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Wondering how much juice is in one lemon? Here’s the formula you need, plus tips on how to juice, how to zest, recipes, and more.
Are you making a recipe with these tart fruits and need to know how much juice you’ll get? Here’s my expert answer — honed after making hundreds of lemon recipes throughout the years.
How much juice?
This is a common question when you’re working with citrus, especially if a recipe calls for juice in tablespoons. The answer to this question all depends on the size. All lemons are different, but here’s a basic guide.
- A medium lemon yields 3 tablespoons juice, and a large one yields 4 tablespoons juice (¼ cup). A very small lemon yields about 2 tablespoons juice.
Frequently asked questions
With this ratio in mind, here are a few more answers to common questions:
- How much juice is in 2 lemons? Two medium ones yield about 6 tablespoons juice, and two large ones yield ½ cup juice.
- How much juice is in ½ lemon? Half a medium lemon yields 1 ½ tablespoons juice; half a large lemon yields about 2 tablespoons juice.
- How many lemons do I need for ½ cup juice? You’ll need 3 medium or 2 large lemons. (I recommend buying 3 to be safe.)
- How many lemons do I need for 1 cup juice? You’ll need 6 medium or 4 large lemons; again, buy 6 to err on the safe side.
Instructions for juicing
There’s really no wrong way to extract the juice. However, if you use your hands, you might end up with a lot of seeds and pulp. Here are a few ways to juice a lemon:
- Roll the fruit on the countertop for a few seconds. This helps to release the juices inside the fruit.
- Cut the fruit in half width-wise.
- Place in a press juicer: A press juicer is the quickest and easiest method. It gets the most juice out and saves your fingers from tiring out from squeezing. Place the fruit into the press juicer, cut side down, and squeeze the handles together.
- Or, press in a handheld citrus juicer. Place the fruit cut side down onto a handheld citrus juicer and twist the fruit to release the juices.
- Don’t have a juicer? Squeeze out the juice with your hands into a small liquid measuring cup, then strain it to remove seeds.
What about the zest?
One medium lemon yields about 1 tablespoon zest. Always zest before juicing! If you juice it first, the shape of the lemon collapses, and it’s difficult to rub it against the grater blades.
My favorite method for zesting is using a microplane grater. This is a handheld grater with sharp holes in it, and it’s quicker and easier to clean than a box grater. Check out How to Zest a Lemon for more.
Recipes to try
Now that you’ve zested or juiced your citrus, here are a few of my favorite lemon recipes to try:
- Lemonade: Try 15 Best Lemonade Recipes, like classic Fresh Lemonade (a favorite!), Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, and more.
- Muffins: Go for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins or Lemon Blueberry Muffins.
- Breads and cakes: Make Lemon Bread or Lemon Cake.
- Pasta: Try Lemon Ricotta Pasta.
- Pancakes: Grab tasty Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.
- Drinks: Sip on Lemon Tea, Lemon Smoothie, or Lemon Soda.
- Sauce: Make a Lemon Butter Sauce.
How to Juice a Lemon
Wondering how much juice is in one lemon? Here’s the formula you need, plus tips on how to juice a lemon, zesting, recipes, and more.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: 3 to 4 tablespoons 1x
- Category: Essentials
- Method: Juice
- Cuisine: Citrus
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Roll the lemon on the countertop for a few seconds. This helps to release the juices inside the fruit.
- Cut the fruit in half width-wise.
- Place in a press juicer: A press juicer is the quickest and easiest method: it gets out the most juice and saves your fingers from tiring out from squeezing. Place the fruit into the press juicer, cut side down, and squeeze the handles together.
- Or, press in a handheld citrus juicer. Place the fruit cut side down onto a handheld citrus juicer and twist the lemon to release the juices.
- Don’t have a juicer? Simply squeeze the juice into a small measuring cup by hand, then strain it to remove seeds.
Let us know if you have any questions!