are some of the ingredients I use most often:
- Ginger: surprise surprise, the main ingredient in these shots is raw ginger, specifically its juice. The flavor is slightly peppery, citrusy, and sweet with a pungent and spicy aroma. Look for a young ginger root with a thin skin. The more tough and mature the ginger is, the spicier it is. If your ginger root is shriveled or blemished, peel it and cut off any bruises. If it’s fresh and blemish-free, there’s no need to peel it.. Just give the ginger a good rinse or a light scrub.
- Lemon: the bright taste of lemon smooths the edge of the spicy ginger. The lemon ginger combination is very popular. You have most likely encountered lemon ginger tea, lemon ginger water, lemon ginger lemonade, etc. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best, but bottled lemon juice works in a pinch.
- Coconut water (optional): not only does coconut water dilute the ginger lemon juice, but it also provides a little bit of natural sweetness.
- Orange juice (optional): similar to coconut water, fruit juices add a little bit of sweetness. Other than orange juice I have made wellness shots also with freshly squeezed apple juice and grapefruit juice.
- Maple syrup (optional): a lot of popular brands use honey in their ginger shots to blunt the spicy taste of ginger. I try to avoid sweeteners to be honest, but if you’re new to ginger shots, it’s a great way to start. Any sweetener works here.
How to Make Ginger Shots
There are several ways to make ginger shots at home. The easiest way is to use a juicer, but if you don’t own one, you can make them without a juicer, using either a box grater or a blender.
How to Make Ginger Shots without a Juicer (with a box grater)
- Grate the ginger. Using a box grater’s smallest holes or a microplane zester, finely grate the ginger.
- Strain the ginger. Transfer the grated ginger into a nut milk bag or a cheesecloth and strain it into a container, squeezing the pulp to get as much of the liquid out as possible. The ginger pulp should be quite dry.
- Add lemon juice. Take the whole lemons and roll them against the kitchen counter (or any hard surface). This will help break the membranes in the flesh of the lemon, causing the lemon to spill out more juice. Squeeze the lemon juice into the container with the ginger juice.
- Mix and enjoy.
How to Make Ginger Shots without a Juicer (with a blender)
- Blend. Add the ginger and lemons into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until relatively smooth.
- Strain. Transfer the content of the blender into a nut milk bag or a cheesecloth and strain it into a container, squeezing the pulp to get as much of the liquid out as possible.
How to Make Ginger Shots with a Juicer
- Juice the ginger and lemons. Slice the ginger and lemons into small pieces, big enough to fit through the mouth of the juicer. Feed the ginger pieces into the juicer first and then add the lemon pieces. Produce that contains a lot of water, including lemons, will wash out the juicer and help extract more ginger juice.
How to Store Ginger Lemon Shots
- Refrigerating: transfer the ginger shots into an airtight glass bottles (small glass vials are ideal) and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: transfer the ginger shots into an airtight glass bottles (small glass vials are ideal) and freeze for up to 3 months.
Note: store-bought wellness shots last longer because they are high-pressure processed (HPP). HPP is a cold pasteurization technique by which products, already sealed in its final package, are introduced into a vessel and subjected to a high level of isostatic pressure transmitted by water. No nutrients are lost during this process, but the shelf-life is significantly extended.
Ginger Shot Variations
I have already mentioned a few variations of ginger shots – ginger-lemon, ginger-lemon-coconut water, ginger-lemon-orange juice, ginger-lemon apple juice, ginger-lemon-maple syrup (or ginger-lemon-honey).
Other common additions are spices, the most popular being cayenne pepper (to improve digestion), turmeric (to boost the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties), and black pepper (to increase the absorption of turmeric by up to 2,000%).
More Immune-Boosting Drinks
If you’d like to try more immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory drinks, there are a lot of options:
- Lemon water: consuming lemon water has ample benefits from boosting the digestive and immune system to fighting off infections. A simple squeeze of lemon is packed with antioxidants including vitamin C and plant compounds called flavonoids, which have anti-inflammatory effects.
- Jamu juice: jamu is a traditional anti-inflammatory drink from Indonesia. It is very potent drink with a strong flavor so it might take some getting used to. The taste is earthy from turmeric, spicy from ginger, tart from lime, and sweet from honey.
- Celery juice: drinking any green juice is hydrating, alkalizing, and nutritious. Celery juice specifically is high in various plant compounds called phytonutrients, which reduce inflammation. It is also very hydrating, alkalizing, and rich in electrolytes.
- Elderberry tea: tea might be one of the most medicinally-useful drinks when you’re feeling under the weather. Elderberries are known to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. The tea has a naturally sweet-tart flavor and a fruity aroma.
If you try any of these recipes, please, leave a comment and rate the recipe below. It always means a lot when you do.
Ginger Shots
Ingredients
Ginger Lemon Shot
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger *
- 1 lemon **
Ginger Lemon Coconut Water Shot
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger *
- 1 lemon **
- 1/2 cup coconut water
Ginger Lemon Orange Juice Shot
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger *
- 1 lemon **
- 1 orange ***
Ginger Lemon Apple Juice Shot
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger *
- 1 lemon **
- 1 apple ****
Ginger Lemon Maple Shot
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger *
- 1 lemon **
- 1 tsp. maple syrup
Instructions
Ginger-Lemon Shots (using a box grater)
- Grate the ginger. Using a box grater's smallest holes or a microplane zester, finely grate the ginger.
- Strain the ginger. Transfer the grated ginger into a nut milk bag or a cheesecloth and strain it into a container, squeezing the pulp to get as much of the liquid out as possible. The ginger pulp should be quite dry.
- Add lemon juice. Take the whole lemons and roll them against the kitchen counter (or any hard surface). This will help break the membranes in the flesh of the lemon, causing the lemon to spill out more juice. Squeeze the lemon juice into the container with the ginger juice.
- Mix and enjoy.
- Store. Leftover ginger-lemon shots keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer term storage, freeze for up to 1 month.
Ginger-Lemon Shots (using a blender)
- Blend. Add the ginger and lemons into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until relatively smooth. (I used a personal blending cup and also added coconut water to help the blending process.)
- Strain. Transfer the content of the blender into a nut milk bag or a cheesecloth and strain it into a container, squeezing the pulp to get as much of the liquid out as possible.
- Store. Leftover ginger-lemon shots keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer term storage, freeze for up to 1 month.
Ginger-Lemon Shots (using a juicer)
- Juice the ginger and lemons. Slice the ginger and lemons into small pieces, big enough to fit through the mouth of the juicer. Feed the ginger pieces into the juicer first and then add the lemon pieces. Produce that contains a lot of water, including lemons, will wash out the juicer and help extract more ginger juice.
- Store. Leftover ginger-lemon shots keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For longer term storage, freeze for up to 1 month.
Dear Petra, hello!
It was another one awaited recipe from you!!
I usually make ginger-lemon-apple juice at home and recently I was thinking if it would be possible to prepare this kind of juice in advance and store it in the fridge for some days. I was curious if it will be healthy…
As making juice every day is a time consuming and not always possible.
Thank you so much for your advice! You are always on time!
Also, I love a lot this kind of juice (made at home as well): pineapple + ginger + mango – it has an amazing taste! Tropical with spicy taste from ginger. If you haven’t tried this combination, you should definitely try it, please!
Thank you again! Wish you health, joy and all the best! 🙂
Oooh, I have not tried the ginger-pineapple-mango combo. So far I have only been making ginger shots with the ingredients I see on the labels of ginger shots sold in the store. Thank you for the tip, Evgenia! I will be trying it for sure. All the best to you too 🙂
Hi Petra.
I am glad for you article.
Till now i used ginger like egual parts ginger juice and honey..but i am glad that i will do your way also..see if better accepts kids.
Thank you!!
Wish you and your familly health!!
Thank you Monica! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the article.
Where do you find the type of glass shot bottles with metal lids like the ones on this page? Thanks, Eden
Hi Eden – they are from Ikea.
Thank you for the recipes! We just got a new cold press juicer and love making these first thing in the morning. 🙂 All the best, Fanni
Hope you enjoy them, Fanni!
Thank you.
Hello! I made your recipe and froze my little shots in little glass bottles, well this morning I left it on the counter to defrost and it just dawned on me that I left for work without taking it!! Will it still be safe to drink in like 3 hours?
Hi Carrie – I am not sure if my response is of any help now (since it’s the next day), but yes! The ginger shots would still be completely safe to drink after being left out on the counter for 3 hours.