Sugar-Free Lemon Liqueur - 3-Ingredient Homemade Limoncello

Sugar-Free Lemon Liqueur, also known as Limoncello is very easy to make. This keto cocktail recipe comes together at home with just a few tools and only a handful of ingredients. This is the perfect keto summer drink recipe for the upcoming steamy hot summer months!

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With the summer heat hitting us hard here in Florida, creating keto summer drink recipes are something I love to do in order to help cool us off a little in the late afternoon.

Keto cocktail recipes such as my Sugar-free Strawberry Lemon Cocktail, Sugar-Free Grapefruit Paloma Cocktail - Keto-Friendly, Southside Gin Cocktail Recipe and my Easy Watermelon Cranberry Freedom Cocktail are just what the doctor ordered for these uber-hot summer nights (well, maybe not exactly!).

Plus, pairing a nice sugar-free cocktail with my Slow Cooker Beef Brisket or these AMAZING Baked BBQ Ribs is the perfect way to enjoy a keto lifestyle!

3 Basic Ingredients

This keto summer drink recipe does not require many ingredients. However, since lemons are the star of this keto cocktail, I do suggest that you buy your lemons when they are in season for the best taste.

• Organic lemons
• Alcohol
• Sweetener

*See the recipe card for quantities.

Alcohol for Sugar-Free Lemon Liqueur

Traditionally, Limoncello is made with 180 proof alcohol which is equal to 90%. For context, drugstore-brand rubbing alcohol averages 91 percent alcohol. The only alcohol sold here in the states that contain that high alcohol content are Everclear and Golden Grain. Believe it or not, Golden Grain is actually illegal in certain states!

There are some vodkas, such as Balkan 176, that contain 176 proof (or 88%) alcohol but you actually can not find those here in the USA.

So, my suggestion when picking the type of alcohol to make this homemade Limoncello with is to decide how you plan on drinking it and how strong you like your alcohol.

If you are someone who enjoys tequila or whiskey straight up, then using Everclear will create the strongest alcoholic flavour. If you are someone like myself who prefers wine and mixed drinks (ie. nothing "straight up" for this gal!), then using an 80-100 proof (or 40-50% vodka) is probably the right option.

Keep in mind that we are going to be diluting the alcohol with almost equal parts sugar-free lemon simple syrup (or plain sugar-free simple syrup) which means you will be diluting the homemade Limoncello. In the end, using Everclear will create a sugar-free lemon liqueur of about 80-100 proof (or 40-50%) whereas vodka will yield a sugar-free cocktail in the 40-50 proof (or 20-25%) range.

Instructions

Step 1: Wash the lemons (even if they are organic!) and then carefully dry them with kitchen paper, making sure not to rub them too much so as they will lose their oils if rubbed too much (the oils create the aromatic and flavour that come from the peel)

Step 2: Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler. If you have a ceramic vegetable peeler, the blade will ensure that your lemons do not brown or alter their taste. If you prefer, you can use a Microplane instead. Take care to remove ONLY the zest (yellow part), leaving the white spongy one on the lemon, as it could give a bitter taste to the liqueur. IF some of the pith is left on the skin, simply scrape it off using a spoon or a knife.

Step 3: Place the lemon zest in a large mason glass jar then pour the alcohol over the peels. Let them infuse for 2 weeks in a cool place out of direct sunlight. If you do not have a dark area to store the jar, simply cover it with a cloth. Every day, give the jar a good shake.

Step 4: After the required infusion time, prepare the sugar-free simple syrup. To do so, simply add allulose and water into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture just begins to boil. Depending on your beginning water temperature, this should take roughly 3 minutes to reach a boil.

Step 5: Once the syrup has cooled to room temperature, add it to the infusion of alcohol and lemon zest and mix well. Finally, pour the sugar-free Limoncello into glass bottles that contain lids or a cork stopper. Store the bottles in a cool, dark place for another week.

Step 6: Once the week is up, store the keto cocktail in the freezer for 3 hours (or indefinitely) before serving.

Hint: Feel free to adjust the amount of sweetener or alcohol to suit your tastes. Also, make sure

Organic or Non-Organic Lemons

Standard lemons are just fine for making limoncello, though I do recommend buying organic lemons. Since non-organic lemons are usually coated with wax, you'll get better extraction from organic lemons. Plus, alcohol will pull everything from those peels, including any pesticides or insecticides used on the lemons.

Variations

Giving the visitor ideas on how they can change this recipe to better suit their dinner guests, or their cultural cuisine, is a great way to increase the chances they make the recipe

• Alcohol - Traditionally Limoncello is made in Italy with alcohol that is 95%. However, if you prefer a more "mellow" alcoholic flavour, you can use a high quality vodka instead. Don't forget that when you add the simple syrup, you will be diluting the amount of alcohol. Therefore, if you are using 180 proof alcoho, you will end up with 90 proof (or 45 %) Limoncello. If you use 80 proof vodka (which is 40% alcohol), your Limoncello will end up closer to 40 proof (or 20%) due to the dilution.
• Lemons - Traditionally, limoncello is made from the zest of Femminello St. Teresa lemons, also known as Sorrento or Sfusato lemons. Lemons of other varieties are also good, such as the Eureka or Lisbon lemons, widely grown in Florida and in California for example.
• Flavour - I really like the flavour of lemon so I used my sugar-free lemon simple syrup and added it to the lemon-infused alcohol. However, if you would rather have a less pronounced lemon flavour, use my plain sugar-free simple syrup recipe instead. Also, you can take a vanilla bean or two, slice them open and added them to the second aging process. Adding the vanilla makes this drink a sugar-free Mellocello and is fabulous when served over ice!

Equipment

First of all, a vegetable peeler, preferably ceramic, or a Microplane, is needed to finely peel the lemons and remove only the zest.

You will also need a large glass jar (at least 3 litres / 1 gallon of capacity) with an airtight or screwed lid. You can always remove some of the alcohol from its original bottle and use it as your glass jar instead.

Next, a large fine-mesh strainer to strain the alcohol and remove the lemon zest after the infusion.

Finally, you will need funnels to help to pour the sugar-free lemon liqueur into glass bottles.

Storage

Once the limoncello is ready it can be stored in the freezer. The alcohol and sugar prevent it from freezing so don’t worry. In this way, it’s already cold when you want to drink it! Homemade Limoncello should be drunk within three months from the date of preparation.

Sugar-Free Lemon liqueur Troubleshooting

Why is my homemade limoncello cloudy?

Limoncello cloudiness comes from what is generally called Louching, where some of the oils that are soluble in alcohol but not in water come out of the solution as it is diluted.

Why did my homemade limoncello freeze?

The high alcohol content won't allow it to achieve that state. It'll just turn into a slushy consistency which makes it still good to drink any time. However, if you put limoncello with 80 proof or lower in the freezer, your drink will likely turn into ice because of the lower concentration of alcohol.

Why is my limoncello bitter?

Using a potato peeler, remove the rinds from the lemons, leaving all or as much of the pith on the lemon as possible (the white part). Too much pith and limoncello will be bitter.

Is it better to zest or peel lemons for limoncello?

I have made my homemade limoncello both ways but find that peeling is easier. If you have a really good Microplane tool, you can get the zest from the lemon. I, however, do not have one and therefore used a vegetable peeler. Once my lemons peels had been removed, I simply turned them over and scraped the pith off using a spoon (you can also use a knife but since I am slightly clumsy, I was afraid of using too sharp of an instrument!)

How to use Homemade Limoncello

You can use homemade Limoncello in a variety of different ways. Drizzle some over some keto ice cream for a sophisticated dessert. Add some to my Keto Almond Flour Sponge Cake for a lemon twist. You could also replace the lemon in the icing for my Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Bread for a little extra kick.

You can pretty much use Limoncello in anything from baking to cooking. A general rule of thumb is that the longer the cooking time, the less the amount of alcohol that remains. Fast methods of cooking, such as flambéing, leave about 75 percent of the alcohol in the food. In contrast, a dish that has been baked or simmered for fifteen minutes contains about 40 percent of the original alcohol.

You can also drink it straight or pour it over ice. I actually like to make a mix of this homemade Limoncello with my 3-Ingredient Sugar-Free Cranberry Simple Syrup for a deliciously refreshing keto summer drink recipe.

Top tip

The longer you leave the jar with the lemon peel, the more lemon the flavour. Feel free to use either the recipe as listed with the sugar-free lemon simple syrup or use this recipe for sugar-free simple syrup instead.

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