Name: Strawberry Lemonade
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8 drinks
Ingredients: 4 cups (about 1 ¼ pounds) fresh strawberries, washed and cut into halves; 2 to 3 fresh lemons (or more if desired), washed, quartered, seeds removed; ½ to ¾ cup honey, sugar, or raw sugar (to taste); 6 cups water; Ice; Fresh mint leaves; Fresh lemon verbena leaves; Lemon slices; Fresh strawberry slices

Drinks

Strawberry Lemonade

Author: Mary DiSomma

Delicious drinks are one of the best things about summer. And if you know me, you know I like to go big—because how else am I supposed to share? I love making big batches of my favorite summer drinks for get-togethers with family and friends.

Whether it’s a carafe of my Pomegranate Red Wine Sangria, my Favorite White Wine Sangria or a pitcher of this Summer Strawberry Lemonade, there’s just nothing better than a refreshing beverage on a hot, sunny day. Piña colada lemonade is good, too… but that’s a recipe for another day!

Strawberry Lemonade

Ahh, lemonade. The quintessential summer drink. And for good reason! My simple Strawberry Lemonade recipe is extra refreshing on a hot, summer day—and it’s easy to add some spirits for the grown-ups, too.

Yield: 8 drinks
Prep Time: 15 minutes 15 min
Cook Time: 0 minutes0 min
Total Time: 15 minutes 15 min

Ingredients

4 cups (about 1 ¼ pounds) fresh strawberries, washed and cut into halves
2 to 3 fresh lemons (or more if desired), washed, quartered, seeds removed
½ to ¾ cup honey, sugar, or raw sugar (to taste)
6 cups water
Ice

Optional garnishes

Fresh mint leaves
Fresh lemon verbena leaves
Lemon slices
Fresh strawberry slices

Instructions

Place the strawberries, honey or sugar, and 1 cup of water into your blender. Blend on high speed until the mixture is totally pureed. Pour into a large pitcher.
In the same blender, add the quartered lemons, 2 cups of water, and a few ice cubes. Process on high speed. The mixture will be liquid, but it should have a coarse consistency because you’re using whole lemons. But boy, the lemony flavor you are going to get!
Place a strainer over a bowl. Pour the lemon mixture into the sieve and, using the back of a large spoon, press to extract as much of the juice mixture as possible. Discard the pulp that remains in the strainer.
Add the lemon juice mixture to the pitcher with the strawberry juice. Add the remaining 3 cups of water. Stir to combine and taste. Sweeten to taste. Serve over ice with any of the optional garnishes!

View Mary's Tips

Tips

Lemonade is to summer as hot chocolate is to winter: you just have to have some. It’s one of those seasonal drinks you enjoy because of the weather. My Summer Strawberry Lemonade is pretty, and it’s really refreshing—certainly on a hot summer day.

My recipe has mint in it. It adds a bit of freshness, an extra lift, and gives an otherwise simple lemonade a slightly more complex, herbal flavor. Plus, it’s a great excuse to use some of the fresh mint or lemon verbena that’s taking over your garden!

Strawberries and lemon make an amazing flavor combo, and the flavor ratio is totally customizable. Like a little more pucker? Just dial up the lemon! I prefer to use organic lemons, by the way—especially if I’m adding extra. Want to make a grown-up version? A splash of prosecco or vodka will do the job just fine.