Creamy Lemonade Is the Drink of the Summer

Lemonade is the essential summertime beverage. Friends and neighbors gather on front porches during the warmer months to fan themselves in rocking chairs and sip ice cold glasses of refreshing lemonade. If you were really lucky as a kid, a homemade lemonade stand may have been your first "job" — paper cups lined along the front of the wooden stand to be filled and sold for 25 cents.

When TikTok creator @hayzeegirldesigns shared a quick video of her creamy lemonade recipe, she had no idea it would go viral the way it did. That video has now racked up over 5 million views. Folks just can't get enough creamy lemonade.

What makes creamy lemonade different from traditional lemonade? One special ingredient: sweetened condensed milk. While folks in Brazil and Vietnam have been using sweetened condensed milk in lemon and lime drinks for years, most people in the U.S. only use it for holiday pies and desserts. This may seem like a strange ingredient to add to lemonade, but trust us, you're going to love it.

The original recipe @hayzeegirldesigns shared will certainly get the job done, though we have some tips to make it an even smoother process. You have a few options for making this recipe your own.

Depending on your sweetness preference, you can choose to allow the sweetened condensed milk to be the only sweetener in the lemonade, or you can add extra white sugar. You can also opt for sparkling water instead of flat to make a sparkling creamy lemonade that will be similar to soda pop. You can also jazz up your lemonade by adding fresh raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, mint, or basil. Don't be afraid to get creative and add in fun fruits and herbs.

Quick tip: it's important to add these ingredients in the order listed below. This ensures that all of your ingredients get incorporated properly. No one wants a big gulp of undissolved sugar or a glob of sweetened condensed milk stuck at the bottom of their glass.

How to Make Creamy Lemonade

Ingredients

the juice of 6 large lemons
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
⅛ cup white sugar (optional based on your sweetness preference)
3 lemons, sliced thin
Optional add-ins: raspberries, strawberries, mint, basil, etc.