This refreshing Strawberry Lemonade recipe is made with fresh strawberry sauce that is lightly sweetened with honey. The bright strawberry sauce is combined with tart lemonade, then garnished with a strawberry sugar glass rim and a fresh strawberry slice for a stunning pink lemonade for summer!
Refreshing Strawberry Lemonade
What beverage do you think of when it is a super hot, middle of the summer, day? I immediately went to margarita, but that wasn’t the answer.
How about a non-alcoholic fruity summer drink? Yes! Lemonade! And I’m sure you’ve seen the already made store-bought version of Strawberry Lemonade, but let’s just make our own. It will be better. I promise.
Why You’ll Love This easy Strawberry Lemonade
- It is homemade – There is always something better about homemade. Plus, you get to control sweetness and flavor volumes.
- Strawberry is the star flavor – Some flavored store-bought lemonade may just taste like lemonade. With this recipe, because we are using fresh strawberries, the flavor of strawberry and lemon shine.
- Delicately sweet – This goes with making it homemade because you get to control how much and which type of sweetener to use.
- It’s prettier – Another trivial one, but there is something about pink lemonade with a pretty presentation. And homemade Strawberry Lemonade gives you the opportunity to make a strawberry layered beverage!
Ingredients To Make Strawberry Lemonade
- Fresh Strawberries – Fresh is always best, especially in season! However, frozen strawberries will work fine to make the strawberry sauce.
- Honey – I like the flavor pairing of floral fruity honey with the strawberries. However, swap in any sweetener of choice.
- Lemon Juice – The lemon juice can come from fresh lemons or bottled. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the strawberries.
- Water – Just a little water is needed to help cook the strawberries down.
- Lemonade – Fresh squeezed homemade or store-bought lemonade will work.
- Freeze Dried Strawberries – These are optional, but make a tasty addition to the rim of the glass.
- Granulated Sugar – Also, totally optional. The sugar is combined with the freeze-dried strawberries for the glass rims. The sugar gives a nice texture – and sweetness!
Homemade Strawberry Sauce
The strawberry sauce deserves a post all by itself because it is that good! But, for the sake of this strawberry lemonade recipe, I will focus on the delicious features it brings to this refreshing summer drink.
To start, I am calling it a sauce vs. a syrup because it is a little thicker than a syrup. And that is because the strawberries themselves have a little more plump to them. As opposed to the blueberry syrup in the ever-popular Blueberry Lemonade recipe.
Strawberries by themselves are full of bright and sweet flavors. And when you cook them down with a little honey and lemon, that strawberry flavor we all love is even more pronounced. With that, the strawberry flavor shines through when paired with sweet and tart lemonade.
Tips For Making Strawberry Lemonade
- Use fresh strawberries – Fresh is best, especially if in season! But, frozen will work too if you find yourself longing for a summer beverage in the middle of winter!
- Cook the strawberries for the strawberry sauce – I’m adding this as a tip because I thought that just pureeing and straining the strawberries would work as well. However, the sauce won’t have the bold flavor it does when it gets cooked down and all the fruity juices are released.
- Strain the strawberry sauce – This is a personal preference, but I do like that the strawberry sauce is smooth and seed-free for a drink. You can certainly skip the straining if you like some texture in your lemonade.
- Use some of the strawberry sauce to make ice cubes – Reserve a little sauce to make cute little ice cubes. Optional but a fun presentation!
- Store-bought lemonade is just as good – I did it, and it was just as delicious as all homemade! Though, I would recommend trying to find a more natural lemonade for the true lemon flavor and they won’t be as sweet. If you use a powdered lemonade mix, you may want to cut back on some of the sweetness in the strawberry sauce.
- Try the strawberry sugar rim – You won’t be disappointed! The freeze-dried strawberries are like a flavor bomb and they make for a pretty presentation!
- Use extra strawberry slices to make ice cubes – If you want to keep all the strawberry sauce to pour into your drink, why not try slicing some strawberries, submerging in water in your ice cube tray, and making pretty ice cubes with floating fruit?!
Recipe FAQ’s
Frozen will work fine. My preference is to use fresh when in season because of the brighter flavor. And, fresh is nice should you want to garnish the drink with a strawberry slice!
Cooking down the strawberries enhances their flavor and allows for the strawberries, honey, and lemon juice to get nicely incorporated. However, you can put the strawberry sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Yes – I would say use your sweetener of choice. Just taste-test the sauce as you make it to get it to your desired sweetness. I chose honey because I like how the floral fruity flavor works with the strawberries.
You certainly can! I think raspberry, blackberry, cherry, peach, and the super popular on the blog – blueberry, would be delicious! Just taste along the way to get your desired sweetness and flavor level.
More Refreshing Summer Drinks
- Refreshing Blueberry Lemonade
- Peach and Citrus Refresher
- Ginger Lemonade
- Watermelon Honey Lime Slushies
- Black Cherry Cream Sodas
- Extra Creamy Strawberry Floats (Dairy-Free)
Strawberry Lemonade
Equipment
- 4 – Serving Glasses
- Pitcher
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh strawberries (plus additional for garnish (optional))
- 2 tablespoons honey (or any sweetener of choice; sweeten to taste)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- lemonade (store-bought or homemade (see Notes))
- 2 to 3 tablespoons freeze dried strawberries, ground to powder (for rim of glass – more or less to taste)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (for rim of glass – more or less to taste)
Instructions
- You can make your own lemonade (see Notes), or use store-bought lemonade.
- Hull and rough chop the strawberries.
- In a medium saucepan, add the prepared strawberries, honey, water, and lemon juice. Heat over medium-low heat until the strawberries reach the consistency of a jam. While heating, use a wooden spoon to help break down the strawberries and release their juices.
- Optional – At this point you can strain the strawberries to get a smooth sauce, or not.
- Transfer the strawberry sauce to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate to cool down and until ready to serve.
- When Ready To Serve – In a small shallow dish, mix together the strawberry powder and sugar. Use a lemon wedge or fresh strawberry slice to moisten the rim of the glass, so the strawberry sugar sticks. Swirl the rim of the glasses in the strawberry sugar.
- Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of strawberry sauce into each glass, then pour over your lemonade. Note – see Notes for making strawberry sauce ice cubes! Add ice cubes and a fresh strawberry for garnish (optional), and Enjoy!
RECIPE NOTES
- Serving Size – The strawberry sauce yields enough for approximately 4, 8 ounce servings, where you can actually taste the strawberry. You can easily double or triple the recipe to make a larger batch.
- Sweeten to Taste – If you use store-bought lemonade, you may not want to over-sweeten the strawberry sauce.
- Homemade Lemonade – Feel free to use store-bought lemonade (I did!), or make your own. Start with about 3 to 4 cups of water, 1/2 cup of lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of honey. Add more lemon and honey to taste. You can also swap in any sweetener of choice.
- Strawberry Sugar Rim – This is completely optional, but makes for a nice presentation!
- Strawberry Sauce (and slices) Ice Cubes – You may have a little extra strawberry sauce depending on how many servings you plan. For example, I made 4, 8 ounce glasses of Strawberry Lemonade to take pictures, and I still had strawberry sauce leftover. You can pour the sauce into small ice cube trays for a pretty presentation. Or, slice strawberries and put in your ice cube tray (cover with water!) These small round ice cube molds are great for this!
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I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you! Click here to learn more about me!