Vegetarian Zesty Lemon Sorbet
Bright, tangy, and impossibly refreshing, this lemon sorbet is the kind of frozen dessert that makes you close your eyes on the first bite. It's built on a short, clean ingredient list — just sugar, water, fresh lemon juice, and zest — so every spoonful tastes like pure citrus without any fuss. The technique of straining the zest after steeping it in the warm syrup is a small but brilliant move, pulling out all that fragrant lemon oil before it can turn bitter. Chilling the base thoroughly before churning is the real secret to a smooth, scoopable texture that holds up beautifully once it firms in the freezer. Since the whole recipe is naturally free of eggs, dairy, and meat, it fits comfortably into a plant-based or vegetarian spread without any substitutions required. Serve it in chilled bowls on a hot afternoon and it will disappear faster than you made it.
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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 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 large 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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