With just 4 basic ingredients, this homemade strawberry lemonade recipe is easy to whip up and makes the perfect, refreshing drink for a hot summer day!
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Why I Love This Easy Strawberry Lemonade Recipe
- Simple to make: All you need is a blender & fine-mesh strainer to make a batch of fresh-squeezed lemonade!
- Cheaper than store-bought lemonade: If one of your favorite things is $7 strawberry refreshers from Starbucks (or the freckled lemonade from Red Robin), this is a cheaper option! While it's not exactly like it, it surely cures that sweet & tart craving for those warm days when you just need a special drink.
- Perfect for using up berries! If you have some sad-looking strawberries you need to use up, homemade lemonade is the perfect way to do that!
- Turn into popsicles: This juice is the perfect base to make strawberry lemonade popsicles! The perfect balance of sweet & tart.
Don't need a whole batch? Make my single serving glass of lemonade and blend in 5 strawberries.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Lemons: I strongly recommend using fresh lemons for these; bottled lemon juice is just not the same! You can also swap these for limes for strawberry limeade (yum!).
- Strawberries: You want to use red, ripe strawberries for this (sweet & juicy strawberries during strawberry season are the best!). If you want to make this strawberry lemonade recipe with frozen strawberries, allow them to thaw before blending (or you'll end up with a slushy consistency). If you want the flavor & color to be a bit lighter (like pink lemonade) you can use fewer strawberries.
- Sugar: I use granulated sugar but you can substitute it for the sweetener of your choice. You will need to adjust the amounts based on how tart your lemons are & how sweet you like your lemonade.
- Water: You will be using a mix of hot and cold water.
- Tools: You'll need a blender & ideally a sieve for this (to strain out the seeds). If you don't have a sieve, a regular strainer with small holes will work or you can strain it through a clean flour sack towel.
Don't have a blender? If you're wondering how to make strawberry lemonade without a blender, mash up the berries really well with a fork and stir together. If using this method, you'll want to use really ripe, red strawberries. You can also use a food processor to blend the berries into a puree before adding them to the liquid mixture.
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Lemonade
Making fresh lemonade couldn't be easier! Follow the steps below to make yourself the perfect summer drink.
Step 1: Mix & Blend
- In a blender, mix the hot water (1 cup) and granulated sugar (½ cup) together until dissolved.
- Add in cold water (3 cups), fresh lemon juice (¾ cup), and strawberries (roughly 18 berries), then blend until smooth.
- Use a large spoon to remove any foam from the top. Furthermore, if you want to remove the seeds, the best way is to run the blended lemonade through a fine-mesh strainer or sieve.
Step 2: Strain Seeds (Optional)
This step is optional but if you want to remove the seeds, you can run them through a fine-mesh strainer or sieve. I don't think it's crucial to but I do like it better without the seeds.
Step 3: Enjoy!
Refrigerate in a large pitcher until chilled, then pour over ice for a refreshing glass of homemade classic lemonade! It can even be fun to freeze the glasses for about 15 minutes before pouring for a chilled, frosted look.
Tips & Variations
The fun part about this fresh strawberry lemonade recipe is that you can truly make it your own! Here are some of my favorite swaps:
- Add mint or other fruits: I love adding fresh mint leaves in lemonade, as it takes on a more elevated flavor! You could even make this into raspberry lemonade by swapping out the berries. Or even watermelon lemonade by substituting the berries for watermelon chunks!
- Adjust the amounts: To make this for a crowd, simply double or triple the batch! Or if you want to make a single serving just for one, quarter the recipe (it's the same quantities as my single serving lemonade recipe!
- Make it sparkling or spiked! You can turn this into sparkling strawberry lemonade with sprite by swapping out some of the water (just be sure not to add the soda until after blending). Or add club soda and/or vodka to make a refreshing summer cocktail.
- Swap the sweeteners: If you want to swap out the granulated sugar, you can sweeten with honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup to your preferred sweetness.
- Use strawberry puree: If you don't have fresh strawberries, this is also delicious with homemade or store-bought strawberry puree!
Frequently Asked Questions:
While fresh strawberries are ideal, frozen strawberries work well too. If using frozen, allow them to thaw before blending (or you'll have a slushie!).
If you want to make this without a blender, mash up the berries really well with a fork then stir with the other ingredients. For this method it's really important to use really ripe, red strawberries. You can also use a food processor to blend the berries into a puree before adding them to the liquid mixture.
The easiest route is to place a clean, thin flour sack cloth over a large bowl. Pour the juice on top and allow it to strain through. You can squeeze any excess lemonade out of the cloth, leaving only seeds in the cloth.
If you have it in a pitcher, simply cover the pitcher with a lid or saran wrap to keep out fridge flavors. Or store in an airtight container. The great thing about this is that, as long as you strain the seeds, it will last up to a week in the fridge.
Looking for more easy drink recipes?
I love making easy summer drinks for a crowd! Here are some of my favorite fruity drink ideas:
Easy Strawberry Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup hot water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 cups cold water
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)
- 18 fresh strawberries cleaned & hulled; you'll need 1-2 cups depending on size... the riper the better!
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- In a blender, use a spoon to stir the hot water (1 cup) and granulated sugar (½ cup) together until dissolved.
- Add in cold water (3 cups), fresh lemon juice (¾ cup), and strawberries (roughly 18 berries), then blend until smooth.
- Use a large spoon to remove any foam from the top. Furthermore, if you want to remove the seeds, run through a fine-mesh strainer or sieve.
- Depending on the tartness of the lemons & sweetness of the strawberries, feel free to add a bit more sugar.
- Pour over ice and enjoy!
- If not enjoying right away, store in the fridge for up to a week. For best results, I suggest covering the container or pitcher with plastic wrap to stay fresh.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Indya | The Small Adventurer says
Making homemade lemonade is something that's been on my to do list FOREVER, and making it *strawberry* flavoured sounds really interesting 😯 and delicious, of course 😋 Plus I love the colour! ❤️