Want to infuse your day with a little extra sunshine? Try this homemade Cherry Lemonade Recipe made with juicy, fresh cherries. It's as refreshing as it is easy to make, perfect for a hot summer day!
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Disclosure: This post was originally published in August 2020, but has since been updated with better photos, clearer instructions, and a tastier recipe. We hope you enjoy the new look!
If you're looking to mix up your summer beverage routine, this tasty drink is the perfect twist on classic lemonade.
Squeeze some fresh lemon juice, and make a homemade cherry syrup with dark sweet cherries, water, and a little sugar. It couldn't be easier to make this perfect summer drink!
Love summer fruit? Try these air fryer peaches, these mango cherry popsicles, this grilled peach salad, this creamy blended cherry limeade with gin, or this tasty strawberry crumble!
You may also enjoy this watermelon vodka cocktail, this Orange Julius copycat recipe, or these chocolate cherry frozen yogurt popsicles!
This butterfly pea tea lemonade is naturally and magically color-changing. We know you'll love it!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Refreshing. Tangy fresh lemon juice mixed with sweet cherries creates results in the perfect combination of a fruity and refreshing drink fit for the summer heat, or any time you're craving a delicious drink.
- Made with simple ingredients. Everything you need can be found at any grocery store in the summer if you don't already have
- Easy to make. This recipe doesn't use any complex techniques or hard-to-find ingredients. It's perfect for cooks of all levels.
- Great for gatherings. Outside of making it any time you're in the mood, this drink is a great one to bring to BBQs, picnics, and parties! It's great for other special occasions like Halloween, Valentine's Day, or Christmas where a bright red drink would be festive and fun!
- Customizable. This recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free and can be easily adapted for low-carb diets. You can also make a quick adult beverage by adding a splash of your favorite spirit!
🍒Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Sweet cherries - Fresh or frozen.
- Fresh lemon juice - Fresh lemon juice is essential for this recipe, and really all lemonade recipes! We know squeezing lots of lemons can seem a little daunting, so get yourself a citrus reamer or a citrus squeezer to speed up the process.
- Sugar - Or your choice of sweetener.
- Water
- Ice
- Garnishes - lemon slices, cherries, and fresh mint (optional)
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & Variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Cherry limeade. If you've got limes instead of lemons, use fresh lime juice instead of lemon juice. You may like this creamy blended cherry limeade with gin!
- Make it sugar free and low carb. If you'd like to lower the carbs and sugar in this recipe, replace the sugar, or part of the sugar, with your favorite sugar replacement. We like using powdered Swerve (affiliate link), or allulose. Swerve is a 1:1 replacement for sugar, so you would use 1 cup of Swerve for every 1 cup of sugar. To use allulose you would need 1 and ⅓ cups of allulose for every 1 cup of sugar, since allulose is slightly less sweet than sugar.
- Use frozen cherries. Cherries out of season? Not a problem! Just swap for frozen! No need to thaw them.
- Swap cherry syrup for cherry juice. If you don't have fresh or frozen cherries, you can use cherry juice as well, although it probably won't be quite as delicious! You would probably want to scale back on the sugar if you went this route so that the drink doesn't end up too sweet. Cherry juice is concentrated and very sweet.
- More or less sweet. Taste as you go and start out with less sweetener, then add more to taste.
- Make sparkling lemonade. For a fizzy drink, try adding cold sparkling water or club soda when serving instead of cold still water.
- Spike it. Make this drink an adult beverage by adding a shot of vodka, bourbon, or your favorite spirit!
- More sour. For a more sour cherry lemonade, use sour cherries instead of sweet.
🔪Prep work
- Wash the cherries and lemons.
- Measure out water and sugar, and set aside.
📋Instructions
Start by making the cherry syrup. This can be done up to 5 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
Remove all the pits from the fresh cherries using a cherry pitter (affiliate link), knife, chopstick, or even a pastry tip. (Image 1) Here's a helpful guide on how to pit cherries!
Halve the lemons, then squeeze the juices out using a citrus reamer or citrus squeezer. We'd recommend running the juice through a sieve, to catch any seeds or solids. (Image 2)
In a medium saucepan, add the cherries with some of the water. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every so often. (Image 3)
After 15-20 minutes, the cherries should have lost a lot of color, while the water will have deepened in color. Remove from heat. (Image 4)
Strain away the cherry pieces through a fine metal sieve and discard.
Now, it's time to make cherry simple syrup. Combine the cherry juice with the sugar in the saucepan, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Allow the syrup to cool completely before mixing up the lemonade. (Image 5)
✨Pro Tip: If you prefer things less sweet, and you're making this recipe for the first time, add less to start, and then add more sugar to taste.
After the cherry syrup has cooled, add lemon slices and optional cherries to the bottom of a large pitcher. Add ice if desired. We tend to prefer to leave the ice out and serve it over ice instead.
Pour in the cooled cherry simple syrup, (Image 6) followed by the lemon juice. (Image 7)
Add in cold water (Image 8), and then give the mixture a stir. (Image 9)
Taste, and adjust the sweetness level, or add more lemon juice if needed.
Add ice cubes to the bottom of a glass. Pour in the lemonade. (Image 10)
Serve with extra cherries, fresh lemon slices, and fresh mint sprigs. Enjoy!
✨Tips & tricks
- Sweeten to taste. Everyone has a different tolerance for sweet, so if making this for the first time, add sugar slowly and as needed.
- Allow the cherry syrup to cool completely. Make sure you don't add piping hot cherry syrup to the pitcher, or else it will just heat up the drink, and melt the ice. Allow it to cool completely before mixing the lemonade.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice! Because there are so few ingredients in this recipe, they all have quite an impact. Make sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice for best results. It can be squeezed and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days before mixing the lemonade together if need be.
- Use fresh or frozen cherries. Once again, this will yield the freshest result. While cherry juice can be used and a time saver, nothing quite compares to the flavor of fresh cherry simple syrup in this lemonade!
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. To prolong the life of this drink, it can be frozen for up to 6 months and defrosted in the fridge overnight.
Sure, you can make this lemonade a day or so in advance and store it in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. Do not store ahead of time with ice! Add lemon slices and extra cherries before serving.
For best results, pre-squeeze lemon juice up to two days in advance, and store it in its own separate container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
You can prepare the cherry syrup up to 5 days in advance and store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
More Recipes To Consider
📖 Recipe
Cherry Lemonade Recipe
Equipment
- large pitcher (that can hold about 52-ounces of liquid or more)
- cherry pitter (or paring knife, chopstick, or pastry tip)
- medium saucepan
Ingredients
Cherry syrup
- 12 ounces sweet cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen)
- 16 ounces water
- ¾ cup white sugar
Lemonade
- 10 ounces lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 16 ounces cold water
- 1 batch cherry syrup (from above)
- Ice
- Lemon slices, cherries, and mint sprigs for garnish
Instructions
Cherry syrup
- Start by making the cherry syrup. This can be done up to 5 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge. In a medium saucepan, add the pitted cherries and 16 ounces of water. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every so often. After 15-20 minutes, the cherries should have lost a lot of color, while the water will have deepened in color. Remove from heat.
- Strain away the cherry pieces through a fine metal sieve and discard. Add the cherry juice back to the pot over medium-low heat. Combine the cherry juice with the sugar in the saucepan, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Allow the syrup to cool completely before mixing up the lemonade.
Lemonade
- After the cherry syrup has cooled, add lemon slices and optional cherries to the bottom of a large pitcher. Add ice if desired. We tender to prefer to leave the ice out and serve it over ice instead.
- Pour in the entire batch of cooled cherry simple syrup, 10 ounces of fresh lemon juice, and 16 ounces of cold water. Stir, then adjust to suit your tastes.
- Add ice cubes to the bottom of a glass. Pour in the lemonade. Serve with extra cherries, fresh lemon slices, and fresh mint sprigs. Enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. To prolong the life of this drink, it can be frozen for up to 6 months and defrosted in the fridge overnight.
Save This Recipe! 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Notes
- To remove the pits from fresh cherries, we recommend using a cherry pitter, knife, chopstick, or even a pastry tip. Here's a helpful guide on how to pit cherries!
- Sweeten to taste. Everyone has a different tolerance for sweet, so if making this for the first time, add sugar slowly and as needed.
- Allow the cherry syrup to cool completely. Make sure you don't add piping hot cherry syrup to the pitcher, or else it will just heat up the drink, and melt the ice. Allow it to cool completely before mixing the lemonade.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice! Because there are so few ingredients in this recipe, they all have quite an impact. Make sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice for best results. It can be squeezed and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days before mixing the lemonade together if need be.
- Use fresh or frozen cherries. Once again, this will yield the freshest result. While cherry juice can be used and a time saver, nothing quite compares to the flavor of fresh cherry simple syrup in this lemonade!
- To make ahead: To make this lemonade a day or so in advance and store it in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. Do not store ahead of time with ice! Add lemon slices and extra cherries before serving.
- To prep ahead: For best results, pre-squeeze lemon juice up to two days in advance, and store it in its own separate container in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can prepare the cherry syrup up to 5 days in advance and store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Sugar can be swapped for your favorite sweetener in this recipe. This recipe can be made low carb friendly by using a sugar replacement.
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