Strawberry Lemonade Recipe (2024)

Fresh Strawberry Lemonade is the perfect summer drink. My easy recipe has the perfect balance of tart lemon juice and sweet strawberries for a flavorful drink the whole family will love.

One of my favorite things about the arrival of warmer weather is strawberry season! That means we can make my easy strawberry lemonade recipe with fresh strawberries from the Farmer’s Market or strawberry picking.

This delicious summery drink is easy to make from scratch with simple ingredients like fresh lemons, juicy strawberries and homemade simple syrup. This combination of fresh ingredients makes the best homemade strawberry lemonade you’ve ever tasted!

My detailed instructions will teach you the best way to make this delicious pink lemonade. If it’s a hot day, you may even want to make a double batch… it’s that good!

Ingredients

• ½ cup of fresh strawberry puree
• 1 ¼ cups of granulated sugar
• 4 cups of cold water
• 1 ½ cups of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 sliced lemon
• 4 sliced fresh strawberries
• 2-3 cups of ice cubes

Equipment

• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Citrus Juicer
• Blender
• Measuring cups
• Large Pitcher
• 4 pint sized mason jars

By the Numbers: How to Make Strawberry Lemonade

Follow these simple steps to learn how to make the best strawberry lemonade with basic ingredients.

Step 1: Puree Strawberries.

Start by adding about one cup of ripe strawberries to your blender (or food processor) and puree for a few seconds, then set your strawberry puree aside. We like ours chunky for extra strawberry flavor. 1 cup of strawberries should make about ½ cup of puree.

Step 2: Prepare Simple Syrup.

To make simple syrup, add 1 ¼ cups of granulated sugar and 2 cups of water to a saucepan. Turn your stove onto medium heat and stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved into the water. Turn off burner and set simple syrup aside.

Step 3: Add Lemon Juice and Water to Pitcher.

Cut and squeeze 5-6 fresh lemons using a citrus juicer. Then add 1 ½ cups of the fresh lemon juice to your pitcher along with 2 cups of cold water.

Step 4: Combine Lemon Mixture with Simple Syrup.

Add the simple syrup you made to the pitcher and stir until well combined. For best results, I like to refrigerate my strawberry lemonade for a couple of hours before proceeding. It keeps it ice cold at the end – you do not want room temperature lemonade! Once the fresh-squeezed lemonade is chilled, add the pureed strawberry mixture and stir until combined.

Step 5: Add Strawberry and Lemon Slices.

Place 4 sliced strawberries and 1 sliced lemon into pitcher and stir until well combined.

Step 6: Add Ice.

Finally, add 2-3 cups of ice cubes to the pitcher and stir really well to make sure it’s ice cold. If you need to top it off with a little bit of water, that’s okay.

Step 7: Serve Strawberry Lemonade.

After it’s mixed well and tastes to your liking, serve over ice with straws in pint-sized jars. I like to make sure each glass has at least one lemon slice and a few strawberry slices in it.

Tips for Making the Best Strawberry Lemonade

Answers to all of your questions about making this easy homemade strawberry lemonade recipe, including tips and substitution ideas.

1. How to make it into a frozen drink?

To make frozen strawberry lemonade, blend the ice into the chilled beverage instead of adding it to the pitcher before serving. You may need more ice than the recipe calls for to get the right texture.

If you don’t want to lose the intensity of the strawberry lemonade taste, you can also freeze strawberry lemonade in an ice cube tray. Then use those ice cubes for blending or save them in a freezer bag for later.

2. How to make smooth lemonade?

For smoother lemonade, strain the fresh squeezed lemon juice through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pulp. You’ll also want to blend the berries into a very smooth puree to break down the strawberry seeds, then strain before adding to the lemonade.

Alternatively, you can substitute strawberry juice or strawberry syrup for the strawberry puree for an even smoother homemade lemonade.

3. Can alternative sweeteners be substituted?

Lemonade is one area where I go straight to pure cane sugar. However, you can definitely use other sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, agave nectar or liquid stevia in a 1:1 ratio if you don’t want to use white sugar.

Also, if you make this simple recipe the first time and find it’s too sweet for your personal preference, try using a little less sugar the next time you make it. You’ll find the perfect balance for your taste buds with time.

4. Can lemon juice concentrate be substituted?

I really suggest juicing your own lemons instead of using a concentrate. You just don’t get the same fresh lemon flavor with bottled concentrates!

If you really want to, the substitution ratio is 2-3 tablespoons of lemon concentrate in place of each fresh lemon.

5. What other kind of fruit can be used?

Try mixing this homemade lemonade recipe up with other fruits:

• Use peaches, nectarines, cherries or blueberries in place of strawberries.
• Substitute blackberries or raspberries for strawberries to make blackberry or raspberry lemonade. You’ll want to strain the seeds with these berries.
• For a slightly sweeter flavor, add the juice of one fresh squeezed orange in place of one of the lemons.
• Substitute lime juice for lemon for a tangy Strawberry Limeade (or make my Cherry Limeade Recipe instead).
• Omit the strawberries altogether for a delicious classic lemonade.

No matter which fruit you go with, it’ll be the perfect summertime drink to enjoy!

6. More delicious strawberry recipes?

Looking for the perfect way to use the fresh strawberries you bought or picked? Try some of these tasty recipes:

• Strawberry Jam
• Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
• Strawberry Milkshakes
• Strawberry Cheesecake Shakes
• Baked Brie with Jam
• Strawberry Spinach Salad

7. Where to buy produce online?

If you don’t enjoy going to the Farmer’s Market, there are also tons of places to buy produce online and have it delivered to your door. One of the places I shop most is Misfits Market because I love saving produce from the landfill.

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