Spring has officially sprung in my neck of the woods, and I plan to be sipping on this refreshing lavender lemonade all season long– and all summer, too! Made with culinary lavender, freshly squeezed lemon juice, honey, and sugar, this lavender lemonade recipe has a delightful floral flavor that’s not too overpowering. Plus, would you look at that color? So fun! Henry and Jack love when I make this fun drink as an after school treat.
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What’s in This Lavender Lemonade Recipe?
I love classic lemonade, but when I heard about lavender lemonade, I knew I had to make it. Lavender has such a unique floral flavor with hints of rosemary and mint, and it pairs so well with tart and refreshing lemonade.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar cuts the acidity of the lemon juice and sweetens this classic drink. You can add more or less depending on your preferred level of sweetness.
- Honey: Plays up the floral flavor of the lavender. I always recommend using local organic honey if you can.
- Lavender: Dried culinary lavender is what you need! Whole Foods sells fresh lavender, but you can also order it on Amazon. You want to be sure you buy lavender meant for eating/cooking.
- Lemon Juice: For the very best flavor, you should really only use freshly squeezed lemon juice! Avoid using anything from concentrate.
- Food Coloring: Just a few drops of blue or purple food coloring is my secret weapon for that pretty purple color. This is optional of course.
Make It A Lavender Lemonade Cocktail
As soon as I learned how to make lavender lemonade, my mind immediately went to how to add alcohol. After rigorous experimentation (you’re welcome!), I have found that vodka and gin taste the best. Vodka will give you a buzz without altering the flavor, while gin will play up the floral elements of the drink.
A bit of champagne would turn it into a nice, bubbly drink for bridal showers or brunch. Or you could also use tequila instead and make a lavender margarita.
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How to Store
You can store a pitcher of lavender lemonade in the fridge for up to 1 week. Make sure the pitcher has an airtight lid on it for the best, freshest results.
If you have any leftover beyond a week, I like to pour it into an ice cube tray and make lavender lemonade ice cubes to add to drinks!
Serving Suggestions
I love the idea of this beautiful purple lemonade for a baby shower or gender reveal party, surrounded by delicious desserts. Think glitter lemon cake pops, strawberries foster, or blueberry raspberry coffee cake.
Notes from the Test Kitchen
I recommend adding some purple or blue food coloring to make the color even brighter and prettier, but that is totally optional. It’s a fun twist if you’re making this mocktail for baby or wedding showers, but it’s not necessary.
5-Star Review
“The best lavender lemonade recipe I have tried. Steeping the lavender for 2 hours makes all the difference. Thanks for sharing.” -Karen
Lavender Lemonade Recipe
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Ingredients
- 6 cups water 1,362 grams, divided
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- ¼ cup honey 88 grams
- 3 tablespoons dried culinary lavender 8 grams, plus more for garnish
- 2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice 454 grams, from 10-12 lemons
- Blue or purple food coloring optional, to enhance color
- Lemon slices optional, for garnish
Recommended Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
- Over medium heat, combine 2 cups of water and the sugar, bringing to a boil until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and stir in the honey and lavender.6 cups water, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup honey, 3 tablespoons dried culinary lavender
- Allow the mixture to steep for 2 hours (less if you want less of a lavender taste).
- Strain the liquid, pressing the lavender down to make sure you get all of those juices into your mixture!
- In a large pitcher, combine freshly squeezed lemon juice, lavender mixture and the remaining 4 cups of water.2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice, 6 cups water
- Feel free to add a couple drops of blue or purple food coloring if you want more color than the lavender provides. Makes the lemonade especially cute for those brunches! Serve over ice.Lemon slices, Blue or purple food coloring
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- First and foremost, fresh lavender is a must!
- I recommend adding some purple or blue food coloring to make the color even brighter and prettier, but that is totally optional. It’s a fun twist if you’re making this mocktail for baby or wedding showers, but it’s not necessary.
- If you want to make this a cocktail, just add in a bit of vodka, tequila, champagne…whichever type of alcohol you prefer for your drinks.
- If you have leftovers, freeze lavender lemonade in an ice cube tray and add it to drinks!
- Nutritional information does not include optional ingredients.
Nutrition Information
How to Make Lavender Lemonade Step by Step
Steep the Lavender: Over medium heat, combine 2 cups of water and ½ cup of granulated sugar, bringing to a boil until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and stir in ¼ cup of honey and 3 tablespoons of dried culinary lavender. Allow the mixture to steep for 2 hours (less if you want less of a lavender taste).
Strain the Lavender Syrup: Strain the liquid, pressing the lavender down to make sure you get all of those juices into your mixture!
Make the Lemonade: In a large pitcher, combine 2 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice, the lavender mixture, and the remaining 4 cups of water. Feel free to add a couple drops of blue or purple food coloring if you want more color than the lavender provides. Makes the lemonade especially cute for those brunches! Serve over ice.
Personally, this drink doesn’t make me tired. However, lavender has been known to have natural relaxing qualities that are said to help with insomnia. This may be just the drink for you to sip on before bed!
Nope! This drink is naturally caffeine-free.
Lavender is believed to soothe anxiety and headaches, so the next time you’re feeling burnt out, reach for a glass of this tasty lemonade.
Loved it!
Could I use Lavender Syrup with this recipe..and how? ☺️
We have never tried that, but we would use it in place of the lavender and the granulated sugar!
I used 2 Tbsp Lavender syrup, 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice. Added crushed ice & enough water to fill 12 ounce glass. You could add more of either to suit yourtaste. No extra sugar was needed.
Don’t really know what you mean by culinary I just pick mine in my fields!
Hi Maria, there are some varieties of lavender that are better suited for fragrance applications, as they can taste too strong/bitter!
I added blue food coloring and it turned it green! But it still tasted delicious!! Excited to make it again 👍🏼
Looks delicious! Sometimes acidic ingredients like lemon can cause color changes.
Lovely taste!Reduced the amount of sugar personal choice tho but also turned nice!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi there. I made this today but made made simple syrup and steeped the lavender in that. It was incredibly delicious and will make it again!!!
Thanks for sharing, Jessamine!
Instead of food coloring use a dash of butterfly pea powder or as much as need for desired color to get that lavender color. Food coloring will make it look gross.
Add a few blueberries to the simmering lavender. I use 4-6 generally and it doesn’t alter the flavor to me but gives a lovely lavender color. You can adjust the number of blueberries as desired for lighter or darker syrup. Remember though that the color gets diluted when you add other liquids
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I followed this recipe as stated above and it looked like dirty water! I do not use food coloring, so I threw some blueberries in the simple syrup boiled it for 10 additional minutes and I got a pretty purple color…I strained the blueberries and lavender out and I also only used a 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice, still tart but refreshingly so!
Thanks for sharing, Donna!
If you are using fresh lemons I would follow the recipe but if you are using store bought lemon juice I would cut the amount in half.
Thanks for stopping by, Brandon!
Like others, this recipe had too much lemon juice. I had to add a large amount of agave syrup, which is sweeter than sugar, to cut the tartness. I used organic lavender flowers and my drink had a nice lavender flavor. Adding blue food coloring was a disaster. It was a red grapefruit pink before the 4 cups of water were added. The blue dye turned it green. Pouring it over a full glass of ice thinned the colir and brought the drink to a proper strength.
I am sorry it didn’t quite go as planned, Gloria!