Calling all lovers of Dill. Pickle lovers will rejoice for a glass of this iced cold refreshing pickle lemonade. Made with pickles, lemons, and a basic recipe, this is one drink you'll keep on hand this summer.
If you've ever found yourself chowing down on a bag of Dill-flavored potato chips, drinking the pickle juice from a jar, or snacking on some pickle spears like there's no tomorrow, this recipe is for you.
Lemonade and sunshine go together like coffee and creamer, and ever since my first pregnancy, I find myself craving all things lemon flavored anytime the weather warms up. While I usually opt for Orange Lemonade, Strawberry Pink Lemonade or plain Homemade Lemonade, I always make room to try new flavorful combinations.
Pairing pickles and lemons may sound a bit different, but I urge you to try it. The sweet, sour, salty combination is a full workout for your tastebuds, and it's sure to have you feeling refreshed.
Why This Recipe Works
- Simple ingredients. We keep this recipe plain and simple with basic ingredients so that it's much more user-friendly for anyone willing to give it a try.
- 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.
- Pickles! As if you needed another excuse to eat pickles, this recipe uses pickle juice in the lemonade and pickles for garnish too
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
Sugar- You will need some granulated sugar to help sweeten this recipe and round out the tangy flavors.
Water- The base of this recipe is mostly water. The water will be divided between the steps.
Pickle Juice- Use some juice from your favorite jar of dill pickles or buy a bag of ready-to-drink pickle juice from the store.
Lemon Juice- I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best fresh flavor, but concentrated lemon juice works just fine (I use it most of the time).
Ice Cubes- You'll need plenty of ice for the pitcher of lemonade as well as the individual serving glasses.
Pickle Spears- This is optional and just for garnishing the cups later. You can use hamburger-cut pickles, too if desired.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make pickle lemonade with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Add your sugar and 1 cup of water to a small pot and place it over medium heat.
Cook and stir just until the sugar has dissolved.
Add it to a large pitcher and add in the remaining 3 cups of cold water.
Add in the pickle juice.
Pour in the lemon juice.
Stir and add in the ice cubes and any sliced lemons or pickle garnishes.
Pour into serving glasses and add any additional garnishes desired.
Serve cold, and enjoy!
🧾 Substitutions
Lemon juice. Fresh lemons will have a nice and refreshing flavor that works great in lemonade, but a bottle of lemon juice concentrate is quick and easy, thanks to modern convenience.
You can also use it to bring the fresh lemon juice up to the required measurement to keep that strong lemon flavor.
Note that if you use concentrate, the lemon flavor may be even more pronounced or tart. This means you may need to adjust the recipe or add in more sugar to get it to suit your tastes.
📖 Variations
Looking for a fun variation of this simple drink? Turn it into a slushie!
Much like my Kool Aid Slushies, all you have to do is add 2 cups of this dill pickle lemonade into a blender with 4 cups of ice. Blend until it's a perfect consistency and enjoy.
🍴 Recipe Tips
If you don't want to make the simple syrup on the stove top, check out how to make Microwave Simple Syrup.
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 them 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.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
This lemonade is good for up to 5 days. Make sure you keep it stored in the fridge when not being used.
⏲️ Make Ahead Instructions
If you plan to make this recipe more than a few hours in advance, I recommend not adding the ice and garnishes until later. Prepare the lemonade as-is, and leave it in the pitcher in the fridge for several hours or a day before serving. Then add the ice and garnishes closer to serving time.
This will keep the ice from melting too quickly and help you to avoid a watered-down flavor.
💭 FAQs
You can! A lot of people (especially athletes) enjoy pickle juice from the jar for the electrolytes and health benefits. Pickle juice has been known to help relieve cramping muscles as well.
I highly recommend it. Dissolving the sugar in warm water only takes a moment, but if you add the sugar to the pitcher with cold water, you'll be stirring for quite some time to dissolve the sugar in instead.
Yes, salt is a natural flavor enhancer and helps to bring out the other flavors and sweetness in recipes. In our case, this pickle juice lemonade recipe uses the saltiness of the pickles to make the lemonade taste even sweeter.
More great beverage recipes to check out soon
📖 Recipe
Pickle Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sugar ($0.22)
- 4 cups Water, divided ($0.00)
- 1 cup Dill Pickle Juice ($2.26)
- 1 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (5-6 large lemons) ($3.41)
- Ice Cubes ($0.00)
- Pickle Spears *For Garnish
Instructions
- Add your sugar and 1 cup of water to a small pot and place it over medium heat.
- Cook and stir just until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add it to a large pitcher and add in the remaining 3 cups of cold water.
- Add in the pickle juice.
- Pour in the lemon juice.
- Stir and add in the ice cubes and any sliced lemons or pickle garnishes.
- Pour into serving glasses and add any additional garnishes desired.
- Serve cold and enjoy!
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