Do you love Chick Fil A's frosted lemonade? You'll love this copycat recipe that'll allow you to make a treat quite similar to the original right in your own home! With a creamy vanilla ice cream base and fresh-squeezed sweetened lemon juice, this is a refreshing frozen beverage perfect for hot summer days.
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Chick Fil A and in posting this recipe I am in no way claiming an endorsement or relationship by/with Chick Fil A. This is just a fun frozen lemonade recipe inspired by the original treat. I make no claims about the actual ingredients or process that Chick Fil A uses to create their frosted lemonade, as I have no idea what they actually use. I'm sharing my own experience with this recipe and its similarity to Chick Fil A's version.
What Ingredients Do I Need?
You can make frosted lemonade with just a few simple ingredients!
- Vanilla Ice Cream - for best results, choose one that's super creamy and that has a good vanilla flavor. When testing this recipe, I used Breyer's Extra-Creamy Vanilla and it worked out great. Use your favorite!
- Lemon Juice - I recommend squeezing the juice right out of a lemon for the best citrus flavor. The recipe calls for ¼ cup of lemon juice, so you will need at least one large lemon or two smaller lemons. You can use bottled lemon juice, but for best results make sure it's 100% natural and not from concentrate or with added ingredients
- Cold Water & Sugar - this is to dilute and sweeten the lemon juice.
What Substitutions Can I Make?
- Vegan or Dairy Free - You can use a vegan or lactose-free ice cream to accommodate any dietary or allergy needs, keeping in mind that the flavor and/or texture may be different than what I achieved with the recipe as written.
- Lemonade - You can use 1 ¼ cups of lemonade in place of the lemon juice, sugar, and water. For best results, use a 100% all natural lemonade and make sure it's very cold before adding it to the blender.
What Blender Is Best For Frosted Lemonade?
Because this recipe doesn't use anything hard or chunky, any blender will work great! You could even use an immersion blender in a pitcher if that's all you have available.
HELPFUL TIP: The consistency of this frosted lemonade is somewhere in between a milkshake and heavy cream - it's thick but not thick, you know what I mean? I recommend chilling the pitcher of your blender before blending as well as chilling your serving glasses to preserve the yummy frostiness as long as possible.
This is a good economical choice (Instant Ace Nova)
Vitamix is a well-loved blender (Find it here)
Can I Make This In Advance?
Unfortunately, because of the delicate consistency of this frosted lemonade, it should be served immediately after blending. Storing it in the fridge will cause the ice cream to melt further, and storing it in the freezer will cause it to be hard and icy. It only takes a few seconds (literally) to blend it up so just prepare and enjoy!
What Other Flavor Combinations Can I Make?
- Frosted Orangeade - use fresh-squeezed orange juice instead of lemon.
- Frosted Limeade - use fresh-squeezed lime juice instead of lemon.
- Chocolate Orange - use chocolate ice cream and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
- Strawberry Lemonade - use strawberry ice cream and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
Frosted Lemonade (Chick Fil A Copycat)
If you love Chick Fil A's frosted lemonade treat, you will go crazy for this easy copycat recipe inspired by the original!
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Approx 2 10oz drinks 1x
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 3 TBS white granulated sugar
- 1 cup cold water
- 3 cups vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- In a large glass, add the lemon juice, sugar, and cold water and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Add the lemon juice mixture and ice cream to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Serve immediately in chilled serving glasses.
Notes
Equipment Needed: a good blender or immersion blender (if using the latter, place ingredients in a deep pitcher).
I used Breyer's Extra-Creamy Vanilla ice cream to test this recipe.
One recipe uses exactly half of a 1.5 quart (48oz) container of ice cream.
If you used bottled lemon juice, make sure it's 100% with no other added or artificial ingredients for best flavor.
You can also use lemonade instead of the mixture of lemon juice, sugar, and water. Choose a 100% all natural lemonade and use 1 ¼ cups of lemonade.
Only blend until the mixture is smooth to avoid too much melting. I recommend chilling your serving glasses beforehand to keep things nice and frosty.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
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