Skip the Sonic drive thru and make Cherry Limeade at home. This drink recipe is so refreshing and delicious, plus easy, so you can whip up a batch any time you want without leaving the house! Great for summer parties, backyard BBQs, Sunday brunch, and any occasion.
We absolutely love simple, refreshing drinks like this one. For some other drink recipes, don’t miss our Shirley Temple Drink and Southern-Style Sweet Tea recipe.
Cherry Limeade Recipe (Sonic Copycat)
If you’re not familiar with Sonic, they’re an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain, specializing in all things slushy, ice cream, and sodas. They have several flavored limeades, but cherry limeade is the most popular, and for good reason – they are so delicious!
This Sonic copycat cherry limeade is sweet, tart, refreshing, and the perfect drink on a hot day or in winter when you want to pretend you’re someplace tropical. HA!
What is in Cherry Limeade?
This drink is a combination of tart frozen limeade concentrate, fizzy lemon-lime soda, and sweet maraschino cherry juice. And of course you can’t forget the crushed ice!
How to Make Cherry Limeade
Nothing complicated to make this drink. Simply combine all the ingredients together in a pitcher and then pour into glasses with crushed ice. Garnished with Maraschino cherries and lime slices, it’s super pretty and festive.
It’s so great for parties, backyard BBQs, Sunday brunch, and any occasion. There’s no alcohol, so everyone can enjoy it – adults and kids, alike.
Recipe Notes
- Cherry syrup: I think Sonic uses cherry syrup in their drinks, but instead of buying a whole bottle of that, we just use the syrup from the maraschino cherry jar, which is basically the same thing and tastes like the real deal.
- Make Sonic Ice: We use crushed ice because it’s just quicker, but if you really want your drink to be authentic, you need Sonic ice (also known as pebble ice and pellet ice.) It’s made by scraping ice into flakes and then packing those flakes into a mold. Sonic ice is about 50% air, so it’s easier to chew on.
- Want it boozy? Make Cherry Limeade Vodka for an adult drink. Typically you will want a 1:3 ratio of vodka to the lemon-lime soda.
Serving and Storing
This Cherry limeade is best when served right away, but can be made up to a day ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Be aware that the carbonation in the soda will flatten over time and you’ll lose that awesome fizz.
Other Soda Drinks We Love
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Cherry Limeade
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed ice
- 12 ounce can frozen limeade concentrate (do not add water)
- 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries (juice reserved)
- 2 liter bottle lemon-lime soda (like 7Up or Sprite)
- 1-2 small limes , sliced, for serving
- 12 Maraschino cherries (from the jar), for serving
Instructions
- Divide crushed ice between 6 tall glass.
- In a large pitcher, gently mix together the frozen limeade concentrate, cherry juice from the cherry jar, and lemon-lime soda.
- Pour mixture evenly over the ice in each glass.
- Top off with a fresh lime slice and 1-2 maraschino cherries.
- Enjoy with a straw!
Nutrition
Other Notes
I just made this!! My Wife and I both LOVED this recipe. thanks
Made this today even though it’s 50 degrees outside. Didn’t care! It was delish!