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Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Drink Recipes » Refreshing Lemonade Recipe (With Probiotics)

Refreshing Lemonade Recipe (With Probiotics)

June 26, 2018 (Updated: October 7, 2019)   —  by Katie Wells

Probiotic lemonade recipe

Reading Time: 3 minThis post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Real Lemonade... With Probiotics!
  • What Makes Probiotic Lemonade?
  • Probiotic Lemonade Recipe
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Lemonade is the classic drink for a hot summer day, but the usual recipes are super sweetened and involve a lot of sugar! I love the flavor and effervescence of other fermented drinks, so why not probiotic lemonade? I looked it up to find it was a thing and decided to give it a try.

The result was wonderful, and thanks to the benefits of fermentation this lemonade contains little sugar and lots of healthy bacteria that is good for gut health.

Real Lemonade… With Probiotics!

I’m a big fan of water kefir and kombucha for their probiotics and beneficial enzymes. They do require specific cultures though, so if you don’t happen to have a SCOBY sitting around your kitchen, you are pretty much out of luck.

Luckily, there is an easy lacto-fermented drink that you can make with basic ingredients from your grocery store, and your kids will probably even drink it!

This probiotic lemonade is very easy to make and is ready in just a couple of days. As I mentioned, you don’t need any special ingredients like kefir grains or kombucha starter to make it (just the liquid from some strained yogurt).

As for the flavor, we all loved it (even the kids) and now keep a batch going through most of the summer months.

Probiotic Lemonade Recipe

What Makes Probiotic Lemonade?

Full disclosure: this recipe does call for whey, which is basically the liquid drained off of yogurt. It’s packed with probiotics and easy to make if you start the night before. The recipe is here.

I get lots of requests for a dairy-free option for this recipe (or a way to make it if you just don’t have whey around). I haven’t tried to make a dairy-free version myself yet (will update when I do), but there are dairy-free yogurts or yogurt starters that may work. I’ve also heard of using kombucha or a ginger bug as a starter. Let me know if you try it!

Probiotic lemonade recipe
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4.78 from 35 votes

Probiotic Lemonade Recipe

A fizzy and tangy fermented lemonade that has a boost of probiotics.
Course Drinks
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 2 days 5 minutes
Servings 12 cups
Calories 13kcal
Author Katie Wells
The ingredient links below are affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup sugar or sucanat
  • 2½ to 3 quarts filtered water
  • 10 lemons or limes juiced to make about 1 cup
  • 1 cup whey here's how to make it

Instructions

  • In a gallon size glass jar, stir together sugar and just enough hot water to dissolve the sugar.
  • Add the lemon juice and fill the jar about ¾ full with filtered water.
  • Make sure the liquid is at room temperature and then add the whey.
  • Cover tightly and let sit on the counter for 2-3 days. 
  • After 2-3 days, keep the lemonade in the refrigerator and drink 4-6 ounces per day. The flavor will continue to develop.
  • Since the sugar ferments out, it is rather tart. Add a couple drops of stevia if it is too tart for you!

Notes

You can add about 1 teaspoon of molasses to the sugar before dissolving to add extra minerals and a bit more sweetness. 
Blending the final product with ice cubes will make a delicious slushie (or margarita if you're using limes!).

Nutrition

Calories: 13kcal | Carbohydrates: 2.8g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 10mg | Sugar: 2.8g

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

Feeling adventurous? Will you try this healthy drink? Tell me below!

This simple probiotic lemonade uses natural fermentation to reduce the sugar content and add probiotics to this delicious drink.

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Category: Drink Recipes, Recipes

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder and CEO of Wellness Mama and Co-Founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (201 Comments)

  1. Nick

    August 29, 2011 at 8:57 PM

    I made this a few days ago and am drinking my yummy lemonade as we speak.  It really is delicious and my kids love it. 

    Reply
  2. Cecilia Powers

    August 23, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    typically you do not want to use honey with fermented drinks, as the sugar is the food for the fermentation. 
    also, melissa, the whey is different from whey protein powder. WM linked to an easy way to do whey, with just some plain organic yogurt and the liquid drippings from it becomes the whey. check out her link in the recipe. 

    Reply
    • Melissa

      November 14, 2013 at 11:58 PM

      Actually honey is perfectly fine for fermenting. The first fermented lemonade recipe I ever made called for honey, and was delicious. Honey is, after all, just another kind of sugar. The little bugs who do the fermenting will eat it just the same.

      Reply
  3. Melissa

    August 22, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    When the recipe calls for whey, are you referring to whey protein powder? I’m not very educated about it.

    Reply
    • Wellness Mama

      August 23, 2011 at 7:58 PM

      If you click on “whey” in the recipe above, it will link to a post that explains how to extract it from plain yogurt 🙂

      Reply
  4. Otis Hill

    August 17, 2011 at 1:54 AM

    can you use honey instead of sugar?

    Reply
    • Cecilia Krueger

      August 21, 2011 at 4:07 PM

      I am sure you can. I usually use 1/2 honey because it is sweeter.

      Reply
  5. Amy Gault

    August 16, 2011 at 6:09 PM

    This is super good when you add some fresh grated ginger to it, too! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Megan Ciampa

    August 16, 2011 at 2:08 PM

    I’ve always wanted to make lemonade but I do not have a juicer. Is there an easy way to juice at home, or should I aks my friend who has had a juicer for 5 years and never uses it if I can use hers??

    Reply
    • Wellness Mama

      August 16, 2011 at 5:00 PM

      juicers do make it faster, but you can juice by hand too. Just make sure the lemons are at room temp and roll them firmly on the counter with your hand before cutting open. I also use a spoon to help
      squeeze out all the juice.

      Reply
    • Wellness Mama

      August 16, 2011 at 5:00 PM

      juicers do make it faster, but you can juice by hand too. Just make sure the lemons are at room temp and roll them firmly on the counter with your hand before cutting open. I also use a spoon to help
      squeeze out all the juice.

      Reply
    • Kay

      January 16, 2016 at 5:43 PM

      5 stars
      I know this question is old already, but to help others, if you don’t want to buy a big juicer, they have small, plastic, by hand citrus squeezers that work really well. That is what I use. 10 lemons equal about 1 cup of juice. I have also frozen the juice and the whey for when I go on vacation and want to have probiotic lemonade. Takes only 2 days to ferment…and very tasty!

      Reply
  7. Cecilia Powers

    August 16, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    i am so excited to try this! and thanks for the link on whey!

    Reply
  8. Bree

    August 16, 2011 at 2:15 PM

    Can you give a rough estimate for how much the juice of 10 lemons comes to?  I juice lemons when they’re ripe here in the winter and keep it in the freezer, so I have juice, I just don’t know how much to use!

    Reply
    • Wellness Mama

      August 16, 2011 at 4:59 PM

      Just do it to taste, but a cup to a cup and a half should be about right

      Reply
    • Wellness Mama

      August 16, 2011 at 4:59 PM

      Just do it to taste, but a cup to a cup and a half should be about right

      Reply
  9. Leslie

    August 16, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    I’m going to try this today!!

    Reply
    • Leslie

      August 16, 2011 at 1:16 PM

      Done!  On the counter fermenting now…

      Reply
  10. Rachael

    August 16, 2011 at 4:12 AM

    This sounds delicious, and my kids love lemonade – I’m guessing with a little stevia they’ll drink it up. 

    Do you (or anyone?) have any thoughts on coconut palm sugar – is it just like any other?  Is the taste different?

    Reply
    • Kate

      August 16, 2011 at 1:00 PM

      I love coconut palm sugar.  It has fewer carbs and more fiber than white or brown sugar.  In my opinion, the taste is pleasantly sweet, with notes of butterscotch and caramel.  I get mine from Whole Foods – the brand is “Thai Taste”, and you can find a little white tub of it in the asian food aisle.  This product is called “jaggery”, and the texture is a paste. 

      I’ve heard that you should avoid the hard nuggets of “palm sugar” that you find in some asian markets, because it is usually not from the coconut palm and is often adulterated with regular white cane sugar.   

      Reply
      • Annie

        December 7, 2012 at 11:33 PM

        I am lactose intolerant. Was wondering if the whey would bother me. If so; do you have any suggestions of any thing else that I can add to help the fermentation process along?

        Reply
        • cheri

          March 25, 2014 at 6:03 AM

          Use a ginger bug instead of whey. It works well too.

          Reply
          • Carol

            June 8, 2014 at 11:19 AM

            What is a ‘bug’? do you mean ‘scoby’?

          • jim timberlake

            March 17, 2016 at 2:34 PM

            do you use the usual proportion of ginger bug? 1/4C of bug to 1 Qt H2O?

        • Steve

          May 1, 2014 at 5:06 PM

          Komucha or Water Kefir will work great too. These are cultured bugs so if you don’t make your own or know where to get it (live Komucha can be found in bottles at health food stores and some grocers, use the whole bottle as the bug is likely weak.) If you do any fermenting at all you can use the starter or brine from those (or from Bubbies pickles at the grocers.) Use it in your first batch to get started, after that transfer a couple of cups of your fermented lemonade to the next batch to keep it going all summer and adjust your portions based on how fast you drink it.

          Reply
          • Lori

            June 30, 2014 at 12:28 AM

            If I use kombucha, (I have a continuous brew going, also a scoby hotel) how much should I use, and which should I use would like to make some of this ASAP, and it will be awhile before I can make the whey, I want to try both.

          • Aweeah

            July 13, 2016 at 11:56 PM

            Hi Lori, Did you ever find out about how to use the kombucha scoby for this drink instead of whey? I also wonder if you can use the whey from store bought probiotic yogurts. Haven’t had time to make my own for a while and wondered if that would work too?

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