Easy Raspberry Lemonade
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This easy homemade raspberry lemonade recipe is made from scratch with just 4-ingredients! It’s the perfect pink drink to cool off with.
Is there anything more refreshing than a glass of lemonade? ESPECIALLY when it’s homemade lemonade?
A frosty glass of homemade raspberry lemonade is one of my favorite party drinks. Since it’s so vibrantly pink and pretty, it makes a great drink for celebrations of all kinds–baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, Valentine’s Day, game nights, and so much more. It’s also a cool, refreshing thirst-quencher on a hot summer day, so it’s perfect for barbecues, cookouts, and afternoons in the pool.
We make our raspberry lemonade from scratch with fresh lemons and real raspberries (no frozen lemonade concentrate here!). Even though it’s homemade, it’s not fussy in the least. You only need 4 INGREDIENTS to get started!
Here’s what you need to make our easy raspberry lemonade…
Gather Your Ingredients
My favorite thing about this raspberry lemonade recipe (other than the flavor!) is that it’s made with simple ingredients. Let’s take a look!
- Fresh Lemon Juice. You MUST use freshly squeezed lemon juice for homemade lemonade! Bottled lemon juice tends to run bitter and acidic tasting, so for the best tasting lemonade stick with fresh lemon juice.
- Raspberries. You can use frozen raspberries OR fresh raspberries to make raspberry lemonade from scratch. They’ll both work beautifully! If I’m using frozen berries, I like to thaw them for a bit in advance, if I can, since they’ll be easier to work with.
- Sugar. Next up is granulated sugar (white sugar or cane sugar). It dissolves easily and helps make the raspberry syrup for this fresh lemonade recipe.
- Water. Then comes some water. You’ll use some to make the raspberry syrup, then pour the rest into the pitcher to make the lemonade.
- Ice. This is important! I make my raspberry lemonade a bit on the stronger side so that I can add plenty of ice. As it melts, it won’t water down the lemonade!
- Pretty Garnishes. I love adding garnishes to lemonade to play up the natural flavors and elements in the drink! For raspberry lemonade I usually reach for extra raspberries, fresh mint leaves, and lemon slices, or lemon wedges. Feel free to add edible flowers, pretty ice cubes, or other fresh berries!
PRO TIPS FOR SQUEEZING LEMONS: It’s easier to squeeze lemons when they’re room temperature rather than chilled. Roll room temperature lemons on the counter firmly with the palm of your hand, slice them in half, then use your hands or one of these citrus squeezers to get all the juice out that you can! (This $8 gadget gets ALL kinds of use at our house for mocktails, beverages, and cooking. 100% worth it!)
How To Make Raspberry Lemonade From Scratch, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.
Start With The Raspberry Syrup
- Combine The Ingredients. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 2 cups of raspberries. Stir and simmer on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, breaking up the raspberries and stirring to dissolve the sugar completely.
- Strain Out The Seeds. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer to strain out the seeds and press down with a spatula or wooden spoon to extract as much pulp as you can through the strainer. (Discard any seeds or remaining pulp).
- Cool Or Chill. Cool the raspberry syrup to room temperature (or chill up to 2 days, until you’re ready to make the lemonade).
- (Or, Make It In A Blender Instead!) Alternatively, you can place these ingredients in a blender and blend them before straining rather than simmering them on the stove.
Then, Make The Lemonade
- Combine Syrup & Lemon Juice. In a large pitcher, combined the cooled & strained raspberry syrup and the fresh lemon juice. Stir to combine. (Refrigerate the lemonade at this point if you’re making it in advance. Finish the rest of the steps right before serving.)
- Add Ice. Then, add 3-4 cups of ice to the pitcher.
- Stir In The Water. Pour 3 cups of water or sparkling water into the pitcher and gently stir to combine.
- Garnish with additional raspberries, fresh mint leaves, lemon slices, and more.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy immediately. Leftover raspberry lemonade will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer.
Mix It up! Fun Twists To Try
We usually make this delicious raspberry lemonade recipe as written, but it can be so fun to play with a recipe a bit, right? If you’re in the mood for a twist, try one of these raspberry lemonade variations:
- GET HERBY! Try adding fresh mint or fresh basil (yes, really!) to your raspberry syrup. We use this trick in our Strawberry Lemonade recipe, and it’s delicious!
- MAKE PRETTY ICE CUBES. Freeze whole raspberries, mint leaves, or mixed berries in your ice cubes for a pretty look. Or, use a cute ice cube tray for fun shapes!
- GO LIME INSTEAD. Or, swap the lemon juice for lime juice and turn this into raspberry limeade.
- MAKE IT FRECKLED. Make “freckled” raspberry lemonade by leaving in 1/3-1/2 of the raspberry pulp. It’s got a more rustic, homemade appearance and tastes delicious. (You can also just muddle in a handful or two of fresh raspberries after straining the syrup.)
- ADD PEACH. In the summer when peaches are at their peak, try dicing a peeled, pitted peach and adding it along with the raspberries for a raspberry-peach lemonade. SO GOOD.
- TRY GINGER! Or, add another layer of flavor nuance by adding fresh ginger to the simple syrup. It adds a little warmth and depth that’s lovely with the cool, refreshing flavors in this drink!
FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Homemade Raspberry Lemonade
Can I Use Something Besides Sugar For Lemonade? The flavor will be slightly different, but yes, you can use a sugar substitute or alternative. There are a lot of simple syrup recipes out there you can experiment with. My favorite simple syrup substitute is agave syrup, which has a fairly neutral flavor. If you prefer to use an alternative sweetener, you can try this stevia simple syrup or this keto simple syrup that uses monkfruit. You’ll need about 1 cup or so of simple syrup to pair with the raspberries.
How Long Does Homemade Lemonade Last? Since we’re working with fresh ingredients and aren’t adding any preservatives, homemade lemonade can go bad within 3-4 days. I recommend drinking your homemade lemonade within 3-4 days. (Freeze it if you want it to last longer!)
Can You Freeze Homemade Lemonade? You can! Because of the higher sugar content in fruit juice, it won’t freeze as completely solid as regular ice cubes, but you CAN freeze homemade lemonade. Pour it into freezer safe jars (leaving at least 1-inch of room at the top to allow for expansion in the freezer), or pour it into ice cube trays and freeze until firm. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and store up to 1 month.
Is Lemonade Gluten-Free? You bet it is! Part of the beauty of making lemonade at home is that the ingredients list is so simple, it’s easy to tell. It’s just lemon juice (gluten-free), raspberries (gluten-free), water (gluten-free), sugar (gluten-free), and then maybe a little fresh mint (also gluten-free)!
🌟 Did You Make This Recipe?
Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our fresh Raspberry Lemonade recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Easy Raspberry Lemonade
Ingredients
For The Raspberry Syrup:
- 2 cups raspberries fresh or frozen
- 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup loosely packed mint leaves optional
To Make The Raspberry Lemonade:
- 1 batch about 1 3/4 cup raspberry simple syrup (above)
- 3-4 cups Ice
- 1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice about 7–9 lemons
- 3 cups cold water or sparkling water*
Optional Garnishes:
- Slices lemons or lemon wedges
- Fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries
- Fresh mint leaves or basil leaves
- Other ideas: Pretty ice cubes edible flowers, or other kinds of fresh berries
Instructions
Start By Making The Raspberry Syrup:
- Combine The Ingredients. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 2 cups of raspberries. Stir and simmer on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, breaking up the raspberries and stirring to dissolve the sugar completely.
- Strain Out The Seeds. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer to strain out the seeds and press down with a spatula or wooden spoon to extract as much pulp as you can through the strainer. (Discard any seeds or remaining pulp).
- Cool Or Chill. Cool the raspberry syrup to room temperature (or chill up to 2 days, until you’re ready to make the lemonade).
- (Or, Make It In A Blender Instead!) Alternatively, you can place these ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree them before straining rather than simmering them on the stove. Then, strain the fresh raspberry puree and proceed as directed.
Then, Make The Lemonade:
- Combine Syrup & Lemon Juice. In a large pitcher, combined the cooled & strained raspberry syrup and the fresh lemon juice. Stir to combine. This is your own homemade lemonade concentrate! (Refrigerate the lemonade concentrate mixture at this point if you’re making it in advance. Finish the rest of the steps right before serving.)
- Add Ice. Then, add 3-4 cups of ice to the pitcher.
- Stir In The Water. Pour 3 cups of water or sparkling water into the pitcher and gently stir to combine. (Taste and add more sugar/sweetener as needed, depending on the tartness of your berries and lemons.)
- Garnish with additional raspberries, fresh mint leaves, lemon slices, and more.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy immediately. Leftover raspberry lemonade will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer.
Notes
Variations To Try:
- GET HERBY! Try adding fresh mint or fresh basil (yes, really!) to your raspberry syrup. We use this trick in our Strawberry Lemonade recipe, and it’s delicious!
- MAKE PRETTY ICE CUBES. Freeze whole raspberries, mint leaves, or mixed berries in your ice cubes for a pretty look.
- GO LIME INSTEAD. Or, swap the lemon juice for lime juice and turn this into raspberry limeade.
- MAKE IT FRECKLED. Make “freckled” raspberry lemonade by leaving in 1/3-1/2 of the raspberry pulp. It’s got a more rustic, homemade appearance and tastes delicious. (You can also just muddle in a handful or two of fresh raspberries after straining the syrup.)
- ADD PEACH. In the summer when peaches are at their peak, try dicing a peeled, pitted peach and adding it along with the raspberries for a raspberry-peach lemonade. SO GOOD.
- TRY GINGER! Or, add another layer of flavor nuance by adding fresh ginger to the simple syrup. It adds a little warmth and depth that’s lovely with the cool, refreshing flavors in this drink!
Video
Find the recipe:
sweetsandthankyou.com/raspberry-lemonade/Recipe originally published January 2023. Updated with new photos & tips and republished March 2025.
I always like a fun lemonade or mocktail, and this drink met all of my expectations! It had the same beautiful color as all the pictures (it’s crazy how it just looks like that without any dyes)!
This is one of my favorite lemonades. Raspberry and lemon are a classic combination. Simple to make and delicious.