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Looking for something seriously refreshing to beat the heat? This lemonade slushie is icy and tangy: drink it straight up or spike it with gin for a kick!
Summer is here! Temperatures are edging up into the 90s and our mint patch is starting to run wild. What better way to beat the heat than a lemonade slushie recipe? This zingy drink is everything you need to cool off. It’s icy with the best sweet tart, citrusy flavor and a hint of fresh mint. If you’d like, make it into a cocktail by spiking it with gin. It’s irresistible either way!
How to make this lemonade slushie recipe
This lemonade slushie, or lemon slush recipe, is an icy version of lemonade that also stars aromatic mint. This one is naturally sweet using honey or maple syrup, but you can use sugar if you prefer. Seeping the mixture with mint adds just the right amount of complexity.
How to make a lemonade slushie? The hardest part is juicing the lemons…and waiting for the mixture to freeze! Here’s what to do:
- Juice the lemons: You’ll need 1 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, which equates to about 6 lemons. We wouldn’t recommend using bottled lemon juice here: for the best flavor, go with the real thing! We’ve yet to find a brand of bottled lemon juice that tastes just like fresh lemon juice.
- Simmer with sweetener and mint. After you’ve juiced all the lemons, you’ll bring the juice to a simmer with maple syrup or honey, then turn off the heat and add mint leaves. Let it stand for 10 minutes: this allows the mint flavor to steep into the liquid.
- Freeze in ice cube trays. After 10 minutes, you’ll combine with more cool water and freeze into ice cubes. It takes about 6 hours to freeze into cubes, so you may want to consider making this recipe the night before.
Serving this lemonade slushie
When it’s time to serve, blend up your lemonade cubes in a blender with just enough water, and you’ve got an instant lemonade slushie! You can drink it as is for a non-alcoholic beverage.
Or, our favorite is spiking this one with a bit of gin — it’s very delicious! The level of gin is just enough to give it some bite, without being too strong. It’s the most refreshing summer drink! Let us know in the comments below what you think!
More lemonade recipes
Outside of this lemonade slushie, we’ve got lots more homemade lemonade recipes! Here are a few of our top contenders:
- Make classic Fresh Lemonade
- Try colorful Pink Lemonade
- Add berries for Strawberry Lemonade or Raspberry Lemonade
- Mix with bubbles for Sparkling Lemonade
This lemonade slushie recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, plant-based, vegan, naturally sweet, and refined sugar free.
Lemonade Slushie Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
Description
Looking for something seriously refreshing to beat the heat? This lemonade slushie is icy and tangy: drink it straight up or spike it with gin for a kick!
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey (or granulated sugar)
- 3 cups water, divided
- 1 handful fresh mint
- ½ cup gin (optional)
Instructions
- Juice the lemons. In a small saucepan, heat the lemon juice, honey, and ½ cup water. Stir to dissolve the maple syrup or honey. When the mixture reaches a simmer, turn off the heat, and add a large handful mint leaves. Let steep for 10 minutes. Remove mint leaves and add 2 ½ cups cool water. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze (the liquid will fill about 2 ½ trays) — about 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, place the lemon ice cubes into a blender with the gin (optional), and blend. Add just enough water to make it slushy (about 1 cup, or more without gin). Serve immediately.
- Category: Drink
- Method: Frozen
- Cuisine: American
I actually found this recipe in the 2016 tear away pad calender and absolutely loved it! Simple and quick to make! I’ve saved all the recipes from that calender and pick one out at random! Yall are fantastic!
This is a fantastic recipe – thank you so much for the post! I have an entire side of my house covered in spearmint, which worked beautifully with this recipe! Perfect for a steamy Indiana afternoon – these have definitely become my summer drink of choice!
Great – so glad you enjoyed it! It’s our new drink of choice too :) Can’t complain about out of control mint in my book!
I lived in Indiana for 10 years and, much to everyone’s disappointment, never attended a race….sitting in the hot sun, watching a car go around a circle? No thanks!
This drink sounds super refreshing….can’t wait to try it!
Agreed! I wonder if there is an amount of years after which you get worn down and are convinced to go? (Hasn’t happened yet :) )