Strawberry Lemonade Recipe

Prepare strawberries

Hull and quarter the fresh strawberries. Reserve 6 halved berries for garnish if desired. Place the remaining strawberries in a blender or food processor.

Make strawberry purée

Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of cold water to the strawberries in the blender. Puree until smooth, about 30–45 seconds. If you prefer a smoother drink, strain the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard seeds and solids left in the sieve.

Dissolve sugar and combine

In a large pitcher, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1/2 cup of warm water and stir until fully dissolved to make a simple quick syrup (this helps cold sugar dissolve). Add the fresh lemon juice and the strawberry purée to the pitcher and stir to combine.

Add water and adjust sweetness

Pour in the remaining cold water (about 3.5 cups) and stir. Taste the lemonade and adjust sweetness or tartness: add up to 1–2 tablespoons more sugar (dissolve first) if too tart, or add additional lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time if you want it tangier. Add a pinch of salt to round flavors.

Chill

Refrigerate the pitcher for at least 30 minutes to chill and allow flavors to meld. If short on time, add ice when serving but note that ice will dilute the drink as it melts.

Serve

Fill glasses with ice cubes. Pour the strawberry lemonade over the ice. Garnish each glass with a halved strawberry, a lemon slice, and a sprig of mint if using. Stir gently before drinking.

Optional sparkling variation

For a fizzy version, prepare as above but use 2 cups cold water + 2 cups chilled sparkling water or club soda and add the sparkling water just before serving to retain carbonation.