Homemade Limoncello

Homemade Limoncello is so easy and delicious, you’ll want to do what I do, which is start a new batch as soon as the first batch is finished!   One of our favorite homemade liqueurs!

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Homemade Limoncello

I’ve posted a limoncello recipe before.   Wow, I can’t believe that was all the back in 2011.  But since that time I’ve made batch after batch of limoncello.  It’s that good.  Once you try your homemade, you will never be satisfied with store bought again.

This is so easy, it’s one of those recipes where time does most of the work.  Oh, there is a little labor in zesting and juicing the lemons, but it smells divine and it’s all sunny yellow.

Organic Lemons for Limoncello

You want to start out with organic lemons.  Since you are soaking the zest in the alcohol, you don’t want anything with pesticides on it.  If you don’t have organic lemons, just be sure and scrub yours really well.  When you are zesting the lemons, you want to try and avoid the white pith and just get the yellow part.

I used this OXO Good Grips Lemon Zester which made it a quick and easy job.  In my original recipe, it called for 8 lemons, you used 4 at the beginning to zest and then 4 at the end for juice.  I decided to double the liquid, but still only use 8 lemons, by zesting all 8 of them at the beginning and then juicing all 8 of them and storing the juice in the freezer until it was time for it.  Genius!  I know!

Professional Citrus Juicer

My other secret weapon in my arsenal is a Professional Citrus Juicer – yes, I know it seems like a lot of money for a citrus press.  But after buying countless cheaper ones that didn’t do a very good job, we decided to go for it and get this.  We have never regretted it.  It performs like a champ and gets so much more juice out that any other juice press that we’ve used.  It sits on my counter and gets used all the time.

Even if I just want the juice of one lemon, it’s so easy.  The only thing I do different with it is instead of using the little black cup that comes with it, I remove that and just place a jar or measuring cup right under it, that way I can easily see how much juice I am getting.  If you like margaritas as much as we do, this is worth it’s weight in gold in getting fresh lime juice!

Homemade Liqueurs

Now, I usually have a few people who tell me this isn’t real limoncello.  That there are all kinds of other things involved in making a real limoncello.  I’m okay with that.  I like making homemade liqueurs – it’s fun.  I like the way the way they taste, I like the process of watching and tasting along the way.

This limoncello brings a sweet citrus flavor to your cocktails and I even used it in the glaze on this Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake!

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Homemade Limoncello

This Homemade Limoncello is so much better than store bought and time does most of the work! 

Course Drinks

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 20

Calories 173kcal

Ingredients

• 8 lemons preferably organic
• 3 cups vodka
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar

Instructions

• Zest the lemons and place the zest in a clean jar big enough to hold 8 cups of liquid. 
• Juice the lemons and place the juice in a freezer safe jar or plastic ziplock bag and store in the freezer.  
• Pour the vodka over the lemon jest in the jar.  Close the jar and store in a cool dark place, shaking it daily.  
• After two weeks, strain and discard the zest and pour the vodka back in the jar.  Make a simple syrup by combing the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Pour the simple syrup in the jar with the vodka.  Thaw the lemon juice and add it to the jar.  Return to a cool dark place and let it mellow for about 6 weeks.  

Notes

Takes about a total of 8 weeks aging time. The first aging is two weeks and the second aging is 6 weeks.

Nutrition

Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 0.2% | Vitamin C: 27.8% | Calcium: 1.2% | Iron: 1.5%

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Update Notes: This was originally published in 2014 and has been updated for 2018.