Brazilian Lemonade
Brazilian Lemonade {or in other words 2-minute blender limeade} is freakishly delicious and super refreshing.
Confused by the title? You should be since
a) lemons are nowhere in the picture (think: limes, baby) and
b) when I consulted Brian who lived in Brazil for several years, he said he had never tasted anything like this. Now, granted, the country of Brazil is crazy humongous so there’s a really high likelihood he was stuck in the southern part of the country and missed out on this kind of goodness, but there’s also a really high likelihood that it’s just a fancy name for blender limeade.
No matter. The stuff is freakishly delicious. As in, I think it’s my favorite drink in the history of ever.
I mean, picture it: an icy cold, creamy, bold lime drink toned down with the gentle sweetness of condensed milk. Perfection? Perfection.
I made this for the 4th of July last week (seriously mere hours after Ashleigh, a reader, sent it to me) and my kids are still talking about it and I’m still dreaming about it.
I took sip after sip, closing my eyes and picturing myself on a remote beach in some tropically perfect location (jarred out of my reverie by the rowdies asking for me to please pass the pasta salad) and realized this drink may just be the happiness cement I need for the rest of summer in an insanely hot house packed with insanely energetic (but loveable) children.
I’ll even consider doubling the batch so I don’t feel too badly about sharing. You know, because I’m nice like that.
One Year Ago: Grilled Caprese Chicken
Two Years Ago: Grilled Pizza {How To}
Three Years Ago: Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy BBQ Pot Roast
Brazilian Lemonade
Ingredients
- 2 large limes, thin skinned (see note)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup cold water
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- Ice
Instructions
- Cut the limes in half and squeeze out the juice. You should have approximately 1/2 cup juice. Keep the rinds and set the juice aside.
- In a blender, combine the juiced rinds with 2 cups of water. Blend for one minute until the mixture is coarsely mixed and frothy (if you make this start to finish and feel the mixture is too bitter, try only blending this part for 30 seconds or 10-12 pulses). Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer set over a liquid measuring cup or bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the juice. You should have about 3/4 cup liquid, more or less. Stir in the reserved lime juice. (You can go ahead and discard the pulp in the strainer.)
- To the blender, add the cold water, sugar, lime juice mixture, and sweetened condensed milk. Blend for 10-20 seconds. Add ice as desired: I added probably about 2-3 cups of ice – enough to make it cool and frosty but not thick like a smoothie. Blend until smooth. Add more sweetened condensed milk or sugar to taste, if needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: sent to me by a reader, Ashleigh – I tried it the same day she sent it (thanks, Ashleigh!)
True story, we call it Swiss lemonade on Brazil! Well, it’s tasty anyway!
If you wanna prove a real brazilian deliciousness, I would seriously recomend looking for “Brigadeiro”, a candy made out chocolate powder and sweetened condensed milk.
Love from Brazil!
Sarah – don’t stress about it (I’ve been there with kids running around like little rowdies!). I responded above to another commenter with the same question:
“it’s ok if you have more liquid. It can depend on a lot of factors like the size of your limes – not all 2 cups of the liquid will strain out thanks to all the pulp. I don’t think you are doing anything wrong – just taste the finished blended drink to make sure it is sweet enough.”
On the rinds part, if I put 2 cups of water in, how do I only get 3/4 cups of liquid out? I got way more so I am worried it won’t taste right?
My kids are running around the kitchen sword fighting and screaming, so maybe the answer is simple, but my brain cannot process it at the moment….
I’ve been following your blog (and cooking your recipes) for a while now. All I can say is THANK YOU! My family and I have loved everything we’ve tried from your blog (including this amazing Brazilian Lemonade).
I’ve made this for years, but you’re right, it is way better to squeeze out the lime juice before. Instead of drinking just one cup, I drank 3! Yum! Thanks for the new version.
That’s funny, I’m Brazilian and THIS recipe is actually called SWISS LEMONADE around here.
And yeah, we call “lemon” your “lime”, and your “lemon” is our “Sicilian lemon”…
Look delicious, but funny Im brazilian and never heard of it.And I live in the capital where we pretty much have a lil bit of the culture of the whole country.
why haven’t I been making this ALL summer long!? It takes me to my happy place! I was viewing previous comments and one reader mentioned how her 8 year old loved it because the title lemonade (even though hes not a fan of limes) My 8 year old had opposite response…its good, but I was expecting lemonade mom. Whatever to the 8 year olds. This is yummy! I serve in margarita glass for added pizazz!!!
MEL!! Made this last night. It was wonderful! Almost everyone (the silly 3 year old didn’t like it) LOVED it and asked for seconds. Thanks for your amazing site (it’s my go to) 🙂 Hope your finding ways to stay cool!
YUMMY!! I loved it!!! Would it work with tequila?
Hi Mel! My husband lived in Brazil for a couple years, too. I wonder if you would be interested in trying Pizza com chocolate na borda (pizza with chocolate in the crust)! He was introduced to it in brazil, and we made it for the first time last weekend. It was delicious– of course. Who can go wrong with pizza and chocolate? I just made our favorite homemade pizza recipe, and rolled dark chocolate chunks (private selection brand, although you could probably even make it work with chocolate chips) into the crust. Then, you have dessert at the end of every slice!
I tried this and my daughters and I loooved it!! Thank you!
Made it. My husband and I loved it. Made it again 🙂 Thanks!
Can you make this with lemons?
Mmmmm, so refreshing a yummy! A “must try” for this summer!
I have never tried juicing the limes first. I think I found a perfect excuse to make it tomorrow. It is a family favorite!
Stephanie and those wondering what to do with sweetened condesned milk..
Put it in iced coffee or iced tea! Or drizzle it on pancakes (thats how they sere pancakes here in Mexico) . Or spread it on toast.
And I am sooo making this recipe tomorrow. I actually have all ingredients in my pantry see above notes about Lechera. And limes are always available in a mexican kitchen¡ )
Thnks for posting!
I usually don’t post unless I have something helpful to say for other readers – but this time I just want to say: WOW! So so good! I told my husband that I felt like I was at a resort in the tropics somewhere – it just felt so luxurious to be drinking something like this! I’m looking at my leftover sweetened condensed milk and lime rind-water wondering if I should just make another batch right now! (ps, what DO I do with the rest of my sweetened condensed milk??).
Stephanie (and others that asked) – if I haven’t used the entire can of sweetened condensed milk, I store the leftovers in the fridge and use it for recipes like this that just need a little bit or add it to my next batch of dulce de leche. Is it bad that I never have a problem using it up??
This is truly the best summer go-to drink ever!!! I call it my happy juice because when it’s hot, i get crabby and this drink will make me happy every single time. lol My kids will even ask for it by that name. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it. This drink is served at Tucanos here in the West. It’s a Brazillian restaurant, but as previously mention, the drink may not be authentic. Either way, it’s amazing!
I made this and it was delicious! Thanks! We didn’t drink it all so I make the rest into popsicles and they were a hit today! Thanks so much!
I was just wondering if you have any ideas/suggestions/recipes to use up the rest of the sweetened condensed milk? Not sure what to do with it.
Thanks
I’m confused — how do you only get 3/4 c liquid after straining? I have lots more than that, like 1 3/4 c. You are supposed to mix 2 c water with the rinds, yes? Must be doing something wrong …
Emily – it’s ok if you have more liquid. It can depend on a lot of factors like the size of your limes – not all 2 cups of the liquid will strain out thanks to all the pulp. I don’t think you are doing anything wrong – just taste the finished blended drink to make sure it is sweet enough.
What a fun, refreshing drink! If you love it I know I will love it, too!t
I make this too, but a little differently. I slice the limes into about 6 slices and throw everything into the blender. Then pulse it 5 times (any more than 5 would be too much). Strain and serve immediately. Love it.
Well, you sold me! I am going to have to make this for me and kids!! Looks fantastic! 🙂
This stuff is sooo good! I also lived in Brazil for a few years like your husband. I lived in the state of Minas Gerais and I had this lemonade all the time. So at least in Minas, this is very authentic. Except the brazilians called it “limonada suica” (Swiss lemonade)!
Just made these for the family after a couple of hours of yardwork in the Texas heat…. they were a huge hit!!! And my lime hating son slurped it up cause it was called lemonade. 🙂 8 year old boys can be ridiculous at times, ha! Thanks so much for sharing – I don’t read other cooking blogs so I’m glad you shared!
Now add rum….
If you can get your hands on key limes those would be delish for this recipe! They are slightly less bitter and so refreshing. I can’t wait to try this, thx!
I’m a huge lime fan so I can’t wait to try out this recipe!!
I love the straws in your photograph. Any hints on where to get some? Also, this is my all time favorite drink too! Thanks so much for posting such a great recipe.
Andrea – I found those little striped straws in a clearance bin at Shopko and I don’t even remember the brand. I’m sorry! I’ve seen straws like this all over the web and googling for them might turn up some great results.
This sounds fabulous! Love anything with lime in it!
Mel, this is like the alcohol free version of a blender caipirinha… love it
Will any blender work with those rinds or do you need a Blendtec or Vitamix? Sounds yummy!
Angela – no, you don’t need a super powered Blendtec or Vitamix. Any decent blender should do the trick.
I was introduced to this recipe earlier this summer and have tried it a couple ways. I don’t juice the limes before blending and don’t blend the rinds for an entire minute either. Really a few pulses, maybe 10-20 seconds is plenty, anything longer cause the mix to be bitter. I served these at a party and everyone went nuts over them wanting the recipe. It’s my current favorite recipe so was excited to see your post this morning.
…. recipe on the email and your blog are still not in synch. The one in the email did not make sense so I came to the site and it is much clearer. This sounds great. I’m a great fan of limes and just cleaned my pantry out and found a small can of sweetened condensed milk, so I’m ‘on’ for the weekend!
thanks for your recipes! even the ones I never cook or contemplate cooking are great!
Lynn
Ahhh I need to go get some limes asap so I can make this!!!!
This is DELICIOUS!!! I have about 30 frozen juiced lime halves in the freezer that I save for cleaning my garbage disposal… I may have to figure out how to sub in Key Lime Juice to make up for the lack of juice left in the limes 😉 I love this!
I love lime and this sounds delicious. Just need to get some sweetened condensed milk. Oh, and more limes.
They serve this at Tucanos, a Brazilian restaurant, so it must be authentic to somewhere in the country. I’ve also tried it with either strawberries, papaya, pineapple or mango. Yum!
We have been making the Our Best Bites version of this for a few years and love it! This sounds easier though. I have limes ready to go, and this will be wonderful in our 100 degree day today! Thanks!
I am wondering if in a pinch if I could switch out frozen limeade for some of the ingredients? I prepare 3 gallons of a cold drink for my clients at a remote location w/o a blender..
Oh man does that look good, Mel! I’m giving the weather in Austin about 10 more minutes til it hits triple digits and I’ll be REALLY lusting after this drink. Saving for future reference! Thanks for sharing.
Sounds almost like having key lime pie…. I will definitely have to try this… Maybe this will be my drink of choice on the island in 2 weeks.. Thanks, for another lime juicing drink Ashleigh.
we are having this with bbq dinner tonight! Sounds delightful… but I’m a limeaid addict as it is! Thanks so much for this great recipe!!!
Oh my gosh, you guys, sorry for the glaring edits needed to the recipe. Not sure where my brain was. It’s all fixed up and pretty now. 🙂
I feel silly asking, but does the 1/2 cup juice and the 3/4 cup liquid both go back into the blender with the rest of the ingredients? Sounds like a fun recipe!
I haven’t had my coffee yet, so maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t think the recipe tells you what to do with the lime juice. I’m assuming you blend it with the sweetened condensed milk? Sounds really interesting; I’ll have to try it.
I’m imagining this tasting like drinkable Key Lime Pie.
In other words, like the best thing on earth.
As an FYI: I’ve seen this recipe going wild around the internet lately. The difference in the version I posted today and the others that I’ve seen is that you juice the limes before blending the rinds with water. I’ve tried both versions and the reason I like this one (thanks again to Ashleigh for introducing it to me) is that it is less bitter than the ones where the limes are all blended before juicing.
I made this for a Brazilian friend and she had never had it or heard of it either. But she did explain why its called lemonade but is made with limes…..she said they don’t have separate words for a lemon vs. a lime. Instead they distinguish the two by describing the color — yellow lemon or green lemon. Anyway, we both really enjoyed it….what’s not to love? Its lime juice mixed with sweetened condensed milk!!
I love this recipe. I’ve been making it for a while now. I think I first saw it on Our Best Bites or Sisters Cafe blogs (or both). Delicious and so refreshing!
I am definitely using this recipe for a pool party tomorrow! Just in time 🙂 Thank you!!