It only takes three ingredients to make Copycat Chick-fil-A Lemonade at home! Fresh squeezed lemons, sugar, and water combine to create the perfect tart drink that is great for summer or any day of the year!
Chick fil A Lemonade
Chick-fil-A makes lemonade daily in their restaurants with three simple ingredients: real lemon juice—not from concentrate, cane sugar, and water. Diet Lemonade uses Splenda® No Calorie Sweetener.
We wanted to make a copycat Chick-fil-A Lemonade that we could all make at home. Until this past year, we only visited Chick-fil-A when we were traveling. I started making their menu items at home since we had to fly to have anything from one of the restaurants.
Spokane just got a Chick-fil-A this past year, and it is CRAZY BUSY! It is not uncommon for the line to take 30 to 60 minutes to get through. We started making Chick-fil-A Sauce at home along with Polynesian Sauce.
I haven't mastered making their Chick-fil-A Nuggets or chicken sandwich at home, but I am trying.
Chick-fil-A uses Sunkist Lemons in their house-made lemonade. You can use Sunkist Lemons or any you can find at your local grocery store to make this copycat recipe. The restaurants also use filtered water to get the best flavor and consistent flavor at all of their restaurants.
In 2015, Chick-fil-A was serving 121 million cups of this famous lemonade in a year. Can you imagine what this number is now? One of their blog posts says they used 250 million lemons to make fresh lemonade in stores in 2015.
You do not need to squeeze this many fresh lemons at home, but you will want a lemon juicer to help get all the juice you can out of each lemon.
Do you love Chick-fil-a?
Ingredients
Here is a quick overview of the simple ingredients for making an epic Copycat Chick-fil-A Lemonade! The printable recipe card at the bottom of the post includes specific measurements and step-by-step instructions.
- Lemons
- Pure Cane Sugar
- Filtered Water
Lemons - Chick fil A uses Sunkist brand lemons. If you can find these that is great but you can also use whatever lemons your local grocery store has.
Pure Cane Sugar - This is going to give you the closest match in sweetness to the restaurant's flavor. To make diet lemonade you can use Splenda and add it to taste.
Filtered Water - Using filtered water will cut out any extra flavors your local water may have.
Optional add ons - you can add in strawberries to make strawberry lemonade. Just muddle a few strawberries in the bottom of your glass and stir in the Chick-fil-A lemonade. Muddled raspberry would be really good too and make a pink lemonade.
Equipment Needed
- Lemon juicer - make sure to use a lemon juicer that is sturdy enough to squeeze multiple lemons in a row. I had a plastic one and it snapped while juicing lemons. I highly suggest a strong metal juicer.
- Lemonade Pitcher - A covered lemonade pitcher is great for storing this refreshing drink in the refrigerator to chill. I like to use a large pitcher so I can make a big batch of lemonade for everyone to enjoy.
Preparation and Storage
Make Ahead: This lemonade tastes best served ice-cold. Let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour after mixing.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and enjoy them within five days. If you like ice in your lemonade, add it after you pour a glass so that the ice doesn’t dilute the rest of the batch.
Freezing/How to Freeze: You can freeze this lemonade in covered ice cube trays for up to six months. Blend the lemonade ice cubes with water to make Frozen Lemonade Slushies.
Recipe Variations
Substitutions:
Chick-fil-A uses Sunkist brand lemons. If you can find these, that is great, but you can also use whatever lemons your local grocery store has.
You can make this recipe with store-bought lemon juice. You may need to lower the amount used based on how strong the lemon juice is. You can also add extra cold water to get the right balance.
Vegetarian + Vegan Option: This recipe is naturally plant-based, making it safe for vegetarian and vegan diets.
Gluten-Free: This recipe is also naturally gluten-free.
Alcohol-Free Option: This recipe does not contain alcohol, but you can use this copycat Chick-fil-A Lemonade in any of our cocktail recipes that call for lemonade, like our Lavender Lemonade Cocktail and Electric Lemonade!
Smaller Serving Size + Larger Group/More Servings: The written recipe makes four servings and is easy to scale up or down to your desired yield.
Sugar-Free: The written recipe contains 53 grams of sugar per serving.
Pure cane sugar will give you the closest match in sweetness to the restaurant's flavor. To make diet lemonade, you can add Splenda to taste.
The kitten assistant was back on the job! He kept an eye out on what I was doing and definitely made his presence known.
Tips for the Best Copycat Chick-fil-A Lemonade
- I squeezed six lemons to get enough lemon juice for this recipe. You will want a few extras if the lemons are not super juicy.
- Sunkist lemons are known as Eureka or Lisbon lemons. Eureka and Lisbon lemons are the most common lemon varieties.
- Using filtered water will eliminate any extra flavors your local tap water may have.
- You can add in strawberries to make strawberry lemonade. Just muddle a few strawberries in the bottom of your glass and stir in the Chick-fil-A homemade lemonade.
What to Serve with Copycat Chick-fil-A Lemonade
Serve this tangy and refreshing Chick-fil-A Classic Lemonade with other favorites from the chain for a Chick-fil-A experience at home!
Sides: Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce, Copycat Chick-fil-A Polynesian Sauce paired with air fryer French Fries
Drinks: Copycat Chick-fil-A Frosted Coffee, Copycat Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
When to Serve
- Spring
- Hot Summer day
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacktime
- Anytime you need a lemony refreshment!
- Cookout / Barbecue
- Pool Parties
Great Recipe Collections
3-Ingredient Recipes - All of these recipes take three ingredients to make something delicious.
Dessert Recipes with 5 Ingredients (Or Less!) - These desserts are amazing and don't take a ton of ingredients or work.
Comfort Food Recipes - The perfect comfort foods for when you want to cuddle up with a great meal.
Potluck Recipes for Your Next Gathering - The best recipes for your next event! Easy to make and no stress.
Easy Copycat Recipes - These are our favorite copycat recipes!
Do you love recipes? Check out our copycat recipes, dessert recipes, and our CrockPot Recipes.
Follow Tammilee Tips on MSN, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for all our recipe posts.
Chick fil A Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups Lemon Juice freshly squeezed
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 6 Cups Water
Instructions
- Freshly squeeze lemons for the juice
- Mix lemon juice with sugar and stir to combine. Pour in water and stir to combine
- Chill in refrigerator at least an hour.
Leave a Reply