Mint Lemonade Recipe

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

5 mins

Total Time:

30 mins

Servings:

6

This mint lemonade recipe has all the sweet-tart goodness of classic lemonade plus the cooling and refreshing flavor of fresh mint leaves. To pull it together, you'll first make a simple syrup from equal parts sugar and water. After letting the syrup cool, you combine it with fresh squeezed lemon juice and plenty of sliced mint leaves. Served over ice and garnished with lemon wheels and more mint, it's an ideal summer sipper that you’ll want to make on repeat all season long. And while it's delicious on its own, this lemonade also makes an excellent warm-weather cocktail when combined with a splash of gin, vodka, or tequila.

Using a Simple Syrup Instead of Sugar

Simple syrup—a cooked mixture made of equal parts sugar and water—is ideal for sweetening cold beverages including cocktails, iced coffee, and this minty lemonade. The reason for that is because it's difficult to dissolve granulated sugar in cold beverages without a ton of stirring (and, even then, you still may be left with grains of sugar on the bottom). Instead, boiling the two ingredients while stirring helps to quickly dissolve the sugar, leaving you with a smooth and sweet syrup that blends seamlessly into cold drinks.

Tip

To help get even more juice out of a lemon, roll it along your counter while applying gentle pressure before cutting in half and juicing.

Directions

Make simple syrup:

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1/4 cup water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Let stand until completely cool.
Combine with remaining ingredients:

In a large pitcher half-filled with ice, add 2 cups water, lemon juice, simple syrup, mint, and lemon slices. Stir to combine.
Serve:

Serve over ice. Garnish with mint leaves and lemon slices.

Variations

For a mixed-citrus profile, swap in freshly squeezed lime juice for half of the lemon juice. To add even more herby flavor, add a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary to the simple syrup while it's simmering (remove them before adding syrup to lemonade).