Strawberry Lemonade Recipe

Prepare strawberries

Rinse, hull, and quarter 2 cups of fresh strawberries. Set aside about 3–4 halved berries for muddling/garnish if desired.

Cook syrup

In a small saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and the lemon zest (if using). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves (about 2–3 minutes).

Simmer with fruit

Add the quartered strawberries to the saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until strawberries soften and the liquid is fragrant and slightly thickened.

Mash and strain

Remove from heat. Use a fork or potato masher to mash the berries in the syrup to release more juice (for a smoother syrup, mash thoroughly). If you prefer a clear syrup, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing solids to extract as much liquid as possible and discard pulp. If you want pulpy lemonade, skip straining and let cool slightly.

Cool syrup

Allow the strawberry syrup to cool to room temperature (about 20–30 minutes). Transfer to the refrigerator to chill if making ahead.

Juice lemons

Roll the lemons on the counter to loosen juice, then cut and juice them until you have 1 cup (about 4–5 lemons). Strain seeds and large pulp through a fine mesh if desired.

Combine base

In a large pitcher, combine the freshly squeezed 1 cup lemon juice with 4 cups cold water. Stir to mix.

Sweeten and adjust

Add cooled strawberry syrup to the lemonade base. Start by pouring half the syrup (about 3/4 cup) and taste. Add more syrup to reach desired sweetness and strawberry intensity, typically 3/4–1 cup. If you reserved some unstrained berry pulp, add a few spoonfuls for texture. Stir well.

Chill

Add ice to the pitcher or chill the combined lemonade in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so flavors meld.

Serve

Fill glasses with ice. Pour strawberry lemonade over ice, leaving room for garnishes.

Garnish

Add 1 sliced strawberry and 1 lemon slice to each glass. Add a sprig of mint if using. For an attractive pitcher presentation, float extra lemon slices and sliced strawberries in the pitcher.

Adjustments & Storage

Taste and adjust: if too sweet, add up to 1 cup more cold water; if too tart, stir in an additional 1–2 tbs of simple syrup (or more strained strawberry syrup). Store leftover lemonade in a covered pitcher in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Syrup keeps separately up to 1 week refrigerated.