This Brazilian lemonade—the latest viral drink on the internet—lives up to the hype! To clear things up, this lemonade is not made from lemons but from limes.

The reason why Brazilian lemonade is called a lemonade and not a limeade is due to the translation. In Portuguese, limão is the term for lime, so everyone calls it limonada. In Bulgaria we also call any type of citrus drink limonada; limonada generally serves as a broad term for any lime or lemon juice, hence the confusion in English.

This drink is creamy, citrusy, and refreshing. It’s only 3 simple ingredients: ice, limes, and sweetened condensed milk. Traditionally, Brazilian lemonade uses whole limes — pith, peel, and all. The whole limes are blended with water and ice to create the base of this drink, but I decided to remove the lime peels prior to blending, as the limes in Canada have really thick skin and can be extremely bitter.

Brazilian lemonade by the modern nonna brazilian lemonade

Brazilian Lemonade

Themodernnonnathemodernnonna
This drink is creamy, citrusy, and refreshing. It's only 3 simple ingredients: ice, limes, and sweetened condensed milk.
4.50 from 4 votes
Prep Time 10 mins
Servings 4

Equipment

  • blender

Ingredients
  

  • zest of 2 limes
  • 4 limes, peels removed and pith (the white coating between the lime flesh and peel) removed
  • 4 cups cold filtered water
  • ice
  • One 14-ounce (300-ml) can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions
 

  • Add the peeled limes to a blender with the cold water. Blend for 20 to 30 seconds. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the blended liquid through the strainer. You should be left with a little bit of pulp which you can use for other recipes or compost.
  • Pour the strained liquid back into the blender with ice, lime zest and the sweetened condensed milk. Blend until frothy.
  • Enjoy with extra ice and if you're in the mood, you can absolutely add a splash of your favorite alcohol too.

Notes

If you are not a fan of (or cannot tolerate) sweetened condensed milk, I would definitely try this drink with a can of coconut milk and some sweetener instead.
You don’t have to remove the lime peels but I prefer to, as it can be really bitter. If you want to add the limes in whole, do NOT blend for more than 20 seconds before straining. 
Feel free to add a splash of any alcohol of choice, if you’re in the mood. 
You can absolutely use lemons instead of limes. I do have a delicious recipe up from last year that uses lemons as well. 
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
If you love one of my recipes, please leave a review. It would mean so much to me if you did. Thank you for being here and bringing me into your kitchen.

2 Responses

  1. 5 stars
    Hi! I’m Brazilian and I just loved to see this recipe here! It’s very refreshing and all restaurants have it!
    Sometimes we remove the peel too. If not drinked right alway, the lemonade become very bitter.
    But it’s really good!
    Best wishes!
    Larissa

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

On Key

Recent Posts

Orzo Pasta Salad

There’s a secret to making the most refreshing summertime orzo pasta salad! My secret ingredient is freshly squeezed orange juice. The orange juice gives this

Read More »

Pickled Onions

Making pickled onions is easier than you think. Did you know you only need one ingredient and 2 minutes of time to make the BEST

Read More »