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This delicious and easy Thanksgiving sangria is made with red wine, apple brandy, cinnamon sticks and fresh fruit. It will become your go to cocktail every year for thanksgiving dinner! Cut the fruit into fall shapes for the most festive drink.

Looking for another cocktail? Try apple cider sangria, winter sangria, or a pumpkin spice white russian next.

a stemless wine glass with thanksgiving sangria and fresh fruit
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This is the perfect cocktail for chilly weekends and holiday festivities. Each glass is bursting with fall flavors like cranberry, citrus, apple, and cinnamon.

I love to top mine with bubbly ginger beer and a garnish of star anise and cinnamon sticks. This is the perfect thanksgiving cocktail if you like red wine.

Reasons to Love Thanksgiving Sangria

  • It looks so pretty and is the most festive for the holiday season. It’s so pretty I almost (almost!) didn’t want to drink it. The dark reddish purple color is so appealing, especially when you rim the glass with cinnamon sugar and garnish it with a cinnamon stick. Bonus points for cutting your apple and pears into fall shapes, like these leaves!
  • Stir this Thanksgiving sangria recipe together in a few minutes.
  • Save yourself time on Thanksgiving day and make this recipe ahead of time so you have a glass to hand to guests when they walk in.
  • Easy to customize with whatever seasonal fruit you have on hand (see ingredient notes section below).

Ingredients You Need

Here are the simple ingredients to make Thanksgiving sangria. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.

a bottle of red wine, orange, apples, apple cider, cranberry juice and cinnamon sticks on a table
  • Red wine: traditional sangrias call for a Spanish red wine like a Tempranillo or Garnacho, however, we’ve tested this with other red wines, like a red blend or pinot noir and really loved it. Don’t make a special trip for a special type of wine. All red wine will work, even sweet red wine. See FAQs below for a white wine option.
  • Mix of fruit: we used orange slices, apple slices and pear slices because the apples and pears were perfect for the fun shapes. A few other fruit options include pomegranate seeds, fresh cranberries, and blood oranges.
  • Apple cider: we love the cider in this for fall, but an apple juice would work too.
  • Cranberry juice: we recommend a 100% cranberry juice rather than a cranberry juice cocktail.
  • Brandy: apple brandy is great for fall sangria recipes, but triple sec, or another orange liqueur, is another great option.
  • Spices: cinnamon sticks and star anise.
  • Ginger beer or club soda for a little fizz.
  • Cinnamon and white sugar for rimming the glass.

How to Make Thanksgiving Sangria

Here are the simple steps to make Thanksgiving Sangria (with photos). Jump down to the recipe card for the full printable recipe.

how to make Thanksgiving sangria
  1. Mix the wine: Pour the red wine, fruit juice, and brandy (or triple sec) into a large pitcher and stir quickly to combine.
  2. Slice the fruit: Cut fall shapes out of the apples and pears, if desired, then slices the oranges. Chill for 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
  3. Mix sangria: Add the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and sliced fruit to the sangria. Chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
  4. Cinnamon sugar rim: Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Run an orange wedge around the outside of a wine glass. Dip the wine glass in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
  5. Serve: Fill the wine glass with ice then pour in the sangria.
  6. Garnish: Top with ginger beer and garnish with the wine-soaked fruit and a cinnamon stick.

Favorite Sangria Products

Thanksgiving sangria in a pitcher with fresh fruit

Recipe Variations

Make it sweeter: simmer 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a small saucepan to create a simple syrup and mix it in with the sangria.

White sangria: Swap the red wine for a crisp white wine like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.

More fruit: pomegranate seeds, fresh cranberries, or blood oranges.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you drink on sangria?

The best cocktails for Thanksgiving are ones that appeal to everyone and are easy to make for a crowd. This tasty beverage checks the boxes, but we’ve also got a list of the best Thanksgiving drinks.

What kind of wine is best for sangria?

A Spanish wine, like Tempranillo or Garnacha, are most popular for red wine sangria and crisp white wine, like Pinot Grigio, is great for white wine sangria. Although, I’ve made sangria with all types of wine and I wouldn’t say any of them are bad!

Should sangria be made the night before?

The longer the fruit sits in the sangria, the longer the fruit juices will seep into the drink, and vice versa. Sangria should be chilled for at least 2 hours, but no more than 24 hours. This makes it great for making it overnight!

a glass of thanksgiving sangria in a wine glass with cinnamon sugar rim

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More Thanksgiving Drinks

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5 from 2 votes

Thanksgiving Sangria

Prep: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes
This delicious and easy Thanksgiving sangria is made with red wine, apple brandy, cinnamon sticks and fresh fruits. It will become your go to cocktail every year for thanksgiving dinner.

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Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 5 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 honeycrisp apples sliced or cut into fall shapes
  • 2 oranges sliced
  • 2 cups pears sliced or cut into fall shapes
  • 1 750mL red wine
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 cup 100% cranberry juice
  • 1/2 cup apple bourbon or orange liqueur
  • Ginger beer or soda water, for topping
  • Cinnamon sugar rim: 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions 

  • Pour the red wine, fruit juice, and brandy (or triple sec) into a large pitcher and stir quickly to combine.
  • Cut fall shapes out of the apples and pears, if desired, then slices the oranges. Add the sliced fruit, cinnamon sticks, and star anise to the sangria. Chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
  • When you're ready to serve, make the cinnamon sugar rim. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Run an orange wedge around the outside of a wine glass. Dip the wine glass in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
  • Fill the wine glass with ice then pour in the sangria. Top with ginger beer and garnish with wine-soaked fruit and a cinnamon stick.
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!

Notes

Make-ahead: mix the wine, fruit juices, and brandy together up to 3 days in advance. Add the fruit and spices 2-24 hours before serving.
Red wine: any red wine you have on hand will work. Classic red wine for sangria is a Tempranillo or Garnacha. We used a red blend and it worked well.
White wine: this recipe works with a crisp white wine, like Pinot Grigio. You can swap the cranberry juice for a lighter-colored juice, like pear, if you want a light-colored sangria.

Equipment

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 21.2g | Protein: 0.6g | Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 12.1mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 16.1g | Vitamin A: 4.7IU | Vitamin C: 22mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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8 Comments

  1. Sarah says:

    What size pitcher is recommended?

    1. Molly Thompson says:

      Hey Sarah!! Any large pitcher should work! I have a 90 ounce pitcher that I use all the time and love it.

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  3. kim says:

    did you use lemon or lime juice? the ingredients same lemon- the directions say lime.

    1. Molly Thompson says:

      Hi Kim! Sorry about that, typo!. I used lemon juice here, but lime juice actually works well too. I’ve tried both ways:) So either one you have on hand is great.

  4. Dani says:

    Can I use apple juice instead of apple cider?

    1. Molly Thompson says:

      Hi Dani! Absolutely, apple juice will work perfect as well. Thanks!

      ❤️Molly

      1. Dani says:

        Thanks so much! I’m excited to try this!