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Lemonade · Raspberry

Fresh Raspberry Lemonade

Raspberries cooked into a bright pink syrup and stirred into fresh-squeezed lemonade. Sweet-tart, gorgeous in a glass pitcher and perfect for parties.

New, no ratings yet0 reviewsby Simmerbee Kitchen

Prep
15 min
Cook
8 min
Total
45 min
Serves
about 2 quarts
Level
Easy
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Ingredients

  • Raspberry syrup
  • 1 cup granulated sugar ≈ 200 g
    Swaps for granulated sugar

    Instead of sugar

    • Less sugar: Up to ¼ less in cookies, muffins and quick breads. Less browning and spread, a drier, more cake-like texture, and bakes go stale sooner.
    • Brown sugar: The same amount, packed. Moister and chewier, with a caramel flavor and darker color.
    • Coconut sugar: The same amount. Darker and caramel-like, a little less sweet; cookies spread slightly less.

    All 4 swaps for sugar

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 ½ cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
  • Lemonade
  • 1 cup lemon juice, from 6 to 8 lemons
    Swaps for lemon juice

    Instead of lemon juice

    • Lime juice: The same amount. A different, more floral aroma; works almost everywhere.
    • Bottled lemon juice: The same amount. More sour and flatter; fine in cooking and baking, less bright in dressings and drinks.
    • White wine vinegar or white vinegar: Half as much. Sharper, with no citrus aroma.

    More for lemon juice

  • 4 cups cold water
  • ice, for serving
  • 1 lemon, sliced, for serving (optional)

Missing something? Tap Swaps next to an ingredient, or see all substitutions.

Steps

Kid helper. A child can do steps 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8: no knife, no heat. Steps marked “Grown-up” use heat. Cooking with kids

  1. Put the sugar, 1 cup of water and the raspberries in a small saucepan over medium heat.
    Grown-up: heat
  2. Bring to a
    simmer (how to simmer) Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid
    , stirring and pressing the berries, until the sugar dissolves and the berries break down.
    ⏱ Simmer: 5 minGrown-up: heat
  3. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing with a spatula to push all the syrup through. Throw away the seeds.
    Kid step
  4. Let the syrup cool.
    ⏱ Cool syrup: 20 minGrown-up: heat
  5. While the syrup cools, juice the lemons until you have 1 cup of juice.
    Kid step
  6. In a pitcher, stir together the raspberry syrup, lemon juice and 4 cups of cold water.
    Kid step
  7. Taste and add a little more water if it is too strong or tart.
    Kid step
  8. Serve over ice with lemon slices and a few whole raspberries.
    Kid step

Tap an underlined word for how to do it, or see all techniques.

Tips

  • Roll the lemons firmly on the counter before cutting. They give up more juice.
  • Use sparkling water in place of half the cold water for a fizzy version.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 5 days. Stir before pouring.

Make ahead

The raspberry syrup keeps in the fridge up to 1 week.

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage. In season: raspberries (June to September), lemons (December to April).

Quick answers

What can I swap?
  • Instead of sugar: Brown sugar, the same amount, packed.
  • Instead of lemon juice: Lime juice, the same amount.

Use sparkling water in place of half the cold water for a fizzy version.

Answered from this recipe's own storage, make-ahead and swap notes.

Estimated nutrition per serving

Calories
120
Protein
0 g
Carbohydrates
30 g
Fiber
2 g
Sugars
27 g
Fat
0 g
Saturated fat
0 g
Sodium
5 mg

Whole recipe, 8 servings: about 920 calories.

Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 5 of 5 ingredients.

How we estimate

We add up USDA FoodData Central values for each measured ingredient as written and divide by the recipe's 8 servings, so changing the servings or units here doesn't change a serving. Brands, swaps, trimming and cooking all change the real numbers.

Not counted: ice (to taste or as needed); lemon (optional).

Estimated cost

About $0.70 a serving

About $5.65 for the recipe as written (8 servings).

Estimate; prices vary by store and region. U.S. average prices for September 2026 from BLS Average Price Data and USDA ERS Purchase to Plate prices updated with the BLS Consumer Price Index. Priced: 5 of 5 ingredients, 100% by weight.

How we estimate

Each measured ingredient is weighed as in the nutrition estimate and priced at the U.S. average: BLS's average price where BLS publishes one, else USDA ERS's Purchase to Plate price for 2017-18 raised to September 2026 with the CPI for that food group. Whole packages, store brands, sales and regions all change the real cost: treat it as a ballpark.

  • raspberries $3.85 ERS
  • lemon juice $1.35 ERS
  • granulated sugar $0.45 BLS

Free: water, cold water (tap water).

Not counted: ice, lemon (optional, or to taste).

More dishes for less: cheap eats.

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Cleanup score 2/5 (more cleanup): 4 things to wash, saucepan, mixing bowl, strainer, pitcher.

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simmerbee.com/r/lemonade-raspberrySimmerbee