Brazilian Lemonade Recipe
Oi Gente!
Brazilian lemonade is so refreshing and perfect to cool off a hot summer day! So easy to make, ready in less than 5 minutes and uses just 2 ingredients.
What is Brazilian Lemonade?
Brazilian lemonade, as you probably already noticed from the green photos, is actually Brazilian limeade, made with fresh limes. We call it lemonade because the word for lime in Portuguese is limĆ£o, so in Portuguese we call it limonada, which translates to lemonade.
There are a few different versions of this Brazilian lime drink, all of which feature fresh limes, but involve a different way of juicing and sweetening them. You can make limonada with freshly squeezed lime juice, or you can use a whole lime, skin and everything and blend it all together to juice it. Then, you can sweeten it with sugar, condensed milk or sometimes both! Such a simple drink, so many fun and tasty variations.
How to make Brazilian Lemonade
Any Brazilian lemonade recipe is super easy to make. I like to make mine limonada SuiƧa style. Limonada suiƧa, aka swiss lemonade, is limeade that is prepared using the whole limes, skin and everything. Traditionally, limonada SuiƧa is sweetened with sugar, but when I was growing up, my mom would make us lemonade with whole limes, water and condensed milk. So this is my childhood’s and most favorite version!
To make it just blend the limes, the water and the condensed milk in a blender. Strain it into a pitcher full of ice and that’s it! You’re ready for the summer.
The big secret in this Brazilian Lemonade recipe
Some people truly hate the idea of blending a whole lime with the skin on, because of how bitter they become. The secret here is how long to blend the limes! The longer you blend, the bitterer they’ll become shortly after they’re blended. There’s no need to blend the limes any longer than 10 or 15 seconds. Better yet, just pulse a few times, and boom – you’ll have a strong lime drink, that doesn’t turn unbearably bitter!
Why the name swiss lemonade? No one actually knows. There appears to be three different versions of why the name, none of which has been confirmed to be real or official. According to a Brazilian gastronomy instructor in an interview with G1, Brazilian news site, āSome say a Swiss restaurant owner invented the drink. Some say the recipe was invented in a Swiss hospitality school. And lastly, there are sources that claim that the English actually came up with this recipe that blends the lime skinsā. Who cares, right? As long as it’s delicious, we can call it anything! haha
Here are some Brazilian snacks to enjoy with your Brazilian Lemonade
More lime drinks recipes
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Brazilian Lemonade
Ingredients
- 5 limes
- 1/2 cup sweet condensed milk*
- 4 cups water**
- ice
Instructions
- slice 4 of the limes in 8 parts each and add them to a blender
- add the condensed milk and the water to the blender along with the limes and blend for no more than 15 seconds (the more you blend, the bitterer the limeade will turn out)
- using a fine mesh strainer, strain the juice from the blender into a pitcher filled with ice
- slice the remaining lime in half, and sqeeze into the pitcher for an extra punch of lime flavor
- Stir and serve right away!
Made these this morning, and followed instructions exactly. They were out of this world. Outstanding! I canāt wait to make these for friends
Hey, Thank you!! That’s so awesome!! So happy you liked them!
Limonada with condensed mik has always been a favourite of mine! This is such a great recipe!
Thank you!! It’s a childhood fave of mine!
My mouth puckered as I was reading your post! This is a great use of limes.
ahahah indeed!! So great!
I’ve never tried Brazilian Lemonade, however, I love Condensed Milk and this looks so good!
Yes!!! Condensed milk is the life lol I think most Brazilians would die without it ahahah
I love a good refreshing beverage and this looks so good!!
Thank you!
Omg. I want this right now!!
Get it!!! lol
Oh my goodness this looks and sounds mouthwatering!
thank you!
This looks so refreshing and I love the combination of tart with the limes and sweet with the condensed milk!
Yes! It’s such a perfect combo!!
You got me so excited to try this recipe! I would have never thought about blending whole limes with the skin, but that is where all the essential oils are. And by the way, once you add condensed milk you get a lot of sweetness. I don’t have a blender, but I will try in my food processor, it should work equally well hopefully.
This is a very simple and easy recipe with great results. I will say, next time I’ll definitely add more sweetened condensed milk. I have bit of sweet tooth and would recommend making it sweeter for anyone else like me š
haha yes!! That’s the beauty of this recipe!! you can make it sweeter according to your taste and no matter how sweet you like it, it’s soooo refreshing!! So happy you liked the recipe!! <3
This is amazing!!!!! So easy to make and so refreshingly delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!! You’re so welcome!!!
This is really too good about the Brazilian lemonade thanks sharing this article
Made these this morning, and followed instructions exactly. They were out of this world. Outstanding! I canāt wait to make these for friends. Thanks for sharing this amazing article and recipe for lemonade.
Yay!! You’re welcome!!
I will never make lemonade/limeade any other way. My kids love it and ask for it all the time. Thank you for sharing.
Yaaassss!!!! Thank you!! So happy you and your family love it š
This was great! I didnāt have any condensed milk so i made some by boiling milk and adding sugar and a little baking soda until it condensed and it turned out great!
It is so good thank you
This looks so good! What a great spring recipe to share with friends!
Mousse de limĆ£o e isso aqui Ć© tudo o que eu preciso nessa vida. š§š·
NĆ©!!!!?? hahah Bom demaisssss
I made this today! I was gifted a bag of limes and this was the perfect way to use them up! It was perfect for a hot summer day! Thanks!
Have you tried adding cucumber to this?
I have not! Definitely report back if you try it š I’m intrigued!
OMG that sounds GOOD!
And mint maybe š
OMG! This is a WINNER! I have to come up with a way to mass produce this. It never lasts more than 15 minutes in my house.
Any thoughts on adding cherry to this?
hahaha so great to hear your family loves it š I never added cherries, but you now have me intrigued. Let me know what you think if you try it!! Beijos xx
I didnt have limes, but I had 4 bottles of lime juice. I blended the ice into it to make it creamy, the kids loved it. I’ll be adding a splash of coconut Malibu to mine, yummy!!!
This is so delicious! For date night I made this and added rumchata it’s so yummy. But even without rumchata it’s just the best and refreshing drink ever. Thank you for sharing!