This refreshing homemade Lemonade Recipe is the perfect quick and easy solution to quench your thirst on a hot summer day! Made with fresh lemons and soda water with just the right amount of sugar it’s tart, tangy, and full of lemony good fizzy flavor!
Best Fizzy Lemonade Recipe
Lemonade is a classic! It’s easy to make and a popular summer drink that is bursting with sweet, sour, intense citrusy goodness! But in most cases, it’s made with water, which does work. Yet, I like to switch things up a bit and replace that plain old boring water with bubbly extra refreshing soda water!
The fizzy twist of soda water adds an extra boost in flavor when combined with the fresh lemon squeezed juice, simple syrup, and lots of cold ice! It elevates everyday lemonade to the next level creating a delicious tart sparkling lemonade.
And it’s also amazing with booze added! This is totally an alcohol-free recipe, and actually, a great non-alcoholic cocktail with an herb like mint or basil added. But I do know some of you are big fans of my Mojito and Margarita recipes. So I thought why not mention how easy it is to add a touch of something extra like gin or tequila to this lemonade recipe turning it into a quick summer cocktail!
Why We Love This Lemonade Recipe
- Lemon Fizzy Flavor! Full of fresh citrusy lemon juice and bubbles this lemonade is fantastic. It’s tart, but not too sweet and so refreshing with the added touch of fizz.
- Quick and Easy! You only need 3 ingredients along with a pitcher and some ice to make this 10-minute homemade lemonade recipe.
- All-Natural Ingredients! Free of extra added sugars and flavor additives. No store-bought lemon concentrate is used. Just fresh lemons and soda water along with your sugar of choice.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sugar– To sweeten the lemonade you will need sugar to make a simple syrup, which is a thickened sugar water. I used granulated white sugar, but cane sugar will work too.
- Soda Water– Gives the lemonade its fizz and you can use any brand you like.
- Lemons – Fresh juicy lemons provide the best flavor.
- Crushed Ice – You can either get ice from the store or your ice maker, but crushed is the best choice of ice for this lemonade recipe.
How To Make Lemonade
- Make the simple syrup: Mix the sugar and water together in a small saucepan. Then bring it to a simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has slightly thickened. Then set aside to cool.
- Juice the lemons: Juice 3 of the lemons, which should give you about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. If your lemons are small and you end up with less juice, I suggest you juice another lemon if you can for the tastiest lemonade.
- Slice the remaining lemon: Cut the remaining lemon into circle shaped slices and set aside.
- Make the concentrate: Pour the cold simple syrup into a pitcher. Then add the fresh lemon juice and stir until fully combined.
- Make the fizzy lemonade: Add the soda water and fresh cut lemon slices to the pitcher. Then top with a good amount of crushed ice and stir.
- Serve and enjoy: Pour into your favorite glasses, add a slice of lemon to the rim, a straw, and enjoy your refreshing homemade lemonade.
Can I Use A Different Sweetener In Place Of The Sugar?
Yes! Simply don’t make the simple syrup and use your favorite artificial sweetener, honey, or agave instead. Just use an amount that is equal to ½ cup of regular sugar. You may also want to add a little more soda water depending on the sweetness of your artificial sweetener of choice.
Can I Make This Lemonade Recipe Without Soda Water
Yes! If you don’t have soda water on hand or just don’t want fizzy lemonade, you can use water instead. It’s as simple as that and easy to make this recipe fizz free.
Can I Use Limes In Place Of The Lemons?
Yes! Homemade limeade is another option using this recipe. All you have to do is follow the instructions exactly the same except use limes in place of lemons. Or you can even be super creative and use a combination of lemons and limes! Yummy!
Can I Add Fresh Herbs To The Lemonade?
Yes! Fresh mint or basil adds a deliciously amazing herbal twist in flavor. For a pitcher of lemonade that you are serving right away within the next few hours just add the herb of your choice in with the soda water and fresh cut lemons. But if you plan on drinking your lemonade over the course of days, you will want to add the herbs each time you make a glass. The reason being is that after a couple of hours the herbs do start breaking down in the lemonade.
Expert Tips
- Make your lemons juicy. To help get all that yummy fresh juice, roll the lemons as you press them against the counter. It’s an old fashioned trick that will soften them up a bit for easier squeezing.
- Use just opened soda water. A brand new bottle of unopened soda water will give the lemonade the most fizz. Or, if you have a soda machine even better. Soda water gets flat over time and loses its bubbles.
- Don’t over thicken the simple syrup. Be careful not to over-reduce the simple syrup, so make sure to keep it at a simmer and watch it carefully. You want the sugar to dissolve and thicken, but not turn to glue.
Make Ahead Lemonade
This lemonade recipe can be prepped ahead of time for parties, events, or just for having it on hand because it’s so dang good! All you have to do is follow the recipe up until right after you make the lemon concentrate, then stop, and put the concentrate in an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 3 months!
Fridge
Simply remove the concentrate you made from the fridge, and continue on with the recipe by adding the club soda, sliced lemons, and crushed ice to finish making the lemonade.
Freezer
Take the concentrate out of the freezer and let it thaw out a tad. Then continue making the lemonade as stated in the recipe.
Other Delicious Recipes To Try
- Acai Smoothie
- Easy Milkshake
- Haunted Orchard Cocktail
- Irish Coffee
- Strawberry Milkshake
- Hot Mulled Cider
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Craving More? Follow Along:
Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients
Simple Syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
Lemonade
- 4 cups soda water
- 4 lemons washed
- crushed ice
Instructions
Simple Syrup
- Make the simple syrup: Mix the sugar and water together in a small saucepan. Then bring it to a simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has slightly thickened. Then set aside to cool.
Lemonade
- Juice the lemons: Juice 3 of the lemons, which should give you about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. If your lemons are small and you end up with less juice, I suggest you juice another lemon if you can for the tastiest lemonade.
- Slice the remaining lemon: Cut the remaining lemon into circle shaped slices and set aside.
- Make the concentrate: Pour the cold simple syrup into a pitcher. Then add the fresh lemon juice and stir until fully combined.
- Make the fizzy lemonade: Add the soda water and fresh cut lemon slices to the pitcher. Then top with a good amount of crushed ice and stir.
- Serve and enjoy: Pour into your favorite glasses, add a slice of lemon to the rim, a straw, and enjoy your refreshing homemade lemonade.
Tips & Notes:
- Make your lemons juicy. To help get all that yummy fresh juice, roll the lemons as you press them against the counter. It’s an old fashioned trick that will soften them up a bit for easier squeezing.
- Use just opened soda water. A brand new bottle of unopened soda water will give the lemonade the most fizz. Or, if you have a soda machine even better. Soda water gets flat over time and loses its bubbles.
- Don’t over thicken the simple syrup. Be careful not to over-reduce the simple syrup, so make sure to keep it at a simmer and watch it carefully. You want the sugar to dissolve and thicken, but not turn to glue.
