A refreshing summer drink with just the balance of sweet, tart, and fruity! This sparkling blueberry lemonade will become your go-to summer beverage, the perfect sip for sitting on the porch after work or taking to a barbecue.

Most of the components can be made ahead and thrown in the fridge. It only takes 5 minutes to finish it off before serving!

Start by making blueberry simple syrup: dissolve sugar into water with blueberries and lemon zest. If you don’t have a zester, you can create a close approximation by shaving some of the skin off the lemon and then mince it into tiny pieces.

While the blueberry syrup is cooling, halve the lemons for squeezing.

You need just about 1 cup of lemon juice. Fresh is way better  than the bottle stuff for this, you can definitely tell a difference.

Once everything has cooled completely, combine the syrup with the lemon juice.

When ready to serve, blend the syrup, lemon juice, and ice together.

Finally, add the sparkling water and garnishes!

Because it’s sparkling, it’s best served either all at once in a pitcher or one glass at a time with the sparkling water added to the glass just before drinking. Best served in a fun mason jar dispenser and set on the porch for a hot afternoon! I based this recipe on one from Chelsea’s Messy Apron.

Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup lemon juice, about 5 lemons’ worth
• 1 extra lemon, sliced for garnish
• 2 cups ice cubes
• 3.5 cups sparkling water (I used San Pellegrino)

Steps:

1. In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar, zest and 1 1/2 cups blueberries. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 8 minutes or until the blueberries are bursting and sugar has fully dissolved, making a blueberry syrup.
2. Strain the syrup and put it in the fridge to cool.
3. Meanwhile, squeeze the lemons (all but one, set it aside) to get 1 cup lemon juice.
4. Combine the blueberry syrup, lemon juice and ice. Blend until smooth.
5. If serving the whole batch immediately: Add sparkling water, remaining blueberries and lemon slices.
6. If not serving all at once:  Serve the blueberry mixture and top with sparkling water. Add blueberries and lemon slices for garnish.

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