Skip the powdered mix and turn fresh rhubarb into the most refreshing lemonade of summer.

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If you’re looking for a way to use up a pile of rhubarb that isn’t another pie or crisp, Rhubarb Lemonade is the answer! Tart rhubarb and lemons make a refreshing summer drink with a beautiful pink color that looks as good as it tastes.

Two glass bottles, one filled with pink rhubarb lemonade and the other with clear liquid, sit on a table alongside two glasses, fresh rhubarb stalks, a lemon, a juicer, and a red-checkered towel.

This isn’t a ready to drink lemonade but rather a rhubarb syrup that you can use to make drinks of varying concentration. Make a batch of the concentrated syrup and keep it in the refrigerator so a glass of homemade lemonade is always just minutes away.

A glass of pink rhubarb lemonade with ice sits beside fresh lemon, rhubarb stalks, a bottle, a glass with ice, a lemon juicer, and a red-checkered cloth on a white surface.

If you’re new around here you know I love rhubarb. That’s a good thing because we have a lot of it growing here, I better love it. We make pies, trifles, and oatmeal bars but this lemonade is our new favorite.

Rhubarb, a jar of water, lemons, a bowl of sugar, and a yellow juicer for making rhubarb lemonade are arranged on a red and white checkered cloth. Each item is labeled.

What You Need to Make This Recipe

There aren’t a lot of ingredients in this little recipe, and they’re all probably exactly what you’d expect from a rhubarb lemonade. So much better than any concentrate or powder you’re going to find in the store. PLUS the bonus here is you’re using up that rhubarb.

Rhubarb
Water
Sugar
Lemons

A bottle of pink rhubarb lemonade, a clear carafe, two empty glasses, a lemon, rhubarb stalks, a yellow lemon squeezer, and red plaid towels on a white surface.

Make It Your Own!

This recipe is easy to customize. Taste the mixture once it’s cooked, if it’s not sweet enough you can stir in more sugar. Just make sure to stir it in while the syrup is still hot so it’s dissolved.

You could add strawberries while the rhubarb cooks for a strawberry-rhubarb version. Or try adding raspberries.

For a sparkling drink, mix the syrup with club soda or seltzer instead of still water. Or mix a little splash to a can of diet soda for flavor and color.

You can also adjust the syrup-to-water ratio to make it more tart or more sweet depending on your preference. I like 2 parts syrup to 1 part water and my husband likes it 4 parts water to 1 part syrup.

You can also use the syrup in place of simple syrup or syrups in cocktails. Even mocktails like this Shirley Temple you can swap out the grenadine for rhubarb syrup.

A textured glass filled with pink rhubarb lemonade and ice sits on a white surface, next to a clear glass, a glass bottle of pink liquid, and a yellow citrus juicer.

Storing The Syrup

Store the strained rhubarb lemonade syrup in a bottle or jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. Give it a quick stir before using if any settling occurs. For the freshest flavor, mix the syrup with water only when you’re ready to serve.