This straightforward from-scratch lemonade recipe is incredibly simple to make and a reliable blend of tart and sweet. You’ll reach for it over and over again when you need something refreshing in the middle of the day or are unwinding on your back patio in the evening. It takes such little time to prepare that you’ll keep a pitcher in the refrigerator all summer long!

It’s not quite full-blown summer weather here yet, but in less than a week we're going to be squinting into the sun, trying to re-position our chair in the ever-elusive sliver of shade that keeps moving, and peeling our sweat-soaked legs off the patio chair. Those days in the mid-80’s are just around the corner.

In a word, we LOATHE the heat and humidity of summer. It’s just not our thing. Give us an October day with a high in the 50’s any day over the dog days of summer. Who’s with us here?

Let’s face it – we're never going to beat summer (unless we move somewhere with a considerably more mild climate), so we may as well join it, right? Well, at least a little. An ice-cold glass of from-scratch lemonade sure makes those sweltering days a little more tolerable, so pass the pitcher, please!

Only 3 Ingredients Required in This Lemonade!

This crazy straightforward lemonade recipe only requires three ingredients:

Lemon Juice – Fresh lemons are, of course, a must! You’ll need about eight medium-sized lemons to get the right amount of lemon juice for this recipe.
Superfine Sugar – This is a fine sugar that dissolves easily in liquid, which helps us to eliminate the step of making a simple syrup; it can get stirred right into the lemon juice. (Check the notes for a substitution hack if needed!)
Water – Does this even count as an ingredient?! We use it to dilute the lemon juice and sugar so it’s not too tart or too sweet; we strike the reliable balance that is just oh-so-good.

All that’s left is to add ice and/or mint, if you like!

One of our favorite splurges when at an outdoor event or theme park during the summer is a big cup of lemonade that we can sip leisurely as we walk around; we're so thrilled to have the reliable recipe to keep lemonade at the ready here at home, too.

It doesn’t necessarily keep our legs from sticking to the chair, but boy is it refreshing! Let’s beat the summer heat together…

We'd love to hear about your favorite summer drink – share in the comments below!

Cheers to a fabulous summer on the horizon! *Clink!*

Lemonade Recipe You Need to Make This Summer

Yield: 8 drinks
Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups ( 488 ml ) fresh lemon juice, from about 8 lemons
1 ⅓ cups ( 266.67 g ) superfine sugar
6 cups ( 1.5 l ) water
Ice cubes

Method

Stir together lemon juice and sugar in a 3-quart pitcher until sugar is dissolved. Add water and stir until combined. Garnish with additional lemon slices and mint, if desired. Serve over ice in glasses.