Double Strawberry Lemonade
This refreshing double strawberry lemonade strikes the perfect balance between tart and sweet. All you need is one pound of lemons and a pint of strawberries!
Everywhere Matt and I go out to eat, one of us has to get a strawberry lemonade. Thankfully, most places have one, but there are definitely some that are better than others. I don’t know when it became our “thing,” but it is.
Our top 2 are Cheddar’s and Texas Roadhouse. Some commonalities between them are actual strawberries in the glass and a stronger strawberry flavor, rather than just tossing fruit into the lemonade.
I mean, obviously I had to create my own version, and this double strawberry lemonade earned bonus points from Matt. Not that he’s biased. He’s not.
Whole strawberries
These are super easy to make, it’s actually the same way you prep strawberries for strawberry shortcake. Slice or chop the strawberries how you want, toss them with a little sugar and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours to macerate and get juicy.
I thought of leaving the strawberry syrup out of this recipe, since the juice from the whole strawberries alone give the lemonade a really good flavor. But being me, I had to push strawberry to the max.
Lemonade
I don’t like making lemonade by dumping lemon juice, sugar and water into a pitcher. I mean you can, but things can still turn out grainy from the sugar even after stirring for a while. Making a lemon syrup to dilute with cold water gives you the best lemon flavor, since you can use both the juice and zest. Even better, it keeps the lemonade from getting grainy.
Zest and juice a whole pound of lemons, you should have about 1/2 cup of juice. Add both the zest and juice to a saucepan and add sugar. Use a 1:1 ratio of sugar to lemon juice, no matter how much juice you get. If you have 3/4 cup juice, add 3/4 cup sugar, etc.
Simmer the saucepan until the sugar dissolves, between 5-8 minutes, and then strain out the zest. How much you dilute your lemonade is up to you. I had 1/2 cup of syrup and used 2 cups of cold water. My lemonade was bold, sweet and tangy, but I can see how some might want something weaker.
Strawberry syrup
This recipe only requires you to get a pint of berries. Half of them get sliced and tossed with sugar, like I said before, and you use the other half to make the strawberry syrup.
Make the strawberry syrup the same as you do the lemon. The only difference is when you strain out the berries, don’t press down on them to get more liquid out. It makes the syrup cloudy. You won’t hurt the flavor, but if you want a clear looking result, resist the urge to smash the berries.
Serving
Scoop a few tablespoons of whole berries and their juice into the bottom of the glasses, and follow with ice. Pour the lemonade on top of the ice, and add as much strawberry syrup as desired. Talk about refreshing!
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Double Strawberry Lemonade
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Varies
- Category: Drinks, Virgin
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This refreshing double strawberry lemonade strikes the perfect balance between tart and sweet. All you need is one pound of lemons and a pint of strawberries!
Ingredients
- 1 lb lemons
- 1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided (amount may vary depending on the lemons)
- 1 cup water
- water to dilute lemonade, as desired (at least 2 cups)
Instructions
- To make the lemon syrup for the lemonade, zest and juice the lemons. You should have at least 1/2 cup of lemon juice. If you have more, that’s great! The amount of zest will also vary, use all of the juice and zest to make the syrup.
- Measure the juice you have and add it to a small saucepan along with the sugar. You need to have a 1:1 ratio of juice to sugar. So if you have 3/4 cup of juice, add 3/4 cup of sugar. The amount of sugar I wrote in the ingredients list is for 1/2 cup of juice, since that’s what I had when making this recipe. Your amount may be different.
- Add the zest to the lemon juice and sugar in the saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes, so that the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens just a little bit.
- Remove from the heat and strain out the zest. Set the lemon syrup aside.
- Take half of the sliced strawberries and add them to a small bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the sugar and toss to coat. Refrigerate the sugared berries for at least 30 minutes to allow them to soften and release juice.
- Add the other half of the sliced strawberries to a small saucepan along with the cup of water, and the remaining cup of granulated sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and strain out the berries. Don’t press down on the strawberries to extract more juice, or your strawberry syrup will be cloudy. Discard the berries and set the syrup aside.
- After the sliced berries have chilled for 30 minutes, scoop a few tablespoons into a glass. Cover with ice as desired.
- Add the lemon syrup to a large pitcher or jar and dilute with as much water as desired. Pour the lemonade over the ice and strawberries, and add as much strawberry syrup as you’d like. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8 oz
- Calories: 196
- Sugar: 47.3 g
- Sodium: 1.5 mg
- Fat: 0.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.1 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
