Nothing says summer like a fresh lemonade recipe. Here in sunny Southern California, it’s cheap and easy to find fresh, squeezable lemons just around the corner. Every time a neighbor drops by with a bag of lemons, it’s like a little burst of sunshine entering our house. And what could be a better use of those juicy lemons than squeezing up an icy cold batch of our fresh lemonade recipe for kids?
Lemonade is actually a super easy way to get your kids involved in the kitchen. We give them step-by-step homemade lemonade instructions, letting them be involved in the process every step of the way.
With this fresh lemonade recipe for kids, your children will be intimately involved in the washing, cutting, and juicing of the lemons. The only decision left to make? Whether you’ll drink it all up yourselves or share it with friends.
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A Few Tips on Getting Your Kids Involved-
Our kids love getting involved in the kitchen, but it’s not always easy to find recipes that allow them to participate every step of the way. For our fresh lemonade recipe, though, kids can do pretty much everything themselves (using adults supervision, of course).
They wash the lemons with a scrub brush, cut the lemons with their kid safe knives, (get yours here– they’re a game changer!) and then squeeze the lemons themselves using a juicer. We set aside enough for our lemonade (usually the juice of four or five lemons).
Since we’re lucky enough to get lemons in bulk during lemon season, we keep juicing until all of our lemons are used up (sometimes as many as twenty lemons!) Then we put some of the juice in the freezer, placing one-cup portions in Ziploc bags, and froze them flat for future, less-lemony seasons. This way, we get fresh lemonade for kids all year long.
Finally, when the big jobs were done, we celebrated by making a big pitcher of our favorite fresh lemonade recipe. We’ll drink until our bellies are full, and then we’ll share with neighbors while practicing business skills by setting up our own lemonade stand.
Fresh Lemonade Recipe for Kids
Step One: Juice the Lemons
Slice your lemons in half and extract the juice. You’ll need about 4-5 lemons to get about a cup of lemon juice. Don’t worry if you have a touch less than one cup, your results will probably be very similar.
Step Two- Make Your Simple Syrup Recipe
In a small saucepan, combine one cup of white sugar with one cup of water. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves into the water (you are looking for it to become a clear solution). Do not allow it to boil, or you’ll be left with a sticky mess.
Step Three- Mix Your Fresh Lemonade Recipe All Together
Pour your lemon juice and simple syrup into a gallon-sized pitcher. Since everyone likes their lemonade at different strengths, we’re going to recommend you begin by adding 8 cups of cold water to the pitcher. Taste it and see if it’s where you want it to be. If yes, then you’re done! And if no, begin adding an additional cup of water, tasting after each addition. Our house prefers our lemonade recipe to be mixed with 12 cups of water, which isn’t quite as strong, or quite as sweet- making it the ideal lemonade recipe for kids.
Step Four- Garnish and Enjoy
Since I have my kids participate in making our homemade lemonade recipe, I like to serve it up with a flourish to celebrate. We top with lemon slices and serve over ice for a fancy treat sure to please.
Fresh Lemonade Recipe for Kids
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup lemon juice (about 4-5 lemons worth)
- 8-12 cups water
- lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
Add water and sugar to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for two to three minutes, or until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool.
In a large pitcher, add one cup of lemon juice and your cooled simple syrup.
Now, you'll add 8-12 cups of cool water and/or ice to taste. Start with 8 cups and then test the lemonade, adding more in small increments as desired. 8 cups will result in a strong lemonade; my kids tend to prefer their lemonade mixed with 12 cups of water. Use this as a taste-test with your kids, stopping when you get it just right.
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So now that you know how to make our favorite fresh lemonade recipe for kids, the only decision left is whether you’re going to keep it all to yourself, or share with friends.
Tried it? We want to hear from you in the comments!
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Yum! My husband loves lemonade. I may try this. However, over here in PA we probably don’t have as tasty of lemons as you do in sunny Cali. One day I will move somewhere where lemons grow on trees outside my window.
Yum! This looks delicious!!