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This 6-ingredient Mint Lemonade tastes just like the ones at Indo-Pak restaurants – lip-smacking, utterly refreshing, and a true treat. It’s the perfect party drink: simple to make (no squeezing tons of limes/lemons!), incredibly forgiving, and always a crowd-pleaser! Make it slightly slushy (like the video) or smooth (as pictured)!
Restaurant-Style Mint Lemonade – Perfect for Parties!
Have you ever tried that sparkling Mint Lemonade at Pakistani restaurants? Sometimes it’s slushy, like a virgin frozen Mint Mojito or Margarita (I don’t know the difference), and other times it’s smooth, like classic Mint Lemonade. Restaurants call it everything from Mint Lemonade to Mint Margarita to Mojito (I don’t think they know the difference either). 😂
Whatever you call it, it’s minty, refreshing, and perfectly sweet-tart. Like any sparkling drink, it’s great to sip with food – especially spicy dishes, which is probably why it’s so popular at South Asian restaurants. (You’ll also find it at iftar buffets during Ramadan.)
For years now, I’ve been making this Mint Lemonade for parties and over time, have gotten it to taste exactly like the one served at restaurants. I knew I nailed it when I took it to my friend’s dinner party and her guests asked her if it was from Future (a popular Desi restaurant here in Houston). Here’s her beautiful setup with my lemonade ready to be topped with soda:
Party Serving Tips
This recipe is intentionally party-friendly! I’ve made it mostly when I’m in a rush with no time to fuss over precise measurements. This is not a recipe where you have to be “exact” about anything, and it’s a hit no matter how imperfectly you make it. Here are some tips for serving at parties:
- Double the recipe. This makes enough for a big crowd and is easy to shop for (one whole can of limeade, one 2-Liter bottle of soda).
- When blending icedo not add water. This makes it easier to crush the ice and prevents overfilling the blender.
- Add carbonated soda right before serving.
- For individual servings: Add ice and concentrate (with water) to each glass, then top with lemon-lime soda just before serving.
- If you’re serving the slushy consistency, serve from a punch bowl instead of a drink dispenser. If your drink dispenser is strained, you might want to take the strainer out so mint doesn’t get clogged up.
Ingredient Tips and Variations
- Frozen limeade concentrate: I use Minute Maid brand. Yes, this is not a regular ingredient in my recipes🫣, but it’s great for parties when you don’t have time to squeeze tons of lemons and limes. It also helps make the drink balanced in tartness and sweetness.
- Substitute: I have tested replacing the concentrate with two whole peeled lemons. Increase sugar to taste.
- Optional addition of salt: Both my testers suggested adding black salt to balance the sweetness, though I typically skip it when serving guests. If you’d like to try it, start with 1/4 tsp Himalayan black salt (kala namak) or regular sea salt, taste, and add up to 1 tsp if you like it more savory.
How to make Mint Lemonade
- Blend the mint leaves, frozen concentrate, sugar, lemon & lime juice in a large blender. You want it as smooth as possible. If your blender doesn’t blend well, you can also use a strainer to strain out the mint at this point.
- Add the ice and water.
- To make a slushie consistency, pulse blender until ice is broken down but not completely smooth, about 30 seconds. For better control of ice consistency, you can blend ice alone.
- For a smooth consistency, blend on high until ice blends in completely.
- Top with chilled soda and stir gently. The concentrate will be quite strong – this is intentional since you’ll be serving it over plenty of ice, which naturally dilutes its strength.
- Serve! I love drinking this with a straw. If serving in individual glasses, you can get fancy with mint sprigs and/or lemon/lime rounds.
Make-Ahead + Storage Tips
- Make-ahead: Best served fresh and very cold, so I usually prepare it right before guests arrive. I’ve tested making the concentrate 2 hours ahead and it works great – just add the soda right before serving to keep it bubbly.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for a day or two, but the soda tends to go flat in a couple hours.
Tried this recipe? If you have a minute, please consider leaving a comment telling me how it was! You can also take a quick picture and upload it directly into the comments. If you’re on Instagramplease tag me so I can see your creations. I truly love hearing from you. Thank you!
Mint Lemonade (Desi Restaurant-Style)
This 6-ingredient Mint Lemonade tastes just like Indo-Pak restaurants, which often refer to it as a Virgin Mojito or Mint Margarita. This is the perfect drink to serve at parties – It’s simple to make (no squeezing tons of limes/lemons!), incredibly forgiving, and always a crowd-pleaser! Serve it slushy or smooth!
- 2 cups (~25-30 g) mint leaves, try not to use stems – you can use as little as 15g for a lighter mint flavor
- 6 oz (~220 g) frozen limeade concentrate, half of a 12 oz/355ml can, sub 2 small lemons, peeled- See Note 1
- 3-4 tbsp sugar, I use pure cane sugar
- 3 tbsp (45 g) lemon juice
- 2 tbsp (30 g) lime juice
- 3-4 cups (400+ g) ice cubes or crushed ice, more for serving
- 2 cups cold water
- 24 oz to 1 Liter bottle Lemon-Lime Soda, such as Sprite or Olipop, chilled – See Note 3
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Add the mint leaves, frozen concentrate, sugar, lemon juice, and lime juice to a large blender. Blend until completely smooth, about 1 minute. You want to get rid of any small bits of mint as much as possible.
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Add the ice and water (if making a single batch) or just ice (if doubling – see Note 2). For a slushier consistency, pulse blender until ice is broken down into small chunks, about 30 seconds. For a smooth consistency, blend on high until no ice chunks remain, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture into a large pitcher, punch bowl, or an unstrained beverage dispenser.
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Right before serving, top with the chilled soda, and give it a gentle stir. (At first it’ll be bubbly/fizzy, but it’ll quickly settle down.) As is, this may still be quite strong. Do not dilute with water. Instead, top with 2-3 cups (200g+) ice or 2-3 ice cubes per serving. Taste and adjust, adding sugar for sweetness and more lime/lemon for tang.
Note 2 – For doubling recipe: When making a double batch, add only ice (no water) to prevent overfilling the blender.
Note 3 – May use lemon-lime flavored soda of choice, or even sparkling water/seltzer. I have tested with Sprite and Olipop. For small quantities, 2 cans of soda (such as olipop) work great. For doubling, I use a 2L bottle.
Optional addition of salt: Both my testers suggested adding black salt to balance the sweetness, though I typically skip it when serving guests. If you’d like to try it, start with 1/4 tsp Himalayan black salt (kala namak) or regular sea salt, taste, and add up to 1 tsp if you like it more savory.
Make-ahead: Best served fresh, so I typically prepare it right before guests arrive. But I’ve experimented with making the concentrate 1-2 hours in advance and it works great. The key is adding the soda right before serving to keep it bubbly.
For individual servings: Add ice and concentrate (with water) to each glass, then top with lemon-lime soda just before serving.
Calories: 98kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 0.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.04g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 27mg, Potassium: 103mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 640IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 46mg, Iron: 1mg