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.
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.
Notes
If you cannot find basil, then you can use fresh mint leaves instead.This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.You can pour it into popsicle molds and freeze it too.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.Boozy – You can add alcohol of your choice 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 Soda – Replace water with soda 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. Also, added nutrition in this drink in 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.