This easy homemade lemonade recipe will help you stay cool on a hot summer day. This recipe includes steps to make your own lemonade concentrate at home using fresh lemons. From there, you can make a delicious lemonade by just adding water, the concentrate, and ice to a pitcher. One sip and you will never go back to the store bought lemonade again!
This recipe was first published in June 2019 and has been updated in May 2021 with simplified instructions and steps.
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Why make lemonade syrup at home
Homemade lemonade syrup is super easy to make at home. But there are a few specific reasons we love to make our own and use it to make several pitchers of lemonade:
- When you make it at home, you can control the sugar you put into it.
- There are no preservatives like mixes or lemonade you can get at the store.
- It helps ensure the sugar absorbs into the lemonade and does not settle at the bottom
Why you’ll love this recipe
If you have ever tried to make lemonade at home by combining lemon juice, sugar, and water, you may have had some disappointing results. The sugar often does not dissolve well in cold water and it settles at the bottom of the container.
Our lemonade recipe uses a simple syrup so the sugar will dissolve in the lemonade and provide the right sweetness. And it makes the perfect base recipe to add additional lemonade flavors easily.
Another reason you’ll love this recipe is that store bought lemonade mixes are artificially flavored and don’t taste nearly as good as fresh, homemade lemonade. Once you make this lemonade, you’ll never want to use store mixes again!
You’ll also love just how fast and convenient this is. You can make this concentrate once and store for up to a year for easy lemonade all year long. It also only needs three ingredients, which means you really don’t need much to get started.
Finally, if you like making mocktails or cocktails, this lemonade concentrate is perfect for you! You can easily add it to your favorite boozy or non-boozy drink for just the right flavor.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for this classic lemonade concentrate.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Sugar - You could use honey, agave, or monk fruit.
- Lemon zest
- Natural or sparkling water
How to make homemade lemonade concentrate or syrup in 4 easy steps
- Add the lemon juice, sugar, and lemon zest to your Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
- Once the ingredients are added, close and secure the lid and pressure cook on high for 1 minute. Follow the cook time with an immediate release of pressure.
- Carefully remove the lid and then allow the liquid to come to room temperature. Once it has cooled, strain the liquid and make sure to squeeze out the pulp as much as possible.
- If you don’t plan to make the lemonade, you can now store the concentrate in airtight containers in the fridge.
- But if you plan to serve the lemonade now, add 3 cups of water to a pitcher. Once the water is added, stir in the lemon concentrate and ice. You can add as much or as little of the concentrate as you like. The more you add, the stronger the flavor will be!
We recommend using 1 part concentrate, 3 parts water, and 1 part ice.
Tips to make the best lemonade syrup
When you want fresh lemonade at home, here’s what you need to do:
- Use only freshly squeezed lemon juice for best results.
- Don’t overcook the concentrate! One minute and a quick release is all it needs!
- Store the concentrate in the freezer or fridge to serve it at a later time.
How long can I keep homemade lemonade?
You can store the concentrate in an airtight container for up to 1 year in the fridge.
Once you mix the concentrate with water, you can store it for about 1 week, assuming it lasts that long, in the fridge.
How to juice lemons to get more juice
There are three methods we recommend to get the most juice out of your lemons. You can use one or all of them together:
- Microwave them for 30 seconds before juicing
- Press and roll the lemons on a countertop or hard surface before cutting them
- Use a handheld juicer - this also helps prevent seeds from getting into the juice
How long will frozen lemon juice keep?
If you pour the concentrate into a freezer safe container, it will maintain its best quality for about 3 to 4 months. But you can safely use it for up to a year or longer as long as it maintains its constant frozen temperature.
Can you freeze leftover lemonade?
Yes you can easily freeze leftover lemonade. You can add it to a freezer safe container and then thaw when you are ready to use.
Or, for a fun treat, you can pour it into a popsicle mold and add a popsicle stick to it. Once you freeze it, you can serve lemonade popsicles to your kids and family.
More summer recipes you’ll love
If you love refreshing recipes to try during the summer months, you should check out some of our favorites:
- Strawberry Jam
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
- Rose Syrup and Rose Milk
- Air Fried Apple Chips
- Air Fried Banana Chips / Plantain Chips
- Quinoa Ceviche
- Blackbean Corn Salsa Salad with Pichuberry Vinaigrette
Let us know what you think
If you make this delicious homemade lemonade recipe, let us know how it went! When you make this, be sure to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @dbellyrulesdmind or Facebook @thebellyrulesthemind!
Easy Homemade Lemonade Recipe
Easy Homemade Lemonade Recipe
This easy homemade lemonade recipe will help you stay cool on a hot summer day. This recipe includes steps to make your own lemonade concentrate at home using fresh lemons. From there, you can make a delicious lemonade by just adding water, the concentrate, and ice to a pitcher. One sip and you will never go back to the store bought lemonade again!
Ingredients
- freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 cup
- sugar 3/4 cup , or honey or agave or monk fruit
- lemon zest 1 tsp
- water 3 cups, natural or sparkling
Instructions
- Add the lemon juice, sugar, and lemon zest to your Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
- Once the ingredients are added, close and secure the lid and pressure cook on high for 1 minute. Follow the cook time with an immediate release of pressure.
- Carefully remove the lid and then allow the liquid to come to room temperature. Once it has cooled, strain the liquid and make sure to squeeze out the pulp as much as possible.
- If you don’t plan to make the lemonade, you can now store the concentrate in airtight containers in the fridge.
- But if you plan to serve the lemonade now, add 3 cups of water to a pitcher. Once the water is added, stir in the lemon concentrate and ice. You can add as much or as little of the concentrate as you like. The more you add, the stronger the flavor will be!
We recommend using 1 part concentrate, 3 parts water, and 1 part ice.
Notes
- Use only freshly squeezed lemon juice for best results.
- Don’t overcook the concentrate! One minute and a quick release is all it needs!
- Store the concentrate in the freezer or fridge to serve it at a later time.
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Kathy says
Can this be done on the stove top instead of an instantpot?
Mary says
For the other flavors, how much of the additions do you use? Also, if you use honey rather than sugar, do you use the same amount as the sugar?
Lisa says
My pressure cooker has a wait time for pressure to build so do I start the 1 min after it's pressurized?
Mary says
@Lisa, I would assume so. That is the way it is with every other single IP recipe.
Karen Pelkey says
I have read and reread the recipe above and it doesn’t tell you the ratio of lemon juice, zest and sweetener. Can we get this ratio? I am wanting to make the concentrate.
Mary says
@Karen Pelkey, It's there, under the black block that says Easy HomemadeLemonade Recipe. I was searching myself. Maybe it was added after the original post.
Susan Pepitone says
If you print the recipe cards the amount of sugar is given.
Classic Lemonade .. 3/4 cup sugar / honey / agave / monk fruit
Pink Lemonade .. 2/3 cup sugar / honey / agave / monk fruit
Strawberry Lemonade .. 2/3 cup sugar / honey / agave / monk fruit extract
Mango Lemonade .. 2/3 cup sugar / honey / agave / monk fruit
Cucumber Mint Lemonade .. 2/3 cup sugar / honey / agave / monk fruit
Instructions
For Classic, Pink, Strawberry & Mango Lemonade
Add the lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest to your pressure cooker. If you are making Pink, Strawberry or Mango lemonade add the fruit to your pot now. Close and secure the lid and pressure cook for 1 minute. Immediate release the pressure.
Allow the liquid to come to room temperature and then strain the liquid. Make sure to strain the fruit completely to get the best flavors.
This lemonade concentrate can now be stored in sterilized bottles for later use.
To make a pitcher, add 3 cups of water to the pitcher, add the lemon concentrate and ice, stir and serve chilled. Depending on how sweet and tangy you like the lemonade you can adjust the quantity of the syrup.
For individual portions, use 1 part concentrate, 3parts water and 1 part ice.
For Cucumber Mint Lemonade
Blend the cucumber and mint, strain the juice and add it to step 6 or 7 above.
Sandy Stephens says
This looks good but I have a question. The classic lemonade shows the amount of sugar, but the rest of the recipes show this: &frac23. How do I know much sugar to put in the rest of the recipes?
G wagon says
Fruit adds sugars too.
Miranda says
I completely agree with all the other comments. I went through this three times trying to find the instructions for the instant pot to make the syrup. I have not been able to find it. The recipe card includes all the instructions for the various flavors of the lemonade but doesn’t list the instructions for making the syrup.
Margaret Anne says
Can I use something like stevia or Splenda as a sweetener so it is sugar free!
Anvita says
Hi Margaret, definitely you can use any sugar substitute of your choice
Pam says
It is hidden in the instructions.
274Grams says
Nope, can't find it. Since the syrup is the main topic here, why can't you make the recipe in big bold letters so everybody can find it. With lots of advertisements in your page, it's making it more difficult to find it. Please just make the recipe more obvious rather than everybody have to search every nooks and crannies just to find it. Thank you.
Marla Dixon says
Hi! Can you double the recipe?
Mary says
Didn't find the recipe card, went through the post 2 -3 times, was that the point?????
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Mary, you will always find the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Please scroll slowly and you will see it
karen says
Sorry, maybe I missed something? To make the syrup...wash and zest...juice and strain....So do you just put the juice and sweetner in the IP (no measurements, but I guess it's whatever I want. What to do with the zest then?