Refreshing Strawberry Limeade

Beat the summer heat with a refreshing glass of chilled homemade Strawberry Limeade. Make this thirst-quenching summer treat at home with sweet ripe strawberries, zesty limes, and hydrating coconut water. Add as much or as little sugar as you like!

Cocktails are fun but I also love to make and share tasty alcohol-free drinks that the whole family can enjoy. Classic Orangeade is the perfect option for breakfasts, brunches, and sunny afternoons at the beach while Homemade Horchata is the ultimate choice for family Taco nights. Feel free to search the recipe index for more refreshing homemade drink recipes!

Refreshing Strawberry Limeade

When it comes to summertime sipping, there’s nothing more refreshing than a glass of cold lemonade. Or is there? I dare you to imagine sweet berry flavours of strawberry mixed with the tangy twang of limes without drooling. Can you do it? I didn’t think so.

Now, imagine that same mix of fruity flavours mixed with coconut water. It mellows out the tang and sweetness just a touch, while providing the smallest hint of coconut flavour. While coconut water is more subtle in flavour, it is known to be full of minerals that keep your body hydrated.

So, this refreshing Strawberry Limeade drink quenches your thirst and keeps you hydrated, even on the hottest of summer days. It takes minutes mix up a batch in the evening and you’ll be so happy you did! Chill it overnight and give it a quick stir just before serving. 

By the way, this strawberry limeade recipe is perfect for picnics, backyard barbecues, family brunches, baby showers or birthday parties, or as a post-gardening thirst quencher.

Ingredients for Strawberry Limeade

Simply put, this strawberry limeade recipe is full of all the good things. There are no preservatives or artificial sweeteners like you might find in a store-bought strawberry syrup. Speaking of sweeteners, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to your liking or use your favourite sugar alternative in this recipe.

• Strawberries
• Limes
• Sugar
• Coconut Water
• Water

Yes, that’s it! Five ingredients including fresh ripe strawberries and juicy limes. As you would expect, there is a fair amount of granulated sugar in this recipe so use the measurements as suggested amounts only. Start with one cup of sugar and add more as desired.

Feel free to use frozen strawberries or concentrated frozen limeade in a pinch. Adjusting the quantities of water and sugar as needed.

The concentrated flavours of strawberry purée and fresh lime juice are quite intense on their own. However, the addition of both coconut water and regular ice water makes this strawberry limeade shine.

What is Coconut Water?

Coconut water is the naturally occurring clear liquid inside a coconut while coconut milk is coconut water and grated coconut blended then strained. The processed coconut milk is high in fat, with the fattiest portion rising to the top as coconut cream.

Coconut water is a hydrating juice which is naturally low in calories and added sugar. It contains charged potassium, sodium, and manganese, essential minerals which enable the human body to function in several ways.

Without going into too much technical detail, “Electrolytes are crucial for body processes like conducting nerve impulses, contracting muscles, hydrating, and regulating pH levels. You need adequate electrolytes from your diet to keep your body healthy” (source: healthlink).

How to Make Strawberry Limeade

You may want to mix up this strawberry limeade recipe ahead of time to give it adequate time to chill. Alternatively, try freezing whole strawberries and use them instead of ice cubes to keep the limeade from getting watery and over diluted.

Preparing the fruit

To prepare the strawberries, wash and hull them before slicing them into halves or quarters. Place the sliced strawberries in the jug of a blender or food processor. Process until they become a purée, adding a portion of the water if necessary.

If you wish to strain out the strawberry pulp and seeds, run the purée through a fine mesh sieve or double layers of cheesecloth before using.

Wash, zest, and juice the limes then add the fresh lime juice to the pitcher. Citrus zest freezes well so I always keep all that amazing lime zest for another use.

Pro tip: It takes a while to juice 16-20 limes unless you have a citrus juicer. Feel free to use old fashioned elbow grease and do it by hand or buy an electric appliance to save time and energy. I won a Breville Citrus Pro (affiliate link) years ago and I use it quite often for making fresh orange juice and juicing lemons or limes for large batch cocktails or marinades.

Mixing It Up

You can mix this strawberry limeade directly in the serving pitcher (affiliate link) or use another pitcher or bowl, then transfer it for serving.

Begin by stirring 1 cup of sugar into the fresh lime juice until it dissolves completely* then add the strawberry purée. Next, add 4 cups coconut water and as much of the remaining portion of ice cold water as you like (minus the amount you might have used for the strawberry purée). Stir well.

Taste and adjust for sweetness by adding more sugar as desired. Chill.

To serve, place sliced, frozen whole strawberries, or lime wheels in the pitcher of strawberry limeade. Garnish each glass with additional sliced strawberries and lime wheels. Serve cold.

*Alternatively boil 4 cups water with 2 cups sugar to make a light simple syrup. Let it cool. Mix the lime juice, strawberry purée, and coconut water together then add as much of the light simple syrup as needed.

Alternative Flavour Variations

Although this copycat Sonic strawberry limeade recipe is amazing as is, you can always substitute with your favourite flavours to make this recipe your own. The most obvious flavour variation is to use fresh lemon juice instead of lime juice, making it strawberry lemonade.

Or, instead of fresh strawberries, try adding puréed raspberries, blueberries, or even mangoes.

And yes, this strawberry limeade is DELICIOUS as a cocktail with a bit of vodka. I suggest adding 1-2 oz vodka, depending on the size of the glass.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I’ve been the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen for the past eleven years. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

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