Our Best Lemonade Recipes And Tips

A refreshing lemonade slushy. Photo, Roberto Caruso.

Nostalgic lemonade is a summer day staple for a reason—nothing is quite as refreshing as a cold glass of lemony, sugary goodness. And thankfully, over the years, the Chatelaine Kitchen Team has perfected their recipes for this classic beverage.

Here’s how you can make it in a snap (less than a snap if you have an electric citrus juicer), and punch it up with fun flavours if you’re feeling extra snazzy. Plus some lemonade-adjacent recipes perfect for patios.

Homemade lemonade recipe

When it comes to lemonade, it’s all about nailing the ratio between your main three ingredients.

Ingredients

• Cold water
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Granulated sugar

Instructions

1. For classic lemonade, add 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar for every cup of water. (You can also use simple syrup, which is sugar and water, instead of sugar to taste.) If you prefer your lemonade with some bubbles, swap out the water for equal parts sparkling water. And to quickly make a boozy shandy, pour equal parts lemonade and a light beer (like Corona) into a glass. You can even garnish with fresh mint if you're feeling fancy. 

How to make pink lemonade

Many pink lemonade recipes call for a touch of cranberry juice, but we took a more flavourful route to give this beverage its signature pink hue—fresh berries or watermelon.

Fresh Strawberry Lemonade

This recipe yields a gorgeously ruby glass of lemonade. Get this fresh strawberry lemonade recipe.

How To Make Watermelon Pink Lemonade

Watermelon pink lemonade. Photo, Erik Putz.

Ingredients

• 5 cups chopped sweet, seedless watermelon
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 to 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 355mL can club soda
• lemon slices

Instructions

1. Whirl watermelon with lemon juice and sugar in a blender until smooth. Stir in club soda. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon slices.

How to make blender lemonade

The simplest way to make lemonade is to just throw your ingredients in a blender—it’s even easier if you use sweet Meyer lemons because you can toss ’em in with the peel still on. (You don't have to juice the lemons beforehand!) Here’s our Meyer lemon blender lemonade recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 Meyer lemon (ends cut off, cut into wedges, seeds removed)
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Combine lemon, water and granulated sugar in a blender. Whirl on high for 1 min. Pour lemonade through a sieve into 2 glasses. Top with ice and serve immediately.

Lemonade Slushy

When life gives you lemons, blend them with some ice. Get our lemonade slushy recipe.

Sour Cherry Lemonade

Lemonade gets a ruby red treatment with the addition of sour cherry juice. Get our sour cherry lemonade recipe.

Sparkling Campari Lemonade

The sweetness of grenadine and the bite of Campari are mixed with sparkling lemonade in this refreshing drink. Get our sparkling Campari lemonade recipe.

Watermelon Limoncello Lemonade Cocktail

As simple as whirling watermelon, limoncello and lemon juice in a blender, once you’ve tried this fresh take on lemonade it will be gracing the patio table all summer long. Get our watermelon limoncello lemonade cocktail recipe.

Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita Mocktail

Think of this as a more mature version of limeade with a kick and you're not super far off. Get our cucumber jalapeño margarita mocktail recipe.

Pink Lemonade Squares

These bright and zingy pink squares are perfect on their own, but they also make a colourful addition to any dessert plate or cookie box. Get our pink lemonade squares recipe.

Raspberry Cordial

(Photo: Erik Putz; Produced by: Sun Ngo; Food styling: Ashley Denton; Prop styling: Madeleine Johari)

A homegrown alternative to lemonade, this summery drink works just as well with frozen fruit as fresh. Get our raspberry cordial recipe.