An ultra refreshing lemon sorbet made with just fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and water. Full of tart lemon flavor!
Serve as a dessert or between courses to cleanse your palette.
Delicious homemade sorbet
Lemon sorbet is so refreshing on a hot summer's day. This is a very tart sorbet and all you need is one small scoop to satisfy your taste buds.
Sorbet is easy to make. All the hard work is done by an electric ice cream maker and your freezer. Once made, you do want to allow time for your freezer to further cure (or harden) the sorbet.
Key ingredients
- Fresh lemons - for juice and zest. Not sure how to zest a lemon? Check out How to Zest a Lemon.
- Sugar
- Water - use filtered water if you have strong-tasting tap water
Step-by-step directions
- Place water and sugar together in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Zest and juice lemons
- Refrigerate sugar water and lemon juice until completely chilled
- Combine sugar water with lemon juice and lemon zest
- Pour into a frozen ice cream maker bowl
- Churn for 15-20 minutes until the sorbet is frozen
- Remove sorbet from churning bowl and place in a freezer for 2-3 hours before serving
Recipe tips
- Make certain ice cream churning bowl is fully frozen. Mine takes 24 hours to fully freeze
- Don't combine sugar water and lemon juice until fully chilled
- To speed up the chilling process, place sugar water in a bowl partially submerged in another bowl filled with ice water. Stir sugar water until chilled
- You'll need to harden (or freeze) the sorbet once finished churning. You can eat right away, but it will be very soft and will melt quickly.
- Once hardened, the sorbet may be difficult to scoop. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping.
- Store in freezer in a covered container
Recipe Faqs
Sorbet, sherbet and ice cream are all three frozen treats that can be churned in an ice cream maker.
Sorbet is made with just fruit juice or fruit puree. There isn't any dairy added to sorbet.
Sherbet is a mixture between sorbet and part ice cream. It is often made with fruit juice, but a small amount of milk or cream is also added.
Ice cream is typically made from a custard made from eggs and cream. Flavorings, including fruit, are then added.
When stored in a covered container in a freezer, the sorbet will maintain its quality for up to one month.
More sorbet recipes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be certain to check out all my frozen treat recipes!
Lemon Sorbet
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 ¾ cups lemon juice (fresh squeezed, about 8 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Heat water and sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Place in refrigerator until fully chilled.2 ¼ cups water, 1 ½ cups sugar
- Juice and zest lemons. Chill lemon juice in refrigerator.1 ¾ cups lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Combine chilled sugar water with lemon juice and lemon zest
- Pour into frozen ice cream maker bowl
- Churn 15-20 minutes until sorbet is frozen and has begun to thicken
- Remove sorbet from ice cream maker bowl and place in a freezer safe container
- Cover and freeze for 1-2 hours until fully hardened (frozen)
Notes
- If you want your sorbet less tart, add ¼ - ½ cup additional sugar
- Make certain ice cream churning bowl is fully frozen. Mine takes 24 hours to fully freeze
- Don't combine sugar water and lemon juice until fully chilled
- To speed up chilling process, place sugar water in a bowl partially submerged in another bowl filled with ice water. Stir sugar water until chilled.
- You'll need to harden (or freeze) the sorbet once finished churning. You can eat right away, but it will be very soft and will melt quickly.
- Once hardened, the sorbet may be difficult to scoop. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping.
- Store in freezer in a covered container
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Linnie Sohler says
Can I use Stevia instead of sugar?
Kathy says
I have not used Stevia before so I don't know how it works.
Dianna says
I loved the results from this recipe! Wonderful. Now I want to make a strawberry lemonade sorbet, black cherry, raspberry, fresh orange, peaches... I will take this basic recipe and start creating. Lemon is still going to be my favorite! Thank!!
Kathy says
Thanks so much!!! Using this as a base is a great idea and I love all the flavors you'll be making soon!
Thanks,
Kathy 🙂
Rosemary says
So refreshing and delicious. I'm a huge tangy lemon fan and especially love lemon sorbet. Loving this healthy recipe and will definitively be making some!
Kathy says
Hi Rosemary,
Enjoy!!! It's super refreshing and delish!!! 🙂
David @ Spiced says
I love my ice cream maker! It makes it so easy to make all sorts of frozen treats. I haven't made sorbet in a whole now, and I'm thinking this lemon sorbet would be perfect for cooling off on a hot summer day!
Kathy says
I'm always surprised at how easy it really is to make homemade! This lemon sorbet is very refreshing!
Enjoy 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Lemon desserts are probably my fave so I know I'd love this one! Perfect on a summer day. I'd definitely want at least two scoops, maybe three. 😉
Kathy says
Enjoy 🙂