Homemade Limoncello Recipe
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I have been wanting to share this recipe for such a long time! Have you tried Limoncello? How about a Homemade Limoncello Recipe? Get ready to be wowed!
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I clearly remember my first time trying Limoncello-it was about ten years ago when I had first moved to Italy to be with my husband who was stationed near Venice. He took me to a lovely family run restaurant called Æolia out in the country. There were hardly any patrons that evening and the owners were kind enough to give us a tour of the wine cellar under the restaurant-it was carved out of solid rock, amazing.
How to Serve Limoncello
After an amazing dinner of Faggotini with Proscuitto and Pear (to this day one of my husband’s favorite meals) we made our way to the bar where the owner asked us if we’d like a bit of limoncello to finish the evening. We had no idea what it was but agreed nevertheless.
He poured two shot-glass sized servings and placed them in front of us. Being the young, just-out-of-college girl I was, I asked him if I was supposed to drink it quickly like a shot of liquor or drink it slowly. He replied in what is now one of my favorite sayings from our time overseas: “In Italy, everything is slow.”
That was a huge lesson that I learned in Italy, to take the time to savor and enjoy the simple things in life whether it be an after-dinner limoncello or a slow walk around the town piazza.
How to Make Limoncello at Home
Nowadays, with my three crazy boys running around I rarely take the time to stop and enjoy the simple pleasures-but I did manage to make myself a little reminder with this homemade limoncello recipe. I love this and it would make a great hostess gift or holiday gift as well!
When you are ready to gift your homemade limoncello be sure to check out our tutorial for making a gift bag from wrapping paper!
If you like this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
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Homemade Limoncello Recipe
- Total Time: 10 days
- Yield: 36 1x
Description
Create your own homemade version of Limoncello, a classic Italian lemon liquor.
Ingredients
- 6 lemons
- 750 ml vodka
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Zest lemons being sure not to go too deep-you want only the zest, not the white portion of the peel
- Combine the zest with the vodka in a large jar or pitcher.
- Cover and keep in a dark, cool place for 10 days.
- Strain zest out with a cheesecloth and discard zest.
- Simmer sugar and water in a pan, stirring, until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Allow sugar mixture to cool and add to vodka mixture.
- Keep in refrigerator for up to one month.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 days
- Category: Drinks
- Method: none
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 77
- Sugar: 8.4 g
- Sodium: 0.3 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.5 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Update! Here is the jpg for the label at the request of a reader!!
You might also enjoy these Limoncello recipes:
How you call limoncello when you prepare this drink
With vodka !!!
I know most recipes call for grain alcohol but that is not available in every state here in the US so I substituted vodka as an alternative. ~Melissa
I have recently been learning how to make extracts, and made lemon extract with vodka and lemon zest. I decided there had to be a way to speed up the process , waiting weeks wasn’t in my schedule. I put the vodka and zest in a mason jar with the ring and lid, and dropped the whole business in a pressure cooker. In under an hour I have lemon, orange, and vanilla extracts! ( I could only get 3 pint jars in my pressure cooker) Just in case you ever wanna make lemoncello in a hurry, and enjoy at your leisure.
What a great idea, I’ll try that soon, thanks Amber! ~Melissa
Ive never had this drink, but i hear its good. Please tell me when drinking it, do u put in in a shot glass, or a tall one with ice.
You put it in a shot glass and sip-don’t take all at once…that’s the way I learned to drink it when we lived in Italy. I do keep my limoncello in my freezer though so it’s nice and cold when you drink it.
Question–DO you only use the zest of the lemon? no juice from them? Thanks in advance!!
Yes, Laurie, just the zest! It infuses into the vodka!
Haha this brings back memories. We were dining at an Italian restaurant in New York and we complimented the manager on a great meal,service etc. He was very appreciative of the compliment and offered us some Limoncello after our meal. Also, in a shot glass, so I assumed it I was to drink it quickly. I did, and always wondered afterwards if I “did it right”. I guess not, but is was sure delicious anyway! I will be making this for a few friends this Christmas. Thanks for the recipe…and the memory!!
lol Michelle, isn’t it funny-I see a shot glass and think “drink it fast!”
Thanks for this recipe! We can’t lemoncello at our small town liquor store and I’ve been wanting some. Better go buy some lemons!!!
By far the best recipe! I reblogged it and linked back to you (multiple times) and I gave bottles of it away as Christmas Gifts!
https://idyllwilddesigns.com/2013/12/18/homemade-limoncello/
Hello Melissa, I have been making my own limoncello with pure alcohol, but Iḿ sure the wodka will about taste the same. Because of all the sugar it keeps way longer than a week. We always store our bottles in the freezer as it tastes best when really, really cold.
Great to know! I can’t get grain alcohol where I live but I have heard it’s the way to go. I’ve had mine refrigerated for 2 months and it’s still tasting great!
It looks great!
I have a question.. i’ve tried one recipe almost one year ago, mixed the lemon zests and vodka. But we didnt loved its taste and left it in the closet 🙂
If i try to mix it with the sugar syrup, is it gonna be taste good or should i throw the bottle away? 🙂 I’ve heard that how long you keep it in the closet it gets that better, but still not sure…
I don’t have experience to say one way or another but I’ve heard the same as you-the longer it sits the better. If it were me I’d give it a try!
Great gift idea! Where did you get the labels for the Limoncello?
Hi Kay! I made them using PicMonkey online…I uploaded the image here if you would like to use it! https://app.box.com/s/heaegyn189akmzq0ra0d
Hi!
This is an awesome gift idea and I can’t wait to make it. I was just wondering do you mean keep in the fridge for up to a month because then it goes “yuk” or to help get the flavour through before giving as a present? Sorry if this is a bit of a blonde moment! Thanks
I was wondering the same thing…..
No, once you have stored it for the 10 days it’s ready to gift! I just don’t recommend keeping it for longer than a month (refrigerated) after that.
Love it! Will it last longer in the freezer?
Thanks!
I’d also like to know if it keeps longer when stored in the freezer. It would be nice to make this for Christmas gifts and have time to give them away before they go bad.
If you store it in the freezer you can keep it up to a year.
Thanks for posting! I needed a recipe for Limoncello. Stopping by from TT&J.
What a wonderful story about your evening in Italy! It makes the recipe just that much more tempting to try. Thank you for sharing!
Whow, now this is something I’m REALLY trying! thanks for sharing
Yay JoAnn! I hope you love it as much as we do!
I can totally hear him in an Italian accent, “In Italy, everything is slow”… Just love it!!
I wonder if I can use rum instead of vodka because I can’t drink vodka, it gives me a terrible headache . Thanks
It’s worth a try Lisa, if you do try please stop back by and let me know how it turns out!
I’ve always wondered what exactly Lemoncello was! Seriously going to make this for my neighbors this year! Btw, I absolutely love reading your posts about your time overseas. What a grand adventure it must have been!
Thanks so much Vanessa!
love it! totally going to add this to my “making for Christmas” gifts list!
Thanks Jocie!
Oh wow do I ever love lemon. The baby will probably be out in a month or so, do you think it would be weird if I started making this now?
I think it’d just be good planning ahead!!
Pinned – what a great idea!
Thanks Keri!