If you are looking for a fun and refreshing drink, this Brazilian limeade recipe is for you. It only takes 4 simple ingredients and a couple of minutes to make.
It is a slightly creamy drink with big lime flavor and plenty of ice to cool you off on a hot day. A lot of recipes for this delicious beverage call it Brazilian lemonade, but we decided to go with limeade as it more accurately describes what’s inside.
No matter what you call it, this recipe is super simple and really flavorful. The mix of citrus, condensed milk, and plenty of ice makes for a fabulous drink for cookouts or for just sipping on the porch.
There is just something fun about having a fruity drink to sip on as the weather warms up. We love making homemade blackberry lemonade or cherry limeade.
But when I saw that Brazilian limeade includes condensed milk, you know I had to give it a try. I am a sucker trying all different kinds of sweetened condensed milk recipes.
Making Brazilian Limeade
This easy recipe only takes 4 simple ingredients. You just cut the whole limes into chunks and toss them in the blender.
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That’s right, the whole lime goes in there. Cutting them into quarters or eights just makes the blender’s job a little bit easier.
Add some water and condensed milk and let that blender go to town. You want for it to be as smooth as possible.
Strain out any remaining chunks and refrigerate or serve immediately over ice. That’s it!
Why do people call it lemonade if it’s made from limes?
It feels a little weird to call this drink “lemonade” when there are no actual lemons in it, just limes. But it turns out the word for both lemons and limes in Portuguese is limão.
A drink made from either is called limonada, which was translated to lemonade in English. I am assuming that is because lemonade, and perhaps lemons in general, are more popular here than lime or limeade.
You can call it whichever way you would like. We decided to go with limeade today to make it simple.
Get Inspired
For more tasty beverage inspiration, check out my collection of drink recipes. Or check out my lime recipes for more citrus goodness.
Brazilian Limeade
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 fresh limes
- 3 cups cold water
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups ice
Instructions
- Wash 6 fresh limes and chop them into about 8 pieces each.
- In a blender, add pieces of lime, 3 cups cold water, and 1 cup sweetened condensed milk. Blend for about 15 seconds. The longer you blend, the more bitter the resulting drink will be.
- Strain everything.
- Pour over 2 cups ice.
Notes
- Brazilian limeade does not keep well, so it is best used not too long after it is made. Luckily, it is quick and easy to make so you can make it on demand.
- If you have extra, try freezing it into popsicles for a frozen treat later.
- Taste it and if it is too sour or bitter for your taste, add the rest of the can of condensed milk. Or make simple syrup by warming up 1 cup of water and 1 cup of granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in and chill until ready to drink.
Video
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For the negative post, I’m sure you could add some sugar
I bet if you would switch out the water for white rum if would be wonderful…lol
That would definitely give it some punch!
This is a bad recipe. It is absolutely undrinkable. Sooo bitter. Let me ask you something, Carleee. Did you actually make this, and it wasn’t bitter? If so , what kind of limes did you use? Can you tell if a lime is good for this recipe by looking at it?
Another untested recipe from social media- what a surprise. I’m sorry if this is unkind, but if the comments are 100% unfavorable, pull the recipe and retest.
Yes, we made it. There’s even a video of it in the recipe card. This is a pretty traditional way to make it. If you search Brazilian lemonade or Brazilian limeade you will find they are all pretty similar.
Why don’t you just add some sweetener…simple fix…lol
My husband is diabetic. A substitute for sweetened condensed milk is 1/4 C monk sugar and 1 C almond milk. I haven’t tried it, but always looking for alternatives!
That’s good to know, thank you.
Turned out very bitter and had to throw the whole batch away. Wish I would have read the comments and took the peel off before blending. I even tried to fix it by doing double the sweetened condensed milk and it was still crazy bitter. Then I added a whole bunch of stevia packets and sugar before giving up and that didn’t even help:(
I am sorry about that. I think some limes work better than others but it is hard to tell how bitter one will be ahead of time. Peeling them would definitely be a good insurance policy against bitter pith.
Came out so so BITTER!! Even with over double the sweetened condensed milk, salt to calm the rogues receptors, and diluting to no end, it left a bitter taste in our mouths. Turns out the “blend for a few minutes” releases bitter oils out of the white pith in the lime, and the blending process requires more steps. We couldn’t save the batch, never making it this way again.
I am sorry about that. Extra pithy limes can give it a bitter taste. It seems like nice small limes work best.
SO bitter 🥴 It would be dramatically better with peeled limes, but leaving the peel intact makes for a real unpleasant bitter taste that no amount of doctoring can fix
How interesting that the whole lime goes in there! We have a lime tree that is laden with fruit right now so this would be the perfect time to try this!
It is so easy and really refreshing. It sounds like you should make some!
I love lime! How have I never heard of this before? So refreshing!
You’ll have to make some this summer!