Just the word “lemonade” brings back childhood memories of lazy, country summer days in Elberton, Ga. We went there every summer to visit family and if you asked for something to drink, you’d better believe it was gonna be well water, sweet iced tea or a chilled mason jar full of old fashioned , homemade lemonade!
My great grandfather would down sweating glasses of lemonade back to back while sitting on the porch, swatting flies and spittin’ tobacco. That was one of his favorite ways to past time.
A pitcher of good old fashioned, homemade lemonade was one of the first drinks I learned how to make as a child. I pretty much taught myself. I mean how hard is lemons, sugar and water, ya know. The hardest part is getting that perfect balance of sweetness and tartness.
Simmering the zest creates a really pretty yellow color without having to use a powdered mix or food coloring and it also add a nice tang to the lemonade.
This homemade lemonade recipe is such a classic. It creates one amazing pitcher of sweet, tart, and refreshing lemonade!
And while you’re at it don’t forget to check out my recipe for old fashioned strawberry lemonade!
Watch me make this easy homemade lemonade from start to finish!
Easy Homemade Lemonade- My FAVORITE!
Ingredients
- 8 lemons plus more for garnishing if desired
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups sugar
- 6 cups water divided
Instructions
- Wash lemons thoroughly.
- Roll lemons firmly on a hard surface until they become soft. This will make them easier to juice.
- Zest 2-3 lemons. Set aside
- In a pot over medium heat, add sugar, lemon zest and 2 cups of water.
- Simmer lightly for about 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolves and the mixture has a light yellow color. Do not boil.
- Remove from heat.
- Juice the lemons.
- Strain the lemon juice into a large pitcher.
- Strain the sugar mixture into the large pitcher.
- Add in 4 cups of cold water.
- Taste to make sure it's not too sweet for ya, if so add more water.
- Fill chilled glasses with ice and pour in the lemonade!
- Garnish each glass with sliced lemons.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Serve in glasses filled with ice!
Garnish the individual glasses with slices of lemons as opposed to floating the sliced lemons in the entire pitcher since this can give the lemonade a bitter, peel taste if left too long.
Lemonade ice cubes are a great way to keep the lemonade from getting watered down, although I've never had lemonade to last that long in a glass.
I love homemade lemonade , one of my favorite drink , will love to make this one . Thanks for sharing this one with us , will definitely gonna try this one
This Easy Homemade Lemonade seem quite easy to make I think I had make this before many times, btw thanks for sharing this one.
its very common and easy too, already tried. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I love your recipe of lemonade, I always prefer the authentic or conventional recipes. Thank you I did tried the recipe. I love it. Thank you for sharing it. Didn’t search for another recipe anymore. Thank you God bless you.
I wanted to make lemonade and yours is the first video I watched and stopped right there. Once I saw that recipe I knew it was the right one and didn’t look any further. I am going to make it today after church.
That was the best lemonade I have ever tasted. Just perfect..the zest really adds an amazing flavor. Can’t wait to try it with Vodka and sparkling water this summer. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
I like to add some fresh sliced Ginger and sometimes if I’m feeling spicy I’ll throw in two to three whole cloves into the boiling water
How much lemonade does this recipe make? I am doing my assessment and need to know quantity please.
This recipe is perfect! Espeically in the summer! lol. Anyways thank you for sharing this recipe. My sister who is about fourish did it with me and it was the best! Thank you for making this one of our best summers! But I wanted to ask why did you not tell us how much the lemon zest weighed in all? Besides the question perfect recipe. I would tell everyone in my family to try it!
Did you know my grandpa tom? Grandma used fresh and very cold water from our well so cold your teeth hurt???? boy as that some good lemonade!
Thank you for that memory. Now I will try your recipe!! Lip
Hi I love the way the sugar is melted with warm water years ago I was making it with cold water and not using the correct amount of lemons, I’m so thankful I this recipe ….I love the ingredients you use to do your foods. Thanks.. ill be making lemonade today.
How much does this recipe make?!
I only had two lemons but it was the best thing that I’ve ever tasted thankyou sooooo much xx
la la loved this recipe! It is a little sweet with 2 cups but still, delicious!!
I really enjoyed this it was a little sweet a the start but I loved it!
I really loved this recipe o give it five out of five.The one thing which got me was it was a bit to strong but still I loved it!
I JUST LOVE IT SOOOOO MUCH I GIVE IT A 5 OUT A 5 MMMM
God bless your soul!!! this is the best lemonade i’ve ever had… let alone made! you will forever be apart of my family! THANK YOU!
I love this old fashioned lemonade recipe… so sweet and refreshing! If you haven’t already you can try an herbal twist. The flavors are outstanding! 🙂
Here’s my recipe- http://purposefulproductions.blogspot.com/2014/10/garden-herbal-lemonade.html
How much vodka or hard stuff do you use in conjunction to the recipe? Half of the water and half vodka?
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe! Even my daughter, who is a countrytime fan 🙁 , loves it. My husband should be home in about an hour; hopefully it will last that long.
I love the look of this recipe but how much sugar do you use? I watched the video and read and re read the recipe and can’t see the quantity of sugar anywhere. AM I missing something?
2 cups of sugar but this is way too sweet for my liking.
The recipe calls for 11/2-2 cups sugar. Go with the lower amount if 2 cups is too sweet. Heck you can put in however much you want until your sweetness level is reached.
I LOVE Monique! This recipe was Wonderful! I just found this website and made this lemonade this evening! Love it! like a previous reviewer mentioned about the tartness and sweetness- it is simply just the perfect blend! I am making 5 old fashion latch back glass bottles full of this lemonade for my brothers for fathers day! Making them the HARD version;) They will love it! Thanks so much! I love you girl!
As we have a lemon tree, and hate to see waste. I made my first batch of your lemonade recipe 3 weeks ago, it was so delicious and refreshing with a bite. My family and friends think so too….So easy to make. This is a definite must to do every week whilst in season. Thank you.
First time making homemade lemonade and this recipe was AMAZING!!! I love your YouTube channel and website. Thanks!
Thanks so much for this recipe!! It was easy to make and I love the taste and colour! Cannot wait to give it to my son’s Kindergarten class tomorrow!!
nice recipe!i loooooove lemons!! just wanted to ask how long can i store it in the frigde?
Thanks a ton for the great recipe. Very useful and my kid is now enjoying home made Lemonade.
I made this and it was amazing, and it had the perfect balance of tart and sweetness plus when you simmered the lemon zest in with the sugar and water it gave it a nice yellow color without having to add dyes! Delicious!
It was great lemonade!! It was fun to watch the video with my kiddies & then make it together!! Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Just made this tonight! Perfect balance of tartness and sweetness-wayyyyy better than storebought! This was my first time making homemade lemonade. I also make your Southern sweet tea all the time! Thanks chica 🙂
this looks refreshing and easy to do question Mo where can I find this juicer
Yummy recipe Monique! Even better when you had vanilla beans to the mix!