Homemade Root Beer, Safrole-Free and Simple

Root beer is the soda I put off making longest, because the traditional recipe has a genuine problem in it. The classic flavor came from sassafras root bark, whose oil contains safrole. The US Food and Drug Administration banned safrole in food in 1960, as reported in historical accounts of the ban, after it was found to be carcinogenic. Modern commercial root beer does not use it, and my home version does not either. What follows is the extract-and-wintergreen route I actually make: it tastes like root beer, not like a chemistry lesson, and it costs me 56 cents a glass.

What gives it the flavor now

Two things do the work that sassafras used to do. The first is a bottled root beer extract, which is formulated to be safrole-free and typically blends sarsaparilla, wintergreen, licorice, and vanilla notes. The second is a small amount of wintergreen flavoring, which provides that bright, almost minty top note I associate with a good fountain root beer. Historical write-ups of home root beer make the same point: after the sassafras ban, wintergreen became the ready replacement in most recipes.

I am not foraging roots for this one, and I do not recommend you do either. Identifying roots correctly and dosing them safely is a different hobby from making soda.

My syrup method

I make a syrup, then carbonate by the glass with sparkling water. That avoids fermenting bottles on my counter and the over-carbonation risk that comes with yeast bottling.

1. Simmer 2 cups of water with 1.5 cups of sugar until the sugar fully dissolves, about 5 minutes.
2. Off the heat, stir in 2 tablespoons of root beer extract, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/8 teaspoon of wintergreen flavoring. Wintergreen is strong; measure it, do not pour it.
3. Cool the syrup, then refrigerate it in a clean jar. In my fridge it keeps well for about two weeks.
4. To serve, stir 3 tablespoons of syrup into a 12-ounce glass of cold sparkling water over ice. Taste once, then adjust: my household splits between 3 tablespoons and a slightly scant quarter cup.

The flavor is dark and rounded, with the wintergreen arriving last. If yours tastes flat, it is almost always the wintergreen being too timid or the sparkling water being warm. Cold water holds its fizz, and fizz is half the drink.

The cost math, with my prices shown

At my Knoxville grocery in October 2026, sugar was $0.64 a pound, a bottle of root beer extract worked out to about $0.19 per glass at the rate I use it, vanilla and wintergreen together added about $0.05, and store-brand sparkling water was $0.90 a liter, or about $0.18 a glass. Per glass: sugar $0.14, extract $0.19, flavorings $0.05, sparkling water $0.18. Total: $0.56.

Figure: Cost per 12-ounce glass of homemade root beer. Source: Author's Knoxville store prices, October 2026, disclosed in the text.

A bottled craft root beer at the same store runs about $1.75 a bottle. A six-pack habit at home costs me $3.36 in ingredients against about $10.50 bottled. The extract bottle is the only specialty purchase, and it lasts me months at two tablespoons a batch.

Variations I actually make

A float is not a variation so much as a destination: a scoop of vanilla ice cream in this root beer is the best dessert I have made all fall. For a spicier batch, I simmer a cinnamon stick and two whole cloves in the syrup and strain them out before adding the extract. For a drier glass, I cut the sugar in the syrup to 1.25 cups and add a small squeeze of lemon to the finished drink; the acid lifts the wintergreen. What I do not do is double the wintergreen to make it stronger. It turns medicinal fast, and I have the wasted batch to prove it.

FAQ

Is homemade root beer safe to make? This version is, because it uses a commercial safrole-free extract and wintergreen flavoring instead of sassafras root or its oil, which the FDA banned in food in 1960.

What does root beer extract contain? Formulations vary by brand, but they are typically built on sarsaparilla, wintergreen, licorice, and vanilla flavors and are sold as safrole-free.

How much does a glass cost to make? About $0.56 at my disclosed Knoxville prices: $0.14 sugar, $0.19 extract, $0.05 flavorings, and $0.18 sparkling water.

How long does the syrup keep? About two weeks refrigerated in my experience, in a clean sealed jar.

Can I carbonate it with yeast instead? Yes, traditional recipes do, but bottles can over-carbonate if fermentation runs long. The syrup-and-sparkling-water method in this article avoids that risk entirely.