This cherry limeade instantly reminds me of carefree summer days, and it couldn’t be easier to make. A little sweet, a little tangy, and for sure refreshing, this drink is perfect for sipping with family and friends!
Why We Love This Cherry Limeade Recipe
- Great Copycat Recipe – Skip the drive through and make this copycat Sonic cherry limeade recipe right at home to enjoy.
- Cool And Refreshing – This sweet drink is perfect for any hot day, perfect for a quick pick me up.
- Easy To Make For A Group – Skip the punch and make a big pitcher of cherry limeade for your next potluck, bbq or to sip by the pool for a delicious treat.
Ingredients For Cherry Limeade
- lime juice – can use whole limes or jarred lime juice
- maraschino cherries save the cherry juice, and a few cherries to use as a garnish, but remove the stems
- white sugar
- lemon-lime soda like Sprite or 7UP, you could also use club soda but you may need to add a little more sugar to taste.
- ice
How To Make Homemade Cherry Limeade
- Place the lime juice, cherries, the juice from the cherry jar, and the sugar into a blender. Blend for at about 30 seconds. The sugar should be dissolved and the cherries should be fully blended.
- Pour the cherry mixture into a pitcher. Add lemon lime soda and give the mixture a stir. Add the ice to the pitcher. Serve with more cherries and lime wedges, and enjoy!
Variation Ideas
Adjust The Sweetness – I’ve added just a little bit of extra white sugar to balance the lime flavor, but you can adjust the sweetness to your own tastes.
Try a Probiotic Soda – Probiotic sodas like Poppi and Olipop are pretty popular, and most of them have a lemon lime flavor! You can swap it out cup for cup.
Use Lemonade – Lemonade can be swapped for the lemon lime soda. It makes it taste more like a cherry lemonade and you may need to adjust the amount of lime juice to get enough lime flavor coming though.
Add Another Lemon Lime Drink – If you don’t want the bubbles, you can add another lemon lime flavored beverage like those drink packets or the type of flavoring you add to water, just mix up enough to make 5 cups with.
How Long Will Cherry Limeade Last?
Cherry limeade will only last for about 6-8 hours when stored in the pitcher, as the lemon lime soda will go flat. If you pour the leftover mixture back into a two liter bottle or into another sealed bottle it can last for 2-3 days before it goes flat.
If you would like to make this recipe ahead of time mix the cherries and lime mixture together and store in a covered container or pitcher. Then right before serving add the lemon lime soda to the mixture which will keep it bubbly.
Alternatively you could use one of the lemon lime alternatives I listed in the variations that are not bubbly and make this drink ahead of time.
Cherry Limeade
Whenever I need a fun, refreshing drink for a BBQ or pool day this cherry limeade is my go-to. It is sweet, a little tangy, and disappears fast so you might want to make a big batch.
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Place the lime juice, cherries, the juice from the cherry jar, and the sugar into a blender. Blend for at about 30 seconds. The sugar should be dissolved and the cherries should be fully blended.
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Pour the cherry mixture into a pitcher. Add lemon lime soda and give the mixture a stir. Add the ice to the pitcher. Serve with more cherries and lime wedges, and enjoy!
Fresh strawberries unfortunately aren’t a great swap in this recipe for the cherries as fresh strawberries will cause this drink to be really foamy.
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
