This post may include affiliate links; see our disclosure policy.
This raspberry lemonade is easy to make and bursting with fresh flavor! It’s loads better than anything you can buy from the store.
We have a thing for homemade lemonade over here. The flavor is so intensely fresh and delicious—it tastes almost like you turned up the volume on store-bought lemonade! It’s free of all the artificial stuff that purchased lemonade might be hiding.
One of our favorite variations is this beautifully pink raspberry lemonade—Alex and I absolutely love the sweet tart flavor. It’s the ideal fruity drink for sipping on the patio, and it’s great for impressing your guests at cookouts, brunches, and dinner parties. Here are a few tips and the recipe!
What you need to make raspberry lemonade
Making raspberry lemonade is very easy: you don’t even need to simmer a raspberry syrup on the stovetop! You’ll simply blend the berries with water and sugar (a genius idea invented by Alex!). There’s actually only 3 ingredients required, outside of ice and water. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 8 lemons
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup sugar
Best way to juice lots of lemons
We’re not going to lie: it can take a while to juice 8 whole lemons! Our favorite juicer makes quick work of it, though—and you won’t injure your hands from squeezing so hard. Here are the best options we recommend:
- Top choice: a press citrus juicer. This type of juicer is incredibly efficient and ends up getting out even more juice than other types. Here’s the press juicer we use. It’s held up the best of any method, even after making over 300 cocktails.
- Next best choice: a handheld citrus juicer. The next best juicer is the type with a ridged top.
Some tips for straining the raspberries
The only other part of this raspberry lemonade that takes some time is straining the raspberries! You’ll throw them in the blender with warm water and sugar, then blend until a puree forms. Here are some tips:
- Use a fine mesh strainer. You want to remove all the seeds here, so a fine mesh strainer is key for getting a smooth syrup-like texture.
- Use a spatula to gradually force the syrup through. It will take longer than you think, but keep forcing it through with a spatula until all the seeds are removed.
Variations on raspberry lemonade
Want to add another element to this raspberry lemonade? There are lots of great flavor combinations that make it even more fun:
- Sparkling water: Make sparkling lemonade and mix each serving with equal parts soda water or club soda.
- Vodka: Make vodka raspberry lemonade by mixing 1 cup raspberry lemonade with ¼ cup vodka.
- Gin: Opt for raspberry gin Lemonade by mixing 1 cup raspberry lemonade with 3 tablespoons gin.
- Limoncello: Make spiked lemonade with ½ cup raspberry lemonade, 2 tablespoons vodka and 2 tablespoons limoncello.
Dietary notes
This raspberry lemonade recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Easy Raspberry Lemonade
This raspberry lemonade is easy to make and bursting with fresh flavor! It’s loads better than anything you can buy from the store.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 (8 to 9 cups) 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Lemonade
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (7 to 8 large lemons)*
- 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (about ½ pint)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 6 cups water, divided
- Ice
- Fresh mint, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Juice the lemons.
- Add the raspberries, sugar and 2 cups warm water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain through fine mesh sieve into pitcher, using a spatula to push the liquid through (discard the seeds; this takes a few minutes to complete).
- Add 4 cups cold water and the fresh squeezed lemon juice. Add ice to the pitcher and serve. If desired, garnish with extra raspberries and fresh mint sprigs.
More lemonade and limeade recipes
Try all our homemade limeade and lemonade recipes: they’re the perfect summer drinks! Pick from the following:
- Go for our classic lemonade recipe or add ice for frozen lemonade.
- Use different fruits to make strawberry lemonade or watermelon lemonade.
- Or, go for cucumber lemonade, mint lemonade or ginger lemonade.
- Add floral notes with lavender lemonade, or mix with iced tea for an Arnold Palmer.
- Switch up the citrus with limeade or cherry limeade.
I made this for my girls. They adore it. Thank you for the recipe!
It totally failed. It was so sour.
We have tried a couple of your drinks and really liked them The pink lemonade and the Raspberry lemonade My husband is not a fan of raspberry but he liked the raspberry drink and had me make it twice in one week. :) I will be coming back and trying more of your recipes Thanks. :)
To heck with the lemonade now. I’m pretty sure I’m switching gears and treating myself to a limoncello martini with raspberry syrup. Fabulous.