homemade lemonade fresh lemons

Easy Homemade Lemonade

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Sipping on ice-cold lemonade on a hot day is the epitome of summer in the south. Get your hands on a bag of fresh juicy lemons and create amazing easy homemade lemonade to enjoy all summer long.

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lemons half

a dime a dozen

Few things beat a refreshing glass of lemonade to greet the unofficial first day of summer. I didn’t plan it out this time, it was sort of thrust upon me and I tried to make the most out of the lemons life handed me.

This week I was searching for a couple of lemons to roast with chicken (yum). I added a bag of lemons to my grocery list for good measure, expecting to use the extra 1 or 2 for salad or garnish for other meals.

To my surprise, the bag of lemons I requested and had delivered through Instacart contained TWELVE lemons!! I thought lemons came in small bags of 3-4?? I’ve apparently been out of the grocery shopping game for too long.

Nevertheless, I managed to use about 4 and was running out of ideas of how to use the remaining bowlful. Then the idea hit me: fresh lemonade! The perfect way to use ALL of the lemons without wasting any delicious citrus.

easy peasy lemon squeezy

When I think of freshly squeezed lemonade, my mind immediately goes to the state fair where endless booths offer extremely large cups filled to the brim with sugary lemony goodness.

I’m not sure what exactly goes into those lemonades that make them so desirable, but it’s so easy to recreate lemonade at home.

Homemade lemonade only requires 3 ingredients: lemons, sugar, and water. The sweetness of sugar and tartness of the lemon in one drink are an undeniably great combination.

how to: juice lemons

Begin by slicing roughly 8 lemons in half. It’s okay if the seeds don’t fall out, they should be contained in the juicing process.

A lot of recipes insist using an electric juicer to maximize your yield. I love using my juicer for larger citrus such as oranges or grapefruits. I’ve found that an inexpensive citrus juicer does just as good as an electric when it comes to lemons.

With the inside of the lemon facing down towards the bowl, squeeze each lemon half into a medium bowl or mason jar. The juicer will contain most (if not all) of the seeds and in no time you’ll have about a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice!

Refrigerate your lemon juice in a mason jar or covered container.

If you love tart tastes you should definitely give this juice a sip. It puckered me up like no other!

lemon juice simple syrup lemonade
Simple syrup and lemon juice

how to: create a simple syrup

A simple syrup may sound intimidated and loaded with bad ingredients, but this one only contains water and sugar.

Heat one cup water and one and half cups sugar over medium high heat. The water doesn’t need to come up to a full boil, our goal is to dissolve the sugar.

As the water heats up, stir until the sugar dissolves and remove from heat. Allow the syrup to chill and refrigerate.

I couldn’t forego tasting this syrup I just created as a lover of all things sugar. It will look just like water, but let me assure you it is SO sweet.

how to: make homemade lemonade

easy homemade lemonade pitcher

Combine the lemon juice and simple syrup with 7 cups of water. If you’d like to serve it immediately, use cold water. Otherwise, you’ll want to refrigerate it and be patient a little while longer before diving in.

Enjoy over ice (with fresh lemon slices and a sprig of rosemary if you wanna get fancy) and embrace the summer heat.

lemonade pitcher

Easy Homemade Lemonade

Refreshing homemade lemonade combines the tart lemon flavor with the sweetness of sugar for an undeniably tasty beverage.
4.91 from 11 votes
Course Drinks
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 8-10 medium-sized lemons halved
  • 8 cups water divided
  • 1 ½ cup sugar

Instructions
 

  • Juice the lemons and refrigerate the lemon juice until cold.
  • Heat sugar and 1 cup water in a pot over medium-high heat, or until the sugar dissolves. Cool the simple syrup to room temperature and then refrigerate until cold.
  • Combine lemon juice, simple syrup, and 7 cups of cold water. Stir and enjoy.
Keyword homemade, lemonade

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What are your favorite ways to welcome in summer?? I’d love a good baseball game or trip to the beach to make it official. Share in the comments below!

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80 thoughts on “Easy Homemade Lemonade”

  1. Man, I love lemonade on a hot summer day, especially when it is ice cold and made with fresh lemon juice. I have needed to get a new juicer for a long time, and I love the hand-squeeze ones. So easy!

  2. I love making homemade lemonade, but I have never made it with simple syrup. I usually just dump all the ingredients in at the same time. Yours sounds way better. Giving it a try.

  3. I love lemonade but I haven’t made one, never thought of actually making it myself but it’s something to try out. Your recipes are easy to follow

  4. There are not many things tastier than this! My kiddos are very into lemonade this year too. Moreso than previous years. We’ll have to try a homemade version.

  5. I absolutely love everything that has to so with lemons.
    My grandma taught me to soak the lemon slices into the sugar and then squeeze them altogether with my hands (with gloves) so they get blended.

  6. 5 stars
    The summer here in England is a bit chilly at the moment (16C/60F) but that said it is supposed to improve later in the week. I too have a bag of lemons to use up and I’m going to try this recipe as I’ve never made my own lemonade before. I’ve made elderflower cordial which works in a similar way to this recipe so with your beautifully clear instructions I’m going to tackle lemonade. Thank you for sharing this.

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