Make this easy Italian-style strawberry basil lemonade using fresh or frozen strawberries in just 15 minutes. Spike it with alcohol of your choice for an adult version.
Flavored lemonades are best for summers, if you like such lemonade recipes, then you can also try some of these – Mango Ginger Lemonade, Mulberry Lemonade, or Litchi Lemonade.
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About This Recipe
Strawberry basil lemonade is a delicious summer drink that has the tanginess of freshly squeezed lemon juice, the sweetness of strawberries, a refreshing twist of Genoese basil, and heaps of crushed ice.
This Italian-style strawberry basil lemonade is easy to make and you can make a big pitcher and refrigerate it to keep sipping throughout the day. It’s a great drink to serve the crowd.
This 4 ingredient drink is very easy to make and gets ready in less than 15 minutes. You can also make this drink into a cocktail by just adding some gin, white rum, or vodka. Interesting, right?
This strawberry lemonade recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. This is my favorite drink to make for summer parties, as it is really easy to make it for a large crowd and everyone loves it. You can pour it into popsicle molds and freeze it too.
If you are looking for more strawberry recipes, here are some of my other favorites – strawberry tea, creamy strawberry milkshake, fresh strawberry butter, strawberry sauce, strawberry pineapple smoothie, and strawberry margarita.
This homemade strawberry basil lemonade is,
- Easy
- Refreshing
- Made with fresh strawberries
- Instant relief from the heat
- Perfect for Summers
Ingredients
Strawberry – The hero ingredient of this summer drink is strawberry, so make sure you get some nice and fresh ones. You can make this drink using frozen strawberries too and enjoy this lemonade round the year. Check out how to freeze the strawberries when they are in season here.
Lemon – Another ingredient that adds more flavor to this drink is Lemon. Use only fresh lemon juice for the best result. The juice from the lemon gives it a nice tangy taste which adds to the flavor of this lemonade. If lemons are not available, you can use lime juice. Just keep in mind that limes are tangier than lemons, so adjust the amount of juice accordingly.
To get the most juice out of lemons, be sure they are at room temperature when you squeeze them. Roll them over the counter by pressing them with your palms before cutting.
Basil – To add a little twist to this drink, I have also added fresh basil. Believe me, this ingredient will change the overall taste. If you cannot find basil, then you can use fresh mint leaves instead.
Sugar – You can skip the sugar if the strawberries are sweet enough. If you are looking for a healthy alternative, you can use honey instead of sugar. But then this lemonade will not be vegan. You can use agave syrup or maple syrup too.
Water Or Soda? I sometimes add soda and sometimes substitute it with water or sparkling water.
How to make Strawberry Basil Lemonade?
Wash the strawberries and chop off their top leafy part. Cut the strawberries into pieces. Wash the basil leaves. Juice 2-3 lemons. We need ½ cup of lemon juice.
Note – If lemons are not available, you can use lime in their place. Keep in mind that lime is tangier than lemon.
Add 10-12 chopped strawberries, ¼ cup basil, and 2 tablespoon sugar in the medium jar of a blender and blend to make a smooth puree.
Note – You can use honey, agave, or maple syrup as a sweetener. Adjust the quantity of the sweetener according to your taste.
Add ½ cup lemon juice to the strawberry puree and mix well.
Divide the puree between two tall glasses.
Add a few ice cubes in each glass and top with soda. Give a gentle stir. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and strawberry slices and serve immediately.
Note – You can use water or sparkling water in place of soda.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can definitely use frozen strawberries to make this drink. Thaw them for a few hours before using them.
Also, frozen strawberries are not as sweet as fresh ones, so you can add more sugar according to your taste and preference.
No, pink lemonade and strawberry lemonade are not the same.
Fresh and juicy strawberries along with basil are used to make strawberry lemonade, while pink lemonade has cranberry or raspberry juice along with strawberry juice.
You can also skip the strawberry juice and make the pink lemonade only with raspberry or cranberry juice.
To make your strawberry basil lemonade fancier, you can rim the serving glass with sugar and lemon zest.
Brush the rim of the serving glass with some lemon juice, dip it in castor sugar mixed with lemon zest, and now pour the lemonade in this glass.
If you have a lemon tree at home which gives you a lot of fruit or someone gifted you a lot of lemons, what do you with them?
You freeze the juice, easy 🙂
Just squeeze out the juice of lemons and freeze them in a freezer-safe container.
I also like to freeze the juice in ice cube trays. This way, I just have to pull out one cube and use it in my recipe.
Yes, you can make the puree and freeze it, so that it comes in handy whenever you want to make lemonade. It also comes in handy when strawberries are out of season.
Make the puree and store it in small containers leaving 2.5cm headspace to allow for expansion. This puree will last for about 6 months in the freezer.
Variations
Boozy – You can add alcohol of your choices like gin, limoncello, white rum, Moscato wine, sparkling wine, or vodka to this lemonade to make an adult version.
Mixed Fruit – Seasonal fruit purees like watermelon puree, mango puree, raspberry puree, etc can be added to this lemonade.
With Water– Replace soda with water or sparkling water.
Strawberry Lemonade Slush – Use frozen strawberries to make frozen strawberry lemonade. The texture of this will be like a slush.
Strawberry Kombucha – You can use this mix to make kombucha as well. This will give added nutrition to this drink in the summers.
Strawberry Lemonade with Limes – Replace lemons with limes for a tangier lemonade.
With Acai – You can add some acai paste or powder while making this lemonade.
Without a Blender – Mash the strawberries using a fork or a potato masher and pass the puree through a sieve. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix well. You can choose to use powdered sugar or sugar syrup in place of granulated as they will mix easily.
Storage Suggestions
This lemonade tastes best when made fresh. However, you can refrigerate it for 5-6 hours. I do not suggest freezing it.
You can freeze the strawberry puree. Whenever you want to make this yummy drink, just thaw the syrup, add freshly squeezed lemon juice, and top with soda. The strawberry basil puree stays good in an airtight container in the freezer for about 6 months.
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Recipe Card
Strawberry Basil Lemonade Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10-12 strawberries
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice
- chilled water or soda (for topping)
- ice cubes
Instructions
- Wash the strawberries and chop off their top leafy part. Cut the strawberries into pieces. Wash the basil leaves. Juice 2-3 lemons. We need ½ cup of lemon juice.
- Note – If lemons are not available, you can use lime in their place. Keep in mind that lime is tangier than lemon.
- Add 10-12 chopped strawberries, ¼ cup basil, and 2 tablespoon sugar in the medium jar of a blender and blend to make a smooth puree.
- Note – You can use honey, agave, or maple syrup as a sweetener. Adjust the quantity of the sweetener according to your taste.
- Add ½ cup lemon juice to the strawberry puree and mix well.
- Divide the puree between two tall glasses.
- Add a few ice cubes in each glass and top with soda. Give a gentle stir. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and strawberry slices and serve immediately
- Note – You can use water or sparkling water in place of soda.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!