Learn how to make a lemonade concentrate recipe canning to preserve fresh fruit in the summer for later. This strawberry lemonade concentrate canning recipe is a family favorite, and it has an amazing flavor that your family is sure to love.

Canned Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate

Name: Strawberry Lemonade Canning Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 cups strawberries, hulled; 4 cups fresh lemon juice; 6 cups sugar

It's strawberry season, and I'll gladly take all the strawberries that I can get my hands on! I made a 10 pound batch of freeze dried strawberries, low sugar strawberry jam, and two batches of this canning drink concentrate so far this year.

Strawberries are best fresh, but I am always looking for canned strawberry recipes. My kids love this canned strawberry lemonade concentrate, and it's a great way to enjoy the taste of fresh strawberries all year.

If you order a strawberry lemonade in a restaurant or buy it at the store, you'll get lemonade with a little bit of strawberry flavor. This is more strawberry than lemonade, so it has a delicious flavor from the berry puree.

For more canning recipes, check out these posts:

Keep track of your canning recipes with my printable canning journal. It has recipe pages and information about canning and planning your canning year so you have enough food for your family.

What is Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate?

This lemonade concentrate recipe canning is an undiluted drink. After you can it, you mix it with water to create a delicious pitcher of strawberry lemonade.

Since it's a concentrate, one pint will make 2 quarts or half a gallon of strawberry lemonade.

Is Pink Lemonade the Same as Strawberry Lemonade?

Pink lemonade can be strawberry lemonade, raspberry lemonade, or even regular lemonade with cranberry juice or food coloring for a pink hue.

This strawberry lemonade concentrate canning recipe is nothing like the pink lemonade that you're used to. It's so much better!

What is Lemonade Concentrate Made Of?

A lemonade concentrate recipe canning is made from fresh squeezed lemon juice and sugar. I also added strawberries for flavor.

It doesn't have water added, so it's very sour to drink by itself.

Can Lemonade Be Canned?

Yes, lemonade can be safely canned at home. Lemon juice is acidic, so it definitely meets the pH requirements for home canning.

Adding the strawberry doesn't alter the pH enough to worry about home canning. This is an approved and safe recipe for home canning.

The sugar isn't used as a preservative; it's just there for taste. I cut back on the sugar.

How Long Do You Water Bath Can Lemonade Concentrate?

Water bath this canned strawberry lemonade concentrate for 15 minutes.

Is Lemonade Concentrate the Same as Lemon Juice?

Both lemon juice and lemon concentrate are the same thing. For the concentrate, real lemon juice has the water removed and turned into a crystal.

Then the crystal is reconstituted to make lemon juice.

While you can use lemon juice from concentrate to make a lemonade concentrate recipe canning, I recommend using real lemon juice.

You can either squeeze fresh lemons or buy real lemon juice. It has a better flavor than the concentrate.

However, if you run out of lemons, you can add some concentrate. I bought 10 pounds of lemons to make two batches and ended up with 7 cups of lemon juice (I needed 8). I added one cup of lemon juice from concentrate, and it's fine.

So feel free to do half an half or mix the two kinds of juices.

How Long Can You Store Homemade Lemonade Concentrate?

When canning drink concentrate, you can store this for for a year on the shelf. It could be longer, but I can't find a definitive answer.

Once opened, this strawberry lemonade concentrate will last for 5 to 7 days stored in the fridge.

If a jar doesn't seal, you can freeze your lemonade concentrate for up to three months. Learn reasons for why canning jars not sealing and how to reprocess canning jars.

How to Make Low Sugar Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Canning Recipe

Even though you dilute this canning drink concentrate, there's a lot of sugar! I cut back the sugar to 5 cups per batch.

I used half Splenda for baking and half sugar. I am not a fan of Splenda because it's bitter, but I had a lot of it in the cupboard.

It added plenty of sweetness, and you could not tell that I used it in place of half of the sugar.

You can use your favorite sweetener to get the equivalent of 6 cups of sugar. You can use stevia to sweeten your strawberry lemonade, but you'll have to watch how much to add for the kind that you use.

I recommend adding 4 cups worth and then testing it by combining 1 tablespoon of concentrate and 3 tablespoons of water. Add more sugar to taste.

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Canning Tips and Variations

Here are some tips and variations for making a canning drink concentrate:

Use half freshly squeezed lemonade and half bottled lemonade to save time.
You can also use bottled fresh lemon juice.
You can freeze strawberries to make a strawberry lemonade concentrate canning recipe when it's convenient.
You can also use raspberries, blueberries, or a mix of berries. Peach would also be really good!
You will mix this concentrate with 3 parts of water, so use jelly jars or pint jars, depending on how much concentrate you want.
You can replace the sugar with your favorite sweetener. I used half Splenda for baking and half sugar.
I also reduced the sugar to 5 cups per batch.
You can easily double the batch. I did this and used my pressure canner rack instead of the water bath rack to fit more jars in the canner. I got 9 jars for a double batch.
I used water to make my strawberry lemonade, but you can also use tonic water or ginger ale.
This recipe must be water bathed for safety. Learn more about canning mistakes that can kill you to prevent botulism.
Learn how to clean and sterilize glass jars before canning.
Save your lemon peels and use them to make dried lemon peel.

Canned Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Ingredients

You will need the following to make canned strawberry lemonade concentrate:

6 cups strawberries, hulled
4 cups fresh lemon juice
6 cups sugar
5-6 pint jars
Rings and lids
Water bath canner

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Canning Directions

Step #1

Puree strawberries in batches. I used my small Ninja, and it did great.

Step #2

Put the strawberry puree in a large pan over medium high heat.

Step #3

Add the lemon juice and sugar. Stir well. Heat until it reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not let it boil.

Step #4

Ladle the strawberry lemonade concentrate into pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims and process in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Step #5

When the time is up, turn off the heat and remove the lid from the canner. Let the jars sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Remove the jars and place on a towel or heat proof surface.

This canned strawberry lemonade concentrate makes about 5-6 pints per batch.

To make strawberry lemonade, combine 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water. Stir well. Enjoy!

I hope your family loves this strawberry lemonade concentrate recipe canning!

Like this post? Pin it!

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate Canning Recipe