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Kick up your feet and beat the heat with a glass of homemade Summer Lemonade! There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a cold glass of lemonade, especially when it’s made with ingredients like fresh strawberries, watermelon, and lemon juice. Oh, and you can make it boozy with a splash of gin, too!
There are so many adjectives to describe this summer lemonade – juicy, sweet, tangy, vibrant, summery, etc. I could really keep going!
This easy to make homemade lemonade is SO much better than anything you’ll get out of a packet of powder. Skip that store-bought stuff and instead, treat yourself to the lemonade you really deserve this summer.
This is a drink that’s delicious both with and without alcohol. If you’re craving a mocktail or a cocktail during the hot summer months, this is the recipe for you!
I love making a big pitcher of this lemonade for backyard barbecues, pool parties, and every other fun in the sun activity. It’s so so refreshing and always a guaranteed crowd pleaser!
I really love that there are no artificial fruit flavors in this lemonade, and you can definitely taste that with every sip.
By using real fruits like watermelon, strawberries, and freshly squeezed lemon juice, you wake up your tastebuds and get the most out of your lemonade. And yes, the fresh fruit flavors pair perfectly with the gin, of course!
Ingredients
- Strawberries – Make sure they’re fresh, not frozen! Also, you’ll want to remove their stems before using.
- Watermelon – Cube it up and make sure to pick a seedless one. I can’t imagine it being too desirable to get watermelon seeds in a sip of lemonade.
- Water
- Lemon juice – Use the juice from fresh lemons, not the store-bought stuff that’s from concentrate. The difference in flavor is noticeably fresher!
- Simple syrup – You can substitute this with agave syrup if you’d like to keep things even more all-natural.
- Gin – Your cocktail will only be as good as the booze you use, so make sure you’re splashing a good quality gin in there! Of course, you can omit the gin entirely if you’d prefer.
- Ice
Can I make summer lemonade frozen?
If you’d prefer this drink be a slushy, guess what? It’s easy to do!
Just toss everything into a blender with a little extra ice as needed and blend it all together until it’s smooth. While I usually prefer my lemonade as a regular drink, a frozen glass of lemonade doesn’t sound like such a bad idea on a hot day!
What else can I add to summer lemonade?
The suggestion of gin was stated above but I think vodka or even rum would be delish in here! If tequila is your thing…maybe you could make this into a margarita of some sort!
Can I add more fruit to this?
Of course! I think the fruit in this is perfect but if you want a different flavor, feel free to add what you think would compliment the other ingredients well.
Still thirsty? Here are some more drink recipes that get me through the hot summer days!
Frozen Pineapple Mango Margarita
Summer Lemonade
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (454 g) fresh strawberries, with the stems removed
- 3 cups (456 g) cubed seedless watermelon
- 2 cups (473 ml) water
- 1 cup (237 ml) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup (59 ml) simple syrup, to taste
- ½ cup (118 ml) gin, this is optional; if using, add more or less depending on your preference
- 4 cups (946 g) of ice
Instructions
- Add the strawberries, watermelon, water, lemon juice, simple syrup and gin (if using) to a large blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the ice to a large pitcher and strain the lemonade through a fine mesh sieve into the pitcher.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges and strawberry slices for garnish if desired.
