This homemade lemonade syrup is the perfect summer drink. Made from lemon juice, sugar and water it takes 15 minutes to make and keeps in the fridge for weeks!
This post was originally published in September 2015 – it has been retested, rephotographed, rewritten, and republished (to make it better for you!) in February 2020.
It is HOT!! We are in the middle of the kind of summer days that I have always dreamed of. Slow mornings, picnic lunches on the lawn, afternoons spent in the paddling pool under the shade of the umbrella and homemade lemonade on tap all day long!
I'm all for encouraging drinking lots of water at this time of year, but sometimes it just doesn't cut it and you need something a little sweeter which is where this homemade lemonade comes in.
The whole process only takes 20 minutes start to finish, and although you need to wait for the lemonade to cool, if you use a glass full of ice and cold water (if you are super impatient like my 2 year old!) you don't even need to wait!
To start with, you make a sugar syrup. Usually sugar syrup is equal parts water to sugar but I find that too sweet. I want to drink this lemonade allthetime and so does Sadie, so I figure, the less sugar, the better! I used 3 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. I also added the zest of 3 lemons, just to add a little extra lemon flavour. And it makes it yellow! Bring this to the boil so that the sugar dissolves and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the lemon juice and allowing to cool.
That's it! Keep the lemonade syrup in the fridge and when you are ready to make it, add 1 part of lemonade to 3 parts water, or adjust to your taste.
For kids, just put a splash of lemonade in the bottom of the cup and fill it up with water - it's enough to make them feel like they are having a special drink but not so much sugar that they'll be up until all hours!
I love making mine up with sparkling water which makes it extra fancy but plain old tap water is be just as good. And I won't tell if you don't but I'm pretty sure a nip of vodka would make this a great summery cocktail...shhh adults only!
We also love making lemonade popsicles out of this - I use a ratio of 50:50 lemonade and water in ice block moulds and they taste just like the bought ones!
Other refreshing summer drinks to try:
Homemade Lemonade
Ingredients
- 3 cups hot water
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup lemon juice About 5 lemons
- Zest of 3 lemons
To serve
- Ice
- Soda/sparkling/regular water
Instructions
- Add hot water, sugar and lemon zest to a medium sized pot. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice. Strain through a sieve to remove the lemon zest and any pips that have made it in.
- Allow to cool and store in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
- To make lemonade mix 1 part lemonade to 3 parts water (regular, soda or sparkling)
If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!
Olivia Kelly says
This is amazing! Its so good I love it! Do you think it would still work if I leave it in the fridge over night? I have a school market coming up and I need to test recipes for my lemonade product so I am curious if it will still work if I leave it in the fridge over night.
Laura says
Hi Olivia! I'm sorry I missed this comment earlier, it keeps in the fridge for weeks so that will be absolutely fine!
Phil O says
Easy as, I do about 3L at a time, using 500ml plastic water bottles to freeze the final product in. I just tip the water from the water bottles into a large wok, instead of from the tap. 1x500ml bottle of this with soda and our choice of white spirit (of not) is great!
Mel Y says
This has been our go to recipe for lemonade. Our kids love it to sell at their lemondade stand in the school holidays. The perfect balance between lemon, sugar and water. Love it!
Claudia says
This looks great! We have a million lemons to use up - do you think this would freeze okay? Or else am I better to simply freeze the fresh squeezed lemon juice and make it up as needed.
Thanks 🙂
Laura says
This freezes really well! I always make a huge batch and freeze it when the lemon tree is loaded!
Helen says
Easy to make , great way to use up lemons 🍋 and tastes fab love it with tonic water and gin 😊. Thanks for the recipe the kiwi country girl
Anna says
How many litres does it make, so I know how many bottles I need to prepare?
Laura says
This will make just over 1L of lemonade syrup
Michele says
Hi Laura, I was thinking of making the syrup to put into bottles and sell
at our pet day this year. Would the bottles filled with the concentrate syrup be happy just sitting on the shelf until summer? Or would they have to be refrigerated ?
Laura says
Hi Michele. What a great idea! This recipe does need to be in the fridge
Kerry says
An excellent recipe thank you Ma'am, I also made some with limes, very nice indeed.
Paige says
Amazing! I added more lemons and it tasted so good!
EmmaH says
Really Really Good Recipe
Sharon Hartog says
This was the first time I had ever tried to make lemonade - surprised how easy and quick it was - a new family favourite - definitely a keeper. I know want my own lemon tree 🍋
Morgan says
Such an easy recipe that was devoured by friends and family on a hot sunny day. I didn't realise how easy it was to make lemonade (and use up lots of our lemons) so thanks for the inspiration!
Ngaire says
I love this recipe! So easy and the kids can get involved in the making.
Anj says
Lovely and easy and enjoyed by the family I added some frozen raspberries once it was boiling and served with cucumber and mint over ice.
Grace says
Anj, apologies as so don't know when you posted the reply on Kiwi Girls page about her fresh lemonade recipe, however you said you added raspberries and served over cucumber and mint. Was this in addition to the lemons??
Thanks Grace
Claire says
So easy to make with simple ingredients. Nice to try a recipe that works first time and simply delicious on a hot sunny days. It was a hit with the whole family and a great way to utilise our lemons!!! Thank you!
Laura says
I'm so happy you loved it Claire! Thanks so much for commenting 🙂 Laura
Abby McLeod says
Just started to get a few lemons on our little tree and my 6 year old was desperate to make lemonade. So we did. The syrup is currently cooling but it tastes good hot! So easy too!
Selene says
Accidentally threw everything in the pot to simmer including the lemon juice. Will this be an issue!?
Laura says
Not at all!!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
I didn't realise how easy it was to make your own lemonade! I really wish we had a lemon tree in our yard 🙁 Thanks for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Fridays, have a great week 🙂
Laura says
It is the best thing...plant one!! It's like having lemonade on tap 🙂
Karen says
This looks great. We've got a lemon tree too, which gets a bit neglected sometimes, so this will be great in the summer. Visiting from Fabulous Foodie Friday.
Laura says
Great to have you here! I am definitely guilty of neglecting our tree too so I love it when I use a bunch of lemons in one go!
Dannielle @ Zamamabakes says
Laura our Mr 10 is always talking about making homemade lemonade, the closest he's got is squeezing a lemon into sparkling mineral water. I know he'll be super excited when I show him your recipe! Thanks for the inspiration! xx
Laura says
Aw bless, kids are great! Well this is definitely kid friendly so I hope he likes it! xx
Morgan says
Amazing recipe! Tastes good and such an easy way to use up extra lemons. Have made it a few times when we've got people coming over and they remember it which is always a sign of a great recipe 😊
Sarah says
Nothing beats homemade lemonade - love it!
Laura says
I agree! It's so refreshing and summery!
Brighton Hill says
Looks delicious! Beautiful photos! Have a fun week!
xo, Bry
Food.and.Fashion.Naughty&Nice
Laura says
Thanks, you too! 🙂