“Summertime and the livin’ is easy…” It sure is! If summer is your favorite season, it’ll only be made better by having a tall glass of this Strawberry Lemon Limeade in your hand.
This 15-minute recipe is the tastiest, most refreshing fruity drink for all your summer activities from pool parties to picnics to cookouts. This is the perfect drink to serve at a cookout featuring BeeBop’s bacon cheeseburgers, southern baked beans, and potato salad!
Recipe Snapshot: Strawberry Lemon Limeade
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 10
Cuisine: American
Cooking Method: Stovetop
Primary Ingredients: Frozen strawberries, lemons, limes, sugar
Skill Level: Easy
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What You’ll Like About This Recipe
- Not too sweet; not too tart
- Uses easily sourced ingredients
- Versatile – can be served as is or made into an “adult beverage”
- Very quick and easy to make
You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook!
You can see this recipe on page 28 of my cookbook, My Southern Table! Get your signed copy today.
Ingredient Notes
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- Lemons and Limes — Fresh is always best!
- Sugar — You can always substitute an equivalent amount of sugar substitute if you prefer.
- Frozen Strawberries — Using thawed, frozen strawberries saves time; you can use fresh, but you’ll need to wash and hull them and then crush them with a muddler or give them a quick blitz in a blender or food processor.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Of course, you can use all limes or all lemons in this recipe. Just make sure that you have at least 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of juice.
- You can turn this recipe into a cocktail by adding tequila or vodka (about 4 ounces of either) and a splash of Gran Marnier. Or just add a little umbrella and call it a “mocktail.”
- Substitute an equal amount of a sugar substitute if you like. If substituting, you can skip making the simple syrup in steps 1-2.
How to Make Strawberry Lemon Limeade
STEP 1. You’ll start by making a simple syrup of equal parts water and sugar. Bring it to a boil and stir until the sugar completely melts.
STEP 2. Cool the syrup in the refrigerator or add ice to cool it down right away.
NOTE: If you choose to use a sugar substitute in the recipe, you’ll skip the cooking step and simply dissolve the sugar substitute in water.
Pro Tip
Simple syrup (which is just equal parts water and sugar) is a great thing to keep on hand in your refrigerator for mixing cocktails and summer drinks. It eliminates the problem of trying to dissolve sugar in a cold drink.
STEP 3. While the syrup is cooling, remove the zest from one lime and one lemon. Set the zest aside.
STEP 4. Juice all the lemons and limes (including the ones you previously zested) using a juicer or a hand reamer.
Pro Tip
A microplane grater makes zesting citrus fruit so easy and gives you a very finely grated zest. Love that tool!
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STEP 5. Add the thawed strawberries with their syrup to a large pitcher.
STEP 6. Add the lemon and lime zest, the simple syrup, and the juices. Stir together to blend. Add enough water to make a total of eight cups.
STEP 7. Be sure to taste the mixture. If you like it less tart, add water a cup at a time until you get just the taste you want. Serve over ice and garnish with fresh strawberries and lemon or lime slices.
Pro Tip
I recommend holding the garnish separately until serving the drink. Sometimes citrus oils can be bitter and overpowering if allowed to sit in the liquid too long.
Questions About Strawberry Lemon Limeade
You can easily substitute an equal amount of fresh strawberries for the frozen berries in this recipe. You’ll need to hull and wash them, then either crush them with a muddler or give them a quick blitz in a blender or food processor.
Simple syrup is a mixture of equal parts sugar and water, cooked until the sugar is dissolved and then cooled. It makes sweetening cold drinks really easy – trying to dissolve sugar into something cold is really difficult (the sugar won’t go into solution and sinks to the bottom) — and simple syrup solves that problem. You can keep it in your refrigerator for about a month.
Actually, yes, you can easily freeze this recipe. Pour it into a freezer safe container, seal it, and keep it in the freezer for up to six months. Even better, freeze it in ice cube trays and add the individual cubes into other drinks such as Sprite or 7-Up.
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Recipe
Strawberry Lemon Limeade
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- Ice
- 3 limes
- 6 large lemons
- 15.5 ounces frozen strawberries in sugar thawed
- Water
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.1 ½ cup sugar, 1 ½ cups water
- Remove pan from the heat and add 4 cups of ice cubes.Ice
- While the sugar-water mixture cools, finely grate the zest from one lime and one lemon. Set aside.3 limes, 6 large lemons
- Juice the lemons and limes. There should be about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups juice.
- Put the thawed strawberries with their syrup in the bottom of a pitcher.15.5 ounces frozen strawberries in sugar
- Add the finely grated zest, lemon-lime juice and the cooled sugar-water mixture.
- Add enough additional water to make a total of 8 cups.Water
- Serve over ice. Garnish with fresh strawberries and/or lemon and lime slices.
Notes
- You can use all limes or all lemons in this recipe. Just make sure that you have the total amount of juice needed.
- Hold the garnish on the side until serving the drink. Sometimes citrus oils can be bitter and overpowering if allowed to sit in the liquid for too long.
- Substitute an equal amount of a sugar substitute if you like. If substituting, you can skip making the simple syrup in steps 1-2.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
MMMM this is soooo sooo good. I made it tonight for dinner. My husband is a diabetic so i used splenda instead of sugar and used strawberries with splenda. I could not find my zester so i did not zest the lemon or limes and it was still very very delish. This for sure will be a summer drink at my house. Thank you for sharing the recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kayleen! It’s one of our favorites, too. I’m looking forward to glass when the weather is warmer.
Lana, This lemonade just blew my socks off! I’m so glad I stumbled upon this and your site in general. You’ve got some amazing recipes, and I can’t wait to try more. I did repost this recipe on my blog and gave you credit for it. I hope you don’t mind. The whole world needs to witness the wonder of this drink. Thank you for posting it!
Callie
Mmmmm, sounds delish. I have a fantastic little “sunshine drink” of summer I came across recently called Sunny Orange Lemonade”
Delicious, absolutely delicious! Loved it, it was just what i needed on this hot summer!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And yes, it’s definitely perfect for a hot summer day.