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This homemade Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade is creamy, cold, and full of sweet lemon flavor. You only need two main ingredients and about five minutes to make this copycat drink at home. It falls right between a vanilla milkshake and a frozen lemonade, which makes it one of my favorite treats on a hot day.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Delicious! My favorite summertime drink!” – Adrienne
“I was so excited that you made a copycat of this drink, it is my favorite! I immediately whipped up the recipe and it tastes just like the one at the restaurant. Thank you!” – Julie
Why I Love This Frosted Drink
I will never say no to lunch at Chick-fil-A. A chicken sandwich, waffle fries, Chick-fil-A sauce, and a frosted lemonade is such a good combination. The problem is that I don’t live close to a Chick-fil-A right now, so I started making some of my favorite menu items at home.
This Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade was one of the first drinks I wanted to recreate. It has that tart lemon flavor I love, but the vanilla ice cream keeps it creamy and sweet. It is not quite a milkshake and not quite a slushy. It lands right in the middle.
I also love how easy it is. There is no syrup to cook and no long list of ingredients. Keeping the ice cream and lemonade very cold and blending them only until smooth gives the drink its thick, frosty texture.
🩷 Kelsey
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Vanilla ice cream: Use a creamy vanilla ice cream and keep it frozen until you are ready to blend so the drink stays thick.
- Lemonade: Choose a lemonade with a fresh, tart flavor, such as Simply Lemonade, Trader Joe’s lemonade, Newman’s Own, or your favorite homemade lemonade.
- Fresh lemon: Lemon zest adds stronger lemon flavor, while lemon slices make an easy optional garnish.
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Make it extra lemony: Add fresh lemon zest or a small squeeze of lemon juice before blending.
- Make it sweeter: Use a sweeter lemonade, add another scoop of ice cream, or blend in a small amount of simple syrup.
- Use homemade lemonade: Freshly squeezed lemonade works well, but chill it completely before adding it to the blender.
- Try a lower-sugar version: Use sugar-free lemonade and a reduced-sugar vanilla frozen dessert. The flavor and texture will vary depending on the products you choose.
- Make it dairy free: Substitute a creamy plant-based vanilla frozen dessert made with oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or cashew milk.
- Use frozen yogurt: Vanilla frozen yogurt creates a tangier drink that is slightly less rich than one made with ice cream.
- Change the fruit flavor: Try strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, or peach lemonade for an easy variation.
- Try another citrus flavor: Substitute limeade for a frosted limeade or orange juice for a drink similar to an Orange Julius.
- Add berries: Blend in a few frozen strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries for a fruit-flavored frosted lemonade.
- Add a topping: Finish each glass with whipped cream, a lemon slice, or a little fresh lemon zest.
How to Make Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
- Chill the ingredients. Keep the lemonade refrigerated and leave the vanilla ice cream in the freezer until you are ready to make the drink. You can also chill the serving glasses for a few minutes.
- Fill the blender. Pour the lemonade into the blender first. Add the vanilla ice cream and lemon zest, if using.
- Blend until smooth. Use the milkshake setting or pulse the mixture just until it is smooth and creamy. Avoid blending longer than necessary because the ice cream will begin to melt.
- Pour and serve. Divide the frosted lemonade between two glasses and serve immediately. Garnish with fresh lemon slices, if desired.
Recipe Tips
- Start with very cold ingredients. Cold lemonade and firmly frozen ice cream make a thicker drink.
- Add the lemonade first. Liquid around the blender blades helps the ice cream blend more evenly.
- Do not soften the ice cream. Soft or partially melted ice cream can make the drink thin or cause it to separate.
- Blend briefly. Stop as soon as the mixture looks smooth. Over-blending warms the ingredients and thins the drink.
- Taste your lemonade first. A very tart lemonade will make a more tart drink, while a sweeter lemonade will give you more of a milkshake flavor.
- For a thicker drink, add more ice cream. Add one scoop at a time and pulse until it reaches the texture you want.
- For a thinner drink, add more lemonade. Add it one tablespoon at a time so the mixture does not become too runny.
- Use frozen lemonade cubes instead of regular ice. They thicken the drink without watering down the lemon flavor.
- Regular ice works in a pinch. Add only one or two cubes at a time and blend briefly.
- Chill the glasses. Cold glasses help the frosted lemonade stay thick a little longer.
- Serve it right away. The texture is best immediately after blending.
- Blend large amounts in batches. Overfilling the blender can leave chunks of ice cream and make the drink harder to blend evenly.
Frequently Asked Questions
The restaurant version combines Chick-fil-A Lemonade with its vanilla Icedream dessert. This copycat recipe uses cold lemonade and vanilla ice cream to create a similar sweet, tart, and creamy drink at home.
It is similar to a milkshake, but lemonade gives it a lighter texture and a tart citrus flavor. I think of it as a cross between a vanilla milkshake and frozen lemonade.
Use a refrigerated lemonade that has a good balance of sweet and tart flavors. Simply Lemonade, Trader Joe’s lemonade, and Newman’s Own all work well. You can also use homemade lemonade as long as it is completely chilled.
Yes. Homemade lemonade made with fresh lemon juice, sugar, and water tastes great in this recipe. Chill it thoroughly before blending so it does not melt the ice cream.
The ice cream may have been too soft, the lemonade may not have been cold enough, or the mixture may have blended for too long. Add another scoop of frozen ice cream and pulse briefly to thicken it.
Use firmly frozen ice cream, reduce the amount of lemonade slightly, or add frozen lemonade cubes. Avoid adding too much regular ice because it can water down the flavor.
Separation usually happens when the ice cream is partially melted or the drink is blended too long. Use cold ingredients, blend only until smooth, and serve it immediately.
Yes. Replace the vanilla ice cream with a creamy dairy-free vanilla frozen dessert. Oat milk and cashew milk varieties tend to have a neutral flavor, while coconut milk adds a light coconut taste.
You can use sugar-free or no-sugar-added lemonade with a reduced-sugar vanilla frozen dessert. Check the labels because sweetness and carbohydrates vary between brands. Anyone managing blood sugar should choose ingredients that fit their individual dietary plan.
Yes, but make sure your blender has enough room. For the smoothest texture, I recommend blending separate batches rather than overfilling the blender.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make ahead: Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade is best blended immediately before serving. You can measure the lemonade ahead of time, keep it refrigerated, and chill the glasses until you are ready to make the drink.
Refrigerating: I do not recommend storing it in the refrigerator for long because the ice cream melts and the drink separates. If it sits for a few minutes, stir it well or give it a quick blend before serving.
Freezing: Pour leftovers into an airtight freezer container and freeze for up to one month. Let the mixture soften for several minutes, then blend it with a small splash of lemonade until smooth.
Frosted lemonade cubes: Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays. The cubes can be reblended with a little lemonade, or you can add sticks and serve them as mini frozen treats.
Pairing Ideas
Turn this drink into a copycat fast-food meal by serving it with Mafa Chicken (it tastes like Chick-fil-A nuggets but even better) or Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets, Air Fryer French Fries, and plenty of Homemade Chick-fil-A Sauce. It is also a fun drink for summer barbecues, pool parties, family movie nights, and afternoon snacks.
More Delicious Drink Recipes
This Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade is one of the easiest copycat drinks you can make at home. It is creamy, lemony, and ready in about five minutes. Give the recipe a try, then leave a comment and a rating below to let us know how it turned out! 💛
Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups vanilla ice cream
- 1 cup Simply Lemonade
- zest of 1 lemon, (optional)
- lemon slices, for garnish
Instructions
- Pour the chilled lemonade into a blender. Add the vanilla ice cream and lemon zest, if using.
- Use the milkshake setting or pulse just until the mixture is combined and smooth.
- Divide the frosted lemonade between two glasses.
- Garnish with lemon slices and serve immediately.
Equipment
- Blender
Notes
- Keep the ice cream frozen and the lemonade refrigerated until you are ready to blend.
- Add the lemonade to the blender before the ice cream to help the blades move more easily.
- Blend only until smooth. Blending too long can melt the ice cream and make the drink thin.
- For a thicker drink, add another scoop of ice cream or a frozen lemonade cube.
- For a thinner drink, add lemonade one tablespoon at a time.
- Lemon zest is optional and gives the drink a stronger, more tart lemon flavor.
- The sweetness will depend on the lemonade and ice cream brands you use.
- Serve immediately for the thickest, creamiest texture.
- When doubling the recipe, blend it in separate batches if your blender is not large enough.
- Leftovers can be frozen and reblended with a splash of lemonade.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delicious! My favorite summertime drink!
Yes it is definitely one of our favorites too! 😆
I was so excited that you made a copycat of this drink, it is my favorite! I immediately whipped up the recipe and it tastes just like the one at the restaurant. Thank you!
So glad to hear that you liked it and that the flavor was right!