Homemade limeade made from just four ingredients and that’s perfect for cooling down on a hot summer day! Make yourself a glass or make an entire batch for a party!
Everyone loves a good lemonade recipe, especially if it’s strawberry lemonade, but my personal favorite is actually limeade. There’s a reason the cherry and strawberry limeade from Sonic are so popular!
Limeade is refreshing but feels a bit more grown-up than lemonade because the flavor tends to be just a little more tart than a sweet lemonade.
It’s the perfect addition to any summer party and great served with other fruity desserts like this strawberry poke cake or a few of these mini cheesecake.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Four ingredients – this may be the easiest recipe ever with just four ingredients, one of which is water!
- Super simple – no blending at all, just mixing ingredients together and serving over ice!
- Easy to change up – want your limeade a bit sweeter, add more simple syrup and less lime juice. Want it tarter, add less simple syrup and more lime juice. I like the combination I’ve written in this recipe but you can totally change it up!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Simple syrup – you can either buy a store-made simple syrup or make your own by combining sugar and water together. I’ve included instructions for making your own simple syrup below.
- Lime juice – make sure it’s fresh lime juice, not the bottled stuff. You only need four ingredients so don’t take the shortcut on this one.
- Ice – the ice is really just for serving the limeade, you don’t want to add it to the pitcher or it’ll water down the flavor. And I highly recommend nugget ice (just like Sonic). We absolutely love this NewAir nugget ice maker!
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How to Make Homemade Limeade
This may be the easiest recipe ever, and I know I say that a lot, but seriously. Especially if you’re using a store-bought simple syrup.
But let’s start by assuming you’re not and talk about making that simple syrup.
1 – Make a Simple Syrup
All you need to do is combine equal parts water and sugar in a pot and warm it up on the stove until the sugar has dissolved. In the case of this lemonade, do 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.
Once the sugar has completely dissolved, you have your simple syrup!
If you like your drinks sweeter, you can also do 3/4 cup sugar to the 1/2 cup of water for a stronger simple syrup. That’s what I do for my homemade blueberry lemonade, and it’s delicious!
2 – Make Limeade
Okay now that you have your simple syrup, next it’s time to juice those limes. This should only take a second so don’t try and make it even faster with bottled lime juice – not the same!
Lastly, all you need to do is combine all of the ingredients together in a large pitcher and stir together.
Make sure to stir well to get all of those flavors to mingle together!
That’s it – your limeade is done! You can add fresh lime slices to the pitcher or just leave as is until serving.
3 – Serve or Store
Serve over ice immediately or chill in the refrigerator (without ice) and enjoy chilled straight from the fridge.
Expert Tips
Store in a covered pitcher for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Lime juice and simple syrup can be adjusted to taste for tartness/sweetness.
Recipe FAQs
Limeade is made of lime juice, simple syrup, and water. Serve over ice for a chilled drink!
The difference between limeade and lemonade is simply the juice used – lime juice vs lemon juice. Limeade also tends to be a little more tart than lemonade but that’s dependent on the recipe.
Typically about eight limes is needed to make one cup of lime juice. This will vary depending on the size of the limes and how juicy they are. I recommend rolling them on the counter before cutting. You can also use a citrus juicer like this one that I have to get the most juice out of each lime.
More Easy Drinks
If you like this homemade limeade recipe, you’ll love these other refreshing summer drinks!
- How to make homemade frozen hot chocolate – this super simple recipe is great for a hot summer day and also one of my favorite princess party ideas!
- Strawberry mojito mocktail – just like a strawberry mojito minus the spiked part. This one is great for summer get togethers, baby showers, and bridal showers!
- Cotton candy drink – the most fun drink ever! Strawberry flavors combined with a little cotton candy for sparkle make this a fun one for kids and adults.
- Homemade fruit punch – the perfect combination of juices in one delicious punch!
- Chocolate cake shake – more a dessert than a drink, this yummy milkshake combines ice cream, milk, and chocolate cake!
Homemade Limeade
Ingredients
- 1 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup simple syrup see notes for homemade simple syrup
- 4 cups water
- ice
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large pitcher and stir together.1 cup lime juice, 1/2 cup simple syrup, 4 cups water
- Serve over ice or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.ice
Linda says
This is just what I need right now as the temps soar into the 90s! And you can’t go wrong with lime anything! I love how easy this is and I even have a pitcher full in my fridge right now.
Beth says
Ooo, this looks soo cool and refreshing! I may or may not share 😉