Whip up a glass of freshly squeezed single serving lemonade in under 5 minutes with just a few ingredients! With just a cup of lemonade, there's no sharing required!

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Upon arriving home from vacation and looking into an empty fridge, I found three sources of substance. Leftover lemon cookies, sandwich bread, and 1 lemon.
And since I spent way too much money on eating out while on vacation, I decided it was time to get creative. So I whipped up a peanut butter sandwich, glass of lemonade, and topped it all off with a few bites of a leftover sugar cookie.
Ingredients to Make a Glass of Lemonade:
- Lemon
- Water
- Sugar
No big pitcher or premade mix required, just some good ol' water, sugar, and lemon juice to make a nice and refreshing glass of lemonade. The perfect drink to soothe a sore throat on a 90 degree day.
How to Make Lemonade with Lemon Juice
- Step 1: Cut the lemon in half and squeeze over a bowl. If you have a lemon squeezer tool, this typically works best to get all the juice out but using your hands is just fine.
- Step 2: Remove any seeds that may have landed in the bowl during squeezing.
- Step 3: Heat ยผ cup of water in the microwave (or if your faucet gets super hot, this works too). Once hot, stir in sugar until dissolved. (If you were to just stir the sugar in cold water, it would be grainy.)
- Step 4: Add cold water and lemon juice, stir, top with ice, and you've got yourself a freshly squeezed glass of lemonade!
How many lemons does it take to make a glass of lemonade?
It only takes about 1 large lemon to make a glass of lemonade.
Single Serving Freshly Squeezed Lemonade
Ingredients
- ยผ cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ยพ cup cold water
- 3 Tablespoons FRESH Lemon Juice About 1 large lemon or 2 small
- Lots of ice!
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 large cup, stir the hot water (ยผ cup) and granulated sugar (2 tablespoons) together until dissolved. (For a less sweet drink, start with 1 ยฝ tablespoons of sugar and add the remaining ยฝ tablespoon at the end if you want it sweeter.) For lemons that are more tart, you may need to add a little more sugar.
- Add in cold water (ยพ cup) and fresh lemon juice (3 tablespoons), then mix.
- Top with ice!
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.
Notes
Nutrition
With summer pretty much here (how is tomorrow June?!), I anticipate lots of lemonade in my future. As a wise ol' man once said, "Where there is heat, there shall be lemonade..."
Throwing a summer lemonade party? Check out more ideas below!
LOIS says
Wanted some cold lemonade and this fit the bill. Easy and refreshing. Thank you, Melissa, for this 1-glass fresh-lemonade recipe.
Melissa says
So glad that you enjoyed this recipe Lois!
Than you for taking the time to leave a review, I appreciate it.
Joanie says
Perfect recipe, so yummy and refreshing!
Melissa says
Happy that you enjoyed this recipe Joanie!
Andrea says
I love this. This is my go-to lemonade recipe! If you are questioning trying it out, take my advice: go for it!
Melissa says
So glad that you enjoyed this lemonade recipe Andrea! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review - I appreciate it!
Logan Walker says
Extremely friggin good, perfectly sweet and sour, but you might wanna wait a few minutes before drinking to let the hot and cold water combine lol
Melissa says
Glad that you enjoyed the Lemonade Logan!
Maggie says
I love this recipe! I like my lemonade extra tart so I quartered the amount of sugar, but this is a great base!
Melissa says
So glad that you were able to enjoy and customize your lemonade Maggie.
Thank you for leaving a review!
Ann Carter says
Perfect for when I want just one glass of fresh cold lemonade! Perfect every time!
Melissa says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe Ann, thank you for leaving your review!
Margie says
Very yummy and so easy
Melissa says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe and found it easy to follow!
Judi says
I made it no-sugar with allulose. Diabetic friendly!
Delicious!
Melissa says
That is fantastic Judi, I am glad that you were able to modify and enjoy it!
Janice says
I have made this 2 times now & love that I can make my own glass of lemonade! Sweet, tart, perfect
Melissa says
I am so glad that you have enjoyed this recipe Janice, thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Erika says
I really wanted a drink tonight. I have vodka but no mixer. Not a fan of vodka neat. But I do have fresh lemons!
I whipped up 2 single servings at once and here I am. Having the most delicious vodka and lemonade ever.
I definitely tried it without vodka and WOW! So easy and really refreshing. โค๏ธโค๏ธ
Melissa says
Glad that you were able to enjoy it with your own spin Erika!
Sam says
It was very easy to follow. We have tons of lemons that go in the trash. Now I can make this!
Larasati says
Perfect recipe ๐ found this on a whim when I had a craving for lemonade. Switched out sugar for Splenda Natural since I'm on keto.
Ileana says
YUMMY! this tastes like the lemonade at the fair and the zoo and i LOVE it! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Melissa says
Yay! So glad you loved it, Ilena! You reminded me I need to make a glass of this asap!
PhillyClaire says
So convenient for me to make a single serving. I put a glass with the water and sugar in the microwave for 1 minute. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Perfect every time.
Melissa says
So glad you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to leave me a review - it helps my small biz so much & I really appreciate it!
Amy says
This recipe is fantastic!!! Perfect combination of sweet and a bit sour.
Melissa says
Iโm so glad you loved it, Amy! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
morgan says
really good lemonade! i added more lemon juice because i like my lemonade more tart, but other than that its a great recipe.