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Home » Recipes » Beverages

Published: May 27, 2022 · Modified: Jun 5, 2022 by Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Tequila Lemonade

Jump to Recipe
A glass of tequila lemonade on a white marble serving tray with text overlay on top of the image.
A glass of tequila lemonade on a white marble serving tray with text overlay on top of the image.

This easy tequila lemonade is the drink you need for all your outdoor spring and summer parties! Prepared with just four ingredients, this tequila and lemonade cocktail makes entertaining a breeze, and every delightful sip is as refreshing as it gets. You just found your new favorite party drink, and your guests will thank you for it — this is one crowd-pleasing spiked lemonade.

Looking straight on to two tequila lemonade cocktails with a pitcher behind them and white flowers all around.
Jump to:
  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Variations
  • Expert Tips
  • Perfect Pairing
  • Get More Tequila Cocktails
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The ultimate cocktail for a hot day: This fresh-squeezed lemonade is super light with just enough tequila to give it a little kick, but it's also light enough to sip all day.

Super simple to whip up: We start with a homemade lemonade base, which couldn’t be easier to make, and then we simply stir in tequila. The beginner home bartender can easily make this tequila lemonade recipe.

Prepare it ahead of time: To ensure it’s nice and cold, it’s best to make the lemonade ahead of time. That makes any hosting duties low key and easy, so you can spend your time enjoying company while sipping on a delightful tequila cocktail.  

Easily serves a crowd: One batch serves eight people, and you can easily double or triple it for bigger parties.

Bonus: If you love this tequila lemonade cocktail, I bet you’ll also love this collection of fruity margaritas. It includes my favorite raspberry margarita, blackberry margarita and coconut margarita. After all, this recipe just might remind you of drinking lemonade margaritas.

Ingredients

The ingredients on a white marble surface with black and white labels.

Let’s chat about these simple ingredients.

Tequila: While I usually love a reposado tequila for my margaritas, I prefer a blanco tequila. This type of tequila goes straight into stainless steel barrels while reposado tequila is aged in oak barrels for two to 12 months, which gives it a richer flavor. Since lemonade is even lighter than a margarita, the more neutral flavors make it the best tequila for this hard lemonade.  

Lemon juice: Make sure you use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not bottled juice. With so few ingredients, quality matters, and bottled juice is not nearly as bright and flavorful as fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: We first make a simple syrup by bringing the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat (photo 1). Every so often, we stir to help dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves, we turn off the heat and allow the simple syrup to cool.

Bringing the simple syrup to a boil in a small saucepan.

Step 2: Now we pour the simple syrup in a pitcher along with the fresh lemon juice, tequila and water (photo 2).

Pouring lemon juice into a clear pitcher on a white marble surface.

Step 3: From here, we stir the lemonade to combine (photo 3).

Stirring the contents of the pitcher with a wooden spoon.

And just like that, we have our refreshing tequila lemonade to stay cool on a warm summer night! How easy was that? Add some lemon wedges or lemon wheels to the glass and sip the night away.

For another tasty summer drink, try my Dirty Shirley cocktail!

Two tequila lemonade cocktails on a white marble platter from an upward angle.

Recipe FAQs

Why do you make simple syrup for lemonade?

While some recipes call for just stirring together the water, sugar and lemon juice, this isn’t the best method. It can be tricky to dissolve the sugar, so you end up with a grainy lemonade. Simple syrup starts with dissolved sugar to ensure we get a smooth texture.

How do you store homemade lemonade?

Homemade lemonade should be stored in the refrigerator. To keep off-flavors from infusing the lemonade, I also recommend covering the top of the pitcher with plastic wrap.

How long will homemade lemonade last?

I prefer to enjoy the lemonade within 24 hours for the best flavor because the lemon juice starts to lose its brightness. That said, it will last up to five to seven days.

Variations

Make an herbed simple syrup. Simply add a handful of herbs and allow the mixture to steep after boiling for 15 minutes. Fresh mint sprigs are especially wonderful. (See my strawberry-mint lemonade and cucumber-mint lemonade for inspiration.)

Give it a fruity touch and add a cup of fruit to the simple syrup or a cup of purée to the lemonade itself. 

Want another option besides tequila? It works great with rum, vodka, gin or even bourbon.

Swap lemon juice for another favorite citrus. Meyer lemons add a nice floral quality, or you could even use grapefruit or lime juice.

For a bubbly finish, you can add a little club soda, ginger ale, ginger beer or even Champagne. A splash works for individual glasses, or you could add 1 cup of your preferred sparkling beverage in the pitcher right before serving.

A close-up shot of the tequila lemonade with white flowers around it.

Expert Tips

Buy lemons that have some give when you press into them to ensure they’re still juicy.

Before juicing the lemons, firmly roll them on the countertop. This gets the juices flowing. 

To catch any seeds, you may want to strain the lemon juice in a fine-mesh sieve before adding in the pitcher.

I find this lemonade balances the sweet and sour notes. However, if you prefer a more tart lemonade, simply add more lemon juice to your liking.

To quickly cool the simple syrup, pour it into a shallow bowl. The shallow depth will cool much more quickly than if left in a deeper saucepan. Alternatively, you can pour it in another container that sits in a bowl of ice water, also known as an ice bath.

Perfect Pairing

For the perfect summer meal, you’ll love this tequila lemonade with a plate of tacos, like my lobster tacos or chorizo tacos, and some mango-habanero salsa. Talk about one refreshing meal.

I also love this smoked whole chicken with summer cocktails, especially this tequila lemonade. The tart lemon adds some brightness to the BBQ rub and smoky notes.

If you have a sweet tooth, you'll especially want to sip on this drink with a or slice of lemon pie. How perfect does that sound?

When you need the ultimate summer party cocktail, you’ll love this tequila lemonade. No summer gathering is complete without a good tequila drink, and this refresher is perfect.

Cheers!

A tequila lemonade on a marble platter on a lightly colored wooden surface.

Get More Tequila Cocktails

  • Two tequila sour cocktails on white lace with flowers and lemon slices around them.
    Tequila Sour
  • Two triple citrus tequila smashes on a marble board with cut fruit.
    Triple Citrus Tequila Smash
  • A spicy Mexican martini on a marble platter with garnishes around it.
    Spicy Mexican Martini
  • Two Cadillac margaritas with salt around them and limes and flowers to the side.
    Cadillac Margarita

If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe

Looking straight on to two tequila lemonade cocktails with a pitcher behind them and white flowers all around.

Tequila Lemonade

This easy tequila lemonade is the drink you need for all your outdoor spring and summer parties! Prepared with just four ingredients, this tequila and lemonade cocktail makes entertaining a breeze, and every delightful sip is as refreshing as it gets. You just found your new favorite party drink, and your guests will thank you for it — this is one crowd-pleasing spiked lemonade.
5 from 49 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Beverages
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 258kcal
Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Small saucepan
  • Citrus juicer
  • Pitcher

Ingredients

  • 5 cups water divided
  • 1 ½ cups white sugar
  • 1 ½ cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice not bottled juice
  • 1 ½ cups blanco tequila
  • Fresh lemon wheels or wedges for garnish, optional

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 1 ½ cups water and the sugar to a boil, stirring every so often to help dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar dissolves, turn off the heat and allow to cool. This is our simple syrup.
  • Add the simple syrup, remaining 3 ½ cups water, lemon juice and tequila to a large pitcher.
  • Stir to combine the ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

  • The fresh lemon juice is at its brightest and most flavorful within 24 hours, but it will keep for up to three days.
  • To quickly cool the simple syrup, pour it into a shallow bowl. The shallow depth will cool much more quickly than if left in a deeper saucepan. Alternatively, you can pour it in another container that sits in a bowl of ice water, also known as an ice bath.
  • Buy lemons that have some give when you press into them to ensure they’re still juicy. Before juicing the lemons, firmly roll them on the countertop. This gets the juices flowing.
  • To catch any seeds, you may want to strain the lemon juice in a fine-mesh sieve before adding in the pitcher.
  • I find this lemonade to balance the sweet and sour notes. However, if you prefer a more tart lemonade, simply add more lemon juice to your liking. This comes down to personal preference.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1drink | Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @BurrataandBubbles or tag #burratandbubbles!

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Megan says

    June 05, 2022 at 3:15 pm

    5 stars
    Finally a lemonade recipe I actually like! haha

    Reply
  2. Kathleen says

    June 05, 2022 at 2:59 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a refreshing drink. Will be enjoying it all summer long.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      June 06, 2022 at 5:54 am

      Same here!

      Reply
  3. Jamie says

    June 05, 2022 at 2:50 pm

    5 stars
    This was so refreshing for our summer bbq! It was the perfect cocktail for a hot summer day!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      June 06, 2022 at 5:54 am

      So happy you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  4. Anjali says

    June 05, 2022 at 2:01 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a perfect summer drink! We made it this weekend and loved it. I'm adding it to our 4th of July bbq menu!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      June 06, 2022 at 5:54 am

      It will be perfect for that!

      Reply
  5. susan | the wimpy vegetarian says

    June 05, 2022 at 1:13 pm

    5 stars
    This will be so perfect for summer parties! And best of all, these are ingredients I always have on hand. Thanks for such a great recipe!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      June 06, 2022 at 5:53 am

      You’re so welcome!

      Reply

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A headshot of Amanda, the owner of Burrata and Bubbles, holding a beer.

Hi, I'm Amanda, a Denver-based lady who believes life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor.

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