Are you craving lemonade, but are looking for a twist? Try adding blueberries. With only four ingredients, our refreshing homemade blueberry lemonade is sweet, tangy, and fruity.
We think you're also going to enjoy our mango lemonade and cherry lemonade. Make sure to try our frozen cherry limeade and Arnold Palmer drink, too!
Ingredients
Our blueberry lemonade takes only four ingredients, so it's simple to assemble. Let's talk about our ingredients.
- Blueberries: We used fresh blueberries, but you can also use frozen, thawed berries.
- Lemons: We used fresh lemons and squeezed them. Don't use lemons from concentrate.
- Sweetener: We used white granulated sugar to make our simple syrup. If you need to substitute, pick a sweetener that dissolves well in hot water.
- Water: We used filtered water for the best taste.
How to Make
- Start by making a simple syrup. Stir together the sugar and water over medium high heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour into a shallow dish and refrigerate.
- Bring the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice to a boil, then simmer for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash with a back of a metal spoon to release more juicy goodness.
3. Pour the puree into a cheesecloth-lined strainer that's nestled in a bowl. Mash the blueberries with the back of a metal spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Pour the juice into a shallow dish and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.
4. To make an individual drink, pour equal amounts of simple syrup and lemon juice into a glass.
5. Add an equal amount of blueberry juice.
6. Stir in ½ cup of water. If you want to mix it in a pitcher, just stir all the ingredients together.
7. Stir and drop in some ice cubes.
8. Garnish with a lemon slice and 3 or 4 plump blueberries. Voila! An impressive drink that tastes amazing. Your kids will drink this in no time.
If you are looking for something to hydrate yourself this summer, you won't be disappointed with this homemade blueberry lemonade recipe. It's a keeper.
Recipe FAQs
Turn it into a smoothie by adding ice and blending it up until nice and smooth. Drink it up as a blended fruit smoothie or add some yogurt to make it a heartier smoothie to use for a meal or snack.
Our recipe has 243 calories per 10 fluid ounces, but keep in mind this drink is made with lots of pure blueberries and lemon juice, unlike most store-bought drinks. Also, you know the quality of the ingredients that went into your drink. You won't find any high fructose corn syrup, natural flavors, preservatives, or fillers like vegetable juice, so homemade will be healthier than store-bought. Scroll to the bottom of the recipe to see the full nutrition facts.
You can achieve a more intense flavor by cooking the blueberries down. While the blueberries cook, some of the water evaporates and you are left with an intensely flavored berry mixture. We use this technique in our blueberry lemonade recipe.
Certainly! This recipe makes 40 fluid ounces, so if you need to double or triple this recipe, feel free to use the scale buttons in the recipe card below. Allow the lemonade to cool before covering and placing it in the fridge.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature lemons instead of cold ones because they are easier to squeeze and yield more juice.
- Speed up the cooling time for the simple syrup or the berry juice by pouring it into a shallow container.
- Cooking the blueberries and mashing them up a bit brings out the flavor and the color.
- Instead of pouring the blueberry lemonade over ice, add just enough ice at the end, so it won't dilute the drink.
- Keep the cooked blueberries to use as jam. You should get about ½ cup.
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Recipe
Blueberry Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cups still or sparkling water
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, rinsed
- 1 ⅓ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 7 large lemons
For the Garnish
- 4 lemon slices
- 12-16 blueberries
- 7 ice cubes per glass
Instructions
Making the Simple Syrup
- Place ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup of water in a small saucepan set over medium high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, roughly 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and pour into a shallow container to speed up the cooling. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Making the Berry Juice
- Bring the blueberries, ½ cup of sugar, and ⅓ cup of lemon juice to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Mash them up a bit with the back of a large metal spoon. You should end up with just under 2 cups of blueberries.
- Line a metal strainer with cheesecloth and place it over a bowl. Hold the strainer with one hand and carefully pour the blueberry mixture with the other.
- Push down the blueberries with a large metal spoon to extract as much blueberry juice as possible. You should get 1 cup of blueberry juice.
- Remove the cooked berries from the cheesecloth and set aside for another use.
- Pour the hot blueberry juice into a shallow container and place in the freezer to cool for 10 minutes.
Making the Lemonade
- Halve the lemons and juice them with a citrus reamer to get 1 cup of juice. Make sure to remove any seeds or excess pulp from the juice.
- Measure out 2 cups of filtered water to reserve for later.
Preparing the Garnishes
- Slice the lemon into thin wheels. Select the best four slices and remove the seeds, then cut a small slit in each slice so it will sit nicely on the rim of the glass.
- Set aside 12 to 16 plump blueberries.
Making the Blueberry Lemonade
- Pitcher Method: Pour 1 cup of simple syrup, 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 cup of blueberry juice, and 2 cups of filtered water into a large pitcher and stir to combine.
- Glass Method: Pour about ⅓ cup each of simple syrup, lemon juice, and blueberry juice into a 15.5 ounce highball glass. Then pour in ½ cup of filtered water and stir.
- Garnish each glass with 7 ice cubes, a lemon wheel, and 3 to 4 plump blueberries. Serve immediately before the ice melts, as it will water down the drink.
Notes
- Use room temperature lemons instead of cold ones because they are easier to squeeze and yield more juice.
- Speed up the cooling time for the simple syrup or the berry juice by pouring it into a shallow container.
- Cooking the blueberries and mashing them up a bit brings out the flavor and the color.
- Instead of pouring the blueberry lemonade over ice, add just enough ice at the end, so it won't dilute the drink.
- Keep the cooked blueberries to use as jam. You should get about ½ cup.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Beth
This lemonade is cool and refreshing. The blueberries are such a nice addition to the lemonade.
Emma
Blueberry lemonade is a fun twist on this classic drink! Glad you enjoyed it, Beth!