Description
This 3-ingredient homemade lemonade recipe is naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey, and easily adjustable to make as tart or sweet as you prefer.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups freshly-squeezed lemon juice*
- 6 cups cold water
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey simple syrup,* or more to taste
Instructions
- Squeeze the lemon juice. Use a citrus juicer to strain the fresh lemons (or you can squeeze out the juice by hand, discarding the seeds) until you yield 1 1/2 cups of juice.
- Add sweetener and water. In a large pitcher, stir together the lemon juice, water and maple syrup (or honey simple syrup) until combined.
- Make any adjustments. Give the lemonade a taste, and add in any extra lemon juice (for tartness), maple syrup (for sweetness), or water (to dilute the flavor a bit) if desired.
- Serve over ice. Serve over ice, garnished with an extra lemon slice and/or fresh herb sprig if you’d like. Or refrigerate in a sealed pitcher for up to 1 week.
Notes
*Lemons: I used about 8 large lemons, in order to yield 1.5 cups of juice. But the size and juiciness of lemons can vary widely, so I vote bring home a few extra lemons just in case. Feel free to also add in the zest of one lemon, if you would like to add a bit of tartness.
*Honey Simple Syrup: To make honey simple syrup, combine equal parts water and honey in a small saucepan and heat until the mixture reaches a simmer. Stir until the honey is dissolved. Then remove from heat and add your desired amount to the lemonade mixture.