What Makes Pink Lemonade – The classic summer drink, this pink lemonade is the perfect way to cool off on a hot afternoon. Learn how to make pink lemonade with 4 ingredients in a few easy steps.
“What actually makes lemonade pink?” must be one of life’s endlessly puzzling questions. Like “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why is the grass green?”. Even if the answer to the homemade pink lemonade recipe is a lot less complicated (and less scientific), it does not diminish the wonder of watching some simple ingredients transform from a bright yellow to a sparkling red-pink juice.
What Makes Pink Lemonade
If you’ve ever wondered how to make this lemonade for yourself, let my recipe demystify the process with four simple ingredients and an easy method. In addition, it has many uses, from a sweet treat on a sunny afternoon to the base for a series of delicious cocktails for an evening aperitif.
Pink Lemonade Recipe (naturally Pink, Sugar Free)
They are both refreshing drinks made by combining lemon juice, simple syrup, and water. But why pink lemonade? Its different rose color comes from the addition of berries, including raspberry, strawberry, cherry juice, or pomegranate / grenadine. Some even use watermelon or beet juice to achieve different colors.
The fruit is usually crushed, then strained, and added to the lemon juice, where the colors are mixed. That’s why it turns pink. Also, depending on which butter you use, the taste of the pink drink will change. Some will complement the lemon, rather than overcome it – particularly raspberry or pomegranate – while strawberry or cranberry juice will give it a stronger berry flavor.
And in case you ask – although pink lemons really exist, they are not used to make this pink drink. Legend has it, a carnival vendor named Pete Conklin invented this drink when, by mistake, he brewed his own lemonade in a tub of rose water.
Optional Add-Ins / Variations: For a fun grown-up twist, replace some of the water with a few drops of vodka. Or, for a non-alcoholic version, use Sprite or soda water. Swap your lemon for lime to get the perfect drink for you.
Sparkling Pink Lemonade
First, cut your lemon in half and juice them. For more juice, use a citrus juicer. If you don’t have one, and to get more juice out of your lemons, follow one of the six methods on how to juice a lemon with or without a juicer.
If you don’t have simple syrup on hand, prepare it according to this homemade simple syrup. Heat a pan with water and sugar in a 1:1 ratio until the sugar dissolves.
Chef’s Tip: It’s best to do this in advance so the syrup can cool or even chill – you can also store it in the fridge for a few weeks.
In a small bowl or jar, mix/mash the strawberries. If you prefer, pass the crushed strawberries through a sieve so that you can strain the juice out. However, I like using the whole muddled mixture.
This Is The Best Pink Lemonade Vodka Recipe You’ll Ever Try!
Finally, combine the lemon juice, simple syrup, strawberries, and cold water in a large pitcher and give it a good stir. Taste the lemonade and adjust any of the ingredients if necessary – a little more water or sugar syrup, etc.
Add plenty of ice—either to the glasses or to the pitcher. Garnish with some mint sprigs and lemon slices. Enjoy your fresh strawberry lemonade!
This lemon drink can be made ahead of time as it will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days. Just make sure to stir before using.
You can also freeze some in an ice cube tray and use it to chill a future batch of lemonade for a hot summer day.
Strawberry Pink Lemonade Vodka Cocktail
If you try this easy recipe for pink lemonade, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I would appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @!
Serving Size: 1 cup, Calories: 173 kcal, Carbohydrates: 47 g, Protein: 0.4 g, Fat: 0.2 g, Saturated Fat: 0.02 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02 g, Sodium: 4:0 mg , Potassium 129 mg , Fiber : 1 g , Sugar : 44 g , Vitamin A : 6 IU , Vitamin C : 35 mg , Calcium : 19 mg , Iron : 2 mg Now I’m earning points with my daughter because, PINK Lemonade! I mean, just look at the beautiful, natural color (no dye here). Can we drink pink drinks forever please?
We’re deep into a blistering triple-digit summer and I’ve been making cocktails and mocktails on repeat. Frosé and White Sangria for the adults and Agua Fresca and Pink Lemonade for the kids.
Pink lemonade often gets its pink color from red ink, cranberry juice, grenadine, or strawberry. I wanted to skip the food coloring completely, so I chose to use fresh watermelon to give this lemonade its color.
The Iron You: Mom’s Pink Lemonade
I tested this recipe with strawberries and raspberries but I found that they gave a strong berry flavor, and they made the lemonade more red than pink. Watermelon was subtle enough to let the flavor of the lemonade shine while lending a nice pink hue.
Adjust the recipe to your taste. You can easily add more sugar or lemon juice to make it sweeter or tarter.
Calories: 87 kcal Carbohydrates: 23 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 1 g | Saturated fat: 1 g | Sodium: 1 mg | Potassium: 42 mg | Fiber: 1 g Sugar: 22 g Vitamin A: 86 IU Vitamin C: 11 mg Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on product used and serving size.
Old Fashioned Pink Lemonade Recipe
What makes lemonade pink? Doesn’t the stuff in the box just have food coloring in it to make it pink? I haven’t bought canned pink lemonade in decades so don’t really know. (But just in case you’re also curious, Joe Sevier of Epicurious has some theories.)
I guess the canned stuff we grew up with pink only with the addition of artificial coloring. But we don’t have to.
Unsweetened cranberry juice is tart, as is unsweetened lemon juice. All we need to do to turn our homemade lemonade pink is to incorporate some cranberry juice into the mix.
We make a simple syrup by heating water and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then we mix it with lemon juice, cranberry juice, and some more water. Add some ice cubes and we’re done!
Fresh Pink Lemonade
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories per day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are provided, the first one listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included. This easy homemade pink lemonade recipe is full of fresh, fruity summer flavor! Use any red berries you like, and use regular or sparkling water!
The sun is shining and all I want to do is sip on an ice cold pink lemonade! Is there anything better on a hot summer day?
Homemade lemonade is a summer classic, with some berries we can turn it into this fun and extra fruity summer sipper with a gorgeous pink color.
Strawberry Pink Lemonade
Some of our other hot weather favorites? This Cold Brew Coffee, Coffee Frappe, and Homemade Milkshakes are all regulars around here!
But every now and then (say for example, your oldest girl is turning 6 in just a couple of weeks!), you just want something a little special.
It’s such a fun color for a girl’s party or baby shower! Go blue? Try this Blueberry Lemonade!
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I honestly never really thought much about why pink lemonade is pink, I just know that it is delicious, it is an easy recipe, and the pink likely comes from red fruit. It’s a fun twist on traditional lemonade with a beautiful pink hue.
How Pink Lemonade Got Its Color
What we are adding here – you can make strawberry lemonade, raspberry lemonade, or a combination! (Or go crazy and make cherries or something red)
Apparently a tub of dirty water and red cinnamon candy may have caused the festive color, though you won’t find any of that around here! Fresh and fruity and delicious is what we are going for.
Feel free to get a little crazy here! Strawberry Kiwi? Blueberry? – or mix it with half iced tea for a fun twist.
It’s the perfect drink to make ahead and store a batch of lemonade in the fridge (you can even freeze it and nothing will change!), so whip up a big batch for the summer cookout or barbecue and save yourself or some snacks later 😉
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This easy homemade pink lemonade recipe is full of fresh, fruity summer flavor! A step-by-step video shows you how to make pink lemonade – perfect for spring birthday parties, baby showers, or a 4th of July cookout! Make a strawberry
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