There’s nothing like a big glass of thirst-quenching Cherry Lemonade on a hot summer’s day. Easy to make and so refreshing. It's so good, you’ll want to drink it all year long!
My kids go crazy over this Cherry Lemonade. It’s all natural and looks so pretty with its bright pink color. But the best part is it tastes amazing.
I’d say it’s restaurant quality, but it’s way better. I’ve had pink lemonade before, but it doesn’t come close to this Cherry Lemonade made with fresh cherries and lemons. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tart.
Cherry Lemonade is a big hit at summer parties and get-togethers! Dress it up with lemon slices and few fresh cherries and it’s sure to impress your guests.
This Cherry Lemonade is super easy to make and takes less than five minutes once the cherries are pitted. No cooking, no boiling, and no sugar syrup necessary. You don’t even have to strain it if you don’t want to.
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How to make Cherry Lemonade
To make the Cherry Lemonade syrup, pitted cherries are blended with fresh lemon juice and sugar. That’s it! You can strain it to remove the bits of skin if you like, but it’s not necessary.
You can make this Cherry Lemonade with still or sparkling water. When ready to serve, just pour over ice and add still or sparkling water. I like a 2 to 3 ratio (2 cups syrup to 3 cups water) of Cherry Lemonade syrup to water (especially if I’m serving it with lots of ice), but make it according to your own taste.
You can make it by the pitcher or by the glass. I like to make it by the glass if I’m using sparkling water to keep the most fizz.
My husband always manages to one-up me in the kitchen. He makes it with lime juice instead of lemon and then blitzes up the Cherry syrup in the blender with ice cubes and for a Cherry Limeade slushie. It's so good!
How long does Cherry Lemonade syrup last in the fridge?
Cherry Lemonade is great for making in advance because it can keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. I love having a jar of the syrup in the fridge to make up a quick glass whenever I need a pick-me-up or the kids come in for a play break on a hot summer’s day.
Can Cherry Lemonade syrup be frozen?
Cherry Lemonade syrup can definitely be frozen. It will keep in the freezer for several months. It’s a great way to use up fresh cherries before they go bad.
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Easy Cherry Lemonade
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
There’s nothing like a big glass of thirst-quenching Cherry Lemonade on a hot summer’s day. Easy to make and so refreshing! You’ll want to drink it all year long.
Ingredients
For the Cherry Lemonade syrup:
- 1 lb fresh or frozen cherries (pitted (3 cups, 454g))
- 1 cup sugar ((7oz, 198g))
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice ((8oz, 227g))
For the Cherry Lemonade:
- 5-6 cups still or sparkling water (or to taste)
- Glasses of ice
Instructions
- Combine the pitted cherries, sugar, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth and there are no bits of cherries left. Strain if desired, but it’s not really necessary.
- Combine the Cherry Lemonade syrup with still or sparkling water in a 2 to 3 ratio (2 parts syrup for 3 parts water), or to taste.
- Serve over ice.
Notes
I like my lemonade full-flavored and served over lots of ice. Since it gets a bit diluted from the ice, I use a 2 to 3 ratio of syrup to water. If you want it less strong, use a 1 to 3 ratio of syrup to water.
Makes 3 ½ cups of Cherry Lemonade syrup.
For Cherry Limeade, substitute lime juice for the lemon juice.Â
For a Cherry Lemonade or Limeade Slushie, blend the cherry syrup with ice in a blender.Â
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cherry lemonade
Enjoy, friends!
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What gorgeous summer colour! I feel instantly happy when I see this :-))
It's so beautiful, isn't it?! Thanks so much, Angie!
One of my favorite summer drinks. It looks and taste fantastic. Excellent for pool parties.
★★★★★
It's delicious! And a pool party would be amazing! Thanks so much, Cookie Monster!
I just made cheery compote for cake filling and definitely making lemonade with the rest of the cherries! The color is so pretty.
★★★★★
That's how I got started, Kankana! Using the leftover cherries for lemonade. Now we're hooked and I have to buy tons just for the Cherry Lemonade! Thanks so much!
This is fabulous. I make a quick glass of limeade or lemonade occasionally, but I want to make gallons of this! need to go on a hunt for cherries!
The cherry flavor in this lemonade is amazing! We've been drinking so much of it that I bought a big box of cherries and froze the cherry syrup so I always have it on hand. Thanks so much, Mimi!
So beautiful and refreshing ! Needless to say: vibrant and beautiful photos ! Pinned! xo
★★★★★
And it's so delicious! Thanks so much, Davorka!
Kelly, I love this idea! So easy, so much flavor! And, I think the syrup would also make a brilliant adult beverage, too!
The flavor is amazing! Thanks so much, Laura!
Wow! First off, the color. That's an awesome drink to serve at summer parties! Second, the taste. I fully expected you to say I needed to go buy a bottle of cherry juice. (And I was thinking, now where will I find that!?) I love that this is made from fresh cherries. If cherries go on sale here again, then I'm totally snagging a bag to make this fun lemonade. Cheers, Kelly!
★★★★★
It works perfectly with frozen cherries, too. I can't seem to keep up with how fast this disappears in my house! Thanks so much, David!
Kelly - That sounds so wonderful, especially in these excessively hot August days in the desert! Will have to try it this weekend!
I feel you, David! I'm in the desert of Dubai this month and it is HOT! We had a heat index the other day of 133. It's insane! Hope you love it as much as we do. Stay cool! Thanks so much!
The cherry lemonade looks so refreshing and gorgeous
It tastes amazing! Thanks so much, Taruna!
Wow, that looks SOOOO refreshing and the color is just gorgeous! What a great combination of sweet and tart. I have to make some for the family when they come over next weekend ♥
We can't get enough of it! I made some batches of the cherry syrup for the freezer and it's almost finished! Thanks so much, Susan!
I haven't made lemonade in ages, this looks wonderful. I could make it with frozen cherries I suppose, the fresh ones are long gone around here...
It works perfectly with frozen cherries! Thanks so much, Adina!
Gosh, that's gorgeous! Love the color. And I'll bet the flavor is awesome. Thanks!
It's so delicious! Thanks so much, John!
Kelly, wow! Those colors are popping off the screen and suddenly I'm SO thirsty! I love that you use so much fresh cherries in this recipe! I bet the sweetness of the lemonade goes perfectly with the tartness of the cherries! YUM!
★★★★★
The cherry flavor in this is amazing! It tastes like a sweet, tart cherry! Thanks so much, Haylie!
Stunning all the way around. Summer never looked so good, just sayin'. Pinning for later. Love it's easy and all the options to change it up. Seriously, yum!
★★★★★
I love the lime version! Thanks so much, Kim!
This is such a brilliant idea and I am literally drooling over that intense color. Simply stunning!
★★★★★
It's so pretty and so delicious! Thank you very much, Balvinder!
Wow! If this tastes even half as good as it is pretty, it must be AMAZING! I love it!
It's really is amazing! Thanks so much, Valentina!
This cherry lemonade looks so refreshing!! I would have never thought of combining the two. But so genius!
It's so easy and so delicious! Thanks so much, Kelly!
This is purely stunning! I have never heard of or enjoyed cherry lemonade but I will certainly be preparing this when cherries are on sale this Spring/Summer. It looks so pretty and will be amazing to drink on a hot day.
It's so good! It tastes like a delicious, sweet-tart cherry! Thanks so much, Merryn!
I'm loving all of your cherry recipes Kelly! I've never thought to add fresh cherries to lemonade. Such a great idea, and I love that color!
★★★★★
The cherry flavor is amazing! Thanks so much, Marcie!
Oh, the wonderful partners to lemon! I love the herbal garnish here. Have you ever whirled a little herb into the lemonade? I've tried it with Pear Basil Lemonade and loved it. GREG https://www.sippitysup.com/pear-lemonade-thai-basil-fall-favorite/
Oh, that would be so wonderful, Greg! I have to try it! Thanks so much!
This is heaven. A glass of chilled lemonade in summers - pure bliss.
★★★★★
It so refreshing! Thanks so much, Priya!
Ooh, I think I like this even more than regular lemonade! The color is phenomenal and it mast taste amazing, too!
★★★★★
The flavor is incredible! Thanks so much, Liz!
I made this and it's really tasty 🙂 The cherry-lemon syrup tends to separate, so just shake it well 🙂
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Valerie!
Loving the vibrant colour of this drink! It looks fantastic - refreshing and tasty!
★★★★★
It's so delicious and the cherries give such an intense color! Thanks so much, Alexandra!
Cherry Lemonade Cocktail is A quick and easy cocktail perfect for summer or parties! thanks for sharing
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Marie!
This was so good! I topped off our glasses with Cherry Bubly and it was more like a punch. My picky husband LOVED it!
★★★★★
So happy you liked it, Miranda! Thanks so much!
Made this recipe a few days ago and it was great, everyone loved it! My only tiny mistake was in misreading your instructions and only blending the cherries, so I added all the other ingredients in the large container later and just mixed them together without blending. It was fine since I wasn't making extra cherry syrup to keep though.
I do however have two questions:
1) Since you don't specify the type of of cherries, which ones did you use for this recipe? I know this can affect how much sugar you might use. By their color I had assumed they were sour cherries but we had sweet cherries of the same color.
2) I followed the recipe to the letter in terms of quantities for everything but mine turned out a slightly darker red. Do you know if that has anything to do with not having blended the sugar and lemon juice with the cherries?
Hi Cynthia! I used sweet cherries. I can think of a few reasons for the difference in color. It could be from a difference in the color of the cherries, the amount of water added, the amount of ice used, or the lighting in the photos. Lemon does lighten things, but I'm not sure how much it would lighten the lemonade.
Thanks so much!