Happy second day of spring!
I hope you are having a bright and sunny day wherever you are, and if not, maybe this Easy Homemade Lemonade recipe will be a reminder of the warmth that is surely on its way.
We have many lemon trees in our neighborhood, and my youngest loves to pick them and make lemonade. I think he actually loves the picking and juicing process more than he does actually drinking it!
A few weeks ago, we went for a little bike ride and he loaded up my bike’s basket with fresh lemons, climbing high and low to reach all the best lemons. After squeezing the juice and mixing up this recipe, he asked if I would take some pictures and share this on “the blog” so here we are!
I know lemonade is a pretty simple thing, but there are a couple of things we’ve learned as we’ve made it at home that make it a little easier. The first trick is to make a simple syrup. This is just equal parts granulated sugar and water heated until the sugar dissolves. This makes for a smooth lemonade, without any graininess from the sugar crystals.
I’ve also learned that a pinch of salt makes a surprising difference in the taste! I’ve actually been reading about and experimenting with salt a lot lately after reading this book. If you are interested in not only making tasty food, but also the why behind the recipes, you should definitely check it out.
I learned that salt counteracts the bitterness that may be present, so the lemonade actually tastes sweeter and allows the true flavor of the lemon to come through. It’s a subtle thing, but fun to experiment with.
And do remember to taste your lemonade and adjust as needed. Not all lemons are created equal. Some are more sour than others. The flavors of lemons will even differ depending on when they are picked within the season.
And of course, serve your Easy Homemade Lemonade with lots of ice and a slice or two of leftover lemons! Spring is here in sunny AZ and we are sippin’ and soakin’ up all the sunshine we can.
Before it gets too hot, and we all hibernate for summer.
PrintEasy Homemade Lemonade
Here is an Easy Homemade Lemonade recipe with a few tips and tricks for making it taste especially delicious and refreshing.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cups additional water
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a small pan over medium heat, stir water and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large pitcher, stir together freshly squeezed lemon juice and cooled simple syrup (sugar and water). Add three additional cups of water and a pinch of salt. Stir and refrigerate.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cup
- Calories: 136
- Sugar: 34g
- Sodium: 38mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 0.2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Thanks for bringing a bright spot to my day! We woke up to 2″ of snow this morning. Thankfully, the sun has melted it this afternoon. All that to say, I needed a reminder of spring’s {hesitant} arrival and this lemonade has my mouth watering!! Excited to try it! Enjoy your day! ~Melinda
I’m seeing so much snow in my Instagram feed. I hope spring comes for you soon and I know it will be worth the wait!
I use this same recipe, but make a concentrate – so that we can enjoy fresh lemonade all year round! I mix equal parts of boiling water and sugar, then add equal part lemon juice, freeze it in whatever containers I can gather, then dilute when I’m ready to use it. But I’m going to try the “pinch of salt” trick!
Thank you Cindy, I will try that!
Absolutely delicious, made this and shared it with a neighbor, she loved it as well Thank you for sharing!
I didn’t do this lemonade your way and I have 3 reasons why #1 I am 8 years old so I can only cut with a nife .#2 heating up the 🍋’s makes all the vitamin c go away and since covid 19 is around we want to stay as hellthey as we can. #3 I didn’t wanna heat up the 🍋’s any way. So I have gave you 3 very good reasons why I didn’t do that 😊 BTW
I disagree with that 8 year old. I loved this recipe. Plus she should not be hanging round the kitchen at such a young age.
Loved it, and my husband especially loved it !
Wonderful, Simple, Flawless.
Amazing,
I tried a quick recipes and this recipe and this is amazing.
I am 12 and it is a awesome recipe
Julie thank you for your easy homemade lemonade recipe I have not had it since my mom made it for me and she passed when I was 8 and I’m 47 now we don’t like the powdered kind it doesn’t taste near as good please send me more recipes thank you Wendy Huntsville AL
It’s a great recipe!!!! I sure enjoyed it very much!!!
it was so good and so easy to make