A simple and refreshing homemade lemonade recipe! You only need three ingredients (sugar, water, and lemons, and does water really count as an ingredient?) to make this classic drink recipe.
The Only Lemonade Recipe You’ll Ever Need
On Monday we stretched our skill set a little bit and learned how to make the most gourmet cookies ever thanks to the addition of fancy brown butter. Today, we’re taking things a few steps backwards to something much more basics with a simple (so, so simple) recipe for lemonade.
I know, I know, there are plenty of you out there who don’t “need” a lemonade recipe. Just like not everyone needs a recipe for French Toast or Macaroni & Cheese and some people are perfectly fine just winging it. I totally respect that, but for the rest of us (particularly those of you like me, who like neatly spelled out instructions), we have a recipe.
Lemonade is easy to make, but I’ve found that getting the ratios right is critical. Too much lemon and your lemonade is too tart and undrinkable, too much water and it’s, well, watered down. What we have today is a perfectly balanced recipe that everyone is going to love.
I actually got this lemonade recipe from my brother, Josh. He is always being asked to make lemonade (and tea) for my family. He makes the best lemonade and so I asked him to share his secret recipe with me. Turns out, it came from the back of a lemon juice bottle 🤷🏼♀️. This recipe is similar to that one, but of course I had to make a few small tweaks, including using real, fresh lemons and simple syrup.
Simple Syrup in Lemonade
When Josh makes lemonade, he simply combines everything and stirs it together. Lemon juice, water, and sugar all go into the pitcher and get a good mixing and that’s that. However, the lemonade always needs to be stirred before serving, to make sure the sugar isn’t settled onto the bottom of the pitcher.
To prevent this, I recommend making a simple simple syrup. All this involves is combining one cup of granulated sugar and one cup of water in a saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.
And that’s it. The sugar will be completely dissolved into the water, so when you combine this with your lemon juice (and the rest of the water) the sweetness will be evenly distributed without any evident sugar granules remaining.
Can I Make Lemonade Using Bottled Lemon Juice?
Yes, you can make this lemonade recipe using bottled lemon juice. My brother does this all the time. And the lemonade is always excellent.
However, it probably won’t come as a surprise to you that I recommend using freshly squeezed lemons whenever you have the chance! You’ll only need 3-4 nice sized lemons to get the cup of juice you need for this lemonade recipe.
Enjoy!
More Refreshing Summertime Recipes
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Be sure to check out my How to Make Lemonade video at the bottom of the recipe! YES, this is an easy recipe that can be made without watching the video first, but I’ve been working hard to make videos for all of my recipes and thought this lemonade recipe shouldn’t be an exception! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 100 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Homemade Lemonade Recipe
This recipe makes ½ gallon of lemonade but can successfully be doubled!
Ingredients
- 6 cups water divided (1.4liter)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice¹ seeds removed, pulp may remain (236ml)
Instructions
- Combine 1 cup (236ml) water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside, allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour 1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice into a pitcher. Add sugar/water mixture (simple syrup).
- Add remaining 5 cups (1180ml) water and stir well. Pour over ice and serve, or transfer to refrigerator and allow to chill several hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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SK
Made this today!! Perfection! Came out just like I had hoped. Too much lemon for my son so next time I’m going to use a little less fresh lemon juice and more water. For me – perfect!!!
Christy
This was a great recipe. My husband loved it.
Leah
Loved this recipe!! Super simple and easy. Made it with my 8 year old daughter and my 10 year old niece, they were the chefs today!!! Thanks again. Will be looking for more!.
Christine
Hey, this sounds delicious. I was just wondering do you use regular tapwater? Here our tapwater has chlorine etc. added which gives it a distinct horrible taste, so i’m worried it will ruin the lemonade.
Sam
Hi Christine! I do use tap water, but mine doesn’t have that taste to it. I would think the lemon would cover that chlorine taste but it may be safer to use bottled water. 🙂
Christine
Thank you, Sam!
Vanessa
SUPER DELICIOUS HIGHLY RECOMMEND 😍🙌
Brandy
Just made this for the family and I doubled the batch… boyfriend said it was almost a little too sweet so I added 2 tsp of lemon juice and he tried it again. It was a hit!! Thanks
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Brandy! 🙂
Ava
I just made this for the first time If you have not tried Lavender Lemonade it is my favorite summer drink! Simply make a lavender simple syrup and add it to this lemonade to taste. It’s great! Thank you so much for this Lemonade recipe!! 🍋
Sam
Ooo I’ve never tried that before, Ava! Sounds delicious! 🙂
Suzan
I’m not a lemonade fan but my husband loves it. I am so
happy that I can make it from scratch with no chemicals
or preservatives, plus it’s nice to know you can use bottled
lemonade if need be.
I will share it with everyone I know that likes lemonade.
Bless you for sharing your awesome recipe.
🍋Suzan🍋
Sam
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Suzan! I’m so glad your husband enjoys it, and thank you so much for sharing, too! 🙂
Caroline Watterson
The lemonade was awesome I loved it but I used the lemon juice but it was still amazing
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Caroline! 🙂
Amber
Great easy recipe. My family wanted to make fresh Arnold Palmers and this lemonade was just right to mix with the sweet tea. Thank you for the video didn’t even have to read the recipe! Will be using again.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Amber! 🙂
Christopher
Well, that was disappointing. Followed the directions exactly and it tastes like lemon water. No sweet. No tart. Just bland.
Sam
I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Christopher! Did you happen to leave out the sugar or maybe your lemons weren’t very good.
Caroline Watterson
It was amazing but I used the lemon juice that was already in a bottle but it was still really really good
Elisa
We have tried so many recipes for lemonade this is hands down the best! Not too sweet and not too sour. Perfect!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Elisa! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Mac
I am going to the store to make your lemonade soo yea your recipe is AMAZING I LOVE IT!!!
Sam
That is so awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much. 🙂
Ed
Pretty good recipe. I add the zest from 2 or 3 lemons to the simple syrup before heating which adds some additional lemon flavor
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Ed! 🙂
AnnMarie
Ed that is a great idea..I will be sure to try the lemon zest when making lemonade
Valerie
My lemonade dosen’t really have any flavour so what should I do? Should I squeeze more lemons and put them inside the lemonade or should I add more sugar?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this Valerie! If you don’t have really flavorful lemons this can happen. You could try adding a little more lemon juice or sugar to your tastes. 🙂
Michelle
This Recipe is so freaking good I made a lemonade stand for 1 whole week and each day there were like 30 persons and more I tried and It was good.Everybody Loved it!!!
Sam
That is so awesome! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, and I hope you made some good money from your lemonade stand. 🙂
Jim
Am I able to make this recipe without lemons? My town is very small and our local grocery store does not hold lemons. Any help?
Sam
You could use lemon juice. 🙂
Ariana
this was amazing so doing this again mt dauther loved it so much when it summer again she said she is going to do a lemonade stand 5 stars!!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Ariana! Good luck with the lemonade stand! 🙂