Homemade Lemonade

This easy Homemade Lemonade recipe uses fresh lemon juice, homemade simple syrup, and water for a perfectly balanced, sweet-tart batch of lemonade!

The post Homemade Lemonade appeared first on Budget Bytes.

There’s nothing more summery than a tall glass of icy cold lemonade. Go claim your favorite porch swing or rocking chair and get ready for a refreshing treat! This easy Homemade Lemonade has an extra kick thanks to the concentrated lemon flavor from our homemade simple syrup. I also add a little pinch of salt at the end, so it can help support your electrolyte balance on these super hot summer days, too!

A drink dispenser with homemade lemonade and two glasses of lemonade in front.

Easy Recipe for Homemade Lemonade

Making lemonade seems easy until you try to wing it and end up with something way too sour or barely lemony at all. Trust me, I’ve made every too-puckery, too-sweet mistake in the book. Nowadays, I stick to this simple ratio using fresh lemon juice, homemade simple syrup (made from just water and sugar), cold water, and a little salt. This recipe is easy to scale up or down, and I can’t think of a better way to cool off on a hot day. No more store-bought bottles or powdered mixes for me!

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Homemade Lemonade Recipe

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This easy Homemade Lemonade recipe uses fresh lemon juice, homemade simple syrup, and water for a perfectly balanced, sweet-tart batch of lemonade!

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Total Cost ($6.31 recipe / $0.70 serving)

Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Servings servings (1 cup over ice each)

Calories 130kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

Sauce Pan
Punch Bowl or Carafe

Ingredients

1 cup simple syrup $0.34
5 cups cold water $0.00
2 lbs fresh lemons 3 cups juice, $5.96
pinch of salt $0.01

Instructions

Gather your ingredients.
Peel 1 lemon with a vegetable peeler and reserve the peels.
Make our homemade simple syrup recipe, adding the peels from 1 lemon during the cooking process.
Once sugar has dissolved, let the lemon simple syrup cool slightly until warm.
Juice all but 2 lemons, cutting those 2 into wheels.
Pour warm simple syrup over the sliced lemons in a large carafe or punch bowl.
Then, add lemon juice.
Then, add cold water.
Add a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Serve over ice and enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

how to make Homemade Lemonade step-by-step photos

Gather all your ingredients.

One peeled lemon on a wooden cutting board.

Peel a lemon: Start by peeling one lemon with a vegetable peeler. Reserve the peels for your simple syrup.

Lemon peels added to a saucepan of simple syrup.

Make the simple syrup: Follow my homemade simple syrup recipe (all you need is 1 additional cup of water and 1 cup of sugar) to make your simple syrup. Add the lemon peels from your peeled lemon during the cooking process.

Cooled simple syrup with lemon peels in a sauce pan.

Once the sugar is dissolved, let your lemon simple syrup cool on the countertop. It can still be warm when you mix it with the other lemonade ingredients, but we don’t want it to be too hot.

Lemons on a cutting board with some being juice and the other cut into round.

Juice the lemons: Slice two lemons into rounds and set aside. Then, juice all the remaining lemons to make 3 cups of juice.

Lemon slices in a punch bowl with simple syrup being poured over.

Make the homemade lemonade: Add the sliced lemons to a large punch bowl or carafe. Pour the warm simple syrup over the lemon slices.

Lemon juice being poured into homemade lemonade in a punch bowl.

Now pour in 3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice…

Cold water being poured into homemade lemonade in a punch bowl.

…and finish with 5 cups of cold water.

A pinch of salt being added to lemonade in a punch bowl.

Then add a pinch of salt for flavor balance.

Stir to combine and serve over ice! Enjoy.

A drink dispenser with fresh lemonade and a hand holding a glass.

Variations to Try!

Add fruit puree for a fruity twist. Stir in 1 to 1½ cups of fresh or thawed fruit puree for an extra fruity flavor. Strawberries, raspberries, peaches, and watermelon all work beautifully, though I’m partial to strawberry lemonade myself! Add the puree before the water so you can adjust the amount of water if needed. You can also swirl puree directly into individual glasses if you don’t want to flavor the whole batch.
Add fresh fruit. For a more subtle flavor and a pretty presentation, toss a handful of fresh berries or sliced fruit right into the pitcher.
Use a herb-infused syrup. Infuse your simple syrup with fresh herbs like mint, basil, or rosemary while it cools for a light herbal note. Or just toss a few sprigs directly into the pitcher before serving!
Make it an Arnold Palmer. Mix this lemonade with iced tea for a super-easy Arnold Palmer!

Storage Instructions

You can store your fresh homemade lemonade in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. However, I’ve found it tastes best within the first three days when the lemon flavor is at its peak brightness. Add ice just before serving to avoid watering down your yummy lemonade!

The simple syrup can be made up to four weeks ahead and stored (with the lemon peels removed) separately in the refrigerator.