Honey Lemonade (No Refined Sugar)

This refreshing honey lemonade recipe is naturally sweetened with honey instead of refined sugar, giving it a delicious, fresh flavour which is perfect on warm days. With just a few simple ingredients, this homemade lemonade with no sugar syrup is quick to prepare, thirst-quenching and a healthier alternative to many shop bought soft drinks. Perfect for barbecues, picnics and drinking in the garden, honey sweetened lemonade is a simple way to enjoy the taste of fresh lemons.

Jump to:

• What you'll love about the recipe
• Why make lemonade with honey instead of sugar
• Ingredients
• How to make healthy honey lemonade
• Recipe tips
• Serving and storage
• Frequently asked questions
• Other healthy summer drink recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

What you'll love about the recipe

• A delicious, healthy, homemade summer drink, similar to cloudy lemonade. It's lightly sweetened and tastes much better than bought lemonade. It's also much cheaper than buying posh lemonade!
• This healthy lemonade is additive-free, with no artificial sweeteners or flavourings. There's no refined sugar in the recipe and one glass contains nearly half of your vitamin C for the day
• Refreshing and thirst-quenching. Fresh lemon juice is a good source of electrolytes which can help to hydrate you, and the natural acidity makes it refreshing

Why make lemonade with honey instead of sugar

• The stronger flavour of honey means you'll need less sweetener. So you can make a lower sugar lemonade that still tastes delicious
• It's very quick and easy to make lemonade with honey. There's no sugar syrup to make and no heat required. Honey lemonade is ready to drink immediately as you don't need to wait for it to cool

Ingredients

This easy recipe has just 3 ingredients.

Lemons. I'd recommend using only fresh lemons to make this recipe, or fresh lemons that you have previously frozen. The basic proportion is 4 lemons per litre to make this homemade honey lemonade.

Honey. Honey is the ideal way to sweeten this refreshing, refined sugar-free lemonade. Use organic or raw honey if you prefer. Raw honey is unprocessed and can therefore contain more nutrients.

Ideally, use runny honey, which mixes easily. If you've only got a thick set honey, you'll need to warm it slightly so that it softens and blends in well.

If you prefer, you can use a stronger-flavoured honey such as orange blossom, but you'll alter the flavour of the finished drink. Personally, I prefer a mild-flavoured honey so that it does not have a medicinal taste.

Ice and slice of lemon to serve

Optional ingredients and variations

You can also add a pinch of sea salt to your natural lemonade if you're not on a low-sodium diet.

Salt will enhance the sweetness of the honey. A pinch of sea salt will also help to rehydrate you on a hot day (salt is normally included in electrolyte rehydration solutions).

Adding herbs to lemonade

I love adding herbs to my homemade honey lemonade; it gives an adult twist with a little more depth of flavour. Great combinations include:

• Mint - adds a cooling, refreshing twist
• Basil - the herbaceous flavour goes perfectly with lemon
• Thyme - my all-time favourite (no pun intended!!). Lemon and thyme is a classic combination
• Rosemary - adds an aromatic, almost savoury note

With all of these herbal additions, simply bruise a few sprigs of your chosen herb in a mortar and pestle and add to the jug of honey lemonade.

How to make healthy honey lemonade

First squeeze the lemons. You'll get more juice from the lemons if you roll them firmly against the worktop before squeezing them. Don't do this if you've frozen them though as they'll collapse completely!

Then halve the lemons and squeeze the juice. Once they've been rolled I find it easiest to squeeze the lemon juice by hand. You could also use a citrus squeezer if you prefer, especially if you are making a larger batch of summer drinks for a party.

Strain the juice into a bowl or a jug and add the honey and 200ml of cold water. Blitz with a hand blender to ensure that the honey is thoroughly mixed in.

If you don't have a hand blender, use a whisk, or shake the mixture in a lidded jar. If your honey is quite stiff and won't mix in properly, gently heat the mixture until the honey dissolves.

Add the remaining water and serve with ice and a slice!

Recipe tips

I tested the recipe with different quantities of honey, as my goal was to make delicious-tasting lemonade whilst using as little sugar as possible. However, your taste might be different, so test the lemonade and add a little more honey or an extra squeeze of lemon juice if required.

If you want to make a healthy vegan lemonade, use an equal amount of maple syrup, or use agave syrup.

For sparking honey-sweetened lemonade, use sparkling mineral water to replace 800ml of water.

If you want to make batch quantities for a party, here are the quantities of ingredients that you'll need

	lemons	honey	water
10 servings	8	120ml	2 litres
20 servings	16	240ml	4 litres

Serving and storage

Honey-sweetened lemonade is perfect for serving on a summer's day. It's an ideal healthy non-alcoholic beverage to serve at parties and BBQs. You could also serve a jug of this delicious iced rooibos tea, or chilled elderflower tea.

Honey lemonade can be made up in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you are adding herbs to your fresh lemonade and want to store it for more than a couple of hours, add the herbs just before serving.

Frequently asked questions

Other healthy summer drink recipes

Browse these healthy drink recipes for more healthy, refreshing summer drinks made without refined sugar.

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Recipe

Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.