Quench your thirst with a ice cold glass of Old Fashioned Lemonade! A simple lemon syrup stirred into freshly squeezed lemon juice and water served over ice. Serves 6 to 8.

A few summers ago, I was at our local county fair. It was hot and I was so thirsty. My eyes landed on a little stand advertising “old fashioned lemonade!” so I ordered a cup. It was horrible. Basically I got a paper cup of hose water with a few squished lemons and lots of seeds. It didn’t taste like lemonade at all.

I was punked.

The next day I started making lemonade from scratch and never looked back.

old fashioned lemonade ingredients

To Make Old Fashioned Lemonade You Will Need:

  • sugar
  • (not hose) water
  • lemon rind
  • fresh lemons (juice)

sugar and lemon rind in pan

First make the lemon simple syrup. This is what will sweeten your lemonade to perfection.

In a sauce pan add 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar and the rind from 1 large lemon. I use a vegetable peeler to do this, just be mindful not to have too much of the white pith on your lemon rind.

add water

Lastly pour in 1-1/2 cups water.

sugar, water and rind in pan with wooden spoon

Heat on medium heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.

lemon simple syrup

Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the lemon rind and discard.

cool the syrup

To speed the cooling process up, pour the lemon simple syrup into a bowl (or a liquid measuring cup) and set that into another bowl of ice. Cool completely.

michigan shaped cutting board with lemons

Meanwhile, cut 6 to 8 large lemons in half.

squeezing lemon juice with glass juicer

Squeeze enough lemons until you get 1-1/2 cups fresh lemon juice.

mesh strainer set into measuring cup to catch pulp

As you go, pour the juice through a strainer set over a liquid measuring cup to catch pulp and any seeds.

add syrup to glass pitcher

Next, pour 1-1/2 cups lemon simple syrup into a large pitcher.

pour in lemon juice in glass pitcher

And then pour in the 1-1/2 cups lemon juice.

pour water into glass pitcher

Lastly, pour in 4 cups of cold water.

sliced lemons

Slice up a few extra lemons.

pitcher of lemonade

Stir the lemonade to combine and add a few slices of fresh lemon.

Fill glasses with ice and pour lemonade over top.

Insert straws and sip.

Nothing quenches your thirst like a ice cold glass of old fashioned lemonade.

Cheers!

Love lemonade? Try my vanilla lemonade or my honey lavender lemonade! So refreshing!

Enjoy! And if you give this Old Fashioned Lemonade recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 7 servings

Old Fashioned Lemonade

Quench your thirst with a ice cold glass of Old Fashioned Lemonade! A simple lemon syrup stirred into freshly squeezed lemon juice and water served over ice. Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients

  • cups granulated sugar
  • 1 lemon rind
  • cups water, divided
  • cups lemon juice, freshly squeezed, about 6-8 large lemons
  • lemon slices, for garnish

Instructions 

  • In a heavy bottom saucepan, add sugar, lemon rind and 1½ cups water. Stir and heat over medium, bring to a low boil before reducing the heat to low. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cool completely (see notes).
  • Pour the freshly squeezed lemon juice through a mesh strainer to catch any seeds or pulp. Then pour the strained juice into a large pitcher.
  • To that add 1½ cups of the lemon simple syrup and 4 cups cold water. Stir to combine.
  • Add a few slices of lemon and serve poured over ice and garnished with an extra lemon slice.

Notes

To speed up cooling process, pour the simple syrup into a bowl (or liquid measuring cup) and palce it into a bowl of ice. Make sure the ice comes up the outside of the bowl with the syrup.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 276kcal, Carbohydrates: 73g, Protein: 1g, Sodium: 22mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 68g