Limoncello (lemoncello) is one of my favourite liqueurs. I call this quick and easy homemade limoncello my ‘almost instant’ limoncello as it is ready to drink within a week!
What can I say about limoncello? Well, it’s summer in a glass. Just look at that colour, come on guys that’s bottled sunshine!
Limoncello is the perfect last-minute gotta-make-something-fast type of foodie gift. Perfect for your Christmas hampers (or any others for that matter) or as a hostess gift if you are popping round for supper.
What is limoncello?
Limoncello (or lemoncello as it is sometimes called) is an Italian digestif/liqueur. As a digestif, it can be sipped either before or after a meal to aid digestion. Any excuse really to drink this luscious lemon fuelled delight.
Where did limoncello originate
This sunshine liqueur hails from southern Italy and has been made for centuries. However, it wasn’t until about a hundred years ago that the actual name Limoncello was used and became a trademark for this liqueur.
That all came about from the island of Capri though many in the Amalfi and Sorento regions of Italy would dispute that.
Ingredients for limoncello
Lemon peel from unwaxed lemons
vodka
sugar
Unwaxed lemons
These are lemons that you buy in-store that are clearly marked as ‘unwaxed’ it means that the lemons haven’t been coated in preservative wax.
Now if you don’t have any preserved lemons to hand or your own lemon tree to raid there is an easy alternative.
Simply scrub the normal lemons in hot soapy water to remove that wax coating. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry.
Voila! You now have your own unwaxed lemons and that’s what we want for our limoncello recipe.
How to make homemade limoncello
This is so simple and I just love this sort of kitchen crafting.
All you have to do is pare the peel off the lemons using a sharp knife/peeler. You want as little of the white pith as possible. Because the pith is bitter and we don’t want any of that bitterness in our sweet and gorgeous limoncello liqueur.
Pop the peels into a large clean jar and squeeze in all the lemon juice.
Finally, add the vodka and screw on the lid and give the jar a good shake and put the jar in a nice cool dark cupboard.
That’s it for the hands-on stuff for 5 days or a week if you can be bothered waiting that long.
By that time the liquid in the jar will be gorgeously golden sunshine yellow and the lemon peels will have faded to almost white.
Simply strain this through a double layer of kitchen paper/or muslin if you have it.
Now make a simple syrup of 50/50 water and sugar, allow to cool and add to the lemon flavoured vodka.
Pour into a sterilised bottle, seal and shake well.
Voila! you now have your very own homemade limoncello liqueur!
Why use double layer for straining?
This is because with a single layer of either muslin or kitchen roll paper tiny fragments of lemon will get through.
Although this doesn’t affect the taste of your limoncello at all it makes it cloudy. We want the clearest most sunshine limoncello we can get.
So just make sure that you use two layers to strain. It will take a while longer to slowly drip through but it’s worth the extra minutes of waiting for limoncello perfection!
How to serve Limoncello
Serve your homemade limoncello ice cold either before or after a meal (or any time you fancy really) in tiny shot glasses.
Keep limoncello in the freezer
I like to store both liqueur and shot glasses in the freezer for an optimum chill factor. Of course, your limoncello doesn’t need to be stored in the freezer or even the fridge.
It just tastes so damn good straight from the freezer that I always keep a bottle in there ready for action!
Or serve over ice, or if you like a tall drink add soda, ice and a slice of lemon.
If you are a cocktail fan then why not try a Limoncello Martini and really feel like summer has come to pay a visit in these cold and wintery months when blue skies and sunshine seem like a million miles away.
I use limoncello in a lot of my baking recipes as it is perfect for adding a real kick of lemon to cakes and desserts.
Here is my Lemon ice-cream with limoncello recipe you might like to try.
Use limoncello to take boring old vanilla ice cream to new heights of tastiness by just pouring the ice cold liqueur over it.
How long will homemade limoncello last?
Limoncello will keep for up to a year in a cool dark cupboard. Don’t leave it out in sunlight or that gorgeous yellow colour may fade.
Looking for more lovely lemon recipes to try? Then check out these fun recipes before you go;
Spiced preserved lemons in oil
Gin and tonic lemon drizzle cake
Super quick and easy preserved lemons
Mediterranean lemon and fig marmalade
Looking for more super easy homemade lilqueurs to try? Then check out my Homemade Liqueurs & Infusions section.
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Quick and easy homemade limoncello liqueur
Ingredients
- 5 unwaxed lemons (or scrub to remove wax)
- 750 ml vodka
- 200 g sugar
Instructions
- Scrub lemons well and pat dry to remove preservative wax. Peel off the rind avoiding bitter white pith.
- Mix lemon peel, juice and vodka in large jar and leave for 4-7 days in a cool dark cupboard. The liquid will be bright golden yellow and peels pale
- Mix the sugar with 200ml water and heat gently till sugar dissolved, boil then lower heat and simmer 5 minutes to make a simple syrup.
- Cool syrup then add to the lemon vodka and pour into a sterilised bottle and shake well
- Strain through muslin/cheesecloth or kitchen paper twice to ensure it is completely clear and pour into sterilised bottles.
Cold and snowy weekend up here in Northern Finland.
I love to read your chat posts, Karon. You’re such a good writer as well as photographer. Please go on letting us have a peek at the country life on Walton’s Mountain.
Have a relaxing Christmas time with family and friends,
Paivi xx
Thankyou Paivi
It means so much to hear from you and know you enjoy the blog and chat so much.
Have a lovely Christmas
K x
I love your chats about your life and what is going on in your beautiful surroundings. You have such a beautiful way of telling your stories, and your photography skills are top notch! Thank you for letting us take a peak at your interesting life. Thanks so much ,Karon for all you do!
Patti xxoo
Thanks Patti for the lovely comment. I shall continue chatting!
Have a lovely Christstmas
K x
I love this idea and I am going to be including this in my gift hampers for friends, but how long will it last? Some of my friends aren’t big drinker and I dont want it to go mouldy on them
Thanks
Sam
Hi Sam
This will keep for up to 6 months, so should be fine for those gift baskets.
Glad you like the recipe.
K x
Can you buy this in the grocery store or liquor store?
Thanks
Hi Gayle,
Yes you can buy commercially made lemoncello in bigger grocery stores and liquor stores etc. Make your own tho, it is so easy and tastes great.
yes but make it yourself
I’m excited to try this but I have a (possibly dumb) question. The directions say to mix the vodka, peel and juice with water and then you also make the simple syrup with water….why would you mix the vodka with water? would that not dilute a lot since it is double the amount of water to vodka? I appreciate the help, just want to make sure I’m getting it right 🙂
you are only using 125ml of water for the simple syrup. Use less water in mix if you wish.
the recipe states 200ml water
Hi Bryan,
I’m a bit confused by your comment ‘The recipe states 200ml water’. The water is there to make the sugar syrup.
K
I”m assuming you mean the juice of the 3 lemons? If not, let me know right away, please. 🙂
yes 3 lemons
K x
Your recipe says to peel 5 lemons, am I only using the juice of 3?
Thanks, Helen
Hi Helen
I’m a bit confused by your question as the recipe says you peel the lemons and use the juice, I can’t see where you think you are only using juice of 3 of them.
▢ 5 unwaxed lemons (or scrub to remove wax)
▢ 750 ml vodka
▢ 200 g sugar
Metric – US Customary
Instructions
Scrub lemons well and pat dry to remove preservative wax. Peel off the rind avoiding bitter white pith.
Mix lemon peel, juice and vodka in large jar and leave for 4-7 days in a cool dark cupboard. The liquid will be bright golden yellow and peels pale
Mix the sugar with 200ml water and heat gently till sugar dissolved, boil then lower heat and simmer 5 minutes to make a simple syrup.
Cool syrup then add to the lemon vodka and pour into a sterilised bottle and shake well
Does the Limoncello need to be in dark place with the peels for the 7 days or so, before we strain?
Hy Sylvia
Yes it does rest in a dark cupboard. Can’t think why I didn’t put that in the recipe as I normally do. Have rectified that now, thanks for pointing it out.
K
Hi Karen, I made this last year, as per the recipe, and it was perfect.
This year, I thought it would be quicker to use the zest from the lemons – rather than peeling and trying to avoid the pith.
When I strained it through the muslin (twice) I have been left with a cloudy sediment. I am assuming it’s because I used zest, but don’t know why… Do you think the same or have you not tried it this way?
Hi Claire
I always use peel, never zest in my booze recipes. Just zest will break down too much and give you a cloudy liqueur.
K
Happy New Year Karon.
Lesson learned! I’ll try to re-bottle it and hopefully get rid of the sediment.
Hi Claire
I’m sure the liqueur will taste fine just be a bit cloudy.
K
Hi
Just checking. I did this recipe a month or so ago and have just restrained and bottled a couple of small bottles for gifts. One of them is for a friend I am seeing at the weekend and I was wondering whether I should tell her to keep it in the fridge (wrapped) or whether it will be ok to be kept in a gift bag for a month (I won’t be seeing her around her Birthday).
Hope that makes sense!
It’ll keep for up to a year no worries. Hope everyone enjoys it.
K