Hibiscus Lemonade Recipe (Add Vodka for a Cocktail)

This gorgeous, bright red summer refresher is one of our favorites. Tangy, sweet, and I was making this before Starbucks was cool.

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Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love it
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 📖 Variations
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🥫 Storage
• 💭 Things to know
• 👩‍🍳 FAQs
• 📚 Related recipes
• 🍽️ Serve with...
• 📞 The last word
• Hibiscus Lemonade
• ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love it

• The perfect balance between tangy and sweet flavors
• Super refreshing on a hot summer day
• Makes a large pitcher, so there's enough for everyone to enjoy

This easy hibiscus lemonade recipe is so tasty, and the pretty red color is a fun way to get kids to drink something other than that fake, sugary punch stuff.

Plus, for an adults-only beverage, you can add a little vodka to make a cocktail everyone will crave on warm days!

🧾 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

📖 Variations

• You can swap the second addition of water with sparkling water or club soda. It'll add a sparkly flavor to your homemade lemonade.
• Similarly, instead of water, try using some green tea. It tastes like the Hibiscus refresher from Starbucks—and is much cheaper!
• Can't find hibiscus flowers? Pick up some hibiscus tea bags, instead. (I'd use at least a few for more noticeable flavor.) It'll taste like a hibiscus tea lemonade, Arnold Palmer-style, but is equally delish!
• Make a berry hibiscus lemonade using berry-flavored sparkling water. Top it with some fresh berries instead of lemon slices.
• Regular 'ol white sugar is best for fresh squeezed lemonade. However, cane sugar, honey, or stevia extract will work if you need a swap.
• Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint leaves for a touch of herbal flavor.
• Only a few people want vodka? Instead of adding it to the pitcher, pour 2 oz in your glass over ice, then add the hibiscus lemonade over top. Stir, and adjust as needed. (This is a great, family-friendly option—everyone gets what they want!)

🔪 Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.

1. Dissolve sugar in 2 ½ cups boiling water.
2. Steep dried hibiscus flowers in the water/sugar mixture until cooled.
3. Strain hibiscus syrup into a pitcher, discarding the buds.
4. Add fresh lemon juice and 2 ½ cups of cold water. Taste, and add more sugar (if needed) or stir in vodka. Serve over ice, garnished with lemon.

🥫 Storage

In the refrigerator, homemade hibiscus lemonade will last for about five days. Remember to add the ice cubes and lemon slices to each individual glass (not the pitcher) so that leftovers don't taste watered down.

If the pitcher you use doesn't have a lid, I recommend covering the opening with a piece of plastic wrap. That way, it won't absorb any different flavors that might be floating around inside the fridge.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Many natural food stores carry dried hibiscus flowers but you could also use a couple of hibiscus tea bags. It would give it more of a lemonade iced tea flavor but that's OK. It will still be amazing.

• One cup of lemon juice requires seven or eight lemons, depending on their size. They're easier to juice at room temperature, so pull them out of the fridge in advance if that's where you store them!
• Give the lemons a few rolls on the counter, applying firm pressure with your palm. This will help the juices release more easily!
• Allow the hot water and sugar mixture to cool at room temperature so that the hibiscus petals fully release their yummy flavor. You don't want to rush the steep time.
• If you don't have a fine mesh strainer, you can use a cheesecloth. Or, if the buds are large enough, scoop 'em out with a slotted spoon.
• This hibiscus lemonade recipe makes around five or six cups (depending on how much liquid evaporates off while making the simple syrup.) If you're prepping for a bigger party, I'd double the batch!
• Make a double batch of the simple syrup and add a sweet, tart flavor to your favorite recipes. (Store it in a glass jar in the fridge.) Drizzle it over lattes, vanilla cupcakes, or pancakes! Hibiscus syrup is also great with your favorite bourbon whiskey and fresh lemon juice on the rocks.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

📚 Related recipes

• Vodka Strawberry Lemonade is super refreshing and it's also so easy to make! (Plus, it includes punch bowl-style and non-alcoholic options.)
• With floral, citrusy flavors and a delicious kick of vodka, Lavender Lemonade is a must-have for your next ladies' brunch or bridal shower!
• Enjoy your favorite Spiked Arnold Palmer right at home with Southern sweet tea and bubbly ginger ale. Make it by the glass or pitcher!
• Princess Party Lavender Punch is a great drink for younger girls—and Queen Mama, too! It's floral, sweet, and sparkly thanks to ginger ale!

🍽️ Serve with...

• Grilled Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Chicken makes a fabulous and easy summer dinner. Sip on your lemonade while the grill does the work!
• Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing is easy to munch on while enjoying some sunshine and a glass of hibiscus lemonade.
• Sweet Corn Poundcake is a Southern summer specialty. It's made with simple ingredients so you don't have to work too hard for dessert.

📞 The last word

There's something about taking a moment to sit down and relax with a glass of tea or lemonade. It's the best time to contemplate life...chat with a friend... fix all the world's problems.

It gives us margin - something we all need more of. Give this a try - I know you'll love it.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✍🏻 A note from Marye...

I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.

Don't you just love the idea of sitting on the front porch sipping lemonade and watching the world go by on a hot summer day?

I do. I've said so many times that I was born in the wrong decade that I'm sure you're rolling your eyes at me now.

But it's true.

Our society has created all of this technological magic so that we have more free time than ever.

Wait, no... so we should have more free time than ever but we don't.

Something always seems to come in and fill it up.

Sunday afternoon we had friends and family over for a big dinner after church. We sipped wine and munched on good food, then took our drinks out to the front porch and sat for a couple of hours talking, laughing, and watching the sun go down.

It was really the best, most relaxing day that I have had in a very long time.

Maybe it isn't impossible to get that ambiance back but I am sure that it is going to take some effort. How sad that it now takes effort to relax.

Stir up some of this and enjoy an old-fashioned afternoon. Front porch and rocking chair not included.

First published April 29,2015. Last updated with new images and more tips May 11, 2023.

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