This homemade Cherry Lemonade recipe comes together in just 10 minutes so you can be sipping on this delicious, refreshing drink in no time! This simple, 4-ingredient recipe uses sweet cherries and freshly squeezed lemon juice to make the perfect summer drink.
There is nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than a glass of cold lemonade. I love a good lemonade and frequently make my homemade Lemonade Recipe all summer long. We drink a lot of lemonade in the summer!
While a classic lemonade always hits the spot, flavoured, fruity lemonades are even better! Today, I am so excited to share with you my homemade cherry lemonade recipe!
This recipe is truly so simple to make. There is no need for a stovetop simple syrup. In fact, the cherry syrup requires only a blender to whip up! Unlike many cherry lemonade recipes out there, this recipe uses fresh cherries. No jarred cherries here- just the real deal! It makes for an absolutely delicious cherry lemonade that is way better than that artificial stuff!
Tips for making Homemade Cherry Lemonade
This recipe is super easy to make and makes for a delicious drink. To get the absolute best results, follow the tips below:
- Use fresh ingredients. No secret here but fresh ingredients, especially in a recipe as simple as this, are incredibly important! Use fresh, sweet cherries (you can use tart cherries too but I personally am not a fan) and make sure to squeeze your own lemon juice! Bottled lemon juice just won’t do in a lemonade! While fresh lemon juice is an absolute must, when it comes to cherries you are better off using frozen cherries in off-season to ensure they are the best tasting. Just make sure they are pitted and thaw them.
- Use a cherry pitter to make quick work of pitting your cherries! Because my love affair with cherries is a new one (I used to dislike them and now I am absolutely obsessed), I have yet to get around to buying a cherry pitter. If you are like me, then pitting them will take some time, so do yourself a favour and break out that pitter or buy one asap! I just ordered one so I’m ready for the rest of summer!
- You can swap out the lemons for limes to make this a cherry limeade! Same ratio of ingredients and also so, so good!
- Whip up a whole pitcher and store in the fridge! If you are making this lemonade with still water, you can whip up a whole pitcher of this homemade cherry lemonade and have it ready to go for your thirst-quenching needs. If you are doing this, don’t add ice cubes to the pitcher as it will dilute the lemonade as it sits. Instead, add ice to your glass when you are ready to enjoy. Note: If you are using sparkling water I don’t recommend this as the water will go flat.
- For sparkling lemonade, mix your syrup and sparkling water just before serving for max bubbles!
- Store pre-mixed lemonade or the cherry syrup in the fridge. I have a mason jar of cherry syrup sitting in the fridge right now, ready to go!
- Turn these into spiked lemonades. If you are of age, you can totally add a bit of alcohol and make these spiked lemonades! Enjoy responsibly.
How to make this recipe
To make this recipe, you will need:
- 3 cups fresh sweet cherries, pitted
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 6 cups sparkling or still water
- lemon slices, to garnish
- fresh cherries, to garnish
In a blender, add the cherries, lemon juice, and sugar. Blend until smooth and then run the cherry syrup through a mesh strainer. You can store this syrup in the fridge until ready to use.
Fill a glass halfway with ice. To the glass, add 3 tablespoons of cherry syrup. Top with sparkling or still water and stir. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh cherries.
[Note: If you are making this with still water, you can make a whole pitcher and store it in the fridge. If you are using sparkling water, its best to make it by glass so that the sparkling water does not go flat.]
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it out, please let me know what you think by rating and/or leaving a comment below! Thanks!
-Cathy
You may also like:
Lemonade Recipe
Raspberry Lemonade
Cherry Crumb Bars
Homemade Cherry Lemonade
Ingredients
- 3 cups sweet cherries fresh, pitted
- 3/4 cup lemon juice fresh
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 6 cups sparkling water or still water
- lemon slices to garnish
- fresh cherries to garnish
Instructions
- In a blender, add the cherries, lemon juice, and sugar. Blend until smooth and then run the cherry syrup through a mesh strainer. You can store this syrup in the fridge until ready to use.
- Fill a glass halfway with ice. To the glass, add 3 tablespoons of cherry syrup. Top with sparkling or still water and stir. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh cherries. [Note: If you are making this with still water, you can make a whole pitcher and store it in the fridge. If you are using sparkling water, its best to make it by glass so that the sparkling water does not go flat.]
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
How do you feel about using frozen cherries, of which I have a lot from last year? I’m sure fresh would be best but here in the northwest we are a long way from fresh cherries in March. Have you tried this recipe with frozen cherries?
Fresh cherries are best when they are in season but for off-season you are better off using frozen cherries to ensure the best flavour. Just make sure the pits are removed and I would thaw them first (unless you want to make a slushie lemonade which is also yummy).