Here's How to Make the Best Strawberry Lemonade from Scratch (2024)

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Nicole Rufus

Nicole RufusAssistant Food Editor

Nicole is the Assistant Food Editor at Kitchn. She writes about recipes as well as developing some of her own. You can usually find her playing around in the kitchen or online “window” shopping. She currently resides in Brooklyn and is getting her master’s in Food Studies.

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published Jul 24, 2021

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Here's How to Make the Best Strawberry Lemonade from Scratch (1)

This refreshing pitcher drink, made with juicy strawberries and freshly squeezed lemon juice, is great for lemonade stands and family cookouts alike.

Serves4 to 6Prep10 minutes to 15 minutes

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Here's How to Make the Best Strawberry Lemonade from Scratch (2)

Nothing screams summer like a glass of ice-cold strawberry lemonade. When I was growing up, my family was partial to the kind you make using Crystal Light powder, but, like most other things, strawberry lemonade tastes so much better when it’s made from scratch.

With just a few simple ingredients, you can make a pitcher of strawberry lemonade that’s guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. It’s perfect for lemonade stands and family cookouts alike, and —if you’re hanging with a 21+ crowd —it’s delicious with a shot of your favorite liquor. Here’s how to make this extra-special summertime treat.

What Is Strawberry Lemonade Made Of?

You only need five ingredients to make strawberry lemonade.

  1. Strawberries: Opt for the juiciest, ripest strawberries you can find, which will make for the sweetest, most flavorful drink.
  2. Lemons: If you have time, let the lemons come to room temperature before squeezing them with a handheld juicer, which will help you get as much juice out of them as possible.
  3. Sugar: Strawberries are sweet, but not sweet enough to counteract all of those puckery lemons. Because the lemonade is made in the blender, the sugar is guaranteed to dissolve.
  4. Water: I find the perfect ratio to be 4 cups water to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. If you like your lemonade less sweet, add more cold water 1/4 cup at a time.
  5. Ice: To avoid diluting your drink, add the ice to individual glasses instead of the pitcher.

The process is easy: Blend the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar until the strawberries are puréed and the sugar dissolves, then pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher. Stir in cold water and your drink is complete!

The Case for Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

I know it’s quicker and easier to buy a bottle of lemon juice from the store, but I can assure you the taste of freshly squeezed lemon juice is the key to the best homemade lemonade. If you grab a friend (or your kids) and bust out the citrus juicer, it will go quickly!

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If you know you’ll want to make more lemonade in the future, juice extra lemons and store the juice in the freezer until you’re ready for your next batch. (I like to freeze the juice in ice cube trays, then transfer them to a freezer bag). When it’s drink time, it will feel just as easy as grabbing a bottle of the store-bought stuff, but you’ll be rewarded with the taste of freshly squeezed juice.

3 Twists on Strawberry Lemonade

The best thing about lemonade is that it’s a blank canvas for so many flavors. Here are my favorite ways to play around with this recipe.

  1. Swap in other berries: If you’ve got raspberries or blueberries on hand, swap them in for some or all of the strawberries.
  2. Try sparkling water: For a bubbly beverage, use sparkling water (or a sparkling wine, such as Cava) in place of still. Serve immediately to make sure the drink keeps its sparkle.
  3. Add a shot of liquor: A little gin or vodka will turn this pitcher into a party.

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Amelia Rampe

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Here's how to make the best strawberry lemonade.

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How To Make Strawberry Lemonade

This refreshing pitcher drink, made with juicy strawberries and freshly squeezed lemon juice, is great for lemonade stands and family cookouts alike.

Prep time 10 minutes to 15 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 2 cups

    strawberries (10 to 12 ounces)

  • 2 pounds

    lemons (8 to 10 medium)

  • 1 cup

    plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 4 cups

    cold water, plus more as needed

  • Ice

Equipment

  • Knife and cutting board

  • Measuring cups and spoons

  • Citrus juicer

  • Blender

  • 2-quart or larger pitcher

  • Mixing spoon

  • Fine-mesh strainer

Instructions

  1. Prep the strawberries and squeeze the lemons. Hull and quarter 2 cups fresh strawberries. Place in a blender. Juice 2 pounds lemons until you have 1 1/2 cups juice. Add the juice to the blender.

  2. Make the strawberry mixture and strain. Add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and blend on high speed until the strawberries are puréed and the sugar is dissolved, 20 to 25 seconds. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a 2-quart or larger pitcher. Discard the contents of the strainer.

  3. Add the water and serve over ice. Add 4 cups cold water to the pitcher and stir until thoroughly combined. Taste the strawberry lemonade; if it’s too intense, add more cold water 1/4 cup at a time as needed. Serve the strawberry lemonade over ice.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftover strawberry lemonade can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

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Here's How to Make the Best Strawberry Lemonade from Scratch (2024)

FAQs

What is strawberry lemonade made of? ›

How to Make Strawberry Lemonade. This recipe is incredibly easy! Simply blend up fresh strawberries with water, agave, and a generous amount of lemon juice and it's ready to serve! With this dump and blend method, it will be a little frothy at the top (which we enjoyed).

Is there a difference between pink lemonade and strawberry lemonade? ›

Strawberry lemonade is named based on the ingredients while pink lemonade is named based on the color. So, strawberry lemonade is a type of pink lemonade, but pink lemonade can also be made with any other type of red berry.

What can I add to lemonade to make it taste better? ›

Salt will make the citrus taste more vibrant, yet less acidic. It'll also balance out your sweetener of choice. But remember that a little goes a long way! You don't need much; just a pinch is perfect.

What is in Olive Gardens strawberry lemonade? ›

4.59. A refreshing mix of lemonade, sparkling water, strawberries and passion fruit.

Is strawberry lemonade healthier than soda? ›

Fruit-flavoured fizzy drinks like lemonade and fizzy orange are slightly better choices than cola, but not ideal as your regular drink. The combination of sugar and acid can damage your teeth, and over time, excess calories from a high-sugar diet can lead to weight gain.

What is Chick Fil A lemonade made from? ›

Classic lemonade using three simple ingredients: real lemon juice—not from concentrate, cane sugar, and water. Nutrition information is calculated using standard product formulations and incorporates multiple data sources.

What are the ingredients in 7 11 strawberry lemonade? ›

Ingredients. Filtered Water, Sugar, Lemon Juice From Concentrate (filtered Water, Lemon Juice Concentrate), Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Strawberry Juice From Concentrate (filtered Water, Strawberry Juice Concentrate), Fruit And Vegetable Juice Concentrate (color), Gum Arabic.

How many lemons needed for 1 cup of juice? ›

How Much Juice in One Lemon? On average, there are 3 tablespoons of juice in one lemon. So, for a cup of fresh lemon juice, you would need 5 and a quarter lemons. But, because some lemons are less juicy than others, it's safe to say you'd need 5 and a half lemons for a cup of lemon juice.

What is the strawberry lemonade called at Starbucks? ›

Starbucks Refreshers™ Strawberry Lemonade.

Is Minute Maid pink lemonade the same as regular lemonade? ›

Many big brand companies make pink lemonades using concentrated grape juice; for instance, when looking at the ingredient lists for Minute Maid's regular and pink lemonades, the only differences are that the pink lemonade includes 1% more juice, which can almost certainly be attributed to the added ingredient of grape ...

Is strawberry lemonade good for you? ›

Strawberry lemonade contains essential nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, and potassium, all of which contribute to overall health and well-being.

Why does my homemade lemonade taste bitter? ›

I suspect you're getting “pith” in your lemon, the white stuff under the yellow part. Most recipes for lemon call either for the zest (the yellow part of the peel) or the juice/flesh. Omit the pith and it should eliminate the bitterness.

Why do you put baking soda in lemonade? ›

The acid in the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda or bicarb. You can see the mixture will bubble as it creates the gas, which in turn causes the fizzing!

When you make lemonade What should you add first to the water? ›

The Secret to Making Sure the Sugar Dissolves

So the best way to make lemonade is to make a simple syrup first, by heating water and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved, and then mix that with the lemon juice.

What is strawberry drink made of? ›

Add strawberries, sugar and juice from lime (you can change the quantity of sugar and lime according to how ripe the strawberries are) in a blender. Blend until smooth puree. Add water and blend again for a minute.

What is lemonade mostly made of? ›

It is traditionally a homemade drink using lemon juice, water, and a sweetener such as cane sugar, simple syrup, maple syrup or honey.

What is a strawberry lemonade at Starbucks? ›

Sparkling, real fruit juices meet cool coconut water and just the right amount of caffeine. Sweet strawberry and tangy lemon juices bubble together for a taste that quenches while it uplifts.

Why is strawberry lemonade pink? ›

Pink lemonade is sometimes colored with cranberry juice, raspberry juice or crushed strawberries, but it's more often colored with red food dye. This may come as a surprise to some, but it's a vast improvement from the way it was dyed when first appearing on the beverage scene in the mid 1800s.

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