Learn how to make your own delicious and refreshing Pink Lemonade! This naturally pink lemonade recipe is just 4 ingredients, healthy, and sugar-free! No need for artificial colors or flavors! An ice-cold glass of this classic kid-friendly beverage is perfect for a hot summer day, plus it's naturally gluten-free, vegan, keto, allergy-free, and paleo!
Sure, an ice-cold glass of homemade lemonade is perfectly delicious, but isn't there something that makes a glass of PINK lemonade just x10 better? You'd be lying if you told me you didn't always opt for the pink lemonade on the menu as a kid or that your children currently beg you to buy a canister of sugar-filled and artificially pink Country Time mix! There's no reason why you can't keep a pitcher at the ready in your fridge and have it free from artificial colors, flavors, and sweetened just to your liking!
Pink Lemonade Without Artificial Colors
If you buy a mix or order a glass at a restaurant, 100% of the time that pink color is far from natural! It's just a glass of sugar-filled lemonade with some red or pink food dye. Now, you can make lemonade from scratch and add a few drops of store-bought natural red food dye or you can take it a step further and make your drink 100% plant-based by using a few teaspoons of beet juice!
To make your pink lemonade pink, beet juice is the perfect way to go! It's already in liquid form and mixes in perfectly. You just need a few drops so any flavor is covered by the tart and sour lemon juice and sweetener you use!
No Pink Lemons
Sorry to break the news, but pink lemons are just a hybrid lemon and do not yield any pink juice. Some pink lemonade recipes call for cranberry juice, strawberry, or grenadine, while these additions may give you the color, they'll also highly alter the flavor of your natural lemonade.
Ingredients You Need
- Sweetener + Water: You'll need your choice of granulated sweetener and some water to make a simple syrup that is used to sweeten the lemonade. I use Swerve (erythritol) so my beverage is sugar-free. You can use normal granulated sugar though or a combination to make it low-sugar!
- Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice: Fresh is best, my friends! If you use bottled lemon juice, your lemonade may have a metallic aftertaste. Freshly squeezed juice is key to good homemade lemonade!
- Beet Juice: The easiest and most efficient way to get your beet juice is by draining a can of no-salt-added beets! It should just be cooked beets in water and that liquid is what you want for coloring your pink lemonade! Make sure there is no added salt! No one wants a sip of salty lemonade! You can boil beets yourself, but who has time for that?
- Ice Cold Water: The base of your pink lemon drink is pure, crisp, icy cold water of course!
If you want to prep a large batch of this colorful lemonade, you can easily multiply the ingredient quantities, adjust the water-to-simple syrup ratio, and make it the pink color as mellow or dark as you'd like!
Is Pink Lemonade Healthy?
This homemade version sure is! All the classic joy in a glass with none of the fake stuff! It's also...
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan
- Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
- Sugar-Free
- Keto & Low-Carb
- Paleo
- Kid-Friendly
- Made with NO artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners
How To Make The Sugar-Free Simple Syrup
- Take your choice of granulated sweetener and place it into a pot with an equal amount of water.
- Bring the mixture to a slight boil and stir. Reduce the heat and let the mixture thicken until you get a clear syrup.
While you let the sweet syrup cool, you get to do the fun part!
How To Make Pink Lemonade From Scratch
- In a large pitcher add your ice-cold water.
- Pour in the fresh lemon juice.
- Add the simple syrup to taste.
- Slowly add in the beet juice until you get your desired pinkness.
- Mix, chill, serve!
Additional Tips & FAQs
- You don't have to make your recipe sugar-free! You can use any sweetener you'd like. If you chose to use a liquid sweetener, slowly add it to the finished pitcher and adjust by taste.
- Add extra fresh lemon slices and ice cubes to your pitcher before serving a crowd or to individual glasses if serving a small amount.
- You can serve the pink lemonade from a pitcher or a punch bowl depending on the circumstance!
- You can store fresh lemonade in the fridge for up to 5-6 days before the taste starts to deteriorate.
- Don't want to water down your drink? Mix up two batches of this recipe and freeze one in ice cube trays! Use these ice cubes when you serve your actual pitcher.
Pink Lemonade Recipe (Naturally Pink, Sugar-Free)
Learn how to make your own delicious and refreshing Pink Lemonade! This naturally pink lemonade recipe is just 4 ingredients, healthy, and sugar-free! No need for artificial colors or flavors! An ice-cold glass of this classic kid-friendly beverage is perfect for a hot summer day, plus it's naturally gluten-free, vegan, keto, allergy-free, and paleo!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 0 Minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 Cups 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Sugar-Free Simple Syrup:
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 Cup Granulated Sweetener (or preferred granulated sweetener)*
Pink Lemonade:
- 4 Cups Ice Cold Water
- 1 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (5-6 Lemons)
- 2-3 Tsp Beet Juice (No-Salt Added)
Instructions
- Make the simple syrup by bringing 1 cup of water and 1 cup of granulated sweetener to a boil, stir until dissolved and thickened. Remove from heat and allow it to cool while you juice your lemons.
- Wash and slice your lemons in half before juicing the halves into a liquid measuring cup. You want 1 cup of lemon juice.
- Add the lemon juice to a large pitcher, with 4 cups of fresh cold water.
- Now add the sugar-free simple syrup you made. Start with ¾ cup and add more if needed after taste testing.
- Now add 2-3 teaspoons of the better juice to color your pink lemonade. Add more or less depending on how intense you want the color.
- Serve chilled with extra ice and lemon slices if desired.
Notes
- You can use any granulated sweetener you'd like for the liquid syrup. You can also use a premade liquid sweetener. Adjust the amount to your tastes.
- Store the pink lemonade in the fridge for 5-6 days, covered.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cup
Keywords: pink lemonade, natural pink lemonade, sugar-free pink lemonade, homemade pink lemonade, pink lemonade from scratch, healthy pink lemonade
More Refreshing Drinks To Try:
- Virgin Piña Coladas
- Virgin Banana Daiquiris
- Classic Healthy Lemonade
- Coconut Mint Green Tea Mocktail
Now you don't have to turn down your kids when they ask for a glass of the pink stuff (or let's get real, YOU don't have to avoid a daily glass of ice-cold fresh pink lemonade!)
So tell me:
+ Now you can really answer the question: Yellow or Pink? PINK, baby!
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Mich
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe
★★★★★
Rebecca Pytell
Hope you've enjoyed!
Liz
This makes such a pretty color! We have a few camping trips left, so will be making this!
★★★★★
Rebecca Pytell
Great to pack ahead of time!
Sara LaFountain
Delicious lemonade recipe, I loved the addition of beet juice!
★★★★★
Rebecca Pytell
That's because it's PINK lemonade, haha.
Ruth
Pink lemonade is such a pretty looking drink! This is a great recipe I will be sure to try
Rebecca Pytell
Kids will love it from scratch!
Helen
This looks and sounds delicious!!
Rebecca Pytell
Simple is always delicious!
Jessica
This was a big hit! So refreshing and delicious.
★★★★★
Rebecca Pytell
Right? Never have to turn down a glass of sugary pink lemonade again!
Martina
This looks so refreshing and healthy! I can't wait to try it!
★★★★★
Rebecca Pytell
Keeps you hydrated any time of day!
Katherine
Will have to try this out! I love pink lemonade and my kids are all about pink! Thanks for sharing!
Rebecca Pytell
Makes it so much more fun!
Maiko
I love that this recipe is all natural! Beet juice is a unique ingredient, must try this before it gets cold!
★★★★★
Rebecca Pytell
Just a few drops gives you the perfect pink coloring!
Phuong
What a great idea to use beet juice! Looks so refreshing, can't wait to try it.
Rebecca Pytell
Perfect plant-based goodness!