Grab some lemons and your largest pitcher because we're about to fill it up with some old fashioned lemonade. Made with lemons, sugar, and water, it doesn't get any simpler than this summer drink recipe!
Recipe: $1.66 | Per Serving: $0.17 | Servings: 10
If you love the taste of lemonade, then you're going to love this old fashioned homemade lemonade. Nothing is better than the classics, and this drink really hits the spot!
Packed with sweet and tart lemon flavor in every sip, this lemonade is a favorite for a reason. Make a pitcher full or make a Single Serving Lemonade and its guaranteed to not last long either way.
We love our lemonade and often buy lemon concentrate in bulk to justify this summer expense. But that's okay because, with so many tasty variations like Blue Raspberry Lemonade, Strawberry Pink Lemonade, and Orange Lemonade, we really make sure we never get bored.
If you're looking for something a bit more chilled, try this Whipped Frozen Lemonade!
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- Minimal ingredients. You only need 4 ingredients to make this drink, making it perfect for when you want something quick and easy.
- Tangy and sweet. This drink is honestly perfect. Not too sweet and not too tart, this lemonade is strong and well balanced.
- Easy to follow steps. The steps needed to make this recipe are simple and easy, making it perfect for everyone to give it a try! Dissolve the sugar and mix it all in a pitcher. Add ice and serve.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Sugar- You will need some granulated sugar to sweeten this drink. If you don't have sugar you can try some sweetened condensed milk like in my Creamy Lemonade.
Water- Water is the base of the lemonade and will help to dissolve the sugar so that it doesn't turn out grainy. I often use a little warm water, until the sugar is dissolved and then fill up the rest of the pitcher with cold water so it lasts longer.
Lemon juice- You can use freshly squeezed lemons or lemon juice concentrate. Fresh lemons give a better flavor, but the concentrate is great for when you're in a pinch (plus it's cheaper). If you have a bunch of lemons on hand, check out my Raspberry Lemon Bundt Cake for an awesome dessert to serve alongside your drink.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🧾 Substitutions
Lemon juice. If you don't have real lemons on hand, you can use concentrate instead. You can also use it to bring the fresh lemon juice up to the required measurement so you can keep that strong lemon flavor.
🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
The BEST part about lemonade is that you can add just about anything to it and still have it taste great! For example:
- Add blue raspberry syrup for Blue Raspberry Lemonade
- Add in pickle juice for Pickle Lemonade
- Add in orange juice for Orange Lemonade
- Adding strawberry puree will give you Strawberry Pink Lemonade
Swap out sugar for sweetened condensed milk, honey, or maple syrup. Brown sugar also works well too.
There are so many different options available you can have a pitcher of unique lemonade recipes in the fridge all summer long.
🔪 Instructions for Old Fashioned Lemonade
Step 1: Prepare the simple syrup by cooking 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar in a small pot just until the sugar has dissolved.
Allow to cool before use. Alternatively, you can make microwave simple syrup.
Step 2: Pour the simple syrup into your pitcher.
Step 3: Add in the lemon juice.
Step 4: Now add in the water and enough ice cubes to fill the pitcher. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Add sliced lemon for garnishes, if desired.
Pour into drinking glasses and enjoy cold.
Keep stored in the fridge. Enjoy!
🍴 Recipe Tips
- How to get more juice from lemons. To squeeze more juice out of fresh lemons a tip I like to use is microwaving them for about 10-30 seconds. Then before slicing in half, roll them back and forth along the counter while pushing down on them, like you're rolling out a dough log. This helps to get more juice out of the lemons.
- No stove? No problem. If desired, you can make Microwave Simple Syrup instead of cooking it on the stovetop.
⏲️ Make Ahead Instructions
Prepare Lemonade Base: Make the lemonade mixture according to the recipe instructions, but refrain from adding ice or garnishes.
Chill in Fridge: Store the prepared lemonade base in a pitcher in the refrigerator for several hours or up to a day before serving.
Add Ice and Garnishes: When ready to serve, add ice and garnishes to the lemonade pitcher just before serving to prevent the ice from melting too quickly and diluting the flavor.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
This lemonade is good for up to 5 days. Make sure you keep it stored in the fridge when not being used.
💭 Recipe FAQs
The main ingredients in traditional lemonade are lemon juice, water, and sugar. Anything "extra" is exactly that.
Yes, absolutely! I often find myself using bottled lemon juice for lemonade instead of fresh lemons because it's much cheaper and easier to store. The lemon flavor might be more pronounced with concentrate so you may need some additional sweetener.
Your homemade lemonade can last about 5-7 days if kept stored in the fridge. Note that if storing lemonade in a plastic pitcher you may notice discoloration on the pitcher after a few days due to the acidity of this drink.
❤️ More Delicious Drink Recipes
If you tried this old fashioned lemonade, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Lemonade
Ingredients
- 4 cups water, divided ($0.00)
- 1 cup granulated sugar ($0.20)
- 1 cup lemon juice (can use fresh, about 5-6 large lemons) ($0.88)
- ice cubes ($0.00)
- 1 small lemon, sliced *for garnish ($0.58)
Instructions
- Prepare the simple syrup by cooking 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar in a small pot just until the sugar has dissolved.
- Allow to cool before use. Alternatively, you can make microwave simple syrup.
- Pour the simple syrup into your pitcher.
- Add in the lemon juice.
- Now add in the water and enough ice cubes to fill the pitcher. Stir to combine.
- Add sliced lemon for garnishes, if desired.
- Pour into drinking glasses and enjoy cold.
- Keep stored in the fridge. Enjoy!
Notes
- Lemon Juice: If you lack fresh lemons, you can use lemon concentrate or a combination of concentrate and fresh juice to reach the required measurement.
- Microwave lemons for 10-30 seconds and roll them on the counter to extract more juice before squeezing.
- You can make Microwave Simple Syrup as an alternative to stovetop preparation.
- If preparing in advance, delay adding ice and garnishes.
- Make the lemonade as directed and refrigerate it for several hours or up to a day. Add ice and garnishes just before serving to prevent dilution.
- Lemonade can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days to maintain freshness.
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