8 Different Homemade Lemonade Recipes all in one place! Learn how to make lemonade with fresh lemons or lemon juice in flavors like strawberry, raspberry, and even watermelon and tropical lemonade.
I love a good homemade lemonade and these are a few that I can't live without: Homemade Strawberry Lemonade, Easy Homemade Lemonade Recipe and Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade.
8 Fresh Fruit Summer Lemonade Recipes
Homemade lemonade is my jam and I've been dreaming about this post for years now. In previous years, I've made fresh made-to-order lemonades at our local farmers market in addition to selling fruit and vegetables I grew, homemade baked goods, and handmade aprons.
I'd try a few new flavor variations each week and I had so much fun seeing peoples faces when you offered them choices like strawberry rhubarb, tropical, and even watermelon lemonade. Some people wanted to be adventurous and some people wanted to stick with favorite classics like traditional, strawberry, or raspberry.
No matter what your favorite homemade lemonade is, I have you covered.
Should I Use Fresh Lemon Juice or Bottled?
Fresh lemon juice is much better tasting and I'm going to strongly recommend it. It's going to take about 6 average-sized lemons to make a cup of lemon juice. If you are in a pinch and really need some lemonade you can use bottled lemon juice. Costco sells this Organic Italian Volcano lemon juice (it's about $8 for 2 big bottles) and it's the best when it comes to bottled lemon juice. Some of the other brands are a little bitter and have an after taste (though I've still used them in a pinch - when you need some lemonade, you just need some lemonade!).
How Can I Make My Lemonade More Tart?
Adjust the ratios of sugar, lemon juice, and water to your liking. I have made these homemade lemonade recipes pretty standard, but if you like your lemonade more tart, add more lemon juice or reduce the amount of sugar. Play with it a little!
Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Fruit to Make Lemonade?
You can use fresh or frozen fruit for these recipes. Because you are boiling most of the fruit, it won't matter either way! That makes the recipes super convenient in my book.
Can I make lemonade ahead of time?
You can make all of the syrups and things ahead of time. These recipes also scale up easily if you want to make them for a crowd. Looking to scale the recipes down? Check out my single-serve lemonade post.
Is it cheaper to make your own lemonade?
Making lemonade at home is very cost efficient since it only requires a few ingredients. Water is free, sugar is cheap, and if you can find lemons at a good price-you’re in business. I like to watch for sales or buy lemons in bulk in order to get the best deal.
Tips and Tricks for Making Homemade Lemonade:
- If you are making any of the fruit varieties, you are going to need a fine mesh strainer and a bowl to strain into. I used a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup and it worked great (I love that it has a handle, too!).
- If you'd like to add herbs, you can add them when making the simple syrup or you can just add a sprig or two to each cup and muddle them (crush to release the flavor and oils) after adding your lemonade. I love fresh mint in my lemonade!
More lemonade recipes:
- Made to Order Lemonade aka Fresh Lemon Shake-ups (the kind you get at the fair!)
- Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
- Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade
- Strawberry Lemonade Slushie
If you’ve tried this easy lemonade recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation!
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Strawberry, Peach, Tropical, Raspberry, or Blackberry Lemonade Recipes
- Total Time: 20 min
- Yield: ½ gallon 1x
Description
This summer drink recipe is for making fruit-infused lemonades like strawberry lemonade, peach lemonade, and raspberry lemonade. If you've grown tired of the traditional lemonade recipe, try these fun fruit variations!
Ingredients
For the fruit simple syrup for raspberry, peach, strawberry, blackberry, or tropical lemonade:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit (such as raspberries, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, or a tropical mix)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
For the raspberry, peach, strawberry, blackberry, or tropical lemonade:
- Fruit simple syrup
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 3-4 cups water
- Ice (at least 2 cups)
- Sliced lemon or additional fruit for serving, optional
For the fruit simple syrup for traditional lemonade:
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
For the traditional lemonade:
- simple syrup
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 4 cups water
- ice (at least 2 cups)
- sliced lemon for serving, optional
For the fruit simple syrup for watermelon lemonade:
- 2 cups cubed watermelon, seeds and rind removed
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
For the watermelon lemonade:
- watermelon puree
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 3–4 cups water
- ice
- sliced lemon for serving, optional
Instructions
Instructions for raspberry, peach, strawberry, blackberry, or tropical lemonade:
- In a medium saucepan, heat the 2 cups of water, 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit, and 1 cup of sugar for the simple syrup over medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir it often. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 3-6 minutes until the fruit is soft.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Use a potato masher to crush the fruit. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes while the fruit steeps in the hot water.
- Set a fine mesh strainer over a medium-sized bowl (a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup works well for this) and pour the hot fruit simple syrup through the strainer. Use the back of a spoon to press the fruit against the strainer to remove all of the extra juice. Discard the pulp or seeds (or feed it to your chickens!).
- Place the fruit simple syrup in a heat-resistant container (a mason jar with a lid works well for this) and then let it chill in the fridge.
- In a large pitcher, add the simple syrup, lemon juice, and 3-4 cups of water. Stir to combine well. Serve over ice and garnish with sliced lemon and/or additional fruit.
Instruction for traditional lemonade:
- In a small saucepan, heat the 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar for the simple syrup over medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir it often. The mixture doesn’t need to boil but it will be steamy and hot. Place the simple syrup in a heat-resistance container (a mason jar with a lid works well for this) and refrigerate until chilled.
- In a large pitcher, add the simple syrup, lemon juice, and 5 cups of water. Stir to combine well. Serve over ice and garnish with a lemon.
Quick instructions for traditional lemonade:
- In a large pitcher, add 2 cups of hot tap water. Add the cup of sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the lemon juice, 4-5 cups of cold water, and 2 cups of ice. Stir well to combine. Serve right away.
Instructions for watermelon lemonade:
- In a blender, combine the watermelon, water, and sugar. Blend on high for 1 minute to dissolve the sugar.
- Pour the watermelon puree through a fine mesh strainer.
- Add the watermelon puree to a large pitcher, add the lemon juice and additional water, and stir well to combine.
- Serve over ice with sliced lemon as a garnish.
Notes
- The lemonade will be a little strong, so be sure to serve it over at least a ½ cup of ice. If you aren't serving it over ice, be sure to chill the lemonade well before serving and add 1 to 2 cups more water to suit your taste.
- If you don't want to wait for the simple syrup to chill, you can make the lemonade as directed but instead of adding water, add ice. Let some of the ice melt then taste it before adding more ice or water.
- If your fruit isn't very sweet, you might want to add an additional half cup of fruit to your simple syrup (I find that strawberries and the tropical fruit mix often need that extra ½ cup).
- You can find a tropical fruit mix in most frozen sections. It should have pineapple, mango, and strawberry in it (and maybe even papaya).
- Don’t skip the straining part for the watermelon lemonade, watermelon tends to feel a little gritty in your mouth when it’s pureed.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: lemonade recipe, how to make lemonade, fruit lemonade recipes, strawberry lemonade recipe, how to make the best lemonade, homemade lemonade, blackberry lemonade recipe, tropical lemonade recipe, peach lemonade recipe, raspberry lemonade recipe, fresh fruit lemonade recipe, frozen fruit lemonade recipe
How perfect does homemade lemonade sound on just about every night of the week? I make these recipes for parties, movie nights with popcorn (it makes movie night feel extra special), and roadside lemonade stands, too! Just add the ice to the cups right before serving so that it doesn't melt into the lemonade before you want it to. Seriously, who doesn't love fancy lemonade?! My kids set up shop yesterday after I made and took pictures of these recipes and they walked away with $22. Saving for Legos never tasted so good.
Enjoy all of these 8 Different Homemade Lemonade Recipes from my kitchen to yours.
Colleene
We made the strawberry lemonade and the watermelon lemonade for our 4-H fundraiser and it was a hit! Great recipe and easy to make. We used bottled lemon juice and it was still great!!!
Melissa
That sounds so good! Thank you for sharing your success with the bottled juice!
Ashley
Just what I was looking for today! The traditional recipe says 4 cups of water but in the recipe it says 5, I guess start with 4 first?
Melissa
Yep, start with less and adjust to your liking. ENJOY!
Sophie | Delightful Plate
I always wonder what to do with rhubarb whenever I see them at my grocery store. Rhubarb lemonade sounds like a good recipe to get me more familiar with it.
Melissa
It's such a nice tart flavor, perfect for lemonade! I have a rhubarb crisp recipe here though that is my all time favorite way to use rhubarb, you should check it out!
Marie | Yay! For Food
I love homemade lemonade! I agree with you; fresh lemon juice is best! I need to try your watermelon lemonade. I can go for a big glass right now since it is so hot where I live right now.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
I am always making lemonade during the summer. But always the same regular kind. Need to try some of these variations!
Liz
We loved when my mom would make fresh lemonade in the summer. But with my grown up palate, I'd love to try all these fabulous variations!!
Melissa
Thanks Liz 🙂 We love the blackberry the most, great place to start!