Fun Fruity Variations for Lemonade and Limeade

Bored with your classic lemonade or limeade recipes? We love to flavor things up with these fun fruity variations!

These can be done in one of two ways. You can create fruited simple syrups which should be used with straight lemon or lime juice. Or you can add the fruit to our classic lemonade or limeade. You do not want to add a fruity simple syrup to a drink that has already been sweetened. Well, I would not. Our child on the other hand? If we let him, he would totally enjoy a double sweetened drink!

Please note that this article contains affiliate links, and we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through links in this post. You can read our full disclosure on our disclosure page.

Our recipe below is intended to make a standard pitcher of lemonade or limeade. For recipes by the glass, see our FAQ section. Each of these is based on the idea that by creating a fruited simple syrup, it can be combined with lemon or lime juice and water to produce a tasty fruity variation of the classic drink.

Fun Fruity (or herbal) Lemonade Variations:

• Blueberry Lemonade
• Cherry Lemonade
• Mint Lemonade
• Peach Lemonade
• Pineapple Lemonade
• Raspberry Lemonade
• Strawberry Lemonade
• Watermelon Lemonade

Feel free to combine two or more fruits for even more fun combinations such as Raspberry Peach Lemonade or Strawberry Pineapple Lemonade!

Fun Fruity (or spicy) Limeade Variations:

• Cherry Limeade
• Ginger Limeade
• Pineapple Limeade
• Strawberry Limeade
• Watermelon Limeade

It can also be tasty to combine two or more flavors with limeade as well. Consider Strawberry Cucumber Limeade as an example!

Making a Flavored Simple Syrup

Time to make your simple syrups – what flavor will you choose?

1. Combine 1 cup of the water with the 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring regularly.
2. While you are doing this, go ahead and chop larger fruits into smaller pieces or picking through your smaller berries removing any debris.
3. Once the sugar is dissolved, add your fruit of choice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the fruit has broken down.
4. Strain mixture through a cheesecloth or fine sieve; let cool.

Making a Pitcher of Lemonade or Limeade

1. In a large pitcher, whisk together your fruited simple syrup, lemon or lime juice, and five cups of water. Place in the refrigerator until chilled.
2. Serve over ice and garnish with more fruit or herbs.

FAQs

Can I use frozen fruit?

We have found it absolutely acceptable to use frozen fruit to make our fruited simple syrups. It just takes a bit longer.

What if I want to make just one glass at a time?

We love to support the local farms in our area. Sometimes they have fruit that doesn’t look so good but is still perfectly edible. Often, we will purchase and process it all the same day. A great way to use some of it is to make the fruited simple syrup and freeze it in ice cube trays. Then, when we are interested in just one glass, we can take a cube or two from the freezer and make just enough lemonade or limeade for one. These cubes are also a great base for cocktails!

1. After your simple syrup has cooled, pour into ice cube trays and freeze into pucks.
2. Once frozen, remove pucks from trays and store them in a freezer container.
3. When ready to enjoy a glass, place one or two pucks in your glass, and top with XX juice and XX water. Stir until the pucks melt and enjoy.

I already have lemonade or limeade on hand. Can I still make a fruited version without double sweetener?

Yes! You can definitely do that, and we have done so. We do it by the following method for a drink by the glass:

1. Break down the fruit by adding it to a blender and pureeing it.
2. Then, we transfer the fruit and press it through a fine mesh sieve in order to get the strained juice.
3. Add ¼ cup of the juice to the bottom of a tall glass, followed by your lemonade or limeade, and topped off with some ice cubes to keep it cool.
4. Top with some fruit pieces or fresh leafy herbs if desired.

Are you more interested in making an entire pitcher? Here are the proportions that work for us!

We use as much fruit as it takes to yield ½ cup juice for every two cups of lemonade or limeade. For small fruits such as blueberries and raspberries, this is usually 1 cup. For larger fruits such as peaches, it tends to take closer to 3 cups. Of course, it all depends on the size of your fruit and if you are having to work around blemishes.

Other tips:

1. If you want, you can always use commercial fruit syrups such as Torani instead of making your own simple syrup and using fresh fruit.
2. Adding a sparkling water or lemon-lime soda will create a fun fizzy beverage for kids of any age.
3. However, if you want to turn any of these into an, ahem, adult beverage, feel free to add a shot of gin, bourbon, vodka, tequila, or rum.

Equipment Needed:

• Basic Kitchen Kit: This is going to include measuring cups and spoons, a mixing bowl and whisk, cutting board and knife, a large pot, and a spatula or wooden spoon. These are basically the items you would have in your home kitchen to cook.
• Drink pitcher: we prefer a glass one at home but acknowledge a plastic one is safer at the campsite.
• Glasses: we love our mason jars with handles

We sure hope you enjoy these fun fruity variations for lemonade and limeade!

Looking for the classic drink? Check out our recipes for classic lemonade and limeade. While we love our variations, sometimes we just need a long cool drink with no fuss. Tag us on Instagram @campinganswer and let us know what you think!