Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

This Homemade Strawberry Lemonade is sweetened with real fruit and made with just 4 natural ingredients. It’s the perfect summer drink to make when hosting guests, enjoying a day by the pool, or simply needing a way to use up those lemons.

The Healthier Version of Pink Lemonade

If you grew up loving strawberry lemonade or pink lemonade, you’re in for a treat! This healthier version is equally sweet, refreshing, and a beautiful shade of pink – perfect for Spring and Summer.

Many strawberry lemonade recipes on the Internet are made with sweeteners such as white sugar, simple syrup, agave nectar, coconut sugar, or even strawberry syrup. We wanted to make a version that was not only good but nutritious, too!

This strawberry lemonade is made with fresh strawberries and sweetened with dates, making it a great source of dietary fiber and a drink you won’t think twice about making a double batch of. It’s the best delicious drink to make for strawberry season, a hot summer day, or celebrations such as birthdays, picnics, Mother’s day, Easter, baby showers, and more!

Ingredients You’ll Need 

• Lemons: In order to make the best homemade lemonade, it is essential to juice your own fresh lemons! From our experience, 2 Meyer lemons should yield about 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, but this will depend on the size of the lemons as well as the method in which you juice them. For example, squeezing the lemons by hand is going to yield less juice than using a citrus juicer.
• Water: You will need 3 cups of fresh, filtered water to dilute the tartness of the lemons and help blend the lemonade completely smooth.
• Fresh strawberries: For the best flavor, use extra ripe strawberries. The riper they are, the sweeter your strawberry lemonade will be (without the need for any cane sugar!).
• Dates: Our secret to making sweet lemonade without refined sugar. With a powerful, high-speed blender, the dates will blend completely smooth and add nutrition and fiber to this summery drink.

Variations

• Use another berry: Strawberry is of course the classic, but try making this homemade lemonade with fresh raspberries to make raspberry lemonade, or try a blend of raspberries and strawberries for a sweet and tart flavor combo.
• Make strawberry limeade: Swap the fresh-squeezed lemon juice with fresh lime juice. It’s equally as tart and delicious and is a fun twist on classic lemonade.
• Turn it into an alcoholic beverage: Vodka lemonades are popular for a reason! They’re refreshing, easy to make when hosting a crowd, and require no bar tools. Or check out these 8 Alcohols You Can Mix with Lemonade and make your own refreshing summer cocktail at home.
• Use frozen berries: If you’re out of fresh, sweet strawberries, replace them with frozen strawberries. It will make your lemonade more of a slushie texture, but no one will complain!
• Make it an Arnold Palmer: If you love classic Arnold Palmers, try making a Strawberry Almond Palmer! Simply mix half of the strawberry lemonade with half the sweet tea and enjoy.

Equipment Needed

• High-speed blender
• Large storage containers, such as a pitcher, mason jar, or similar container
• Strainer

How to Make Homemade Strawberry Lemonade 

1. Blend all ingredients! Place the water, diced strawberries, Medjool dates, and lemon juice in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
2. Strain. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any date pulp. This is not necessary but highly recommended for smooth lemonade.
3. Chill for 1 hour. Transfer the strawberry lemonade to an airtight container such as a large pitcher, mason jar, or your favorite glass serving container, and add in the sprigs of fresh mint if using. Tightly cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until cold.
4. Serve. Serve chilled over ice with additional sprigs of fresh mint, sliced lemons, strawberries, or as desired!

Recipe FAQs

Tips for Success:

• Pit your dates! Dates contain a tough pit in their center and can damage the blade of your blender if accidentally left in the fruits. Always double-check that they have been removed, or play it safe and purchase pitted Medjool dates from the grocery store.
• Store your fruit to last. If you’ve purchased fresh lemons and strawberries to make strawberry lemonade for guests this summer, you want to help your fresh ingredients last as long as possible. Check out the Best Tips for Storing Produce and Wasting Less and make your produce last for weeks.
• Use a high-powered blender. Although you can get away with a low-powered blender for many of our recipes, this is one where you’ll want to use a quality, high-powered blender such as a Vitamix. A low-powered blender won’t be able to blend the fruit completely smooth, leaving you with a gritty lemonade full of strawberry seeds and tiny chunks of dates. No, thank you!

More Homemade Drink Recipes to Try:

• Calamansi Margaritas – A tropical twist on the classic margarita made with calamansi juice and Cointreau.
• Easy Cucumber Fennel Juice (No Juicer Required) – Another refreshing drink you can make at home using a blender.
• How to Make Cold Brew at Home {easy} – A cheaper, more satisfying way to enjoy your favorite morning cup at home! It’s so easy, you won’t go back to Starbucks after this.
• Easy Mango Kombucha Margaritas – Fruity, bubbly cocktails made with probiotics thanks to Mango Kombucha.
• My Two Go-To Green Smoothies – These are the smoothies I used to make on repeat in my early vegan days! Still some of my favorite go-to recipes.

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Nutrition facts label provided by Nutri Fox.

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