Thai Basil Lemonade

Chef notes

There is nothing as satisfying as sipping a glass of ice cold lemonade on a hot summer day. Its sweet-tart flavor is a surefire signal that the season is here. With just three simple ingredients — fresh lemon juice, sugar and Thai basil (and water, but that doesn’t count) — this lemonade is a modern take on an old-fashioned sipper. 

While the standard basil you can find at most grocery stores and farmers’ markets has a pleasant floral aroma, Thai basil kicks it up a notch. Its leaves have an oblong, pointy shape and are a bit more sturdy than ordinary basil. Thai basil adds a distinctly vibrant and mildly spicy flavor to any dish that it’s used in, whether sweet or savory. In this recipe, the basil leaves steep in the sugar syrup for a few minutes, infusing it with so much flavor. And it really is as simple as that. Just let the sweet basil-flavored syrup cool down, then stir it into some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Now isn’t the time for store-bought bottled lemon juice. Since there are so few ingredients in this lemonade, use the best. So grab plenty of lemons and start squeezing. If you don’t use all of the lemons, you can slice some of them up for garnish or freeze the juice in ice cube trays for future use. 

We like to serve this lemonade over ice (put those lemon juice cubes to work) with a sprig of Thai basil as garnish. You could also make it into a spritzer by adding a splash of chilled sparkling water. It also makes a delicious base for a cocktail with a shot of vodka or gin. 

Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.