Cherry lemonade is so easy to make with fresh (or frozen) cherries, lemon juice, water, and sugar. In the post I share some tips on how to save time on the recipe, such as using an immersion blender, and my smashing method to pit a bunch of cherries all at once!
This cherry lemonade is an explosion of cherry flavor! It's tangy, sweet, and so satisfyingly juicy.
You can make cherry lemonade with either fresh or frozen cherries. Frozen cherries are of course easier because you don't have to pit them. However, I've tested the lemonade both ways, and to be honest, flavor-wise, fresh cherries beat frozen. They are both tasty, but for the best cherry flavor, I recommend using fresh cherries.
To make it a bit easier, I will show you my hasty way to pit a whole bunch of cherries at once. It involves squishing them lol. Which in lemonade is totally fine, because we will be blending them next anyways!
In love with lemons?
Try my recipes for lemon butter chicken, raspberry lemon loaf, or lemon popsicles!
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Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Cherries: you can use fresh or frozen cherries. I prefer the flavor of fresh cherries though!
- Lemons: you need one cup of freshly-squeezed lemon juice. Depending on the size and juiciness of your lemons, you will likely need between 4 - 6 lemons.
Equipment needed
- fine mesh strainer
- immersion blender (affiliate link) or regular blender: using an immersion (aka stick) blender is a great way to save on dishes; you only have to rinse off the stick part after using. If you don't have a stick blender, a regular blender will work just as well.
- cherry pitter (affiliate link): this is optional, for fresh cherries. If you don't have a cherry pitter or want to speed up the pitting process, try my fun smashing method (see below!).
Easy way to pit cherries (for blending)
Since we will be blending the cherries anyways, we don't have to worry about keeping them perfectly intact. In fact, here we are doing the opposite! Here's how I pit a bunch of cherries super fast:
- lay the washed cherries out on a tray in a single layer;
- squish the heck out of them with a flat-bottomed glass or small bowl; then
- pick out all the pits and stems!
*Be warned, there may be some cherry juice that squirts out, so be careful not to get it on your clothes.*
Step by step photos
- Step 1: Add the pitted cherries, ½ cup water, and sugar to a tall jar. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth (or use a regular blender).
- Step 2: Strain the cherry puree through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl.
- Step 3: Add the cherry juice, lemon juice, and remaining water to a pitcher. Stir to combine. If needed, add more water to taste.
- Step 4: Serve the cherry lemonade over ice, and garnish with lemon slices and/or cherries (optional).
How to use frozen cherries
If you like, you can use frozen cherries to make the lemonade. All you need to do is thaw the cherries before blending (no need to pit them obviously!).
You can either thaw the cherries in the fridge overnight, or, use the microwave for a quick thaw.
For the quick thaw, place the frozen cherries in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave them on high for 1 minute. Stir the cherries, and continue microwaving them on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until thawed.
Tart or sweet cherries?
We talked about using fresh versus frozen cherries, but what about tart versus sweet? I tested this recipe with fresh sweet cherries, frozen sweet cherries, and frozen tart cherries (I couldn't find fresh tart cherries!).
All versions were very good so you can't really go wrong. As you can image, the tart cherry lemonade was a little bit tarter, but the difference wasn't huge in my opinion. So, if you like tart cherries, give it a go. You can always stir in a little more sugar afterwards if you feel like the lemonade is too tart.
Adding water in two phases = more control!
This cherry lemonade recipe is written so that you can adjust how concentrated the lemonade is. You add 2 cups of water first, give it a stir, and then taste. If the lemonade is too strong for you, you can then mix in more water. Because of course, it's easy to add, hard to take away!
Keep in mind though - if you are planning on serving the lemonade over ice, you may want to keep the lemonade stronger. That way, as the ice melts, the drink won't taste too watery.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can definitely use frozen cherries to make this lemonade. I have tested the recipe both ways. In my opinion, the fresh cherries tasted better. They gave the lemonade a, well, fresher taste! However, if you're in a pinch, or want to save time on pitting the cherries, frozen cherries also work in this recipe.
When stored properly in the fridge (in a covered pitcher or jar), the lemonade will last for about 3 - 4 days. However, if the lemonade starts to taste or look off at any time, it's time to chuck it and make a new batch!
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Print📖 Recipe
Cherry Lemonade
This cherry lemonade is easy to make with only 4 basic ingredients. You can use either fresh or frozen cherries, but, if you have the patience to pit the fresh cherries, the bright and vibrant fresh cherry flavor is worth it!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Beverage, drinks
- Method: blend
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 g) fresh (or frozen) pitted cherries* (about 2 ½ cups)
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cups (591 ml) cold water, divided (plus more if needed)
- 1 cup (237 ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice (from about 4 - 6 lemons)
Instructions
- Place the pitted cherries, sugar, and ½ cup water into a tall jar. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth (or, blend in a regular blender).
- Pour the cherry mixture into a fine mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Use a spoon to press the cherry mixture into the mesh to help it strain faster. Stop once most of the liquid has been removed - you should be left with something similar to the texture of apple butter.
- Pour the cherry juice, 1 cup lemon juice, and remaining 2 cups cold water into a pitcher. Stir well to combine. Taste the lemonade, and add more water, ½ cup at a time, if the lemonade tastes too strong (I added an extra ½ cup water in total). Keep in mind - if you are planning on serving the lemonade over ice, you may want to keep the lemonade strong so the ice doesn't dilute it too much.
- Place the lemonade in the fridge until chilled. The lemonade will keep well in the fridge, covered, for 3 - 4 days.
Notes
- *While I prefer to make the cherry lemonade with fresh cherries, you can also use frozen cherries that have been thawed overnight in the fridge. Or, for a quicker thaw, microwave them in a microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute on high. Stir, and microwave again for 30 second increments on high, stirring in between, until thawed.
- To pit the fresh cherries, you can use a cherry pitter. Or, you can use my quick "smashing" method! I explain how to do this in the body of the blog post, or watch my cherry lemonade how-to video.
- You can use sweet or tart cherries to make the lemonade. I've tested the recipe with both and they both taste good. If you make the recipe with tart cherries and find it a little too sour, you can stir in a bit more sugar at the end.
- The recipe makes about 5 cups lemonade. If you need a bigger batch, the recipe is easily doubled!
- The nutrition information below is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator; the nutrition counts of your dish will vary based on the brand and exact amounts of ingredients used. This nutrition estimate should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full disclosure policy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ recipe
- Calories: 95
- Sugar: 20.2 g
- Sodium: 3 mg
- Fat: 0.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.6 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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