Nothing Says Summertime Like Classic Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade!
Looking to learn how to make easy homemade lemonade with only a few simple ingredients? You’re in the right place!
Usher in the warm weather with this delicious, easy-to-make, and slightly addictive classic lemonade recipe.
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Beach days, flip flops, and Bar-B-Ques are a few of my favorite summery things. Oh, and homemade lemonade!
I love to make fresh-squeezed lemonade for my family on one of the first sun-filled days of summer.
Lemonade is a wonderful addition to a summer brunch, cookout, or pool day. It is also a fun addition to any otherwise mundane summer day.
Homemade lemonade even has a way of boosting morale among my children. They are always thrilled when I take the time to squeeze out this delicious recipe for them.
Continue to the end of this post for a printable list of ingredients and detailed instructions. Keep and use this recipe for your family this summer. They will not be disappointed.
This easy homemade lemonade is delicious and is also perfect for making popsicles.
Homemade Lemonade Ingredients
This classic homemade lemonade is made with only a few simple ingredients.
- Lemons
- Sugar
- Water
- Mint Leaves (optional)
Lemons for Homemade Lemonade
I hate to be so obvious but the star ingredient of this recipe is lemon. Wash your lemons well in preparation for making your fresh lemonade.
If you prefer your lemonade to have a sharp tart flavor, add the zest of one lemon to your lemonade. The zest of the lemon will also make your lemonade a more pigmented yellow color.
Use a citrus ream, lemon squeezer, or juicer to extract the juice from your lemons.
I typically use a handheld lemon squeezer like the one pictured above. However, I find that juicing my lemons with my Nama Well juicer allows me to extract substantially more juice from each lemon. This is great when making large batches of this recipe for hosting.
How many lemons do you need to make a pitcher of lemonade? For this recipe, I use six large Meyer lemons.
Sweetener for Easy Homemade Lemonade
While this classic lemonade recipe uses granulated sugar as its sweetener, you can substitute the sugar for the sweetener of your preference.
Raw cane sugar, honey, agave nectar, and maple syrup are alternatives that can be used to sweeten your lemonade.
Keep in mind that using honey or raw cane sugar can change the final color of your lemonade.
Mint or Herbs
Add your favorite herb to give a little flair to this homemade lemonade recipe or not. It is totally up to your preference.
Mint and basil are two herbs that pair beautifully with lemonade. Plus, they make a pretty garnishment for most fruit beverages.
For the sake of this post, I added a few mint leaves to my lemonade.
Simple Homemade Lemonade Recipe
Homemade Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (6 large lemons)
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup of sugar (can be substituted for honey, maple, or agave nectar)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring two cups of water to a simmer. Once the water has reached a simmer remove the pot from the stove.
- Add one cup of sugar to the pot of hot water. Stir until the water and sweetener are well combined. This is your simple syrup.
- Place the simple syrup aside and let cool while you begin juicing lemons.
- Roll lemons to loosen juices. Using a citrus ream or lemon squeezer, juice 1 cup of lemon juice.
- Add 1 cup of lemon juice to the now cooled simple syrup.
- Once the lemon and simple syrup are combined well add the final 2 cups of water to the mixture.
- ENJOY!
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This recipe sounds so good! I will definitely be trying this since both my husband and I love lemonade!
Never thought to add mint! I’ve added strawberries. There’s nothing quite like lemonade in the summer, especially homemade when you control the ingredients. Thanks for this!
Thank you for including sugar alternatives. I put my honey in mine and it tastes great.
This sounds delicious! Iām going to try this out with a sugar substitute for the sweetener and see how it goes!š
This sounds amazing! And I never would have thought to add mint or basil, which I will definitely have to try