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Canning strawberry lemonade concentrate is an easy way to put fresh berries on the pantry shelf in a form that is easy to use later. It captures the flavor of ripe strawberries and tart lemon in a simple homemade concentrate that turns into a pitcher of lemonade whenever you need it.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this strawberry lemonade canning recipe!
- Quick Look at the Recipe
- Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Ingredients
- How to Make Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
- Canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
- Canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
- Waterbath Canning Altitude Adjustments
- Serving Ideas
- Strawberry Lemonade FAQs
- Strawberry Canning Recipes
- Canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Recipe
- Drink Canning Recipes
I’m always looking for more strawberry canning recipes, as these little beauties tend to be prolific in season. Strawberry jam is a classic, of course, but you can only eat so much toast. Variations like strawberry jelly and strawberry marmalade change things up a bit, but they’re still sweet spreadable preserves.
This homemade strawberry lemonade concentrate is something completely different, and it’s a great way to use up a flat of fruit before they spoil. And, of course, you’l appreciate their fresh flavor by the pitcher full all year long.
I was delighted to come across this tested recipe for strawberry lemonade concentrate in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
This recipe is based on a tested canning method for fruit-based lemonade concentrates, and it is a great choice when strawberries are coming in faster than you can keep up. Instead of straining juice through a jelly bag, you use strawberry puree, which makes the process quicker and gives the finished drink more body and berry flavor than juice alone.
Why you’ll love this strawberry lemonade canning recipe!
This is the kind of recipe I reach for when I have a pile of berries on the counter and not much time. It comes together quickly, uses simple ingredients, and gives me something that feels a little special tucked away on the shelf.
I also like that each jar goes a long way. A single pint makes a whole half gallon of prepared lemonade, which makes it handy for family meals, summer gatherings, or just pulling together a cold drink without much fuss.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Recipe Name: Canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
- Recipe Type: Fruit Drink Concentrate
- Canning Method: Waterbath Canning
- Prep/Cook Time: About 30 minutes
- Canning Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: About 5 to 6 pints
- Jar Sizes: Half Pint, Pint or Quart
- Headspace: 1/4 inch
- Ingredients Overview: Strawberries, fresh lemon juice and sugar
- Safe Canning Recipe Source: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, using fruit puree canning times consistent with National Center for Home Food Preservation guidance
- Difficulty: Easy! The fruit is pureed, everything is heated together, and then it is ladled into jars for processing
- Similar Recipes: The process is similar to making other home canned strawberry drinks, including Canning Strawberry Syrup and Canning Strawberry Juice, and it was the inspiration for other fruit based lemonade concentrates, like cherry limeade concentrate and watermelon lemonade concentrate.
Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Ingredients
This recipe uses just a few ingredients, but each one matters. The strawberries bring sweetness and body, the lemon juice provides both flavor and the acidity needed for a bright lemonade base, and the sugar balances the tartness while helping create a stable concentrate.
- Strawberries: Provide the main fruit flavor, color, and natural body of the concentrate
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Adds tart lemonade flavor and acidity
- Sugar: Sweetens the concentrate and balances the sharp lemon flavor
You do have a little flexibility here. The exact yield can vary depending on berry size and how much puree you get from your strawberries. You can also lean a little more heavily toward strawberry or lemon to suit your taste. Since both ingredients are perfectly safe for canning on their own, the exact ratio can adjust to suit your tastes without impacting canning safety.
Fresh lemon juice gives the best flavor here, and it is worth straining it well so the finished concentrate stays smooth and not bitter.
A “batch” of lemonade concentrate uses:
- 6 cups hulled strawberries
- 4 cups fresh lemon juice (from 16 to 20 lemons)
- 6 cups sugar
That should make a canner batch of 5 to 7 pint jars. (See notes on yields)
Each pint of concentrate will make half a gallon of strawberry lemonade. Just add 1 pint of home-canned concentrate to 3 pints water, and serve over ice. (That’s 2 cups concentrate to 6 cups water.)
How to Make Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
Once your ingredients are ready, the process is very straightforward.
Juice and Strain the Lemons
Start by juicing the lemons, then strain the juice well to remove seeds and pulp. The strawberry puree belongs in the finished concentrate, but lemon pulp can add bitterness, so it is best to strain it out before combining everything.
Prepare the Strawberries
Hull the strawberries and puree them until smooth. A food processor or blender makes quick work of this, but you can also mash them thoroughly by hand if needed. The goal is to break them down so the concentrate has an even texture.
Heat the Concentrate
Combine the strawberry puree, strained lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepan. Heat the mixture gently, stirring often, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture reaches a hot, nearly simmering stage. Do not boil it. You want it hot and well mixed, but not cooked hard.
Canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
Since there’s strawberry fruit puree in this recipe, the canning time is a bit longer than when you’re canning plain lemonade.
Canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
Prepare a water bath canner, jars, lids, and rings before you begin filling jars. Keep the jars hot until needed.
Ladle the hot concentrate into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, adjust the lids, and load the jars into the canner. Process the jars for 15 minutes (both pints and quarts), adjusting for altitude.
When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them. Set them on a towel to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. After cooling, check seals and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator. Properly sealed jars can be stored in the pantry.
This recipe follows the canning times for “fruit purees” as set out by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Their times for jar sizes for all three jar sizes are the same. Do not can this in half gallon jars, the largest size jar allowable is quart.
(This exact same recipe could also be frozen in freezer-safe jars with appropriate 1” headspace.)
Waterbath Canning Altitude Adjustments
The altitude adjustments for water bath canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate are as follows:
- For Under 1,000 Feet in Elevation – 15 minutes for half pints, pints, and quarts
- For 1,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation – 20 minutes for half pints, pints, and quarts
- Above 6,000 Feet in Elevation – 25 minutes for half pints, pints, and quarts
Serving Ideas
To reconstitute, mix 1 part concentrate with 3 parts water. For a 1 pint jar, you’d add 3 pints of water. For simplicity, you can just add a pint to a half-gallon mason jar, which holds 4 pints, and then fill it up the rest of the way with cold water.
That should give you a “basic lemonade” flavor that’s strong but not too strong. You can adjust to your own tastes.
Strawberry Lemonade FAQs
A pint jar (2 cups) of strawberry lemonade concentrate makes about 1/2 gallon (8 cups) of prepared lemonade. Mix 1 part concentrate with 3 parts water, then adjust to taste. That’s 2 cups concentrate with 6 cups water.
No, this recipe uses strawberry puree rather than strained strawberry juice. That gives the finished concentrate more berry flavor and makes the process much faster. If you prefer to remove the pulp, it’s perfectly fine to use strawberry juice instead, but your finished yield will be lower and it won’t have quite as much strawberry flavor.
Fresh lemon juice gives the best flavor for this recipe. If you choose bottled juice, make sure it is plain lemon juice with no added ingredients that would affect flavor. Stanta Cruz Organic or Lakewood Organic work wonderfully, and taste much better than “real lemon” brand.
Strawberry Canning Recipes
Canning Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups hulled strawberries
- 4 cups fresh lemon juice, from 16 to 20 lemons
- 6 cups sugar
Instructions
- Prepare a water bath canner, jars, rings and lids before beginning. The canner should be pre-heated to around 180 degrees F (barely simmering) for hot pack.
- Juice the lemons and strain to remove any pulp and seeds.
- Hull and puree the strawberries.
- Mix the strawberries, strained lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepan.
- Gently heat the mixture on the stove to around 190 degrees F, but do not boil.
- Ladle the strawberry lemonade concentrate into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal with 2 part canning lids.
- Process the jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes, adjusting to the altitude (see notes).
- Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the canner for an additional 5 minutes to cool slightly before removing them with a canning jar lifter to cool completely on a towel on the counter.
- Wait 12 to 24 hours, then check seals. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use. Properly canned and sealed jars may be store in the pantry. Refrigerate after opening.
- To reconstitute, mix 1 part concentrate with 3 parts water. For a 1 pint jar, you'd add 3 pints water. For simplicity, you can just add a pint to a half-gallon mason jar, which holds 4 pints, and then fill it up the rest of the way with cold water.
- That should give you a "basic lemonade" flavor that's strong, but not too strong. You can adjust to your own tastes.
Notes
Yield
When I make this recipe, it yields about 5 pints. Ball canning’s original recipe says it yields “7 pints” but in general, I’ve found that their yields are always larger than reality. The strawberries are measured whole, just with tops removed in their recipe, which is honestly a bit vague. Given variations in size of strawberries, that’ll give you a bit of variation in yield. Both strawberries and lemon juice are fine for canning on their own, so adjusting the ratio of strawberry to lemon is fine. If you want a bit more strawberry, no problem. Or a bit less. This season when strawberries come in fresh in Vermont, I will weigh everything out to the gram to try to improve on Ball’s recipe and give you more exact guidance to get a more exact yield. Stay tuned!Reconstituting
One pint of strawberry lemonade concentrate will make 1/2 gallon of prepared lemonade. Simply take 1 jar of canned concentrate and add in 3 jars of fresh water. I like to just pour it into a half gallon mason jar and then fill with water, as that keeps things nice and clean. You can reconstitute it stronger or weaker based on your tastes. (That’s 2 cups concentrate to 6 cups water.)Altitude Adjustments
Process half pints, pints and quarts in a water bath canner for 15 minutes (below 1,000 feet in elevation). Between 1,000 and 6,000 feet, increase the processing time to 20 minutes. Above 6,000 feet, the jars should be processed for 25 minutes. This recipe follows the canning times for “fruit purees” as set out by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Their times for jar sizes for all three jar sizes are the same. Do not can this in half gallon jars, the largest size jar allowable is quart.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Drink Canning Recipes
Hi, This sound delicious I have a bit of frozen strawberries I was wondering if if I could thaw them then purée them and measure the six cups puréed strawberries like someone else had mentioned about getting the 7 pint yield would this be safe or do I need to change anything. Thank you
Yes, that’s perfectly fine. This recipe is safe for canning with any ratio of strawberry to lemon. You could use all strawberry in the jars and skip the lemon, or all lemon juice and skip the strawberry…or anywhere in between. The canning times are all the same. So yes, making 6 cups puree from frozen berries works just fine. Enjoy!
Made this delicious. Easy to follow. Will make again. I shared the recipe. Thank you.
Lovely! So glad you enjoyed it.
Ball’s recipe doesn’t specify. But if you used 6 cups of puréed strawberries instead of 6 cups of hulled strawberries you will get exactly 7 pints of product!
Well that’s good to know!
I fell into a sale on strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. I ran each thru my steam juicer. I ended up with between 2 and 3-1/2 quarts each. I plan on making a canner batch of each as lemonade concentrate and syrup with the rest. The steam juicer works great.
How will bottled lemon juice change the flavor?
Bottled lemon juice just doesn’t taste as fresh (yes, even after canning, fresh tastes better). That said, if you use high quality bottled lemon juice, the difference is less noticeable. Santa Cruz organic and Lakewood Organic only have one ingredient, lemon juice, and they’re really the best for canning. The plastic bottles of “real lemon” have other ingredients, preservatives, lemon oil, etc and they don’t taste nearly as good. I’d suggest going with either fresh, or single ingredient lemon juice for quality. But that said, any will work in a pinch.
Does adding basil to it affect anything? I cook my strawberries with sugar and then add in basil towards the end, let it sit for awhile and then hit it with an immersion blender before staining it to get any basil pieces and seeds out. For context I do 2 C chopped strawberries, 1 1/4 C sugar, 1 1/2 C lemon juice and about 1/3 cup basil. It’s amazing for fresh, just don’t know about canning. Thanks!
Yup, that’s perfectly fine. There’s so much lemon juice in here that adding basil (especially when strained out) doesn’t impact canning safety. Lemonade is really acidic, and you can season it as you like if you’re straining it out. Enjoy!
I made this over the weekend with a friend and it is already a big hit with the family! Thank you for all of these amazing recipes and the information you provide. I love being a part of my local food system (growing and buying) and your info has helped me take our homesteading efforts to the next level!
That’s so good to hear!
Thank you SO much for correcting the yield. I was frustrated when I followed the Ball recipe, doubled it, and ended up with 4 quarts instead of 7. (I was also dealing with a more hollow strawberry variety so the quantity came out short for that reason as well). Do you have a variant for raspberry? I noticed it says 6c Strawberries yield 2c juice but 6 c raspberries is supposed to be 4.5-5?
You can definitely use raspberries or blackberries (or really any other common berry, except elderberries, which aren’t acidic enough for canning). As to yields with other berries, I’m not sure here. I have it on my list to make a raspberry, peach and blackberry version this summer but our raspberries haven’t come in yet. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
I had just enough lemons to make half the recipe. I also used one less cup of sugar as the strawberries I used were super sweet. The finished jars are so beautiful. Thank you for your recipes. I have lemonade, limeade, and now strawberry lemonade on my shelves ready for me thanks to you. 🙂
Hot water bath canning and pressure canning does not suggest using fresh lemons as acidity is not guaranteed to be appropriate for this use.
Bottled lemon juice would be the perfect adjustment if u can this product
Bottled lemon juice is only required if you’re adding it to adjust the canning safety of another recipe that isn’t acidic. For example, in salsa, when there’s a calculated amount of acidity needed. Every single variety of lemon is acidic enough for canning, and some are slightly less acidic than others (ie. Meyer Lemons at a pH of 2.6), but they’re all WAY below the safe level for canning, which is 4.6. That’s also true for strawberries. We’re not using lemon juice to adjust acidity, we’re actually canning lemons. There’s a difference.
In any recipe that requires added acidity for safety, I ALWAYS use bottled lemon juice. I’m not against bottled lemon juice when it’s appropriate and required for safety. However, in this case, we’re preserving lemons, and using bottled lemon juice defeats the purpose for me. You can definitely choose to use bottled lemon juice, but either way, it’s perfectly fine for canning.
Ball Canning uses fresh lemon and lime juice in their recipes (See: All New Book of Canning and Preserving, and Back to Basics Canning), and they specifically note that it’s perfectly fine when you’re adding lemon juice for flavor rather than preservation.
How many pints does this recipe make?
This recipe makes about 5 pints, but yields will vary a bit based on how juicy your strawberries are, and how big they are since they’re measured whole.
Hi! Can I use limes instead of lemons? Thanks!
Yes, limes work just fine in place of lemons.
Made this today and it’s delicious. It was really easy. I tried some leftovers with a sprite and it was great!! Thank you’
Could I use sweetener in place of the sugar? If so what kind would you recommend?
You can use any sweetener that’s appropreate for canning, as the sugar is here for flavor, not preservation. For maple or honey, you’d use about 3/4 as much for the same flavor as they’re sweeter than sugar. For other sweeteners, I have no idea, as I don’t use artificial sweeteners, monkfruit, etc. I can’t help you with those. Best of luck.
Hello, this looks so delicious! I do have a question, if I use quarts instead of pints how long should I process it? Also could I use a sweetener like Swerve instead of sugar? Thanks! Can’t wait to make this!
I did a quick google search, and at least according to swerve’s website, it’s ok for canning. I don’t know anything about it personally.
As to jar size, Ball Canning only has instructions for pints, but they’re using processing times as if they’re canning whole strawberries, which are 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts. A canning time of 20 minutes for this should be appropriate as well, though this specific recipe hasn’t been tested in quarts.
I have frozen strawberries, they have a lot of juice when unthawed. If I just use the juice and not the pulp, would it alter the recipe or processing time? Also, if I want to add basil, it’s really good that way, would I add the basil prior to canning to infuse and then strain when opening concentrate or cold infuse basil after opening concentrate? Any thoughts about that?
Could I use half sugar and half hemey
Yes, you can use half sugar and half honey. Enjoy!
If I use frozen berries how many cups? Or what does 6 cups fresh equal to in mashed. Or doesn’t it matter that much?
For canning safety, it doesn’t matter that much. Both strawberries and lemon are fine for canning and the exact ratio isn’t crucial. Using frozen fruit, they pack less tightly if measured frozen, so I’d add a bit extra.
Thank you for all your wonderful ideas and recipes!
Thank you!
Can pour warm mixture in a jar and let it cool and put it in the fridge to use with a week with out water bathing it?
Yup, if you keep it in the fridge it’ll be good for about a week.
Could you use blueberries or cherries instead 9f strawberries? And would it be the same measurements as the fruit and sugar as this recipe?
Yes, you could use either blueberries or cherries in place of the strawberries in this recipe. You’d measure the blueberries whole and the cherries pitted. Enjoy!
Can this be made without white sugar?
Yes, the sugar here is for flavor, not preservation, and you can just can strawberry puree with lemon juice, no problem.
How long will a reconstituted jar last in the fridge? Thank you!
Probably about 2 weeks I’d guess? That’s a guess. At least a week though, if in the fridge.
Could I make a double
Or triple batch at one time?
Yes, you can double or triple this batch size for canning.
I love your idea to use lemon zest into the sugar for making lemonade concentrate!. I’m looking at 2 lbs of strawberries, about 3/4 of a cup of fresh pineapple, one used up giant lemons that I will use to make zest, and 3 more huge lemons with which to make something. I also have a small bag of small limes I could also use. I was casting about for ideas what to do with all this. I love lemon-limeade. I was wondering I’d I made a batch of half pints with all this if it might work. The concentrate would be a delightful drink either with water or rum, or tequilla. Any suggestions?
Honestly, all of that sounds amazing. You could mix any combination of that together and make a wonderful drink mix. I think adding a bit of pineapple would be lovely, or you could do just strawberry lemonade concentrate and then a separate lime/pineapple mix.
How long is the shelf life for this once canned?
This should maintain peak quality for around 12-18 months, but be safe to eat so long as they’re sealed.
Can I use strawberries that have been frozen?
Yup, that works just fine.
This is one of my favorite recipes! I have made it many times using fresh lemon juice, but decided today to use the bottled. My husband and I cannot tell the difference. Its delicious! I have also made the raspberry version. I do take the time to remove most of the seeds from the raspberries before adding the lemon juice and the sugar. We did a taste test between the raspberry and strawberry versions when my sister and her family were visiting. Hand down, the raspberry was the winner! But everyone loved the strawberry, too. We really like it mixed with sparking water.
I might have missed this, but should you cut the strawberries up to measure them? Or just measure them whole? It sounds like a strange question, but it could create a difference in the flavor (I think) because if you measure strawberries when whole you would not get as many in a measuring cup. Since I only saw “hulled strawberries” in the recipe, that indicates to me that they are left whole.
In Ball canning’s original recipe, they are measured whole. Or, more specifically, topped/hulled and then measured, without chopping or mashing.
Can I use a pressure canner for this? Or does it have to be water bath?
Yes, you can use a pressure canner for this if you’d like.
How long should this be pressure canned? Can’t wait to try it!
Ball canning doens’t actually give pressure canning instructions for this recipe, only water bath canning instructions. That said, it looks like they’re using the same canning times as for whole strawberries. In that case, the pressure canning time is 8 minutes for pints and 10 minutes for quarts at 5 pounds pressure (under 2,000 feet in elevation) or 10 pounds pressure at higher elevations. Enjoy!
Could you use raspberries instead? Thanks.
Yes, you can use raspberries in place of the strawberries, that’s fine. You might want to strain out the raspberry seeds and just use pulp though, as raspberry seeds tend to bother people more than strawberry seeds. That’s optional though, you can just do the exact same process with raspberries instead of strawberries and that’s fine for canning.
Could you use lemon juice rather than real lemons?
Yes!