Easy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

Home » From Fast Food to Fine Dining: Copycat Restaurant Recipes for Every Taste! » Chick-Fil-A » Chick Fil A Sweet Tea

by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated 2 Comments

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Chick Fil A Sweet Tea is refreshing, smooth, and perfectly sweetened. It’s the best sweet iced tea and costs less to make at home than getting it at a restaurant.

Easy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe - CopyKat Recipes (1)

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What Makes Chick Fil A Sweet Tea So Good?

Chick Fil A is one of the best places to go whenever you’re hankering for a delicious chicken sandwich. But you won’t find one of the most popular official menu items served between two pieces of bread! That is because it is the chain’s legendary Sweet Tea.

Made with high-quality ingredients, Chick Fil A sweet tea is a must-have every time you visit, but even if you can’t make it to the restaurant, you can now enjoy the same authentic sweet tea at home with this recipe.

Why This is the Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe You Must Try

There is nothing fancy about this Chick Fil A sweet iced tea recipe. After all, there is no need for things to get too complicated when it comes to sweetened iced tea.

While other versions ask you to add a pinch of baking soda, simple syrup, or an alternative sweetener, this recipe is just about as original and straightforward as it can be.

This copycat Chick Fil A sweet tea has spot-on flavor, the right amount of sweetness, and no bitterness.

Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Ingredients

To make the best sweet tea Chick Fil A style, you’ll need:

  • Tetley Iced Tea Family Size Black Tea Bags
  • Real Cane Sugar (Granulated White Sugar)
  • Water

You don’t have to use Tetley brand tea for this recipe. If your favorite brand of tea does not come in family-sized teabags, try substituting four regular tea bags for each family-sized bag.

Popular alternatives to Tetley that come in family-sized bags areLuzianne Iced Tea and Lipton Family Size Tea Bags.

To make unsweet tea, omit the sugar.

Easy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe - CopyKat Recipes (2)

How To Make Chick Fil A Sweet Tea

To prepare this Chick Fil A sweet tea gallon recipe:

  1. Bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil in a large pot with at least a 6-quart capacity.
  2. Turn off the heat and wait about 30 seconds before adding four family-sized tea bags directly into the pot.
  3. Allow the tea to steep for about four minutes. You can try brewing for longer if you prefer a more robust tea. However, the longer you brew, the higher chance the tea will become bitter. It is best never to brew longer than 7 minutes.
Easy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe - CopyKat Recipes (3)
  1. Discard the tea bags.
  2. Add two cups of sugar and stir until the sugar completely dissolves.
  3. Add 8 cups of cold water to the pot and stir.
  4. Let the sweet tea cool without a lid. Once the sweet tea reaches room temperature, pour it into a glass pitcher.
  5. Chill the pitcher in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Easy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe - CopyKat Recipes (4)

Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Lemonade

To make a sweet tea lemonade, combine half sweet tea and half lemonade in a glass or pitcher. Serve over ice and enjoy!

  • Use fresh-squeezed lemonade for the best flavor.
  • Make it sugar-free: Use diet lemonade and tea sweetened with an artificial sweetener.

What To Serve With Sweet Tea

Although many people consider sweet tea to be the perfect beverage for sipping when eating Southern classics likefried chickenorbaby back ribs, it is more versatile than that. You can enjoy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea with any lunch or dinner; it is an ideal drink for cooling off in the middle of the afternoon.

The best way to serve sweet tea is in a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and lemon slices or lemon wedges.

How To Store Sweet Tea

Always put Chick Fil A sweet iced tea in the fridge to keep it fresh for longer.

How Long Does Sweet Tea Last

When you store sweet tea in the fridge, it can last up to five days in a pitcher with a lid. However, if you put it in an open container, you should finish it within 24 hours for the best taste.

Does Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Have Caffeine?

Yes, Chick-Fil-A sweet tea contains caffeine, 3.88mg per fluid ounce. A cup size (8 fluid ounces) contains 31mg of caffeine.

Another thing that’s great about this copycat recipe is that you can make it at home using decaffeinated tea bags for caffeine-free tea. You’ll make the best Chick-Fil-A iced tea for you and your guests.

Additional nutrition information can be found in the recipe card below.

Easy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe - CopyKat Recipes (5)

More Chick-fil-A Copycat Recipes

  • Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets Recipe
  • Chick Fil A Lemonade Recipe
  • Chick Fil A Mac and Cheese Recipe
  • Chick Fil A Sauce Recipe

Popular Iced Drink Recipes

  • Cherry Limeade
  • DIY Cold Brew Coffee
  • Hibiscus Berry Tea
  • Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso
  • Iced Cake Batter Latte
  • Iced Vanilla Latte
  • Peach Iced Tea
  • Pink Drink at Starbucks
  • Sonic Ocean Water

Check out more of my easy drink recipes and the best copycat Chick Fil A recipes here on Copycat!

Chick Fil A Sweet Tea

You can make a gallon of Chick-fil-A sweet tea with this easy copycat recipe.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate Add to Collection

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chick Fil A Recipes, Chick Fil A Sweet Tea, Sweet Tea

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Calories: 96kcal

Author: Stephanie Manley

Ingredients

  • 16 cups water divided use
  • 4 family-size bags Tetley iced tea blend
  • 2 cups sugar

Instructions

  • Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.

  • Turn off the heat, add the tea bags to the water, and let steep for 4 minutes.

  • Remove the tea bags.

  • Add 2 cups of sugar, and stir until dissolved.

  • Add the remaining 8 cups of water, and stir.

Nutrition

Calories: 96kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 1mg | Sugar: 25g | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.01mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pam Braxton

    Best tea in alamance county!!!!

    Reply

  2. Wanda Vance

    This is almost my exact recipe except when the tea comes to a boil add 1/4 tsp of Baking soda. Then let steep. Pour the hot tea over the sugar- stir- then add cold water to make a gallon! Sometimes i use 2 1/2 cups of sugar

    Reply

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Easy Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Recipe - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is Chick-Fil-A sweet tea made of? ›

Chick-fil-A sweet tea recipe consists of three main ingredients of black tea, water and sugar.

What does Chick-Fil-A put in their tea? ›

Freshly-brewed each day from a blend of tea leaves. Available sweetened with real cane sugar. Nutrition information is calculated using standard product formulations and incorporates multiple data sources. Variation in nutrition & ingredients may occur.

What is in Chick-Fil-A Sunjoy drink? ›

A refreshing combination of our classic Chick-fil-A® Lemonade and freshly-brewed Sweetened Iced Tea.

Why do you put baking soda in sweet tea? ›

Adding a little baking soda to your tea will clear away any cloudiness left from the mixing process, and it's also thought to cut down on any lingering bitter tastes from the steeping tea bags, leaving your tea clarified and smooth and providing your get-together with one fantastic pitcher of tea.

What is Chick-fil-A secret ingredient? ›

That ingredient is monosodium glutamate, more commonly known as MSG. While many people think MSG is only found in Chinese (or Americanized Chinese) cuisine, it's prevalent in dozens of all types of food items, including snacks like Doritos and powder mixes like Hidden Valley's ranch dressing.

How much sugar do they put in Chick-fil-A sweet tea? ›

Nutrition
SmallLarge
Sugar19g43g
Protein0g0g
Vitamin A0%0%
Vitamin C0%0%
10 more rows

What brand of sweet tea does Chick-fil-A use? ›

Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Ingredients

Tetley Iced Tea Family Size Black Tea Bags. Real Cane Sugar (Granulated White Sugar)

Why is Chick-fil-A so moist? ›

It's the pickle brine! Well before being fried to perfection, the chicken breasts are brined with pickle juice for super-juicy, tender meat.

What is a Sunjoy? ›

A refreshing combination of our classic Chick-fil-A® Lemonade and freshly-brewed Unsweetened Iced Tea.

What is the most unhealthy drink at Chick-fil-A? ›

"Chick-fil-A's Peach Milkshake is an unhealthy choice due to its high calorie, sugar, and fat content," says Wan Na Chun, MPH, RD, CPT of One Pot Wellness. Each order of this fast-food milkshake has 13 grams of saturated fats and a massive 98 grams of added sugars, almost 200% of the amount recommended in one day.

What is Chick-fil-A Sunrise drink? ›

Where is the Frosted Sunrise available? This creamy blend of our hand-spun Icedream® Dessert and Simply Orange® Juice was previously available at participating Chick-fil-A® restaurants in Portland, Ore.; Montgomery, Ala.; Tulsa, Okla.

What is the sunrise drink at Chick-fil-A? ›

Chick-fil-A debuts new Spring inspired Frosted Sunrise

The creamy and tart treat is a combination of Chick-fil-A's signature vanilla Icedream and Simply Orange Juice.

Do you put baking soda or powder in sweet tea? ›

LPT: when making sweet tea, add a little baking soda during steaping to make the tea less bitter. The baking soda lets you steap the tea longer before it starts to go bitter. I recommend 8 black tea bags steaped in 4 cups of hot sugar water and 1/8 to 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda (not powder).

How to make tea from scratch? ›

When making herbal tea, use two to three teaspoonfuls of fresh or dried herbs for one cup of water. Bring the water to a boil and allow the herbs to steep for 10 to 15 minutes and then strain the herbs out of the tea before serving. Use a tea strainer or tea ball to contain the herbs if desired.

Why is my sweet tea bitter? ›

The primary culprits are: Tannins: a compound commonly found in tea, wine, coffee, and chocolate, and they can be responsible for making your tea taste bitter.

What artificial sweetener does Chick-fil-A use? ›

Freshly prepared at each Chick-fil-A Restaurant using simple ingredients: real lemon juice—not from concentrate, sugar, and water. Diet Lemonade is sweetened with Splenda® No Calorie Sweetener.

What is McDonald's sweet tea made of? ›

McDonald's Southern Style Sweet Tea is made from a briskly refreshing blend of orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea, sweetened to perfection. Southern Style Sweet Tea from McDonald's is part of the Beverages Menu. There are 210 calories in a large Southern Style Sweet Tea at McDonald's.

Does Chick-fil-A use artificial ingredients? ›

Because chicken is at the center of our menu, we serve only real breast meat with no fillers, artificial preservatives, or steroids. Like other chicken in the United States, ours contains no added hormones.

Is sweet tea good for you? ›

"Sugary drinks, like sweet tea, are one of the biggest contributors to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and more," says Beth Chiodo, MS, RD, LDN, CHWC, founder of Nutritional Living. "Upping your intake of sugary drinks by just one a day can increase your risk for diabetes by 16%."

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