Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

Sparkling strawberry lemonade is a refreshing summer drink made with fresh strawberries. This easy drink recipe is a little sweet and a little tart, with a lot of delicious fruit flavor!

I don’t know what it has been like where you live but, man, it’s been warm here in the good ol’ PNW. And I know, I know, it gets like REALLY hot in other places. Like triple digits hot. But I grew up here and when it gets above 85 degrees, I’m uncomfortable.

It’s not a popular opinion, I mean we do get so much rain throughout the rest of the year that it is nice when the sun comes out. It’s just not nice when our house is 83 degrees at night. I mean, SERIOUSLY.

But one thing I like to do to cool down is drink a cool drink. And what says summer time more than lemonade? How about sparkling strawberry lemonade? It’s pretty. It is sparkly. It’s perfect for hot summer days. Bridal and baby showers. And with a splash of vodka, it makes a great afternoon cocktail too.

Growing up, I was always a fan of the powdered lemonade stuff. Blasphemy, I know. I have since found it way too sweet for me. Making it at home allows you to adjust it to your tastes. For this recipe, I used fresh strawberries, lemons, a quick simple syrup and some sparkling water. A little sweet, a little tart and very refreshing.

How do you make simple syrup?

Simple syrup is, dare I say, simple to make. All that is needed is one part sugar and one part water. Then it is cooked over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and allowed to cool before using. I like to make a batch with 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar and keep it in the refrigerator for use in cocktails and drinks like this Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade.

How do you make sparkling strawberry lemonade?

For this recipe, you will need a cup of lemonade. To do that you will need to juice about 6 lemons. Although it may seem easier to use a jar of lemon juice, it is really better to make it with fresh lemons.

For the strawberry part of this lemonade, you will need to puree the strawberries and simple syrup together.  You may notice seeds in my picture, and that is because I chose not to strain the strawberries after I pureed them. I like the little pieces of fresh fruit. If it’s not for you feel free to strain yours.

The sparkling part of this lemonade is from unflavored sparkling water. Add it to the lemonade mixture slowly so that it doesn’t foam up too much on you. If you’re not a fan of the fizz, you can skip the sparkling part and use cool water.

This recipe was originally published 2009 and photos were updated in 2018.