Lemonade is refreshing and super easy! Making it at home allows for customization of the sweetness and tartness levels to suit your taste. It's typically chilled and served over ice, making it perfect for hot weather. The different components can be made ahead. Unlike store-bought lemonade, it does not contain preservatives or artificial flavors.
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Homemade lemonade is so easy to make!
This is our best lemonade recipe, with the perfect ingredient ratio. Of course, you can modify this part to suit your and your family's palate.
Make it at home and you'll have a refreshing and healthy drink that is perfect for any occasion, especially during Summer for barbecues, picnics, potlucks, camping trips, hiking, and similar activities.
- Cost-effective: making your own lemonade can be much cheaper than buying pre-made drinks, especially if you already have lemons and sugar in your pantry.
- Customizable: you can adjust the sweetness and tartness to your liking. You can also add other flavors like strawberries, mint, or ginger to create your own unique lemonade recipe, like this pink lemonade or watermelon lemonade. Or spike it up and make this blueberry lemonade with vodka when celebrating with friends.
- Healthier: you can control the ingredients that go into it. You can use fresh, natural ingredients and avoid artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives found in store-bought lemonade.
FAQ
This will depend on the size of your lemons and how tart you want your lemonade to be. As a general rule, you'll need about 6 to 8 large lemons to make 1 cup of fresh lemon juice.
This will depend on your personal taste preferences. As a starting point, you can use ½ cup of sugar for every 3 cups of water. You can adjust the sweetness to your liking by adding more or less sugar.
While you can use bottled lemon juice, it won't have the same fresh flavor as using freshly squeezed lemon juice. If you do use bottled juice, be sure to read the label to make sure it doesn't contain any added sugar or preservatives.
Yes, it can. Freeze leftovers in a freezer-safe container, or simply make out fantastic frozen lemonade concentrate and have fresh lemonade every time you crave it.
Ingredient list
- Lemon juice: freshly squeezed.
- White granulated sugar.
- Cold water: use regular water with ice cubes or make the lemonade ahead so it has time to chill in the fridge before serving.
- Lemon slices and mint leaves, to serve.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Variations & substitutions
I used to have a Café, and we served lemonade with mint and ginger, which we processed in the blender with ice. It was cold, refreshing, and delicious!
Feel free to experiment with different ingredients and flavors to create your own unique homemade lemonade recipe.
- Fruit: add fresh or frozen berries to your lemonade for a sweet or tangy (depending on the berry) and fruity twist. Peaches and pineapple, fresh or canned, also pair well.
- Mint: add fresh mint leaves to your lemonade for a refreshing and cooling flavor.
- Ginger: add fresh ginger to your lemonade for a spicy and zesty kick.
- Herbs: lavender, rosemary, and thyme, all pair very well. Add lavender flowers or fresh sprigs of herbs to your lemonade for a soothing and floral or herby taste.
- Honey, maple syrup, or agave: substitute the sugar in your lemonade with another syrup for a more natural and healthier sweetener.
How to make lemonade
Making lemonade from scratch is really very, very easy!
Add lemon juice to the pitcher with lemon slices and ice cubes.
Next comes the sugar syrup.
Fill with water halfway, taste, adjust with more lemon juice or syrup or both, and then continue to the top.
Cut lemon slices to place in the glasses as garnishes before serving.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
Make sure you don't add all the juice and syrup from the start, just in case your pitcher is not large enough. That way, you can adjust.
Storage
Homemade lemonade can last for up to 5-7 days if stored properly in the refrigerator.
However, its freshness and flavor will gradually decline over time. These tips can extend the shelf life of your lemon drink.
- Store it in an airtight container: transfer your lemonade from the pitcher to a clean container with a tight-fitting lid or cover.
- Keep it refrigerated: it should be in the refrigerator at 40°F (4°C) or below. This will help prevent bacterial growth and keep it fresh.
- Check for signs of spoilage: If your lemonade looks cloudy, has an off odor or taste, or shows signs of mold, discard it immediately.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperatures, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Simple sugar syrup: I like it much better than using sugar because the latter sometimes doesn't dissolve completely or you have to stir frequently. Making the syrup takes about 5 minutes and it keeps in the fridge almost indefinitely. Always in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Freezing lemonade: it keeps for a month.
- Stir before serving: The ingredients can settle at the bottom of the jar or pitcher over time. Give it a good stir before serving to distribute the ingredients evenly.
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Homemade Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice, 6 to 8 lemons
- ¾ cup sugar, see Notes below if you like very sweet lemonade
- ¾ cup water, at room temperature
- 2-3 cups cold water
- Ice cubes
- Lemon slices and mint leaves, optional, for serving
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 cup of water.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat when it starts to boil and let the syrup cool to room temperature. The sugar will have dissolved and you'll have a clear, simple syrup. You can store it in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and keep it in the fridge almost indefinitely.
- Juice lemons to make 1 cup. You might find an electric citrus juicer handy for this task.
- Combine ¾ cup of lemon juice, ½ cup of cold syrup, 2 cups of cold water, and a cup of ice cubes in a large pitcher (about 6 cup capacity).
- Stir well, taste, and adjust to your palate. I use the whole of the lemon juice and syrup, but the first time it's better if you mix less of each and then adjust. You might want more sweetness and less lemon or the other way around.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes if not using ice cubes.
- Pour into glasses with a few cubes of ice with lemon slices and mint leaves if desired.
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