Looking for a refreshing drink for a spring or summer day? This fresh-squeezed Limeade Recipe is sweet and tart, and a cinch to make with only 3 ingredients. Plus, it makes a delicious base for summer cocktails!
When it comes to summer beverages, lemonade always gets the attention-- but what about limeade? Sweet and tart, limeade is just as refreshing and amazingly versatile as a base for additional ingredients...including summer cocktails!
Limeade is also super inexpensive to make. On average, a bag of limes, including key limes, cost significantly less than lemons, even though they are both citrus fruits with similar flavor profiles.
Limes tend to be more tart, but when you're making limeade, you're adding fresh lime juice to simple syrup, cutting the bitterness and leaving a refreshing citrus flavor that's hard to resist.
Once you learn how to make limeade, you won't go back to frozen or concentrated versions of this thirst-quenching beverage!
Limeade Recipe
Limeade Ingredients:
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 5 cups Water
- Lime slices for garnish
Tip: Use a lime squeezer to squeeze the juice from fresh limes. This inexpensive kitchen tool is great for cooking, too - especially Mexican cuisine.
How to Make Limeade:
1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar with 1 cup of water over high heat. Continuously stir until boiling and sugar is dissolved.
2. Remove sugar syrup from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
3. Add sugar syrup, freshly squeezed lime juice and 4 cups of water to a pitcher.
4. Stir to mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Serve over ice, garnished with a lime slice.
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Lime juice freshly squeezed
- 5 cups Water
- Lime slices for garnish
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1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar with 1 cup of water over high heat. Continuously stir until boiling and sugar is dissolved.
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2. Remove sugar syrup from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
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3. Add sugar syrup, freshly squeezed lime juice and 4 cups of water to a pitcher.
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4. Stir to mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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5. Serve over ice, garnished with a lime slice.
What Can You Add to Limeade?
The great thing about this limeade recipe is that it's delicious on its own, but also a perfect base for limeade variations.
Some of my favorite ingredients to add to fresh limeade are mint, lemon, maraschino cherries and their juice (hello, cherry limeade!), sweetened condensed milk, and honey. Summer berries like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries also taste great in limeade.
There is no right or wrong amount of these ingredients to add to fresh squeezed limeade-- it's all to your taste!
Limeade with Alcohol
This limeade recipe is non-alcoholic as written, but you can easily make an alcoholic version with the addition of vodka or tequila. I like to add 1oz of either vodka or tequila to each glass of limeade, shaken and poured over ice.
To make a limeade margarita, mix 1-1/2 ounces of tequila per 8oz limeade serving-- don't forget to rim the glass with margarita salt.
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