Best Ever Lemonade recope —a.k.a. “Bob’s” Freshly Squeezed Lemonade—is made with just a few simple ingredients.
This recipe is so easy. Pucker up, friends; my son Madden has perfected his lemonade recipe and it can’t be beaten.
I love making fun, delicious drinks. I prefer more combination drinks, like Tropical Italian Cream Sodas.
Madden and his buds decided to make the best-ever lemonade, and they did just that. It is not routinely requested, especially on these hot summer nights, so for Christmas, my husband asked for a professional juice press. He got it. He only wanted it so Madden could make lemonade daily, lol.
My Favorite Kitchen Tools To Make This Recipe
From trusty pots and pans to handy gadgets, I’ve curated a list of products I use and love.
Lemonade Ingredients
- Freshly squeezed juice from about 6-8 large lemons
- White sugar
- Water and Ice
When Madden was about 8, he used that juice press to make lemonade and worked on his recipe for days. Once he perfected it, he and two of his buds loaded up their Red Wagon and walked around the neighborhood yelling, “Bob’s Lemonade.” They even took a cardboard box turned airplane/advertising creation and wrote “BOB’S LEMONADE” on the front.
They didn’t sell too many drinks until they started offering Lemon Poppyseed Cookies. It was a delicious summer combo.
What is Bob’s Lemonade
My husband, Jake, claimed it was the best lemonade outside the ballpark. Madden’s large-dimple smile appeared, and every day since – no joke – Madden has made lemonade, constantly changing the recipe a little bit, secretly hoping he will be in first place and be the Best Ever Lemonade that Dad has ever had.
This recipe will stay in our family forever, and I will always cherish the memories that brought it to life—Madden, his two best friends, and Bob’s portable lemonade stand.
More Summer Drinks
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Best Ever Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup freshly squeezed juice about 6-8 lemons
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 4 1/2 water
- 2 cups ice cubes
Instructions
- In a 48-60 ounce pitcher add lemon juice, sugar, water, and ice – whisk together and serve immediately.
Video
Sandra, this recipe was awesome! My kids and I made it together and served it to the workers at our home today. It was a HIT! It was so fresh and not too sweet. Thank you!
This is a great.I added some strawberries.
I just noticed there was no measurement on the water. The rest of the recipe was measured in cups so I’m assuming that’s the measurement for the water as well. (I’m a stickler for recipes so I don’t like to assume =P) I take one extra step that some call unnecessary but that I feel, as do most of the people who’ve tried it, makes all the difference. Instead of 4.5 cups water and 2 cups ice, use 8 cups of water (2 quarts). Then, take the 3/4 C of sugar as called for in recipe and add to 3/4 C water in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring to help melt sugar, then lower temp slightly and keep at a slow roll boil for 5 mins. The result is a smooth simple syrup that will have no grit. Mix together the 1 cup of lemon juice, simple syrup and 8 cups of water. Refrigerate to chill/serve over ice or, if you’d like to have the lemonade as soon as possible, chill the simple syrup in an ice bath before mixing with other ingredients. To make a “pink” version, process 1 cup of preferred berries, then strain through mesh strainer to remove seeds. (Some people don’t mind keeping the seeds but I find with certain berries, raspberries specifically come to mind, there tends to be a lot.) Mix the berry puree with other ingredients when mixing.
I know some people are afraid of allowing their children to use the stove but it’s a rather simple process and as long as you’re watching carefully the “hardest” part is stirring the syrup while bringing to a boil. For children who are discovering their love of cooking, this gives the recipe an extra “professional” feel without involving anything too overly complicated. I often make this with my nieces and by far their favorite part is stirring the sugar into the syrup. I’ve been making this recipe for 10+ years and I’ve been told on more than one occasion that this recipe needs to be bottled and sold on every street corner!
I’m definitely trying your son’s recipe now as well though because this seems like it’d be a delicious, quick version! He has the sugar/lemon juice/water ratios down perfectly!
I also forgot to mention that I use Sugar in the Raw brand turbinado cane sugar. Normally I would use a 1:1 ratio of 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. It’s not as sweet as it sounds, though sugar is sugar, but the cane sugar adds a slightly different layer of sweetness since it retains some molasses, hence it’s slightly brown color. I feel it compliments the lemon juice perfectly.
Absolutely delicious! Just the right amount of sugar. Will be making this all the time since I have a lemon tree!
This is the best lemonade recipe I’ve ever tried. I made it last weekend, and it’s going to be my new go-to summer drink!
So wonderfully refreshing. Perfect for the hot days right now!
Sounds really fantastic! My whole family would love this!
It’s summer – it’s lemonade season! We drink it a lot during the hot season! I will try your recipe!
Now it’s our favorite lemonade recipe! It turns out always perfect!
This is truly the best lemonade I have ever had. Thank you so much!
Looks absolutely fantastic! Can’t wait to make this!
Nice post