Brazilian Lemonade, Brazilian Limeade – whatever you want to call it, this is one delicious and refreshing drink that we enjoy year round! This easy 4-ingredient recipe is perfect for cookouts and other celebrations!
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This is one of our favorite treats that seems to go perfectly with everything. Of course it’s a fantastic drink to enjoy during the summer when the days are long and hot, but it’s also great in the winter when limes are in season and at their juicy best!
I first tried this Brazilian lemonade recipe after seeing it on Our Best Bites, who posted about it way back in 2010, and we’ve been making it ever since.
It’s sweet-tart, tangy, and ever so slightly creamy thanks to the addition of some sweetened condensed milk.
If you have ever eaten at one of many popular Brazilian steakhouses like Tucanos or Fogo de chao, you may have had a chance to try this wonderfully sweet-tart Brazilian Lemonade.
Serve it with almost anything, but if you are doing a Brazilian-themed meal, it’s especially delicious with Brazilian black beans and Brazilian white rice.
We love having something fun to drink when we have friends over! Some of our other favorites are Homemade Hawaiian Punch, Virgin Piña Coladas, Strawberry Lemonade, or Horchata!
Why is it called Brazilian Lemonade and not Brazilian Limeade?
It seems like a strange misnomer to call this beverage “lemonade” when there are no actual lemons in it. But the reason is actually because the word for both lemons and limes in Portuguese is limão.
I’ve also read that this is sometimes actually called Swiss Lemonade in Brazil, although I don’t know why or whether that’s actually true. It may also just be a regional name from Brazilian limeade or lemonade, given that Brazil is such a large country!
How to Make Brazilian Lemonade
You are going to want a good blender to make Brazilian lemonade. A Vitamix or a Blendtec are probably the two best known brands, and I love my Vitamix and use it on an almost daily basis. But if you don’t have one, I’m including a couple of work arounds in the recipe notes.
But it really is so much easier to just use a blender for this recipe.
First you want to make sure you have nice, juicy limes. Ones with thin, smooth skins are the best since they have less white pith between the outer skin and the flesh of the lime and that’s where any bitterness comes from.
Give the limes a good scrub with a little bit of hand or dish soap to get rid of wax and any pesticides, then slice of the ends of each lime and cut them into 1/8ths.
Drop half of the limes into your blender, along with half of the water and sugar called for in the recipe and pulse it about 5 to 7 times. You don’t actually want to pulverize the limes or your Brazilian lemonade might turn out bitter.
Pour everything through a fine-mesh strainer into a large pitcher, using the back of a spoon to press the limes to release any extra juice, then toss the pulp and skins away and repeat the process with the remaining half of the limes, water and sugar.
After that, you just stir in some sweetened condensed milk (it makes a huge difference so I definitely wouldn’t skip this!) and a bunch of ice and serve!
It doesn’t keep very well, which is the one downside to this drink, but it seriously takes 5 minutes or less to make and we never have leftovers, so that’s not usually an issue.
I have actually even frozen this in popsicle molds and we’ve enjoyed it that way too, which is a yummy summer treat!
More Refreshing Summer Drink Recipes You’ll Love
- Fresh Squeezed Homemade Lemonade
- Orange Julius Recipe
- Raspberry Peach Italian Cream Sodas
- Horchata
- Pumpkin Juice Recipe (Harry Potter Inspired)
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Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Brazilian Lemonade Recipe
Equipment
- Blender (I have had this one for years and use it almost every day)
Ingredients
- 4 juicy limes washed and scrubbed clean
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Wash limes thoroughly by, scrubbing the skin with hand or dish soap to remove any pesticides or wax. Slice off the ends of each lime, then cut them into 1/8ths.4 juicy limes
- In a blender, combine half of the water, half of the sugar, and half of the limes, then pulse 5-7 times. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher, pressing the lime pulp with a spoon to help release juices, then discarding the remaining skins and pulp. Repeat with the other half of the water, sugar, and limes.6 cups water, 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- Stir the sweetened condensed milk into the limeade and serve with lots of ice and thin slices of lime for garnish. If the drink tastes bitter at all, you can add a little extra sweetened condensed milk or sugar as needed.6 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
Really good, not too sweet or too sour.
Came out really good. I added vanilla and cinnamon.
The best Brazilian Lemonade ever! The flavor was so satisfying
This drink is refreshing and delicious. The combination of all these ingredients hits it out of the park! And my husband who is a very picky person when it comes to drinks, had two glasses ๐
Thank you Angela! I’m so glad you liked it!
I really thought this might be gross based on putting limes with skins right in the blender. I was WRONG! The proportions of the ingredients are perfect so the blend of sweet and tart is perfect. This is not overpowering as I thought it might be; it’s absolutely refreshing.
It’s delicious! Thank you for this recipe! My family likes it with a little more lime, but I thought the flavor was very close to what we crave from the churrascarias.
I need to do a very large batch; would it be possible to do this in a food processor?
No, a food processor would likely result in a bitter tasting drink. Whenever I need to double or triple the batch, I just cut up all the limes and measuring out the sugar then do it in multiple batches in the blender. It really doesn’t take long at all to blend each batch.
I just made a half batch in a food processor, I decided not to add any sugar as it seems like a lot, definitely didn’t need any as the sweetened condensed milk was enough, wasn’t bitter making it in the processor but there was very thin pith on the limes.
Yes! Definitely make it the way you want it! Less, sugar, more sugar, no sugar, everyone has different preferences and I like to hear about different variations people try. I’m glad it all worked out. Thank you for leaving a comment!
What type of alcohol goes well w this drink ?
I hope some other readers chime in because we don’t drink so I’m not one to give a good recommendation!
Coconut rum!
This was relatively easy to make, and so delicious. A huge hit with my cinco de Mayo crowd. Will be making it many more times!
Absolutely deliciousโฆjust the perfect taste not too sweet and not sour โฆfor our second glass we added some Malibu Coconut Rum โฆwow was that awesome too served in a frozen glass!!! Thank you
This was soooo good! Although it sounded super strange to mix limes with condensed milk, my daughter reminded that it sounds like key lime pie without the crust!
We served this (with less sugar) at a party and some of the guests added tequila, vodka or rum – it was a great success!! Thank you!
Great flavour profile but a little too sweet for me. I would start with less sugar and then you can always add more, unfortunately you canโt take away sugar! Iโd do 3/4 cup.
I used key limes, and as little as I pulsed the limes in the processor, it made the drink bitter. So I had a whole pitcher of bitterness because I didnโt want all of the ingredients to go to waste. Next time I wonโt use the rind at all, just the pulp of the lime. (And yes, I added just about the entire can of condensed milk- still so bitter like I never added it.) oh well.
Disappointed, it was bitter โน๏ธ.
I thought it was odd to blend in the skins from the lines and I didn’t unstand how it wasn’t going to be bitter. But I crossed my fingers and hopped for the best. But again it was bitter even after I added more sweet and condensed milk and sugar!
I’m sorry it turned out bitter! Hmmmm Did you just gently pulse the limes in the blender? If I mix them too much I find that it mixes the bitter skin too much in with the juice. Did you pour it through a fine mesh strainer? Also, if the limes have a thicker skin or are larger than normal, it may be a bit more bitter. Just keep adding sugar or sweetened condensed milk and adjust to your liking! Let me know if you have any more questions!
This is so refreshing and good.. Made it in my Aer Vitamix Container..
Is it possible to make it in advance and serve later? I would like to make it in the morning and then serve it to my colleagues at lunch. Will that still be good?
Yes, you should be fine to make it that far in advance.
Love the recipe!!
Just curious if you could sub the limes with lemons, or if it would create an unpleasant taste blended?
I keep meaning to try that but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet!
Came out so good, also would be a good base for cocktails and mocktails. i ended up using less sugar and a bit more condensed milk.
This seems more like a story about making Brazilian Lemonade.
Maybe I missed it somewhere in the article, but how many limes do I use, how much water, how much milk?
Hi! You will always find the recipe card with the detailed instructions and measurements at the end of the post. To make it easy for you I have a jump to recipe button at the top of the post that will take you straight to the recipe card.
This is the best recipe I’ve tried yet. My first two attempts were too bitter. This has the right ratio of lime to sweetener. The only thing I did differently was blend the limes with the water. I did 15 pulses in my vitamix and then strained. I then rinsed out the blender, added the juice back in and blended 1/2 cup of condensed milk and poured over ice. I see no reason why this would not benefit from a shot of tequila, if the leftovers make it until dinner time ๐
This is excellent. I tried this with my little yellow limes from my tree. Iโm not sure if they are Mexican limes or key limes but my tree produces several hundred each year and I donโt know what to do with them. Simply delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Oh man I am jealous of your lime tree! What a perfect way to use up those limes. I also have a good key lime pie recipe! https://houseofnasheats.com/best-key-lime-pie-recipe/
crazy good, dayum bruv you’re the best
Sooo good and refreshing. ๐ used Natireโs Charm sweetened condensed coconut milk and less sugar.
This is one of my favorite drinks to serve at a gathering. It’s always a big hit!
Pretty dang good! But does have bitter aftertaste. I would suggest making it wiht cocounut cream rum and blend this with ice. There you go: you have a lime & coconut from the Caribbean!
So good so easy
Thank you!
Modified the recipe to my liking and after reading some commenters feedback –
I believe I only ended up using close to 1/4 cup of sugar total, and only blended half the limes while squeezing the life out of the rest of them. I was generous with the sweetened condensed milk, just a bit more than half the 300ml can, and finished it by zesting as much lime I could, adding a sugar rim to my glass and garnishing it with lime and a few ice cubes.
I really enjoyed it, and therefore have to say it doesnโt need such a huge amount of sugar! Really appreciated the lime flavour.
Great! I love the modifications. This will be nice for readers to see that this recipe is great because it’s easy to adjust the ingredients. Make it as sweet as you want!
Skip the sugar and thank me later
Iโve had this and itโs very good just wondering does it have to be kept refrigerated?
Yes, refrigerate until ready to serve.
Just made this refreshing drink with some GREAT nachos. What a nice treat!
This is my new summer (and maybe winter) drink! We experimented with replacing the cup of sugar with 1/2-cup of agave nectar and I think that made it even better.
Fantastic recipe, this is the perfect summer drink..which I’ll definitely make in the winter as well ๐โ๐ฉ
I like it sweet so I made this recipe as it was written. Delicious, easy and refreshing!
Me and my family loved this simple yet elegant recipe thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
Delish! I cut the sugar by 10% and it just perfectly sweet!
Great! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Made your recipe today. We all enjoyed it so much. I thought it would be too sweet but the balance is just right. Will definitely make it again!
Great! Yes you can always add more or less sugar, depending on your taste preference. Glad you enjoyed it!
This is the most amazing limeade I have ever had in my entire life. Quite sweet but very delicious.
Wow thank you!