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Home » Frozen Treats

Published: Jul 5, 2021 by Kathy

Lemon Sorbet

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Scoops of a white sorbet topped with lemon slices.

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.

A blue bowl with scoops of lemon sorbet.

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 on a counter.
  • 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
Sugar being poured into a saucepan.
Zesting a lemon.
  • 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
Lemon juice being poured into a bowl.
Pouring liquid into an ice cream mixing 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
Sorbet in an ice cream machine.

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

What is the difference between sorbet, sherbet and ice cream?

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.

How long will sorbet last?

When stored in a covered container in a freezer, the sorbet will maintain its quality for up to one month.

More sorbet recipes

  • raspberry sorbet
  • lime sorbet
  • watermelon sorbet
  • grapefruit sorbet
  • apricot sorbet
Scoops of sorbet in a blue bowl.

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!

  • Scoops of sorbet in a bowl with a lime wedge.
    Lime Sorbet
  • Scoops of raspberry sorbet in small white bowls.
    Raspberry Sorbet
  • A scoop of chocolate ice cream in a sugar cone.
    Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream
  • Scoops of strawberry ice cream in a bowl.
    Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
A blue bowl with scoops of lemon sorbet.

Lemon Sorbet

Kathy Berget
A tart lemon frozen treat made without any milk or cream. This frozen lemon sorbet is tart and refreshing.
5 from 23 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Churning Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings
Calories 126 kcal

Equipment

  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Zester
  • Ice Cream Maker
Prevent your screen from going dark

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 126kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 46mgFiber: 1gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 3IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @BeyondTheChickenCoop or tag #beyondthechickencoop!

More Frozen Treats

  • Scoops of peach ice cream in a small white bowl.
    Old Fashioned Peach Ice Cream
  • A bowl filled with orange ice cream.
    Apricot Sorbet
  • Orange ice cream in a glass dish being scooped into a round shape by an ice cream scoop.
    Orange Sherbet
  • Scoops of lime sherbet in a white bowl.
    Lime Sherbet

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linnie Sohler says

    August 03, 2023 at 1:07 am

    Can I use Stevia instead of sugar?

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      August 03, 2023 at 4:48 am

      I have not used Stevia before so I don't know how it works.

      Reply
  2. Dianna says

    June 18, 2022 at 9:51 am

    5 stars
    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!!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      June 18, 2022 at 1:04 pm

      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 🙂

      Reply
  3. Rosemary says

    July 11, 2021 at 10:57 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      July 11, 2021 at 7:22 pm

      Hi Rosemary,
      Enjoy!!! It's super refreshing and delish!!! 🙂

      Reply
  4. David @ Spiced says

    July 06, 2021 at 5:24 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      July 06, 2021 at 5:34 am

      I'm always surprised at how easy it really is to make homemade! This lemon sorbet is very refreshing!
      Enjoy 🙂

      Reply
  5. Dawn - Girl Heart Food says

    July 05, 2021 at 10:26 am

    5 stars
    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. 😉

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      July 06, 2021 at 5:34 am

      Enjoy 🙂

      Reply
5 from 23 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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I'm Kathy, and I love to create delicious recipes from scratch utilizing many ingredients that we grow and raise. I'm a recipe creator, food photographer, and cookbook author!

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