Chicken Free Classic Lemon Sorbet
Bright, bracingly tart, and impossibly refreshing, this lemon sorbet is the kind of frozen dessert that makes you close your eyes on the first spoonful. It's built from just a handful of pantry staples — sugar, water, fresh lemon juice, and a little zest — so every bite tastes clean and intensely citrusy with nothing muddying the flavor. The technique is straightforward: a quick simple syrup, a good chill, and a spin in the ice cream maker, and you're rewarded with a pale yellow, scoopable texture that looks like it came straight from a gelato counter. Pressing the zest through the strainer before discarding it is a small step that makes a big difference, coaxing out those fragrant oils and giving the sorbet real depth beyond just sour. A pinch of salt rounds everything out in a way that's subtle but noticeable. This is the kind of recipe that's naturally free of anything animal-derived beyond what you'd expect, making it an easy crowd-pleaser for a wide range of guests without any substitutions or workarounds required.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6–7 lemons)
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- 1
Combine the sugar, water, and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 3–4 minutes. Do not let the syrup boil vigorously — remove it from the heat as soon as the sugar is clear.
- 2
Pour the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or measuring cup, pressing on the zest to extract its oils, then discard the zest. Stir in the lemon juice and salt.
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