Artificial Food Coloring Free Classic Strawberry Lemonade
Bright pink, ice-cold, and bursting with real fruit flavor, this strawberry lemonade is the kind of drink that makes a hot afternoon feel like a celebration. The color comes entirely from fresh strawberries simmered down into a glossy, jewel-toned syrup — no dyes, no shortcuts, just fruit doing what fruit does best. Store-bought versions and even many restaurant lemonades sneak in artificial colorings to achieve that vivid hue, so making it from scratch is the only way to know exactly what's in your glass. The syrup is strained smooth and then stirred into freshly squeezed lemon juice, so every sip is clean, bright, and genuinely refreshing. It's a great option for kids' parties, backyard gatherings, or anyone who wants a gorgeous-looking drink without any synthetic additives. A few fresh strawberry slices or lemon rounds on the rim make it look like something from a fancy café, and nobody has to know how simple it was to pull together.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the strawberry syrup
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
For the lemonade
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6–8 lemons)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups cold water
For serving
- ice, for serving
- fresh strawberry slices or lemon rounds, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the strawberries soften and release their juices, about 5–7 minutes.
- 2
Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool for 5 minutes, then pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or measuring cup, pressing the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Let the syrup cool to room temperature, about 20–25 minutes.
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