Homemade Limoncello — 🍋 The EASIEST homemade limoncello recipe with only FOUR ingredients! It has an intense lemon flavor but perfectly sweetened to balance the tartness. Sip it on its own or use it in your favorite lemon drinks or lemon desserts. It’s the BEST limoncello you’ll ever try! Makes great gifts, too.
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If you’ve ever wondered how to make your own limoncello, this post is for you. This is by far the best limoncello I’ve ever tasted!
There are literally only two critical ingredients needed to steep the limoncello for weeks, including lemons and Everclear (or vodka). Who knew! After steeping or marinating as I like to call it, you combine sugar + water to create a simple syrup, which is added to the strained lemon liquid to balance it out.
It’s got everything you would expect in the sense that it’s tart, but not overly so, with an intense lemon flavor, and just sweet enough to be balanced. And there’s an oh-so-good burn from the alcohol. Many people claim that limoncello is a good afterif and good for digestion.
It’s perfect to sip on it’s own over ice, use it in cocktails like my Limoncello Spritz, or dessert recipes. More on ways to use it below! It also makes great gifts from a hostess gift to birthday or holiday gifts especially if you pop a cute handwritten label on it. It keeps for months!
Bonus: Check out my trip to Italy with a famous pasta company that I went on a few years ago!
Ingredients for Making Limoncello
There are only 4 ingredients needed to make this liqueur including:
- Organic lemons* (see FAQs why organic lemons are essential!)
- Everclear 120-proof grain alcohol (80 to 100-proof bottle of vodka may be substituted)
- Water
- Granulated sugar
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Limoncello
- Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler and place them into a large mason jar, jug, or something that will be able to accommodate 750ml of liquid (about 3 cups). Make sure to see the Tip below.
- Pour the alcohol over the top, making sure the lemon peels are submerged, and seal the top of your large glass jar and place it in a cool dark place.
- Every day or so, swirl and swish the jar to redistribute the peels and alcohol.
- After 2-4 weeks, using a fine mesh strainer, strain the lemony liquid over a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a gentle boil over medium heat on the stove, whisking until the sugar dissolves. COOL completely to room temperature! This is called a simple syrup, 2:1 ratio of water:sugar.
- Add the cooled sugar syrup to the lemon liquid, stir, and refrigerate before serving chilled!
How To Use Limoncello
There are numerous ways to use or consume your homemade limoncello including:
- Serve it over ice and drink it as a sipping beverage like Italians do especially on the Amalfi coast or southern Italy
- Make cocktails with it including my Limoncello Spritz, a Limoncello Aperol Spritz, or a Lemon Drop Martini (use 1 to 1 1/2 oz limoncello to replace the 1 oz lemon juice + 1/2 oz simple syrup)
- Add a splash to your lemonade
- Use it in place of store bought limoncello in any cocktail or drink recipe
- Make my fan favorite Lemon Olive Oil Cake!
Recipe FAQs
I use Everclear which is 120-proof grain alcohol. I use it rather than vodka, which tends to be 80-proof although you can get 100-proof vodka, because the higher the percentage of alcohol extracts the essential oils and flavors from the lemons faster. I recommend Everclear or your favorite high-quality vodka.
It’s very important to use organic lemons*! That’s because conventional produce (standard lemons in this case) tends to be sprayed with not only pesticides, but also a waxy coating and no matter what, you’re not getting that off. So it’s better to start with organic lemons which don’t have a wax film on them – since no one wants to drink waxy limoncello!
You definitely can use Meyer lemons, which tend to be more orange in color and have a bit more of an orange flavor compared to a traditional yellow lemon if that suits you. Or do half-and-half. Again, though, make sure they’re organic Meyer lemons.
Perhaps you could however the issue I suspect is that all those little bits of zest will be very difficult to strain weeks later, no matter how good your filter or sieve is. I’ve heard of people using a coffee filter but this seems much more labor intensive to me. Both the zesting, then the straining and filtering of the zested lemon bits. Just peel them as I instruct.
It’s a judgment call whether this takes 2 weeks or 4 weeks or even a week or two longer based on the alcohol you use and your lemons. But when the lemon peels are translucent, pale, or white-ish, and have lost their yellow color, and can be snapped or are brittle, that means that the important lemon oils have been sucked dry from the peels and your limoncello should be ready to go!
From everything I have read, and from the couple of times I drank limoncello in Italy years ago from memory (I am going back summer 2024!), but yes it’s normal that it’s a bit cloudy.
Some people say it’s cloudier if you use Everclear vs. vodka. I’ve also read that if you add the simple syrup to the strained lemon/Everclear mixture when the syrup is warm that that could be the culprit. However, I add the simple syrup after it’s been cooled and mine turns out slightly cloudy. I wouldn’t worry about the clarity too much as long as the flavor is on point.
Yes it sure will. A freshly brewed batch of limoncello (2 to 4 weeks from start to finish) will taste much more potent, intense, and have an alcohol burn compared to limoncello you’ve stored in your fridge for 2 to 4 months, or in your freezer. In short, like a fine wine, limoncello gets better with age.
Storage Instructions
In the Refrigerator: Your lemon liqueur will keep airtight in the fridge for about 3 months.
In the Freezer: This recipe will keep airtight in the freezer for about 1 year. It’ll take awhile to freeze solid, but it will. If you plan to do this, consider freezing it in an ice cube tray so that you can pop out ‘one serving’ or two, at a time, to thaw quickly and easily.
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Homemade Limoncello
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 organic lemons, peeled
- 750 milliliters Everclear 151-proof liquor, 100 to 120-proof vodka may be substituted
- 6 cups water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Prep and Waiting – Using a vegetable (or potato peeler), peel the lemons. Tip – It’s extremely important that you remove only the very outermost, superficial layer of yellow lemon peel. Do NOT remove yellow peel + white material, or white pith. It’s bitter and will cause your entire batch of limoncello to be unnecessarily bitter, no matter how much sugar is added.
- Add the lemon peels to a large glass jar(s) or jug(s) making sure whatever jar you select has a lid that you can seal. Tip – I use two jars because it's what I have an it's easier to distribute the peels and Everclear between two jars but do what's easier for you.
- Pour the Everclear over the lemon peels, making sure they're completely submerged and seal the jar(s). Place the jar in a cool, dry, dark place.
- Every day or so, swish and swirl the alcohol around for about 15 seconds to distribute the lemon essential oils that are being pulled out. Tips – This isn't an exact science, and if you miss a day, don't worry. Do this for at least 2 weeks, but I find about 4 weeks to be necessary, and perhaps 6 weeks may be necessary. It'll depend on your lemons, liquor, climate, environment, etc.
- How To Tell When It's Ready – It’s a judgment call but when the lemon peels are translucent, pale, or white-ish, and have lost their yellow color, and can be snapped or are brittle, that means that the important lemon oils have been sucked dry from the peels and your limoncello should be ready to go!
- At this point, using a fine mesh strainer or sieve, strain the liquid over a large bowl. Tip – Later on you're adding 6 cups of simple syrup so make sure it's a big bowl; set lemon liquid aside. Discard the lemon peels.
- Simple Syrup – Make a simple syrup by combining 6 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar in a large saucepan, and heat over medium to medium-high heat on the stove, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir constantly to encourage the sugar to dissolve. Let the sugar syrup COOL COMPLETELY to room temp. Do not move on until it's cooled completely.
- Add the simple syrup to the large bowl with your lemon liquid and stir to combine.
- Refrigerate before serving chilled (technically you don't have to refrigerate it but not only will it last longer in the fridge, it tastes better chilled). You can serve it as-is over ice, in your favorite cocktail recipes that call for limoncello, in dessert recipes that call for limoncello, and so forth. Read blog post for ideas.
- Storage – Limoncello will keep airtight in the fridge for at least 3 months or in the freezer for about 1 year. If you're freezing it, freeze it in ice cube trays so that it'll be easier to thaw and use in single-serving portions.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I have made this several times and the Limoncello Cream.
The plain Limoncello will keep longer than stated and the Limoncello Cream I keep in bottles in the freezer.
Thanks, Beverley, for letting me know you’ve made the limoncello! I agree, it does keep longer than stated. I tend to underestimate storage guidelines since there are no artificial preservatives. Although in this case the Everclear is about as good as it gets :)
Why would you go through the trouble and expense of making this particular recipe at home when you can purchase a 750ml bottle of Italian Limoncello from $15-25.00 (average price being around $18.00 depending on the brand). Lemons these days are pricey and if you have to purchase the liquor online plus shipping puts this way over the top! Not worth it in any way (IMHO). Love your recipes by the way just not this one.
I admit that making your own limoncello may not be cheaper than buying it. However, I make chocolate chip cookies from scratch rather than buying a 3.99 package of Oreos or Chips Ahoy. It’s more expensive to buy the butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and chocolate than it would be to just buy them, and quicker and easier. But sometimes, some people, like to just make something for the sake of making it. Whether it’s limoncello or cookies or anything else.
Being creative, feeling productive, having that I can do it! attitude, and then the sweet feeling of accomplishment and pride knowing that you did it are all motivating factors. Not to mention homemade almost always tastes better! From cookies to limoncello!
Considering that my homemade limoncello recipes is one of tens of thousands on search, I am not alone.
I am glad you enjoy my other recipes.
Great recipe! Remember to use unwaxed organic lemons.
Yes definitely unwaxed all the way! Sounds like you have made limoncello before!