Refreshing Strawberry Basil Lemonade
Ultra refreshing homemade strawberry basil lemonade. Make your own simple syrup and blend it together with freshly squeezed lemons, sweet strawberries, and herby basil to make a pitcher full of sunshine!
Servings: 8 -9 servings
Ingredients
- 6 ¼ cups water divided
- 1 ¼ cups sugar or 1 ¾ cups prepared sugar syrup
- 1 pound strawberries hulled then quartered (plus more to decorate)
- 1 ½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice plus lemon slices to decorate
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt optional but so good
- 6-8 torn basil leaves plus more for serving
Instructions
- SIMPLE SYRUP: In a small saucepan combine 1¼ cups of water with the sugar over medium heat and allow the sugar mixture to come to a simmer, about 6-9 minutes approximately. Turn off the stove, remove from heat and let cool completely.
- BLEND: Once the simple syrup cools, blend the strawberries, prepared simple syrup, and the torn basil leaves in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the remaining 5 cups of water, lemon juice, salt, and blend once again.
- STRAIN: This is optional, but for a smoother lemonade, strain the strawberry lemonade through a sieve as you pour it into a pitcher (filled with lots of ice) Stir and add additional lemon slices/ quartered strawberries, and whole basil leaves to infuse it further. The lemonade is a bit concentrated (in terms of sweetness) so once you add lots of ice, it should be well balanced!
