Cold and refreshing, this 4-ingredient honey-sweetened strawberry lemonade is made from real, fresh strawberries and lemons. There is no refined sugar or artificial sweetener needed. It comes together quickly and hits the spot on a warm summer day.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips.
Tell Me About This Honey-Sweetened Strawberry Lemonade
- Flavor: Tart, a little sweet, and super fruity. This is a thirst quencher and tastes especially refreshing served over lots of ice.
- Ease: This is a wildly easy homemade drink recipe. All that the process requires is juicy strawberries, lemons, honey, water, and a blender.
- Time: This homemade strawberry lemonade takes about 15 minutes total. And that time includes juicing the lemons and cutting the strawberries!
What youโll appreciate most about this honey-sweetened strawberry lemonade is that itโs not overly or artificially sweetened like many store-bought lemonade drinks. You can really taste the pure flavor of tart lemon and sweet strawberries. Plus, you have complete control over the added sweetness. If your strawberries happen to be extra sweet, scale back a bit on the honey. If you want your drink a little sweeter, add a little more.
One reader, Shantelle, commented: “I made this and it was great! It is one of my favorite recipes! Note: it tastes best the second day, because it is not frothy from the blender, and the flavors blend. For best results stir before drinking it. โ โ โ โ โ ”
You Need Just 4 Ingredients
Strawberries, water, lemons, and honey. Yes, that’s it!
Make sure you have a powerful blender that will blend up the strawberries. I love this blender because not only is it strong, it also works as a food processor or chopper, too.
How to Make Strawberry Lemonade
Start by prepping the berries. Rinse and hull the strawberries, and cut them in half if they’re on the larger side. Juice the lemons (use a juicer to make easy work of this; I have and love this one) until you have 3/4 cupโabout 180mlโof juice.
Put the berries, lemon juice, and honey in your blender, along with 2 cups of cold water.
Blend on high until everything combines and is completely smooth and frothy, like this:
Pour the mixture into a pitcher, add the remaining water, and stir. That’s it!
Tip: This strawberry lemonade is frothy right out of the blender, so if you’d like the froth/foam to settle down before drinking, place the lemonade in the refrigerator for about 1โ2 hours (or longer) before serving. In fact, we think it tastes even better on day 2 after the flavors have had a chance to mingleโjust like this apple cider sangria.
Yes, you can use frozen, thawed strawberries. Or keep them frozen for a lightly-sweetened strawberry lemonade slushy drink!
I haven’t specifically tested other berries, so I’m unsure whether the amount of honey would need to change. If you decide to try other berries, you may need to strain the seeds out. See recipe Notes below for more on this.
Absolutely, and there are many pairings that would taste great with this strawberry lemonade. Gin, vodka, rum… or mix with sparkling wine for an extra-special mimosa!
As long as your blender is powerful enough to crush ice, go right ahead!
Honey Sweetened Strawberry Lemonade
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: American
Description
This refreshing 4-ingredient honey-sweetened strawberry lemonade is made with real strawberries and fresh lemon juice.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 pounds (680g) fresh strawberries
- 6 cups (1.44L) cold water
- 3/4 cup (180ml) fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 1/2 cup (170g) honey
Instructions
- Rinse, hull, and halve the strawberries. Place them in a large blender.
- Pour 2 cups (480ml) of water, the lemon juice, and honey over the strawberries. Blend on high for at least 2 minutes or until smooth.
- Pour into a large pitcher and stir in the remaining water. Taste. Stir in more honey if you’d like it a bit sweeter. Lemonade is frothy right out of the blender so if you’d like the froth/foam to settle down before drinking, place the lemonade in the refrigerator for about 1โ2 hours before serving.
- Serve over ice. Cover and store leftover strawberry lemonade in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Citrus Juicer |ย Blender
- Can I Strain the Strawberries? We don’t strain the strawberries in this recipe. However, if you’d like to strain them, blend the strawberries with only 1 cup of water, then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher. Then stir in the remaining 5 cups of water, the lemon juice, and the honey.
- Can I Use Frozen Strawberries? Yes, you can use frozen, thawed strawberries. Or keep them frozen for a lightly-sweetened strawberry lemonade slushy drink!
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this lemonade for the 4th of July. It was delicious, sweet-tart and refreshing, and such a pretty red color โ everyone loved it! My strawberries were especially ripe, sweet ones from the farmer’s market, so I used only 1/3 cup of honey instead of 1/2 cup, and I don’t regret that choice. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again!
Good morning!
For the readers that do not care for honey, a simple syrup to help sweeten the mixture would work, rather than using straight sugar.
When I took it out of the blender, it was warm because of the friction and I had to keep it in the fridge for a few hours. Any ideas on how to keep it cold in the blender?
That can definitely happen, especially if your blender runs for a while! To keep the lemonade cooler while blending, try these tips: (1) Add a handful of ice to the blender along with the other ingredients. (2) Chill your water and lemons ahead of time so everything starts cold. And if itโs still a little warm after blending, popping it in the fridge (like you did!) or pouring it over ice works perfectly too.
Can I use sugar instead of honey? I don’t like the taste of honey and don’t keep it in my house.
Hi Colleen, the sugar may not dissolve all the way and make for a gritty texture, but you can certainly try it. You can play around with the amount and sweeten to your liking.
We enjoyed the flavor but thought it would benefit from some additional texture – blending frozen strawberries or ice (like you do for a marg).
Didnโt have enough honey so did half agave and it was sweet enough. Will try again with frozen strawberries!
Not impressed neither was my husband. Didnโt have much taste even the second day.
Hi Laura, the flavor here will come from the lemons and strawberries you’re using. Were your strawberries nice and ripe and sweet?
Could granulated sugar or maple syrup be used in place of honey?
Hi Ss, we don’t recommend those substitutes here, as the sugar may not dissolve all the way and make for a gritty texture, and maple syrup would have a distinctive maple flavor that might not taste great with the strawberry and lemon flavors.
Would it work with frozen stawberries
Hi Patsy, yes, you can use frozen, thawed strawberries. Or keep them frozen for a lightly-sweetened strawberry lemonade slushy drink!
Can this be made without a blender?
Hi Eileen, no, you need a blender to blend the strawberries.
Sounds delicious! Would substituting peaches work? I have a 7UP Peach Lemonade cooler recipe but this is much simpler.
I’m sure! Let me know how it turns out. Sounds like it would be delicious.
Do you have a recipe where you make simple syrup and add the fruit to it to get the flavor? I have done it with blackberries and raspberries and it turned out utterly amazing but it seemed off when I did it with strawberries, the syrup turned out great so I am not sure what went wrong.
Hi, I don’t have a berry-flavored simple syrup recipe. I’ve made flavored simple syrups before; lemon, lavender, orange, but never berry. Sorry I can’t help here!
Hi, I was wondering if it would work to add less honey. I prefer my lemonade more sour, but I donโt want to mess up the texture or consistency. I was also wondering if I could halve the recipe along with that. Thank you!
Hi Sofia, yes, you can absolutely use less honey and sweeten to taste. And feel free to halve the recipe, as well. Enjoy!
Its a question of taste! Its your drink .
I havent tried this yet , my kids want to make it for their lemonade standโฆ. I was wondering how much this recipe would produce?
Hi Aanika, this yields about 8 cups.
Would you have an idea of how long this lemonade would last if refrigerated? I was thinking of making before our vacation and bringing it as a surprise for my kids but it would be travelling for 2 days.
Hi Christina, We actually prefer to drink it on day two after the flavors have had a chance to settle. It should be ok in the refrigerator for a couple of days but make sure to mix it up before enjoying.
This is so easy and I love the real strawberry flavor!
THis will be perfect for the summer. Question though, can I use a different sweetener instead of honey? My family isn’t a huge fan, and I am afraid that the drink would go to waste if I use it.
Thanks!
I use agave syrup.
This honey sweetened strawberry lemonade is absolutely magnificent, scrumptious, delicious, super yummy. I made it for the super bowl party and it was a crowd favorite. Thx for sharing!
Hi sally!
I just wanted to say my friend and I LOVE your recipes. Our favorite is the peanut butter bars.
I made this and it was Great! It is one of my favorite recipes! Note: it tastes best the second day, because it is not frothy from the blender, and the flavors blend. For best results stir before drinking it. Keep it up Sally! I love your recipes!
Made a pitcher of this goodness this morning! My kids love it. Thanks for sharing, Sally. I love all your drink recipes.