Frozen Limeade Concentrate substitute

Best substitute

Frozen lemonade concentrate

Use the same amount plus 1 tbsp fresh lime juice per cup as the frozen limeade concentrate you are replacing

Best for margarita pitchers

Different taste

Limeade concentrate is supplying sourness, sugar and lime aroma in one frozen scoop, so a straight swap of fresh lime juice will leave the drink or dessert sour and unbalanced. The simplest fix is frozen lemonade concentrate at 1:1 plus a tablespoon of fresh lime juice per cup to push it back towards lime. To build it from scratch, use half a cup of lime juice plus half a cup of sugar per cup of concentrate, stirred until dissolved and topped up with water to one cup. A 12-ounce can equals 1 and a half cups. Bottled lime cordial such as Rose's substitutes roughly 1:1, and bottled margarita mix works in pitcher drinks if you account for its own added flavourings and salt.

Other frozen limeade concentrate substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Lime juice plus sugar plus water
Close match
Per cup of concentrate: ½ cup lime juice, ½ cup sugar, water to make 1 cup
The honest rebuild, and the best-tasting option.
What changes
Stir the sugar into the juice until it has completely dissolved, then top up with water to the volume the recipe wanted.
Best for
margaritas and cocktails, key lime pie, sherbet, marinades and glazes
Fresh lime tastes brighter and greener than the can and makes a distinctly better margarita, but it is also more acidic than the sweetened concentrate, so a key lime pie made this way sets firmer and tastes sharper. That is usually a good thing. Bottled lime juice gives a result closer to the original canned flavour.
3Bottled key lime juice plus sugar
Different taste
½ cup key lime juice plus ½ cup sugar, water to make 1 cup
The right choice for key lime pie in particular, since key limes are the fruit the pie is named after and bottled key lime juice is widely stocked.
What changes
Best for
key lime pie, bars and cheesecake, cocktails, sorbet
More floral and slightly less harsh than Persian lime juice, with a distinctly perfumed aroma. It is quite acidic, so it firms up a condensed milk filling well, and in a drink it can taste almost herbal compared with the sweetened concentrate.
4Lime cordial, such as Rose's
Close match
Use the same amount plus a squeeze of fresh lime
Cordial is shelf-stable sweetened lime syrup, which is structurally the same product as thawed concentrate, just not frozen.
What changes
Best for
cocktails and pitcher drinks, punches, sorbets, glazes
Slightly thicker and sweeter with a more cooked, faintly bitter peel flavour, so drinks taste more old-fashioned and less fresh. Because it is not frozen, blended drinks made with it need extra ice, which dilutes them, so use a little less water elsewhere in the recipe.
5Bottled margarita mix
Different taste
Use 1 ½ cups mix for every 12 oz can, and cut the recipe's added sugar and salt
Convenient for pitcher drinks, since it is essentially sweetened lime juice with extras, and it is often shelved right where the concentrate would be.
What changes
Best for
margarita pitchers, frozen blended drinks, punches
Many mixes contain added flavourings, agave or corn syrup, and some contain salt, so the drink can end up sweeter and slightly savoury compared with concentrate and can taste manufactured. Taste it neat first and adjust. It is a poor choice for a key lime pie, where the added ingredients and lower acidity can stop the filling setting properly.
6Powdered limeade or lime drink mix plus water
Taste and texture differ
Use Enough powder for 2 quarts for every can, plus 1 ½ cups water
Works in a pinch for punches and slushes where the lime flavour is a background note rather than the point.
What changes
Best for
punches, slushes and freezes, party drinks
Sourness comes from citric acid rather than juice, so it tastes sharp but flat and slightly artificial, and there is no peel aroma at all. A teaspoon of fresh lime zest per batch helps enormously. Avoid it where acidity does structural work, such as a condensed milk pie filling, because the acid level is unpredictable.
7Fresh lime juice on its own (the swap that usually fails)
Taste and texture differ
Use Not 1:1; add ½ cup sugar for every cup of juice to make it work
Listed because it is the first thing most people try, and because it is the reason a lot of substituted margaritas and pies come out wrong.
What changes
Best for
marinades, savoury dressings, guacamole and salsas
The concentrate is roughly half sugar, so plain juice leaves a drink brutally sour and a dessert both sour and unset, since the missing sugar also affects how a frozen or chilled filling firms up. In savoury cooking the sugar matters much less and plain lime juice is genuinely fine.

What is Frozen Limeade Concentrate?

Frozen Limeade Concentrate is sweetened lime juice with most of its water removed and then frozen, sold as a 12-ounce can that makes about two quarts of limeade once diluted, and often called for undiluted in margarita, pie and marinade recipes.

Cooking tips

A 12-ounce can is 1 and a half cups thawed, which is the conversion most recipes hinge on. Half a can is three quarters of a cup.
When a recipe says thawed, undiluted, do not add the water on the label. The concentrate is being used as flavour and sugar, not as a drink.
Frozen concentrate is doing real work in a blended margarita: because it goes in frozen, you need less ice, and less ice means a stronger, less watery drink. If you substitute a room-temperature syrup, freeze it in an ice cube tray first or accept a thinner drink.
In key lime pie the acid is what thickens the filling as it reacts with sweetened condensed milk, so keep the acidity up. A pie made with sweetened concentrate rather than straight lime juice sets softer, and adding a tablespoon of extra lime juice per pie helps it firm.
Limeade concentrate is quite sweet, so when you use it in a marinade or a glaze, watch the heat. The sugar caramelises quickly and chicken or pork will darken on the grill faster than you expect.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use lemonade concentrate instead of limeade concentrate?

Yes, at 1:1, and it is the easiest substitution there is. Add a tablespoon of fresh lime juice and a teaspoon of grated lime zest per cup to bring the lime character back, and expect the result to be slightly sweeter and pale yellow rather than faintly green.

How much lime juice and sugar equals a can of limeade concentrate?

A 12-ounce can is 1 and a half cups. Rebuild it with three quarters of a cup of lime juice plus three quarters of a cup of sugar, stirred until the sugar dissolves, then topped up with water to 1 and a half cups. Fresh juice at the same volume without sugar is not a substitute.

Is limeade concentrate the same as margarita mix?

Not quite. Margarita mix is sweetened lime juice too, but it usually contains added flavourings and sweeteners and sometimes salt, and it is formulated for drinks rather than cooking. It works in a pitcher of margaritas if you skip any additional sugar, but it is unreliable in a key lime pie, where the acidity has to be right for the filling to set.

Can I just leave it out?

Not in the recipes that call for it. In a margarita pitcher, a key lime pie or a limeade sherbet, the concentrate is the sourness, the sweetness and the flavour all at once, so removing it leaves you with tequila and ice or an unflavoured condensed milk filling. In a marinade with plenty of other seasoning, lime juice plus a teaspoon of sugar covers it.

My store has stopped carrying it. What should I keep on hand instead?

Bottled lime juice and sugar cover every use, and bottled key lime juice is worth having if you make pies. If you want the frozen convenience back, mix equal parts lime juice and sugar, freeze it in an ice cube tray, and use three ice cubes for roughly a quarter cup of concentrate.

Related substitutes

More beverages substitutes

Frozen Limeade Concentrate substitute

Other frozen limeade concentrate substitutes

2Lime juice plus sugar plus water

3Bottled key lime juice plus sugar

4Lime cordial, such as Rose's

5Bottled margarita mix

6Powdered limeade or lime drink mix plus water

7Fresh lime juice on its own (the swap that usually fails)