Homemade Peach Lemonade

Homemade Peach Lemonade is the perfect combination of sweet and sour. This ice-cold peach lemonade is so refreshing and can be made into a perfect summer cocktail with a splash of bourbon or vodka.

At our house, we love all things peach - ice cream, cobbler, pie, jelly. Since summertime is peach season here in the south, we get peaches from South Carolina as soon as we can and immediately start making our favorite recipes.

This recipe came to be last summer when we bought a bunch of peaches that were not quite ripe enough to eat. We left them for about two days and then they pulled on avocado on us and went from not ripe at all to too ripe to eat.

We really didn't want to eat them - they were so soft you could squeeze right through them - but I knew I could use them for something and this peach lemonade recipe was such a great idea. It is so good just on its own - it is so refreshing on a hot summer day. It is also really great to serve at a party mixed with something boozy as a peach lemonade cocktail - it tastes like a melted popsicle.

🥘 Ingredient Notes

• Peaches - If you can get really good local peaches when they are in season, I highly recommend fresh peaches. If you cannot, frozen peaches (I have used a 16 oz bag) will work as well.
• Sugar - I like to use regular old white granulated sugar. You could also make this lemonade with a keto sweetener like Swerve and the only sugar would then be coming from the peaches. I have also made this paleo by using local honey, but the taste is very different (though entirely delicious.)
• Lemons - You will need the zest and the juice. If you cannot find fresh lemons, you can use bottled lemon juice, you just might need a little more to get the same amount of lemon flavor that you get from adding lemon zest.
• Water - Tap water works fine.
• Ice
• Optional Additions: fresh mint, bourbon, and vodka

🍽 Equipment Needed

• a medium/large pot or an Instant Pot
• a juicer (optional)
• a metal strainer or metal colander - I like to use this colander because it has a lot more little holes in it than the typical ones.
• a large bowl
• a potato masher or fork
• a cutting board
• a knife
• a zester

🥣 How to Make It

How do you make peach lemonade from scratch? It requires a few steps, but it is so worth it - and it is so much easier than you would think. (I have also updated this recipe to include both stovetop and Instant Pot instructions.)

First, roughly chop 3 - 4 peaches into cubes. If you have washed your peaches well, you can leave the skin on - they are going to be mashed and strained anyway. (You can also use frozen sliced peaches if you can't get fresh peaches and cut the peach slices in half.) The size isn't too important for this - chunks around 1 inch will work.

Next, zest one of your lemons completely. Every last bit of zest.

Then, juice your lemons either by hand (squeeze out as much juice as you can!) or by using a juicer. Fill up a measuring cup up to ¾ cup of juice. 

Split your lemon juice into two parts. Don't stress too much about this - it doesn’t have to be exact. 

Then, split your water into two parts with 2 ½ cups in each part.

🍳 Stovetop Directions

Add one portion of water (2 ½ cups), half of your lemon juice, all of your lemon zest, and ¾ of a cup of sugar, to a medium-sized pot. (Picture 1)

Bring this mixture to a boil and let it simmer for about 5 - 7 minutes. You want your peaches to be squishy and the peach skin should start peeling off. (If you are using frozen peaches, they might not have skin - you just want to let the peaches get really squishy.) (Picture 2)

When you can safely handle this mixture, strain it over a bowl topped with a colander or a metal strainer and mash up your peaches with a potato masher or a fork to get all the yummy goodness out of them. When I say mash, I mean squish them to oblivion and make a huge mess. It is actually quite fun. You want to sort of press the peaches into the colander and scrape them through it. This will push the pulp through a little bit, but that’s okay for right now. This will leave you with a peach lemonade concentrate-like mixture. (Picture 3)

Once your peaches have been mashed of all liquid, discard them (or dehydrate the mash to make a peach fruit roll), then add your remaining lemon juice and water to your peach/lemon juice concentrate. (Picture 4)

Mix this together well, then strain a second time through a fine-mesh strainer if you want to remove the pulp or you can keep the pulp if you are a pulp fan!

Taste test your lemonade and adjust (see the tips section for suggestions on how to do this) based on your taste. (Picture 5) Serve over ice with a slice of lemon and some fresh mint. 

⏲️ Instant Pot Directions

Homemade peach lemonade with an Instant Pot requires a few steps as well but has less hands-on cooking time and I think it is easier to make.

Follow the same steps as above to prepare your ingredients. Then, add one portion of water (2 ½ cups), half of your lemon juice, ¾ of a cup of sugar, and the zest of one lemon, to your Instant Pot. (Pictures 1 - 3)

Close the lid, then set your Instant Pot to high pressure (Manual Mode) for 1 minute. (Picture 4)

It should take about 5 - 10 minutes for it to come to pressure and then it will begin counting down. (Picture 5)

When time is up, leave the Instant Pot alone and let it Naturally Release for 5 minutes. (Pictures 6 - 7) After 5 minutes, turn the Instant Pot off and Quick Release the remaining pressure. (Pictures 8 - 9)

Remove the lid of your Instant Pot and let the peaches cool a little bit. (You don't want to burn yourself!) (Picture 10)

Now, mash up your peaches with a potato masher or a fork. (Picture 11)

Next, pour the contents of your Instant Pot into a colander or a metal strainer over a bowl. Using your potato masher or a fork, press the peaches into the colander and scrape them through it. This will push the pulp through a little bit, but that’s okay for right now. This will create a peach lemonade concentrate-like mixture. (Picture 11 - 12)

Once your peaches have been mashed of all their liquid, discard the peaches (or dehydrate them to make a peach fruit roll!) and add your remaining lemon juice and remaining 2 ½ cups of water to your peach/lemon juice concentrate. (Picture 13)

Mix this together well, then strain a second time through a fine-mesh strainer if you want to remove the pulp (you can keep the pulp if you are a pulp fan!) (Picture 14)

Taste test your lemonade and adjust (see the tips for suggestions on how to do this) based on your taste. (Picture 15) Serve over ice with a slice of lemon and some fresh mint. 

Serve your peach lemonade over ice. Garnish with lemon slices, peach slices, or even fresh mint! Do NOT leave floating lemon slices in your lemonade long term - the peel will cause your lemonade to get a bitter taste.

Check out this post for more ideas for summer barbecue planning.

🍹 How Do You Make a Peach Lemonade Cocktail?

This is seriously the perfect summertime alcoholic drink. Mix your peach lemonade with vodka or my favorite - bourbon - yum! Served at a party, I left the option up to guests to mix in their own amount of alcohol - 1 shot per 12 ounces of lemonade was a good start - you can add more as needed. Be careful if you make this drink - you can't really taste the alcohol so you can easily over-do it 😉

✏️ Helpful Tips

• Taste test your lemonade and adjust based on your taste.
• If it is too tart, add a little more sugar and stir until dissolved.
• If it is too sweet, add more water. If your lemonade is too sweet, you should start by adding a little more water, then increase lemon juice if necessary. (If you immediately add more lemon, the flavor can get a little muddled or equally too sweet and sour. )
• Make this into your new favorite summer cocktail. 
• If garnishing with lemon slices, do not leave them in your lemonade for a long time because the rind will create a bitter taste.

📖 Options

• Make it Boozy: To make this peach lemonade into a cocktail, serve it over ice with 1 or 1 ½ shots of bourbon or vodka per 12 ounces of lemonade. Garnish with a slice of lemon. You can also muddle some fresh mint leaves in the bottom of the glass before pouring in the alcohol or lemonade into the glass or garnish with fresh mint leaves to give it a little freshness. 
• Make it Keto: You could also make this peach lemonade mostly keto by using a sweetener like Swerve. Follow the recipe exactly the same way, but swap out the sugar for Swerve, 1:1. The only "sweetener" would then would be coming from the peaches. 
• Make it Bubbly: Leaving the usual obsession that my husband and I have with sparkling water out of the equation, it turns out that mixing sparkling water with peach lemonade is amazing. We have mixed peach lemonade with plain sparkling water - it watered it down but it was ever so slightly sweet - and REALLY refreshing. BUT my personal favorite was really making it bubbly by mixing it with Bubly. Mix half a glass of peach lemonade with Lemon Bubly, Peach Bubly, or Strawberry Bubly and serve over ice. It is SO GOOD. Next time, I want to try it with Mango Bubly. (I seriously think it would be delicious mixed with any flavor.)
• Make it Paleo: I have also made this paleo by using honey, but the taste is very different - though also delicious.
• Make it Green: You can make your peach lemonade into a green tea peach lemonade - a Copycat Starbucks Green Tea Peach Lemonade. Make your favorite green tea, then chill. Mix half green tea and half peach lemonade, then serve over ice.

🙋‍♀️ Frequently Asked Questions

🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating

Store your peach lemonade in mason jars in the refrigerator. It will be good for about a week. I would suggest drinking it fresh and keeping it cold. It is so good!

🍍 Other Great Summer Recipes

• Instant Pot Southern Green Beans
• Southern-Style Collard Greens
• Skillet Cornbread
• Shrimp, Corn, and Okra Succotash
• Oven Roasted Asparagus
• 5 Minute Salsa - Use your summer produce!