Strawberry Lemonade Sparkling Drink

# What You’ll Need:

01 - 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

02 - 1 lemon, sliced for garnish

03 - 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

04 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar or 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

05 - 2 cups cold sparkling water

06 - 1/2 cup cold water

07 - 1 cup ice cubes

01 - In a blender, combine strawberries, lemon juice, sugar or honey, and 1/2 cup cold water. Blend until smooth.

02 - Pour the blended mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large pitcher to remove seeds and pulp.

03 - Add ice to the pitcher, then pour in sparkling water and stir gently to combine.

04 - Taste the mocktail and adjust sweetness if needed by adding more sugar or honey.

05 - Serve in glasses filled with extra ice, garnished with lemon slices and whole strawberries if desired.

01 -

It's naturally sweet without being cloying, which means you can actually drink more than one glass without sugar crash.
The whole thing takes exactly 10 minutes, making it your secret weapon for last-minute guests or when you need something that feels fancy but requires zero stress.
Fresh strawberries blend into this gorgeous pink drink that looks almost too beautiful to have made in your own kitchen.

02 -

If you skip the straining step because it feels like too much work, you'll end up with grainy texture clinging to your teeth—the sieve is worth the 30 seconds, I promise.
Macerate your strawberries with sugar for 30 minutes before blending if you want deeper, more concentrated strawberry flavor that makes people ask what your secret is.

03 -

Room-temperature strawberries blend better than cold ones, releasing more flavor, so pull them from the fridge 15 minutes before making this drink.
A squeeze of fresh lime juice added to the base creates complexity and makes people pause mid-sip trying to identify what they're tasting.