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You’re 4 ingredients away from the sweetest, tangiest homemade lemonade! Just squeeze, measure, stir and sip.
Homemade Lemonade
Ready for a tall, cool glass of summer’s favorite drink? You’re in luck! You’re just minutes away from the best homemade lemonade of your life.
Homemade lemonade only uses a few ingredients (I’m sure you can guess what they are), but the method here really makes all the difference.
Here’s my proven method – start by using fresh lemons! I always use a hand juicer to speed things up, but you can squeeze by hand if you need to. Then you will mix the lemon juice with the sugar directly until it is completely dissolved. This will ensure you don’t end up with a grainy texture!
This recipe for lemonade calls for a little less water than you will actually need because it accounts for the water that will come from the melted ice. If you’re not going to use ice, you will need to add a little more water.
That’s it. That’s all you need to know. Enjoy!
What’s In Lemonade?
No surprises here! This classic lemonade recipe uses the 4 simple ingredients you’d expect.
- Lemon Juice– I always squeeze my own lemons! I haven’t tried making this recipe using the bottled juice that is kept in the fridge, so I’m not sure how it would turn out.
- Sugar
- Water
- Ice– Okay, this is not *strictly* necessary. BUT I recommend using the measured ice (it will immediately chill your lemonade). If you don’t have ice, you have to add some extra water to account for the water from the melted ice.
How to Make Homemade Lemonade
Making homemade lemonade really is as easy and squeezing, stirring and measuring.
- Start by juicing your lemons. You can do this by hand squeezing or using a hand juicer.
- Once you have squeezed 2 cups of lemon juice, add 2 cups of granulated sugar to the lemon juice and whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved. This is your concentrated lemon syrup.
- Measure out 5 cups of cold water and pour into a large pitcher.
- Whisk the syrup into the water until completely combined.
- Lastly, add 2 cups of ice to the pitcher. Most of this will melt (which is what we want!). If you forgo the ice, make sure you add some water to compensate for the missing liquid you’d get from the ice once it melts!
How long does homemade lemonade last?
If you keep your lemonade stored in the fridge, you can expect it to last up to a week and be just fine. Just stir before serving!
Can I make popsicles with This Lemonade Recipe?
Absolutely! It is actually one of my favorite things to do with a batch of lemonade. If you are in the market for popsicle molds, this is the mold I have and love.
How to Flavor Lemonade
I actually have a full post on how to make Homemade Fruit Lemonades that will give you all the info you need.
Homemade Lemonade
Ingredients
- 2 cups lemon juice, approx 6 large lemons
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 cups cold water
- 2 cups ice
Instructions
- Juice the lemons. Add the lemon juice and sugar to a bowl and whisk. Whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Measure out 5 cups of cold water in a large pitcher, add in the lemon & sugar mixture. Stir until well combined.
- Stir in the 2 cups of ice.
- Taste and add more water If needed, but remember when the ice melts it will be diluted a tad more.
I LOVE lemonade!!! Where did you get that cute pitcher??
It is just a large mason jar, 1/2 gallon mason jar. Thanks Sydnee!!
Was a high hit for the whole family!! Kids loved squeezing the lemons. We added the ice (and a little extra ice) to the blender to make an icee. Will be doing all summer long!
Tastes just like Chick-fil-A! It’s our go-to lemonade recipe. So easy and so good!
10/10 I love this homemade lemonade. what are you waiting for go and make it NOWWW!!!!!