This Homemade Blueberry Lemonade is bright, fresh, tangy and bursting with sweet blueberry flavor. Make a pitcher of the lemonade and serve it at your next summer cookout.
We love the convenience of store-bought juices, but nothing beats the flavor of homemade. And with a recipe this simple, why not make your own homemade blueberry lemonade.
This lemonade is part of our blueberry week where we are featuring fresh blueberries in a variety of recipes. So far we’ve made a Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp, a Crispy Prosciutto, Blueberry and Blue Cheese Salad and a Blueberry Simple Syrup.
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Ingredients
There’s no complicated ingredients for this recipe, just classic lemonade ingredients and blueberries.
- Blueberries. We recommend using fresh blueberries for the syrup. Fresh berries provide better flavor plus they won’t dilute the sugar concentration in the syrup. In a pinch, however, you can use frozen (thawed and drained) blueberries instead.
- Lemons. Use fresh lemon juice for the brightest, freshest flavor.
- Sugar. Regular granulated sugar works best for the blueberry syrup, but you could also use brown sugar if you want a more molasses flavored lemonade.
- Water. Good old-fashioned water rounds out the ingredients list, and you can simply use tap water or bottled, if preferred.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Making a homemade blueberry lemonade is super simple. Lemonade is simply lemon juice, water and sugar. But simply stirring these ingredients together, along with fresh blueberries, will make for a mediocre drink. Start by making a Blueberry Simple Syrup (see our full recipe for a lot more information, but we’ll also show how to make it below) Here’s how we like to make our homemade blueberry lemonade:
Start by simmering water, sugar and blueberries in a small saucepan for about 10 minutes. Be sure simply simmer (not boil) the mixture to avoid overly reducing the syrup. Steep off the heat for 30 minutes. Avoid stirring throughout the entire process or the syrup may crystalize over time.
Strain the syrup into a mason jar or glass container. Chill for 30 minutes at room temperature then store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. You can make this syrup ahead and stir into the lemonade base when ready to serve.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice using a handheld or electric juicer. You’ll want 1 cup, which is about 4 medium lemons.
Stir together water, lemon juice and blueberry syrup together in a pitcher and serve immediately over ice or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Why make a homemade simple syrup for lemonade? There are two primary reasons we suggest making a simple syrup for homemade lemonade. First, regular sugar won’t dissolve in water easily. There are some ways to work around that like stirring the sugar into warm water then cooling, or using a liquid sweetener like honey, maple or agave. But, we also want to infuse blueberry flavor into the syrup. Cooked blueberries have a sweeter, more pronounced blueberry flavor compared to using raw berries.
Hint: This recipe make a bit more blueberry syrup than you’ll need. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, or use it to make a cocktail or pour over vanilla ice cream sundaes.
Substitutions
Since there are so few ingredients, there aren’t many substitutions, but there are some easy adjustments depending on the ingredients you have on hand.
- Sugar– You can swap in brown sugar for the granulated sugar, if desired.
- Blueberries– Don’t have fresh blueberries? You can use frozen berries, just be sure to thaw them and drain off excess liquid before cooking.
- Sparkling Water– If you want more of a fizzy lemonade, use sparkling water in the lemonade base instead of tap water.
Variations
There are some easy additions to enhance the flavor of this lemonade. Try the following:
- Spicy – Make a spicy lemonade by adding thinly sliced jalapeno or serrano peppers to the simple syrup as it steeps.
- Herby – Add fresh mint as a garnish to the lemonade or add fresh herbs to the syrup base, such as basil, thyme or culinary lavender (add it while the berries steep off the heat).
- Booze – Make a simple cocktail by stirring in dry gin or vodka to a glass of blueberry lemonade.
Equipment
We suggest investing in a funnel with a strainer, like this Norpro 5 ½-Inch Stainless Steel Funnel with Detachable Strainer, to make it easier to strain and add the syrup to a storage container. We also recommend using a syrup bottle, like this Tablecraft home Glass Syrup Bottle, which makes storage and dispensing super easy .
Storage
The blueberry simple syrup will taste freshest if used within two weeks. Be sure to store in an airtight container, bottle or jar in the refrigerator. It’ll stay good for about three weeks.
You can also store the blueberry lemonade in a pitcher with a lid for up to 3 days.
Top tip
The ration for homemade lemonade is about 6 cups of water, 1 cup of lemon juice and 1 cup of simple syrup. This is our preference for a sweet, yet predominantly tangy lemonade. Adjust to your liking.
FAQs
Start by making a blueberry simple syrup with equal parts sugar, water and blueberries. Simmer in a small saucepan then steep and strain into a container. pour into a water and lemon juice and garnish with more blueberries and lemon slices.
Simply put, blueberry lemonade taste like classic lemonade with tangy and sweet fresh blueberry flavor. Homemade blueberry lemonade does not taste artificial at all.
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, homemade lemonade tastes best if consumed within 3 days.
Serving Suggestions
Looking for recipes to serving with blueberry lemonade? Try these:
More Blueberry Recipes
Here are more blueberry recipes:
Recipe
Homemade Blueberry Lemonade
- Total Time: 45 min.
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
Description
This Homemade Blueberry Lemonade is bright, fresh, tangy and bursting with sweet blueberry flavor. Make a pitcher of the lemonade and serve it at your next summer cookout.
Ingredients
Blueberry Simple Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups blueberries
Lemonade
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4 lemons)
- 1 cup blueberry simple syrup
- Ice, blueberries and lemon for serving
Instructions
Blueberry Simple Syrup
- To make the syrup, add sugar, water and blueberries to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes (do not stir). Steep for 30 minutes off heat then strain into a container. Cool for 30 minutes then refrigerate when ready to use. The syrup will taste best if used within 3 weeks.
Lemonade
- To make the lemonade, stir together water, lemon juice and syrup in a pitcher. Adjust sweetness by adding more syrup. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Pour into glasses with ice and garnish with blueberries and lemon.
- Prep Time: 5 min.
- Cook Time: 10 min.
- Category: drinks
- Method: simmering
- Cuisine: American
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