The flavors of herbs make this Mint and Basil Lemonade a unique and refreshing summer drink. It is perfect for summer afternoons sitting out and enjoying the season.
Love a good summertime drink? You also need these Homemade Slurpees and this Iced Chocolate.
One of my favorite ways to create recipes is making something inspired by something I had at a restaurant or dinner. This Mint and Basil Lemonade is one of those inspired recipes.
I first tried a version of this many years ago at a lunch, and couldn’t get it out of my head. So I had to go home and make my own version. And I’ve been making it over and over again ever since!
So do yourself a favor. Make this lemonade today, and enjoy some on your porch, or your balcony, or your deck. It’s the perfect way to celebrate summer!
Ingredients
- Sugar: You just need granulated sugar for this recipe. I have not tried cutting back on the sugar or using a sugar substitute, so I’m not sure how that would turn out.
- Water: You will need water for both the simple syrup and for the lemonade.
- Basil: I use a sweet basil, which is the basil that is usually sold at grocery stores.
- Mint: For the mint, I also use the mint that is widely available at grocery stores, which is typically spearmint. But feel free to test out other mint varieties – especially if you have your own herb garden at home!
- Lemon Juice: You want to use freshly squeezed lemon juice for this recipe.
How to Make Mint and Basil Lemonade
PHOTO 1: Start by making your herb simple syrup. You combine the sugar, 1 cup of the water and the basil and mint in a saucepan. Heat it until it just starts to simmer, then let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, turn off the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to combine.
PHOTO 2: Pour the mixture through a sieve, then discard the basil and mint. You won’t need these anymore.
PHOTO 3 and 4: Pour the remaining water, lemon juice, and the simple syrup into a large container or pitcher. Stir it together, and chill until you are ready to serve it.
Tips and Tricks
This is pretty sweet and strong as written. I like to add lots of ice, which waters it down a bit. But feel free to taste and add more water, to taste.
You can also substitute part of the water for club soda to make it a little fizzy.
If you want to tone down the basil, you can use 1/4 cup basil and 3/4 cup mint.
This lemonade is best served chilled, so it’s easy to make ahead and store in the refrigerator.
More Summertime Recipes
Pineapple Dole Whip
Summer Chopped Salad with Berries
Lemon Ice Cream
Sweet Lemon Water
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Mint and Basil Lemonade
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups water divided
- 1/2 cup loosely packed basil
- 1/2 cup loosely packed mint
- 2 cups fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar, one cup of the water, the basil, and the mint. Let the mixture come to a simmer and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and let the mixture steep for 30 minutes.
- Strain the mixture through a sieve and discard the herbs.
- In a large pitcher, combine the remaining 2 cups of water, 2 cups of lemon juice, and the prepared simple syrup. Stir to combine and chill until ready to serve.
Miriam Ottesen says
I lived this recipe!!!!! I found it today and made this PM. It came out beyond delicious. Didn’t have enough lemons and limes to create 2 cups of fresh lemon juice, I just got one and a half cup. Therefore I use one and a half cup of sugar. I added the water in the pot plus the entire package of basil and mint that I bought in the supermarket. First, I washed it thoroughly, remove the leaves out of the stems and then put in the pot with the sugar and the water. I let it boil, and the smell of basil and mint was so refreshing. I put the one cup and a half of lemon juice in my ninja blender, added what I cooked in the pot and added 1 1/2 cup of water. Mix it all, put it through a sieve to remove the remainder of the herbs and put it in a picture. Had forgotten to add the salt and I added it while in the picture mix it well remove some of the smallest parts of the herbs left in the seed into the picture added ice and served. It was beyond delicious, the best lemonade with basil and mint that I have ever tasted.
preety mohata says
amazing recipe.. thnx for posting, my husband loved it!
vickie says
Hello. I just heard about this recipe today on the tube. I have a question about the recipe on the site. WHY is it written twice on the lemonade ingredients? Should the ingredients be repeated twice or is this a misprint?Just want to make sure before my basil and mint is ruined. smile .
Deborah says
@vickie, I’m not sure why they were doubled on the recipe! I have fixed it – you don’t need to double it. 🙂
Diana says
If I used Agave nectar in place of sugar would I just skip the stovetop and add it in?
Deborah says
@Diana, I haven’t tried making it with agave, so I’m not sure. I actually haven’t used agave very much at all, so I’m not very familiar with it or how to use it.
kaba blanket says
I made this recipe for a block party last week, and it was a huge hit!
I spiked it with ginger vodka for adult’s version of it, and people just kept coming back for more. Thanks for such a nice recipe!!
Rebecca @ How the Cookies Crumble says
This looks so yummy! I bet it would go great with vodka. 😉
Alissa @ Still Unwritten says
WOW. This looks DELICIOUS! I am definitely going to make this. Thanks for sharing!
Susan says
I have some tiny basil seedlings on my kitchen windowsill just waited to be planted on into the greenhouse and eventually the garden. A very short season here in the UK for basil, so I hope I can harvest enough to make this delicious version of lemonade. Mint isn’t a problem it grows in abundance. What type of mint did you use? I have apple mint, ginger mint and spearmint growing.
Deborah says
Susan – I’m actually not sure what kind of mint it was. I just bought it at the supermarket, and it was just labeled as “mint”. I’m sure any kind would be delicious, though!
Jacqueline says
I just love this recipe. I will definitely be trying it, once my basil has grown 🙂
The Food Hunter says
This sounds very refreshing; perfect for the long hot summer that’s upon us.