Lemonade Recipe
This easy Lemonade Recipe is made with fresh squeezed lemon juice for the best sweet-tart flavor. An ice-cold glass of this homemade lemonade is the perfect refreshing drink on a hot day!
My family loves making homemade lemonade, so I decided that it was about time that I share my lemonade recipe with you. This lemonade is sweet and refreshing with an unbeatable tart lemon flavor.
It is so easy to make lemonade from scratch, and a few simple tips will ensure that your homemade lemonade turns out perfect. For this recipe, you’ll need just fresh lemon juice, sugar and water. It doesn’t get any simpler than that!
We love to enjoy a glass of this lemonade as a special treat on hot summer afternoons. It’s also perfect for parties, sipping on by the pool, or serving with a classic summer meal like burgers and fries. We love these turkey burgers, black bean burgers and air fryer french fries.
Lemonade Recipe Ingredients
To make this homemade lemonade you’ll need just 3 simple ingredients:
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Fresh squeezed lemon juice makes the best lemonade. For this recipe, you will need 1 1/4 cups of lemon juice. Depending on the size of your lemons, you will need to juice 7-10 lemons to get this quantity of juice.
- Granulated Sugar: This recipe uses a mixture of granulated sugar dissolved in water, also known as a simple syrup, to sweeten the lemonade.
- Water: Part of the water is combined with the sugar to make the simple syrup. The rest of the water is stirred in at the end to dilute the lemonade so that you aren’t drinking straight lemon juice.
How to Make Simple Syrup
The first step to making lemonade is to make a simple syrup. A simple syrup is a mixture of sugar and water that is heated until the sugar dissolves into the water. Making this liquid sweetener allows the sugar to incorporate into the lemonade more easily.
To make a simple syrup, combine 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat until it comes to a boil, stirring often. Once the sugar completely dissolves into the water and the mixture looks clear, remove the pan from the heat. Let the simple syrup cool while you juice the lemons.
How to Make Lemonade
Here is an overview of how to make this lemonade recipe. Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Make the simple syrup.
- Cut the lemons in half and juice the lemons.
- Combine the simple syrup, lemon juice and water in a pitcher or other large container. Stir.
- For the best taste, chill lemonade in the refrigerator before serving. Serve lemonade over ice and enjoy!
Lemonade Recipe Tips
- I find that a simple manual citrus juicer works well to easily juice the lemons. If you don’t have a juicer you can squeeze the lemons by hand.
- Be sure to strain out any lemon seeds. If desired, you can pour the juice through a fine mesh strainer to remove any pulp.
- After mixing the ingredients together, taste the lemonade. You may want to add more lemon juice for a stronger tart lemon flavor, or more water if the lemon flavor is too strong. If you like your lemonade very sweet, you can increase the amount of simple syrup, just keep to a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water when making the simple syrup.
- Add ice to the lemonade right before serving. If you add the ice early, it will dilute the lemonade as it melts.
- This recipe makes about 6 3/4 cups of lemonade. You can halve or double the recipe if desired.
Make Ahead Tips
- Lemonade can be stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
- You can also store the simple syrup and lemon juice separately in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When you are ready to serve the lemonade, combine the simple syrup, lemon juice and cold water and serve over ice.
- If you have an abundance of fresh lemons, you can freeze lemon juice for up to 3 months. Use an ice cube tray to freeze the juice for easy storage. Then thaw and use the juice to make lemonade, or use the frozen lemonade cubes to chill your next glass of lemonade!
More Refreshing Drink Recipes
Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 cups cold water, divided
- 1 ¼ cups fresh lemon juice, from 7-10 lemons
Instructions
- Make the simple syrup by combining the granulated sugar and 1 cup of the water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the sugar completely dissolves. Set aside to cool while you juice the lemons.
- Juice the lemons. Strain out any seeds and, if desired, pulp.
- In a pitcher, combine the simple syrup, lemon juice and remaining 4 cups water. Stir. Taste. If you want a more tart lemonade, add a little more lemon juice. For less lemon flavor, add a bit more water.
- Lemonade can be served immediately but is best chilled in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving. Serve over ice.
Notes
- Recipe makes about 6 ¾ cups.
- Lemonade can be stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Super simple and easy to follow directions and the lemonade was so tasty and refreshing! I followed the recipe exactly except for adding about 1/4 cup more sugar in per my husband’s request. This really couldn’t be any easier to make and just super super yummy! My husband & I enjoyed making this together for some quality fun time! Side note: We kept the pulp in because we love the pulp texture and bursts of flavor that come with it and it was amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the lemonade! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out. 🙂
I was craving a good, cold lemonade after the beach and this recipe did not disappoint. Perfect blend of sugar/lemon/water! The simple syrup is genius. I always used granulated sugar and the taste is always gritty and too sweet. This will be my go to lemonade recipe going forward. Thank you!