Description
Make a refreshing homemade sparkling lemonade featuring fresh strawberries, basil, and lemon juice.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3–4 lemons)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- 4 cups cold sparkling water or club soda
- Ice cubes
- Extra strawberry slices and basil sprigs for garnish
Instructions
- Make the syrup: Combine strawberries, 1 cup water, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Muddle the strawberries slightly with a spoon. Reduce heat to low and let it gently simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the basil leaves to the hot syrup. Let the mixture steep for 20 minutes.
- Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing gently on the solids to extract liquid. Discard the solids. Let the syrup cool completely.
- In a large pitcher, combine the cooled strawberry-basil syrup and the fresh lemon juice. Stir well.
- To serve, fill glasses with ice. Pour about 1/4 cup of the syrup mixture into each glass.
- Top each glass with cold sparkling water or club soda. Stir gently.
- Garnish each drink with a fresh strawberry slice and a basil sprig.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of lemon juice to match your preferred tartness level.
- For a stronger basil flavor, steep the basil for 30 minutes instead of 20.
- This recipe makes a concentrated base; adjust the amount used per glass based on how sweet you like your final drink.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Stovetop and Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 1/4 cup base + sparkling water)
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 35
- Sodium: 5
- Fat: 0
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 38
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 0
- Cholesterol: 0