This honey lemonade is a breeze to make and is a great way to get rid of an overabundance of lemons! It’s also paleo with vegan options.
What I really needed when first making this recipe was a way to get rid of my zested lemons.
I had about 20 of them. I really like lemon zest in my baked goods! And they were on sale. I was desperate to make anything using lemon juice that didn’t require zest.
Some of my favorite lemon recipes, like this homemade lemon curd and these vegan lemon bars both require zest. So those weren’t helpful with my situation.
Anyone have some heavy-on-the-lemon-juice recipes? At any given point, I usually have about a dozen zested lemons in the fridge. I need to find more to do with them!
A nice healthy lemonade recipe seemed like the right thing to make with them. I love having some of this honey lemonade in the fridge when coming home on warm days.
I normally just drink water (and occasionally this raspberry smoothie) so this lemonade is a treat. A reward for getting my butt out of the apartment. ;)
This recipe calls for 1 cup of lemon juice. I’m always frustrated when I find a recipe that calls for the juice of so-and-so lemons or oranges.
I have no idea how much 2 lemons yielded for the recipe creator! So I usually don’t bother making those recipes.
Different sources say 1 large lemon yields anything from 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lemon juice, hence the wide range of lemons (4-7) given in the recipe. But it really doesn’t matter to the success of this recipe because 1 cup of lemon juice always = 1 cup.
It is annoying that you don’t know exactly how many lemons to buy. I suggest getting 7. It’s always better to have too many than not enough!
If you need ideas on what else to make with lemon juice and honey, this herbal iced tea is super refreshing! It’s perfect for the hot summer days coming. And these raspberry lemonade bars are incredible – one of my favorite recipes!
This honey lemonade is just lightly sweetened. It’s not super sweet like store-bought lemonade. You can easily add more honey if needed.
For a vegan version, you can use agave syrup, but then it’s not paleo. If you don’t want to use honey but need a paleo option, you can use maple syrup.
Make sure to use the lightest grade maple syrup. A deep maple flavor is not what you want in this lemonade recipe! You can definitely taste a difference in the maple and honey version.
I prefer honey but would still be happy with the maple-sweetened lemonade if I couldn’t have the honey one. It sounds like a strange combination, but it often works, like in my lemon fudge and gluten-free lemon cookies.
One thing you can’t do is use granulated sugar. Traditional lemonade recipes, like this homemade lemonade, have you make a simple syrup first to ensure that the sugar dissolves.
This recipe is easier because you just have to stir together the 3 ingredients and you’re done.
As for a keto version, I’m working on it! I hope to post it soon.
If you need a keto treat in the meantime, someone said my almond flour chocolate chip cookies were the best keto cookies they’ve ever had. So maybe make those? ;)
If you want to try another naturally sweetened healthy lemonade recipe, try this homemade frozen lemonade! It’s another lemonade recipe with honey and sounds super refreshing. This healthy green lemonade also looks amazing!
Questions about this honey lemonade?
- How much juice is in 1 lemon? How many lemons should I buy?
Different sources say 1 large lemon yields anything from 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lemon juice, hence the wide range of lemons (4-7) given in the recipe. But it really doesn’t matter because 1 cup of lemon juice always = 1 cup.
- Can I use something other than honey or agave syrup?
If you want to use granulated sugar, I suggest finding a different recipe. The process is a little different than the recipe below.
I’m working on a sugar-free lemonade recipe! I’ll hopefully post that soon. - Is lemonade healthy?
It’s just water + lemon juice + honey so I wouldn’t call it healthy exactly but I definitely consider this honey lemonade to be healthier than traditional lemonade with lots of granulated sugar.
- Can I use something other than lemon juice?
I haven’t tried it but maybe lime juice would work. Although lime + honey doesn’t sound like such an excellent combination as lemon + honey. I’m not so sure about anything else. I think you’d need a different amount of sweetener, depending on what exactly you use.
- Can I make lemonade from bottled lemon juice?
Freshly squeezed lemon juice tastes so much better and a lot different than the bottled stuff. You can use bottled lemon juice but the result simply isn’t as tasty. If you don’t have enough freshly squeezed lemon juice, you can use a little bit of bottled (I think 1/4 cup) without it affecting the taste but I wouldn’t recommend using more.
Honey Lemonade (paleo, vegan option)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 6-8 servings (about 6 cups)
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups (1065 milliliters) water
- 1/3-1/2 cup (107-160 grams) honey or for vegan/not paleo, use agave or a light grade maple syrup (agave is more neutral)
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) freshly squeezed lemon juice - from about 4-7 large lemons
Directions
- If your honey is very runny or if using agave or maple, just mix everything together (starting off with 1/3 cup of sweetener). Add more sweetener, if desired.
- If your honey has crystallized or is firm, warm about a cup of water and 1/3 cup honey in a pot or saucepan over low heat. Stir to dissolve the honey and once dissolved, remove from the heat. This should only take about a minute. Add the remaining water and lemon juice and stir. Add more honey, if desired.
- Chill and serve.
Notes
- For paleo, use honey or maple syrup.
- For vegan, use agave or maple syrup.
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58 comments on “Honey Lemonade (3 ingredients, super quick, easy!)” — Add one!
9 comments are awaiting moderation!
This is from which book?
This isn’t from a book. It’s a recipe I first posted in 2014 and updated and reposted again in 2020.
Hi! I was wondering if it will survive in the fridge overnight?
It’ll last a few days. :)
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve been adding some raspberries to make my pink obsessed daughter pink lemonade. She loves honey and I prefer feeding her that over sugar. So here I am. Also, as far as recipes the use lemon juice. When I had unlimited access to Meyer lemons I would use squeeze the lemons and freeze the juice in mason jars. The way I always had lemon juice when I needed it. Also, one of our friends used to take a bunch of our lemons and make limoncello. He’d always bring a bottle for us.
Oooh, I like the arrangement you had with the lemon tree and limoncello. :D How I wish we had a lemon tree! Freezing the lemon juice is a great idea. I hope that your daughter will enjoy this lemonade if you try it. Raspberries sound like an amazing addition! Thanks for your comment.
Thank you Erin for sharing your honey lemonade recipe. Have been searching for a lemonade recipe without the use of sugar. Have a lot of lemons on my tree in the backyard to use so this is great! God bless you!
You’re welcome! I hope that you’ll get to try it out and that you’ll enjoy it. :) Thanks for your comment!
this looks so summery and refreshing! I can’t wait for the sugar-free version too!
Erin, I love this recipe! We have a lemon tree in our yard and now that we are practicing “Social Distancing” for the Covid-19 virus, I have been trying out new recipes using our lemons. My kids LOVE your lemonade and I love that it is sweetened with honey instead of sugar.
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment! It landed up in spam for some reason and with my son home the last 2 months, I haven’t been diligent with checking that. I’m so happy that your kids love the lemonade! And having a lemon tree sounds a like a dream. :) Thanks again for your feedback and sorry again for my ridiculously slow reply!
I was given a whole bag of lemons and wondered what to do with them. (I can only make so much lemon curd!)I made your recipe and the family love it :) Thanks from New Zealand
You’re welcome! I’m glad that you found a good use for those lemons! Thanks for your comment. :)
Question, how much does this recipe yield. Like over all, final result, 1 quart? Half gallon?
I’m sorry for just now seeing your question! I just got back from vacation. Adding up all the ingredients comes out to a yield of 6 cups. :)
Thank you for sharing this! I’m using it for my first Business Launch tomorrow, in the brutal summer heat of Georgia. I know it’s gonna be a hit!
I hope it will! Good luck with your launch. :)
My Mother made a very frothy lemonade when we were kids. None of us know just what the recipe was. Any suggestions? Thank you.
I’ve never heard of anything like that and couldn’t imagine what frothy lemonade was. I googled it and found this. Was it something like that?
I was thinking about making this one for sure! I was thinking about substituting the whey I have leftover after making cottage cheese to make a protein drink…what do you think? I am six months pregnant, and CRAVE lemonade for some reason, maybe I will go try it!
It’s an interesting idea! I’ve never added whey to a drink before, though, so I really have no idea. I hope it works out well! I’d love to hear how it comes out. :)
Love seeing these recipes. I live in rural Australia. Have a lemon tree in the back yard, work for a beekeeper and my house runs on rainwater so I am fortunate enough to be able to make drinks like this at no cost. It is good for me to see the responses and comments as it makes me appreciate how fortunate I am. Except now I need to plant a lime tree :)
Wow! That sounds like a wonderful situation. :) And I agree. A lime tree would definitely be nice!
I made this with limes and it was amazing! Great job keeping it simple.
Thanks so much, Val! I’ll have to try this with limes next. :)
I’ll give this a try sometime but honey is an expensive substitute for sugar here in Barbados. Currently, I use brown sugar (genuine Barbados brown sugar, not some nutritionally depleted white sugar with molasses added back in!).
“Lemon-limeade” would be the appropriate name for my recipe because it includes limes as well as lemons. Recently, I’ve been adding the zest of both to the mix and that REALLY increases the “wow factor”. Besides sugar, lemons and limes, I include a dash of each of the following:
ginger
cinnamon
nutmeg
and a “half-dash” of clove.
I’ll provide all the measurements after I figure out how much lime juice and lemon juice I actually use ;)
Cheers
Your recipe sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing. :) I especially love the added spices. I’d love to try it when you have the measurements down!
Hi Wayne. It’s been a year since your original post but did you ever figure out the measurements for you lemon-limeade? I would love to try the recipe
Not a “recipe,” per se, but I use the juice of half a lemon (or one tablespoon! Don’t discount me!) in a cup of hot water first thing every morning. If you love lemon like I do, the flavor is pleasing and the warmth is wonderful, especially in the colder months. The practice has many benefits, the least of which is starting your day with a little vitamin c kick. Great way to use up zested lemons!
Haha. Thanks for the lemon juice measurement specificity. ;) I’ve heard about the warm lemon water in the morning thing but never tried it. It’s already getting pretty cool here and I could certainly benefit from a little vitamin C kick at the beginning of the day so I guess I’ll give it a go! Thanks a bunch for the tip. :)
I love homemade lemonade! I made it for the first time this summer. Now my son will point out when it is a mix and not homemade, because the fresh stuff was just “so much better”!
Good boy! He knows his stuff. ;) PS – I never got homemade lemonade growing up. I think it’s nice you made him some!
What a wonderful idea to use honey instead of caloric sugar!
Here in sunny Cyprus we have wonderful lemons so making fresh lemonade is something I really enjoy! Will definitely try this.
Thanks! :) I hope you’ll enjoy the lemonade! Enjoy the sunshine and lemons for me. :)
I make my daughter lemonade with honey. It’s her favorite! we tried maple syrup too but she prefers honey.
Ooh! Maple syrup sounds interesting in lemonade. I’ll have to try it! :)
There’s no “to easy to post” recipes. It’s always good to see something even simple, as we usually don’t remember about it. I love to have a glass of warm water with a lemon juice in the morning, so now I can have your lemonade :D
Warm water? That’s interesting. I’ve never tried that! Hope you’ll like the lemonade if you try it. :)
I could seriously use two or three glasses of this right now!
Same! Luckily I still have, like, 40 zested lemons. :D
A perfect summer drink! Love that you used honey as the sweetener!
Thanks, Jessica! :)
I’m not likely to drink lemonade, but I love lemons. Right now my favorite recipe using lemons is for Lemon Coconut Overnight Oats from My Whole Food Life. Unless you have huge lemons, one serving takes most of the juice of one lemon, plus I like to add a touch of lemon zest to it. I also add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to the oats to bring up the protein levels. Hearing you talk about having an over-abundance of lemons makes me miss my former lemon tree, even though I left it behind 25 years ago…
Thanks for the tip! I’ll go take a look at those. :) And I can’t wait to have a house one day, just so I can have lemon trees (and apple / peach / plum / apricot trees and all kinds of berry bushes!)
I’m glad you posted this because I still haven’t tried honey sweetened lemonade. Kinda insane. Limes are still horrendously expensive here too. The shortage may be over, but prices still haven’t gotten the memo!
Best of luck with the intense last few months of the book! And let me know if there is anything I can do to help :)
Aww, thanks, Nora! You’ve already been so very helpful. You get a break now. ;)
If you want to experiment with fermentation and add probiotics to your beverage, try this lemonade recipe http://www.foodrenegade.com/?s=lemonade It uses sucanat as a sweetener and whey (the kind you drain off yogurt or kefir)as the ferment medium. I’ve made it several times, and it’s really good.
That’s perfect for me! Thanks for the link. I’ve tried making a few different fermented recipes but it always ends badly. This sounds doable. :) Thanks again!
lemon-lemon-lemonade-most effective beverage for hot summer.
Haha. Agreed! :)
I wonder if you could freeze the juice? I bet if you measured it out in ice cube trays and freeze then put it in a ziplock bag and you could just grab what you needed.
That is the best idea ever! Thank you so much. :) I’m definitely doing that!
Hi Erin!
What a wonderful idea to use honey instead of caloric sugar!
Here in sunny Cyprus we have wonderful lemons so making fresh lemonade is something I really enjoy! Will definitely try this.
Just an idea for the lime version….couple of mint leaves will give it a wonderful aroma and should also go well with the honey! :)
I am so sorry for my slow reply, Laura! I don’t know how I missed your very nice comment. I hope you’ll enjoy the lemonade if you try it and I love the lime and mint idea! Sounds very yummy. Enjoy some of that Cyprus sunshine for me! :D
This sounds so refreshing! Love the natural sweetener. And yes — limes are slowly becoming more inexpensive again in the States. Hopefully the trend makes it your way soon! :)
Thanks, Ali! :)
Sometimes I feel the same way about posting recipes that I consider “easy” or “hardly a recipe” but they are always a hit..and this is no different! I love lemonade…and I love naturally sweetened more!
Yeah, I could just see some people scoffing at this recipe. But whatever. At least you and I like it. :D