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This Homemade Energy Drink is a clean, refreshing alternative to sugary bottled energy drinks and powders. It’s made with simple, real ingredients that help hydrate, energize, and support your body without the crash that comes from added sugars and artificial stimulants.
Whether you need a boost before a workout, a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, or a healthier swap for your morning coffee, this recipe fits easily into your day. If you love simple, mindful recipes like this, you might also enjoy my Island Green Smoothie, Basil Lime Green Tea, or these Oatmeal Peanut Butter Energy Balls.
Why Make Homemade Energy Drinks?
I love making this homemade energy drink because it gives me steady, natural energy without all the artificial ingredients that come with store-bought cans. Whether I’m prepping for a workout, replacing my morning coffee, fighting an afternoon slump, or trying to recover after a long hike, this drink helps support hydration and energy without leaving me feeling jittery or crashing later.
Store-bought energy drinks often contain a long list of processed ingredients—like sucrose, glucose, artificial flavors, dyes, and synthetic additives—that I’d rather not consume daily. Making my own is simple, budget-friendly, and gives me complete control over what goes into my body. Plus, keeping the ingredients clean and the sugar low helps maintain more stable energy throughout the day.
Enjoy!
– Becca
Ingredients in Homemade Energy Drinks
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Watermelon: Naturally sweet, refreshing, and packed with hydration, watermelon is loaded with vitamins A and C to help support your immune system and skin health. It’s also a post-workout powerhouse — the amino acids in watermelon may help improve circulation, ease muscle soreness, and reduce inflammation after intense exercise.
- Honey: Honey adds a touch of natural sweetness without the need for refined sugar. I like to use raw honey for its trace nutrients and antioxidants, but you can easily swap it for pure maple syrup if that’s what you have on hand.
How to Make Healthy Energy Drinks
Step 1: Gather your ingredients and measure out the lime juice, honey, and watermelon. Add to the blender.
Step 2: Pit the cherries and add them to the blender.
Step 3: Blend on high speed for about one minute.
Step 4: Divide the blended juice evenly between two 12-ounce bottles—about 2 ounces per bottle. Then, fill each bottle to the top with unsweetened green tea (roughly 10 ounces). This creates the perfect balance of flavor and energy. Seal and store in the fridge for 3-5 days.
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Recipe Tips
- I love freezing this mixture into ice cubes for hot workouts. Just pour it into an ice cube tray, freeze, and drop a few cubes into your water bottle before or during your workout for a refreshing energy boost.
- This keeps in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Give it a good shake before drinking it since the natural ingredients may separate.
Homemade Energy Drink FAQs
Yes! It’s made with simple, natural ingredients—no added dyes, artificial flavors, or unnecessary sugars.
Using green tea adds a small amount of natural caffeine, but you can easily make it caffeine-free by using herbal tea instead.
Yes! You control the sweetness. Use a small amount of honey or maple syrup, or try it completely unsweetened.
There are endless ways to customize your energy drink with natural ingredients! Try adding berries or pineapple for antioxidants and natural sweetness, or fresh ginger to reduce inflammation and boost recovery. You can even turn this into a homemade electrolyte drink by swapping the green tea for coconut water—learn more in my post about homemade electrolyte and hydration drinks.
Healthy Eating Plans
Weight Watchers Points
One serving is 2 2025 Points.
21 Day Fix Containers
One serving counts as 1 sweetener teaspoon (honey) and 1/2 purple container (for cherries and watermelon). The unsweetened green tea is not counted.
If you tried this recipe for Homemade Energy Drink or any other recipe on my site please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
Homemade Energy Drink
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Equipment
- Vitamix Blender
- Glass Milk Bottles
Ingredients
- 2 lime squeezed
- 6 cherries pitted
- 2 tsp honey optional
- ¼ cup watermelon
- 20 ounces unsweetened green tea
Instructions
- Juice the limes and measure out the cherries, honey, and watermelon into a blender or food processor. Add the honey. 2 lime, 6 cherries, 2 tsp honey, 1/4 cup watermelon
- Blend on high speed for about one minute.
- Divide the blended juice evenly between two 12-ounce bottles—about 2 ounces per bottle. Then, fill each bottle to the top with unsweetened green tea (roughly 10 ounces). This creates the perfect balance of flavor and energy. 20 ounces unsweetened green tea
- You can keep this in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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While I applaud the attempt. I feel compelled to point out that while you did say there is no added sugar to this recipe – honey is quite literally liquid sugar. It has the same chemical construction as inverted sugar with a few “additives” added by bees, such nutrients are negligible at best. I understand this ingredient is optional, I just thought I’d point it out that is literally just a liquid form of sugar.
For those who like sweetness or are less sensitive to it, I feel the honey is a good addition in moderation, however based recipe I think the sugars in the fruit would provide ample sweetness. A more interesting flavor improvement would be to take a pound of cherries and pit them, then boil them for a few hours. It’s more involved but you can create a concentrated cherry flavoring without sugar. The leftover cherry fruit can be added to the drink as extra fiber and you can use a small amount of cherry concentrate to flavor the drink.
I don’t think you realized some of the ingredients you were saying are unnecessary are actually B vitamins, it’s just the long version of the name. They list B12 as that, but B6 and B5 had the other name written out. Not everything is a scary chemical
Hello, thanks for your comment. Yes, the vitamins are not unnecessary – I definitely wasn’t talking about them. I’ve edited my post to be more clear about the “unnecessary” ingredients – sucrose, glucose, natural and artificial flavors, and colors.
THese sound delicious!! Where did you get the glass containers?
From Amazon! There is a link in the printable recipe area :)
I was wondering what would be a good substitute for cherries
Hi Haley,
Berries would be a good substitute. We’ve also made these in different flavors like lime & lemon, pineapple, and ginger. :)
Can you use frozen unsweetened fruit, or does it have to be fresh?
Sure! Frozen fruit will make it more like a smoothie than an energy drink :)
One of the best products ever
Hi-i didn’t sew anything about the caffeine content? The primary reason we drink energy drinks is for the high caffeine content. Can you tell me what the caffeine count is?
About 100mg, depending on the tea you use :)
Hi Becca,
I’m wondering what would happen if I dehydrated the mix (without the green tea) and then ground it into a powder. Would I be able to store it longer, or would it go bad?
I’ve never been too keen on store-bought energy drinks, therefore I have tried to steered clear of them altogether. But being fit and playing a lot of sport, I know that a home-made energy drink (where I know what I’ve put in it) will be a great asset for me. Definitely can’t wait to try it, and will share this with my family and friends.
Thanks, Amy
Hi Amy, I have no idea about dehydrating anything–I’ve never done it–I’m sorry!
nice