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Two glass mason jar mugs filled with white Brazilian Limeade are topped with colorful garnishes.

Why it works: This uniquely refreshing drink has a creamy, smooth texture (thanks to sweetened condensed milk), which is brightened with the intensely sweet-tart taste of freshly blended limes. The two perfectly complement each other to create the ultimate summer-day drink.

What is in a Brazilian Limeade?

Brazilian Limeade, often referred to as ‘Brazilian Lemonade’, or ‘Swiss Lemonade’ just takes two ingredients- fresh limes and sweetened condensed milk. You’ll blend the two (this blender works best), add water and ice, and serve it. That’s one of the reasons people are so crazy about it: a quick and easy drink that is meant to be served on a hot, sunny summer day with practically no work involved!

Looking down into a blender containing freshly peeled limes, lime zest, and sweetened condensed milk is poured over the top to make Brazilian Limeade.

Why is it called Brazilian Lemonade?

Why in the world is a limeade drink somehow still being called a lemonade? Well, I’ve got the answer for you; In Brazil, this drink is called ‘Swiss Lemonade’ or in Portuguese: ‘limonada suíça‘. Yup….. What the….?!

The Swiss-owned Nestlé brand sells sweetened condensed milk throughout Brazil. So people just began calling this drink ‘Swiss Lemonade‘ because it’s made with something Brazilians associate with the Swiss- sweetened condensed milk. The Portuguese word for lemon, “limão” can be used for both lemons and limes.

How to get rid of bitterness in Brazilian Limeade?

Fresh limes are so essential for this recipe- store-bought lime juice just won’t do. However, fresh limes also come with a white membrane called pith under their peels and in between the natural lime wedges. Pith is bitter, and the less of it goes in your Brazilian Limeade, the better!

After making this recipe over and over (and trying several different methods), I found that if I slice the peels off the limes before I add them to my blender, I can avoid the bitterness. This is my personal preference. I’ll zest one lime first, and add the zest to the blender with the peeled limes, water, and sweetened condensed milk.

Fresh limes sit on a white cutting board; their peels have been mostly removed to make Brazilian Limeade.

Tips for Success

DON’T OVERBLEND IT: Brazilian Limeade is notorious for turning out bitter. This occurs when people blend it too much, releasing the bitter compounds found in the white pith between the peel and the fruity interior. If you blend lightly, less of this bitter taste will be infused into your limeade.
STRAIN IT: Unlike orange juice, you’ll want to strain the pulp out of this citrus juice, since we are placing whole limes in a blender.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT LIMES: Smooth, thin-skinned limes that have a thin layer of pith work best. If you can’t find limes like this, consider slicing off the peels and white pith altogether to avoid bitter limeade. I do this all the time. I hate bitter Brazilian Lemonade.
DON’T SKIP THE CONDENSED MILK: Sweetened condensed milk is essential for Brazilian lemonade; as mentioned above, it’s how it got its original Brazilian name of ‘Swiss lemonade’. The creaminess of this drink is what sets it apart and makes it so uniquely delicious. For a vegan version (dairy-free), there are instructions below.
SERVE RIGHT AWAY: Pour freshly made Brazilian Limeade over ice and serve immediately. It will separate as it sits, and left over night will become more bitter. Sorry, there’s no way to make it ahead of time.

A closeup of the tops of two Brazilian Limeade glasses topped with marachino cherries, fresh lime slices, sprigs of mint and little cocktail umbrellas.

Brazilian Limeade Ideas

This drink is so dang delicious, it’s hard to think it could get any better; however, once you try some of these variations, you just might love it even more!

Dairy-free Brazilian Limeade without condensed milk: substitute an equal amount of coconut cream for the sweetened condensed milk, and add a few extra tablespoons of granulated sugar (to taste).
Brazilian Limeade with mango, pineapple, or passionfruit: Stir in another type of tropical fruit juice for an exceptional tropical flavor
Brazilian Limeade with coconut:
Brazilian Limeade with alcohol (cocktail): Add a splash (or two) of rum to create a Brazilian Limeade cocktail that must be sipped beachside (poolside works too)
Brazilian Limeade with mint: I love to serve this drink garnished with a sprig of fresh mint and a slice or two of fresh lime.
Sparkling Brazilian Limeade: In the first step, add just enough water to cover the limes in the blender. Blend and strain. STIR the strained juice, sweetened condensed milk, and sparkling water together in a pitcher to avoid a fizzy volcano in your blender :0) Serve over ice.

A glass mug filled with Brazilian 'Swiss Lemonade' is topped with garnishes and sits in front of a pink cake with fruit on top.

What to serve with Brazilian Limeade

Here are some fun recipe ideas that go great with Brazilian Limeade when planning a pool party or backyard barbecue. Or how about suggesting your kids host a Swiss Lemonade Stand this summer and offer some cookies and popcorn balls too.

I’d love to hear about your experience with my tips and tricks for the Best Brazilian Limeade, and I’m sure my other readers would too! Leave a star rating in the comments below and let us know what type of party you made them for, and how you served them. Thank you!

Brazilian Limeade

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Author: Emily
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

A fast, simple, delicious, and refreshing summer drink ready in just 5 minutes. All you need are fresh ripe limes, a can of sweetened condensed milk, and ice.

Ingredients

Units Scale

4 fresh, ripe limes, skins washed
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 cups of water
ice

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Instructions

Zest one lime, and add the zest to a blender. Slice the remainder of the peel off the lime with a pairing knife and add the peeled lime to the blender.
Slice the ends and peel off the remaining 3 limes, and place them into a blender. Add the water and sweetened condensed milk, and blend for about 10 seconds.
Pour the mixture through a strainer into a pitcher filled with ice, pressing on any solids left in the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the remaining solids. Serve.

Notes

Traditionally, the limes are added whole to the blender (save for the ends, which are still sliced off) and blended with the sweetened milk and water. This often leads to bitter limeade, so I personally don’t recommend doing it this way.

Prep Time: 10 minutes