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This Lavender Lemonade is bright, citrusy, and lightly floral with just the right amount of sweetness. If you want a refreshing drink that feels a little fancy but is incredibly easy to make, this is it!
Why you’ll love this refreshing summer drink!
Today’s recipe is all about sitting back, enjoying the warmth and soaking in a hot summer day. I’ve recently been mixing up this lavender lemonade weekly! It’s perfect for special occasions like summer cookouts, pool parties, or to sip on a lazy Saturday sitting out on the patio. It’s super easy and tastes incredible – much better than anything you could buy at the store.
Reasons to love it:
- Simple ingredients but still feels elevated
- Perfect balance of tart, sweet, and a floral flavor
- Great for hosting, brunch, or summer afternoons on a hot day
- Easily customizable (sweeter, stronger, more floral)
Simple ingredients needed
The ingredients for this lavender lemonade recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- Homemade lavender syrup. Make your own simple syrup. It’s easy, only three ingredients for this lavender version, and it keeps well in the fridge.
- Water. the base of lemonade. I prefer to use filtered water for this recipe.
- Lemon juice. Fresh lemon juice is wonderful, but you’ll need a lot of lemon juice for this recipe, so feel free to use bottled. It will still taste great! I prefer meyer lemons but they’re a little more expensive and can be hard to find at the grocery store. Regular lemons also work well!
- Optional extras. We love our drinks garnished with lemon slices and fresh lavender flowers. And it’s super fun and festive to mix in about 1-2 drops of purple food coloring into each glass of lemonade to give it a beautiful lavender color.
How to Make It
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written recipe down in the recipe card for this pitcher of lavender lemonade, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- Start by making the lavender simple syrup (which is very simple!) in a small saucepan. Once it’s cooled, place the syrup in a large pitcher along with the lemon juice for the homemade lemonade.
- Add in the remaining ingredients, including any optional food coloring (to get the purple color), and stir to combine. Let cool in the fridge or with ice. Garnish with a slice of lemon and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t over-steep the lavender. Too long can make it taste soapy or bitter! Stick close to the timing in the recipe before running it through a fine mesh sieve.
- Use culinary lavender buds only. Decorative or craft lavender can taste harsh.
- Adjust to taste. Add more lemon juice for tartness or more syrup for sweetness.
- Chill before serving. This tastes best fully cold!
- Make it ahead. The syrup can be made a few days in advance and stored in the fridge. I suggest making a double batch!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but it should be subtle. It adds a light floral note, not an overpowering flavor.
Yes, but dried lavender is more concentrated. You may need a bit more fresh to get the same flavor.
Lavender doesn’t naturally turn liquids purple, so a tiny drop of food coloring is often added for that classic look.
Yes! Swap some of the water for sparkling water right before serving.
Absolutely. Start with less syrup and add more to taste.
Other lavender recipes to try:
Looking for more refreshing drinks?
- Strawberry Acai Refresher
- Strawberry Milk
- Boozy Frozen Lemonade
- Mojito Recipe
- Classic Tom Collins
- Gin & Tonic Recipe
- Blood Orange Mojito
- Cherry Bomb Cocktail
Lavender Lemonade
Video
Ingredients
For the Syrup:
- 1 ¼ cup sugar*
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried lavender
For the lemonade:
- 1 batch of syrup from above
- 6 cups water
- 1 ¼ cups lemon juice, freshly squeezed is great but from a bottle certainly works!
- Fresh lavender and lemon slices for garnish
- Optional for color: 1-2 drops of purple food coloring*
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and lavender and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and lower the heat a bit. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes at which time the sugar should have completely dissolved and the syrup started to thicken. Let cool for 5 minutes and then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the lavender. Place in the fridge to cool.
- In a large pitcher, stir together the cooled lavender simple syrup, 6 cups of water and the lemon juice. Mix until fully combined and then garnish with fresh lavender and lemon slices.
- As desired, mix 1-2 drops of purple food coloring into each glass of lemonade to give it the classic lavender color.
- Store leftovers in the fridge and ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use sparkling water instead of water to make it bubbly?
absolutely! That would be delicious
Batch, meaning use the entire simple syrup for lemonade recipe?
I am interested in making the Lavender Lemonade. In researching I noticed there are different grades of lavender; does this recipe require a certain grade of lavender? I am concerned about putting a dried lavender stalk in the glass (for decoration) as I do not believe it is edible. Advice, please.
You can but food grade lavender and that’s what I do. But I also get it local when it’s in season and buy it from local farms that have told me it’s safe to garnish with using the stem. I might hesitate if I was buying it online etc