This post may include affiliate links; see our disclosure policy.
Wondering how much juice in one lemon? Here’s the formula you need, plus tips on how to juice a lemon, zesting, recipes, and more.
Making a recipe with lemons and need to know how much juice you’ll get? Here’s our expert answer: honed after making hundreds of lemon recipes throughout the years.
How much juice is in one lemon?
This is a common question when you’re working with citrus, especially if a recipe calls for lemon juice in tablespoons. The answer to this question all depends on the size. All lemons are different, but here’s a basic guide. How much lemon juice in one lemon?
- A medium lemon yields 3 tablespoons juice, and a large lemon yields 4 tablespoons juice (¼ cup). A very small lemon yields about 2 tablespoons juice.
Frequently asked questions
With this ratio in mind, here are a few more answers to common questions about lemon juice:
- How much juice is in 2 lemons? Two medium lemon equals about 6 tablespoons juice, and two large yield ½ cup juice.
- How much juice is in ½ lemon? Half a medium lemon yields 1 ½ tablespoons juice; half a large lemon yields about 2 tablespoons juice.
- How many lemons do I need for ½ cup juice? You’ll need 3 medium or 2 large lemons. (We’d recommend buying 3 lemons to be safe.)
- How many lemons do I need for 1 cup juice? You’ll need 6 medium or 4 large lemons; again, buy 6 to err on the safe side.
How to juice a lemon
What’s the best way to juice a lemon, once you’ve purchased your fruit? There’s really no wrong way to do it: though if you use your hands you might end up with lots of seeds and pulp. Here are a few ways to juice a lemon:
- Roll the lemon on the countertop for a few seconds. This helps to release the juices inside the fruit.
- Cut the fruit in half width-wise.
- Place in a press juicer: A press juicer is the quickest and easiest method: it gets out the most juice and saves your fingers from tiring out from squeezing. Place the fruit into the press juicer cut side down and squeeze the handles together.
- Or, press in a handheld citrus juicer. Place the fruit cut side down onto a handheld citrus juicer and twist the lemon to release the juices.
- Don’t have a juicer? Simply squeeze out the juice with your hands into a small liquid measuring cup, then strain it to remove seeds.
What about lemon zest?
Does your recipe also call for lemon zest? One lemon medium lemon yields about 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Always zest a lemon before juicing it! If you juice it first, the shape of the lemon collapses and it’s difficult to rub it against the grater blades.
Our favorite method for zesting? A microplane grater is a handheld grater with sharp holes in it and it’s quicker and easy to clean than a box grater. Go to How to Zest a Lemon for more.
Lemon recipes
What are the best recipes for using the juice and zest of this citrus fruit? Here are a few of our top lemon recipes:
- Lemonade: Try 15 Best Lemonade Recipes, like classic Fresh Lemonade (a favorite!), Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade and more.
- Muffins: Go for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins or Lemon Blueberry Muffins.
- Breads and cakes: Make Lemon Bread or Lemon Cake.
- Pasta: Try Lemon Ricotta Pasta.
- Pancakes: Grab tasty Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.
- Drinks: Sip on Lemon Tea, Lemon Smoothie or Lemon Soda.
- Sauce: Make a Lemon Butter Sauce.
How to Juice a Lemon
Wondering how much juice in one lemon? Here’s the formula you need, plus tips on how to juice a lemon, zesting, recipes, and more.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: 3 to 4 tablespoons 1x
- Category: Essentials
- Method: Juice
- Cuisine: Citrus
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Roll the lemon on the countertop for a few seconds. This helps to release the juices inside the fruit.
- Cut the fruit in half width-wise.
- Place in a press juicer: A press juicer is the quickest and easiest method: it gets out the most juice and saves your fingers from tiring out from squeezing. Place the fruit into the press juicer cut side down and squeeze the handles together.
- Or, press in a handheld citrus juicer. Place the fruit cut side down onto a handheld citrus juicer and twist the lemon to release the juices.
- Don’t have a juicer? Simply squeeze out the juice with your hands into a small liquid measuring cup, then strain it to remove seeds.
Let us know if you have any questions!