Strawberry Or Raspberry Lemonade Recipe

Prepare fruit

Wash fruit thoroughly. Hull the strawberries and remove any stems. Reserve 4 whole berries for garnish.

Cook/lightly simmer

In a small saucepan, combine hulled strawberries, raspberries, 1 cup water, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fruit breaks down and the sugar dissolves, about 6–8 minutes.

Mash and cool

Use a potato masher or the back of a spoon to further mash the softened fruit in the pan. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.

Purée & strain

Transfer the fruit mixture to a blender and purée until smooth (10–15 seconds). For a smooth lemonade, strain the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or pitcher, pressing with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard seeds and solids. This yields a concentrated berry purée.

If the lemonade needs additional sweetness after tasting, dissolve up to 2 tablespoons extra simple syrup (made by stirring equal parts sugar and warm water together) into the warm berry purée or add to the final pitcher as needed. Stir until fully combined.

Combine with lemon and water

Into a 1.5–2 quart pitcher, pour the strained berry purée and add 1 cup fresh lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add 3 cups cold water (or 2 cups water + 1 cup club soda for a lightly fizzy version). Taste and adjust sweetness with the optional simple syrup if needed.

Chill

Add ice to the pitcher or fill individual glasses with ice. Let the lemonade chill 5 minutes so flavors meld, or refrigerate up to 1 hour for colder service.

Serve (non-alcoholic)

To serve a virgin glass: fill a glass with ice, pour 10–12 oz of the prepared berry lemonade over the ice, garnish with a lemon slice and a reserved whole strawberry or a few raspberries. Offer one free refill if desired.

Serve (cocktail option)

For an alcoholic variation per serving, add 1 tablespoon peach schnapps and 1 tablespoon Firefly (or similar) to each glass before pouring the lemonade. Stir gently to integrate, then garnish and serve. Adjust spirit amounts to taste; omit to keep it non-alcoholic.

Storage

Store leftover lemonade tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Stir before serving as separation may occur.