Strawberry Lemonade is a perfect refreshing drink recipe for the summer! Made with real strawberries, simple syrup and fresh lemon juice.
This classic berry Drink Recipe is so simple to make and is sure to be loved by kids and adults alike! Forget the powdered mix of pink lemonade, this fresh berry version is just as easy and has so much more delicious refreshing flavor! For more refreshing and sweet strawberry drinks, try my Strawberry Milkshake and Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie recipes too!
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Strawberry Lemonade Recipe
There’s nothing like a chilled glass of lemonade on a warm day! Adding real strawberry flavor makes the drink sweeter, more flavorful and gives it a pretty color. This is great to serve at birthdays, potlucks, and Summer parties. It makes about 8 cups and it’s easy to double or triple to serve a crowd.
This recipe is perfect at the end of summer when it’s peak berry season and you can easily find ripe plump and juicy strawberries for the homemade pureed strawberry juice. The weather is still pretty warm and this delicious lemonade just hits the spot! Plus berries are usually on sale during late summer so while this drink tastes indulgent, it’s still budget friendly!
Why make homemade Strawberry Lemonade?
While you can get a strawberry lemon mixture from the store, this homemade version makes for a fresher, more authentic strawberry flavor. Make the fruity taste with real pureed strawberry and fresh lemon juice for the ultimate balance of tangy and sweet in easy homemade lemonade. Making homemade lemonade also means you don’t have to worry about food dye, artificial sweeteners, and other ingredients that you prefer to avoid.
Ingredients
- Strawberries: To get enough strawberry flavor, use 1 pound or 3 cups fresh strawberries to flavor your lemonade recipe. Hull the strawberries during the prep time to remove the leafy stem. Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the pureed strawberries if you don’t want any fruit chunks in the recipe.
- Lemon Juice: For the classic lemonade flavor, you need 1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice. You can pick up bottled lemon juice at the store, but freshly squeezed makes a more sharp, sweet, and sour taste for your Strawberry Lemonade.
- Sugar: For the perfect balance of tart and sweet flavor in this recipe, add 2 cups of sugar to the sour lemon juice and strawberry mix. While you can mix sugar directly into the drink mixture, this can result in the grainy sugar collecting at the bottom of the pitcher. To avoid this, prepare simple syrup using 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Cook down the mixture until the sugar dissolves into a thickened syrup. Combined with the pureed strawberry, this is the perfect strawberry syrup that you can add to lemonade as well as other drink recipes.
- Water: Since this Strawberry Lemonade is made with fresh fruit, you want to add plenty of water to balance out all the fruity, tart flavors. It also tames the sugar so it’s not super sweet. It helps give you the perfectly balanced glass of lemonade.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
Blender: The blender makes creating berry lemonade with fresh fruit super easy! See my Tips section below for how to make homemade Strawberry Lemonade if you don’t have a blender to puree the fresh strawberries.
How to Make
Time needed: 25 minutes.
- Prep the Fruit
Add the hulled strawberries to a blender and blend for a full minute to puree the mixture. Note, if you want to avoid any strawberry chunks and strawberry seeds in your lemonade mixture, you can use a fine mesh strainer to filter the strawberry juice from the fruit flesh. Then squeeze fresh lemons to make 1 ½ cups lemon juice.
- Make Simple Syrup
Add 2 cups granulated sugar and 2 cups water to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves into the water to make syrup. Then let the sugar water cool for 20 minutes.
- Combine and Serve
Add the sugar water and fresh strawberry juice to the remaining water in a pitcher. Then stir well to combine. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and ice, and stir again. You can add lemon slices and fresh strawberries to garnish the drink. Serve Strawberry Lemonade over ice.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes. It’s easy to prep lemonade in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 1 week. However, if you want to keep Strawberry Lemonade for a longer period, it’s best to freeze it. For an easy freezing method, prep the lemonade according to the original recipe instructions, only leaving out the ice. After mixing, pour the lemonade into an ice cube tray to make frozen lemonade squares. Once the squares harden, you can transfer them to a freezer bag for more long-term storage. To serve, blend the lemonade ice cubes into a slushy-like consistency, or let the recipe defrost in the fridge.
Nutritional Facts
Tips for Strawberry Lemonade
Sweetener Alternatives
You can swap out the sugar syrup in this recipe for your preferred choice of sweetener. Honey or agave nectar make good alternatives. You could also try sugar alternatives like Splenda or Stevia.
No Blender? No Problem!
Add chopped strawberries to a pot with the sugar and water. Bring to a simmer, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the berries soften and start to release juice. Strain the sugar and berry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the berry chunks. Add the remaining water and lemon juice to the sugar and strawberry syrup to make your no-blender strawberry lemonade.
How to Serve Strawberry Lemonade
Strawberry Lemonade Cocktail
To make a refreshing summer cocktail, you can add a splash of alcohol to your Homemade Strawberry Lemonade recipe. Add a shot of vodka, and mix well before serving. You can also pour in some Sprite or club soda to bring some fizz into the summery drink recipe.
Frozen Strawberry Lemonade
To make a creamy, smoothie-like frozen version of this drink, you can prepare it in the blender following the instructions. Add 3 cups frozen strawberries, 1 ½ cups lemon juice, 1 cup ice, and 1 cup white sugar to your blender. Note that you can add more sugar as needed for sweetness. Turn the blender to high speed and continue to blend until smooth. Then add a tablespoon of water at a time, mixing it in as you go until you have the consistency that you’d like for your frozen lemonade.
How to Store
Store: Enjoy Strawberry Lemonade over ice for the perfect chilled drink. Don’t leave this drink recipe out for more than 2 hours at a time. To store homemade lemonade, remove the ice cubes so that they don’t melt and dilute the mixture. Then store the leftover lemonade in a covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week
Freeze: You can also freeze lemonade for up to 8 months in an airtight container. To serve the lemonade, let it first defrost in the fridge overnight, then stir it again in case any ingredients separated during the freezer time.
Frequent Questions
Yes, freezing is a great long-term storage option for this drink recipe. You can freeze regular or Strawberry Lemonade for up to 6 months.
No, Strawberry and pink lemonade are not necessarily the same. Often pink lemonade is just regular lemonade with food dye added, though some recipes may call for cranberry juice or other juice varieties to achieve the pink color. Strawberry lemonade, on the other hand, is less about color and more about flavor. It’s made with strawberry and lemon juice for the perfect sweet and tart flavor combo.
Yes, if you’re trying to cut back on sugar, you can reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe. Add a little simple syrup at a time and check the taste until you have the lemonade flavor you want. You could also use a sugar substitute for sugar-free lemonade.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries , hulled
- 8 cups water , divided
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 cups ice
Instructions
- Add the strawberries to a blender with 2 cups of water and blend for a full minute.
- Add sugar and 2 cups water to a saucepan.
- On medium heat stir until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Let cool for 20 minutes.
- Add the sugar water and the strawberry juice to the rest of your 4 cups of water in a large pitcher and stir well to combine.
- Add in lemon juice and ice, stirring well to combine and chill the drink.
- Serve in glasses filled with ice.
Nutrition
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Variations
Raspberry Lemonade: Instead of using strawberry puree to flavor the classic lemonade mixture, you can replace the ripe strawberries in the recipe with raspberries. Or, use ½ pound strawberries and ½ pound raspberries for a delicious raspberry and strawberry mixture. You could do the same thing with blueberry lemonade, blackberry lemonade, or other fruit varieties.
Strawberry Limeade: Instead of swapping out the strawberries for another kind of fruit, you can keep the sweet strawberries and exchange the lemon juice for fresh lime juice. Use a 1:1 ratio when swapping the lemon juice for lime juice, and combine freshly squeezed lime juice with the other regular recipe ingredients. Note that lime juice has a more sour flavor than lemon juice, so you may want to mix in a little extra sugar for a balance of tartness.
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