Brazilian Lemonade
Updated
Updated
Made with fresh lime juice, lime zest, and sweetened condensed milk, Brazilian Lemonade is a unique drink that’s rich, luscious, and super tasty! It’s a refreshing drink that’s great for the whole family or add some booze for adults, perfect for hot summer days!
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If you’ve never tasted Brazilian Lemonade, you are missing out! Unlike traditional lemonade made with lemon juice, Brazilian Lemonade uses fresh limes. It has a unique and refreshing taste from combining tangy limes with sweetened condensed milk, giving it a smooth, creamy texture and rich luscious flavor.
What Is Brazilian Lemonade?
Brazilian Lemonade, also known as Brazilian Limeade, is a refreshing drink made with fresh lime juice, lime zest, and sweetened condensed milk. Even though it’s called lemonade, you use limes not lemons. In Portuguese “limão” is the same word for lemon and lime, so it’s just translated to lemonade. That said, you will see some people refer to it as Brazilian limeade as well. It’s all the same drink!
Traditional Brazilian Lemonade is made by blending the entire lime including the skin, then it’s strained through a sieve. To me, it’s still a bit bitter though, so I make it with just the juice and a little zest.
Helpful Tips & Variations
- Fresh lime juice. You’ll need about 5 or 6 limes, depending on the size. Choose limes with smooth, thin skin – they tend to be the juiciest and have less chance of making the drink bitter.
- Sweetened condensed milk. This adds the rich, creamy texture and flavor. Don’t accidentally use evaporated milk – they’re not the same!
- Add some liquor. To turn this into a Brazilian lemonade cocktail, simple add your favorite vodka or white rum to the pitcher.
- Use a different sweetener. In place of the granulated sugar, you can use honey or agave. It’ll give the drink a different flavor but it’s still tasty.
- Make it vegan. You can swap the sweetened condensed milk for coconut milk. It’ll have a much different flavor but still a rich, creamy texture and still be super refreshing.
- A super easy shortcut. Want to make this Brazilian lemonade even easier? If you’re really short on time, you can cheat even further with this shortcut – buy Simply Limeade and mix in the condensed milk. It tastes very similar with fewer steps and dishes to wash!
Brazilian Lemonade
Ingredients
- 7 cups cold water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup fresh lime juice, (from about 5 or 6 limes)
- Lime zest from 1 of the limes
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- Ice
Instructions
- Make sure your limes are scrubbed/washed really well, and dried. Juice all the limes and zest 1 of them.
- Stir together the cold water and sugar; set aside.
- To a blender, add the lime juice, lime zest, sugar-water, and sweetened condensed milk. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the sweetness if the drink tastes at all bitter.
- Pour over ice in glasses with a lime slice or wedge. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
Why Is My Brazilian Lemonade Bitter?
If your lemonade is bitter, you likely got some of the pith (the white part of the peel) in with the lime zest. When you’re zesting the lime, be sure to only zest the outer green peel as the pith can be quite bitter. (This is why I don’t make mine the traditional way, which does include blending in the pith.)
Also, be sure to choose limes that have a smooth skin, as those tend to be less bitter.
If you notice your Brazilian limeade is more bitter than you’d prefer, add more sugar or condensed milk to balance it out.
Proper Storage
If needed, you can prepare this Brazilian limeade in advance. Just prepare as directed and keep it in a sealed pitcher in the fridge for a day or two. Give it a good stir with a wooden spoon before serving, then pour over ice as directed.
More Family-Friendly Summer Drinks:
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 TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Can this be frozen to be used later or make Ice Cubes out of it.
Can’t see why not. Try it!
This was delish!! I don’t think I’ve ever had a drink like this. I made a big batch for Memorial Day with friends and we all loved it.
I’ve never had anything like this and loved it! Will be great for summer parties. Thanks for sharing!