Listen, once you make strawberry lemonade from scratch, it’s hard to go back. This recipe keeps things simple with fresh strawberries, real lemon juice, and enough sweetness to balance everything out without tasting like straight sugar water. As someone who’s been creating drink recipes, Southern comfort food, and easy entertaining recipes for over 10 years, I can tell you the secret is using ripe strawberries and fresh lemons. That’s what gives you flavor that actually tastes homemade.
Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Ingredients:
When testing this recipe over and over, I noticed adjusting to taste is always the best way to go. You need to make sure it's sweet enough or tart enough for you to enjoy!
- Strawberries: Fresh or frozen will work. If using frozen, I recommend defrosting them first.
- Lemons
- Water
- Sweetener or Sugar
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Lemonade
Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Make the simple syrup: Pour 2 cups of water into a pan on medium-high heat. Add in the sweetener and stir. Continue to stir until the mixture is clear. Set the simple syrup aside.
- Prep the strawberries: Wash and hull the strawberries. Slice them if needed so they blend easier.
- Blend the strawberries: Add the strawberries and a little water to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Strain: For smoother lemonade, strain the strawberry puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds and pulp.
- Juice the lemons: Squeeze fresh lemons until you have enough juice for the lemonade. Remove any seeds.
- Mix the lemonade: In a large pitcher, combine the strawberry puree, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and cold water.
- Stir until combined: Mix well until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Taste and adjust: Taste the lemonade and adjust as needed. Add more sugar for sweetness or more lemon juice for extra tart flavor.
- Chill before serving: Refrigerate until cold. The flavor gets even better once it has time to chill.
- Serve over ice: Pour over ice and garnish with fresh strawberries or lemon slices if desired.
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Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Recipe
Want to save this recipe for later?
I'll email it to you, so you can come back to it later! You will also grab your FREE ebook with my best 30-minute one-pot meals! Dinner stress stops here.
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups sweetener or sugar
- 5 cups strawberries See notes.
- 1-1 ½ cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice This was 4-5 lemons for me.
- additional water to adjust to taste I added 5-6 cups.
Instructions
- Pour 2 cups of water into a pan on medium-high heat. Add in the sweetener and stir.
- This will create a simple syrup. Continue to stir until the mixture is clear. Set the simple syrup aside.
- Add the strawberries to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Use a strainer to strain the pureed strawberries and extract the juice into a bowl. (You can use the pulp for smoothies!)
- Add the strained strawberry juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup from the pan to the blender. Blend until combined.
- Here is where you taste the lemonade repeatedly and make adjustments as needed. It should be super sweet at first. Start with 1 cup and add additional water until the lemonade suits your taste. If you like more lemon flavor, add additional lemon juice. If you like it sweet, make it sweeter.
Notes
- The number of lemons you will need will vary based on the size of the lemons you use and how much juice you can get from each.
- You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If using frozen, thaw them first.
- Adjust this recipe to suit your taste and needs. If you like really sweet lemonade, add more sweetener. The overall taste will vary greatly because some strawberries are sweeter than others, some lemons are more tart than others. It's up to you to taste the lemonade and adjust to suit what you like. Add more lemon, strawberries, and sweetener as necessary.
- You can use bottled lemon juice if you want. I do not like the taste, so I don’t use it.
- If you are having trouble juicing the lemons, place them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. This will help soften them up.
- You can heat the simple syrup in the microwave if you wish. Heat it until the mixture turns clear, timing will vary.
- The macro nutrients noted assume zero calorie monkfruit is used. If you’re using table sugar feel free to calculate the nutrition using the calculator of your choice.
Nutrition
Nutrition Data
Macros are provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. This information is calculated using MyFitnessPal.com. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Frequently Asked Questions and Recipe Pro Tips
Fresh strawberries will give you the best flavor and texture, especially when they’re in season. They’re naturally juicy and blend up smooth. But frozen strawberries work great too and honestly make the lemonade extra cold and slushy without watering it down. If using frozen, let them thaw slightly so they blend easier. You may also need a little extra sweetener since frozen berries can be less sweet than fresh.
You can, but fresh lemon juice tastes way better. Bottled works in a pinch, but fresh gives you that bright lemonade flavor everybody actually wants.
Add more sugar or sweetener a little at a time. Lemons can be aggressive sometimes.
Regular sugar, honey, monk fruit, agave, or stevia all work. Use whatever fits your vibe.
Yes. Store it in the fridge and stir it before serving because the strawberry puree will settle some.
It’s best within 2–3 days stored in the fridge. After that, the flavor starts to lose a little sparkle.
Too much lemon rind or seeds can do that. Stick to fresh juice and avoid blending the white pith from the lemons.
Yep. If you want smoother lemonade without pulp or seeds, strain it through a fine mesh sieeve.
Too much water or melting ice will do it every time. Use cold ingredients and don’t overload the ice.
Store the lemonade in an airtight container in the fridge as soon as it’s made so it stays fresh and cold. It will last about 5–7 days, but honestly, it tastes best within the first 2–3 days before the flavor starts to fade. Give it a stir before serving since the strawberries can settle at the bottom.
To freeze lemonade, pour it into freezable trays and freeze. Once the lemonade is frozen, transfer the ice cubes to a freezer-safe bag or container. Frozen lemonade can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Pair With These Recipes
How to Grill Burgers
How to Grill Chicken Wings
Traeger Smoked Ribs
Smoked Crab Legs
More Lemonade Recipes
Watermelon Lemonade
Sugar Free Lemonade
Frozen Strawberry Lemonade
Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
JL says
Fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!
staysnatched says
You're welcome!
Dana says
I couldn't believe how easy it was to make this at home! I won't be purchasing any powdered strawberry lemonade mixes again.
staysnatched says
Yay! So glad to hear it.
Kasey says
This sooo good!! Definitely worth a try! My strainer wasn’t very good, so it had the texture of a melted smoothie. It’s still a 10/10. Thanks for the recipe.
staysnatched says
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Monica O says
I had strawberries I needed to use up, and this was great! I made vodka strawberry lemonades, and they were perfect for the hot weather. This recipe isn't overly sweet, and it's lightyears better than the premade stuff at the store. I'll def be making this over and over again!
staysnatched says
Glad to hear you will make it again!