We Tried And Ranked 10 Fast Food Lemonades To Beat The Summer Heat

Boy, it's hot out there. We're thick in the season of "nothing sounds good to eat but popsicles" and "if it's not cold and refreshing, I don't want it." Luckily we have just the thing to get you through these long, scorching dog days — when summer gives you heat, order lemonade.

With its refreshing nature, sugary sweetness, and punchy citrus notes, a simple lemonade recipe is an undeniable crowd-pleaser. It's also a buzzworthy beverage you'll find on the menu at most fast-food chains, and one that pairs well with a broad range of food, from fried chicken and hamburgers to burritos and roast beef sandwiches. But, when you get down to it, not all takes on the classic are created equal.

To pick out the truly sippable from the pucker-inducing letdowns, I taste-tested several different fast-food lemonades. And I'm not talking about Minute Maid remakes. I tried the original recipes crafted by the chains themselves. I searched for real, quality ingredients that exuded freshness, a balanced level of sweetness, and a flavor that didn't lean too sour, but could still hold its own alongside any meal. Here's how the rankings shook out from my least favorite to my main squeezes. Things are about to get juicy.

There are over 87,000 drink possibilities at Starbucks, so it's nearly impossible not to find something that agrees with your palate. Indulgent bliss can be hiding underneath the foam of a chocolate cream cold brew or in the swirls of a caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino. For me, though, one thing I know for sure is that a sublime sip experience isn't concealed in a tall (and when I say "tall," I mean its small size) cup of the chain's lemonade.

One would expect some tartness from a lemony drink, especially from a company that claims its lemonade is both "tangy" and "fresh." But this cup travels beyond tartness and left me with a metallic taste on my tongue. Despite the 19 grams of sugar in a tall size, the sweetness isn't enough to cut through this zesty intensity.

It's hard to see where the recipe went wrong, as just water, lemon juice, sugar, and lemon oil are in the recipe. Though I would venture to guess the latter ingredient has something to do with it. The concentrated oil is extracted from the rind of real lemons, and is often used in aromatherapy, skincare, and even cleaning products. So, it makes sense that something harsh enough to disinfect surfaces may come off a bit strong when stirred into an iced beverage.

I had high hopes for Popeyes' lemonade. After all, most everything else the chain touches seems to turn to gold, from fried chicken sandwiches to mac and cheese — though this cheesy side would technically classify as liquid gold. So I figured, why would the lemonade be any different?

According to the chicken joint, its chilled premium lemonade "features an all-natural classic style lemonade made with cane sugar and real juice." Its glowing yellow color made me think otherwise, and made me think I was in for a beverage bursting with flavor. I was deceived. The lemonade is on the milder side overall, in terms of acidity, sweetness, everything. What did stand out, though, was a hint of a chlorine flavor, like one from tap water. The light, citrusy liquid isn't something I'd reject completely. I can see how something cool and subtle would pair well with a meal chock-full of salt and grease — and it certainly beats Starbucks. But it doesn't make a striking impression as a solo offering. 

I would like to try the lemonade's spinoffs, including strawberry and mango flavors. Or did you hear about the chain's pickle lemonade? No, it wasn't an April Fool's joke; Popeyes really did that, and it actually makes a lot of sense, considering it already had plenty of lemonade and pickles readily available. It's unfortunately not around as of the date of publication, but as a pickle enthusiast, I bet we would have gotten along just fine.

Raising Cane's has really risen up in the ranks of the fast-food industry over the past several years. Just in 2024 alone, the chain opened 118 restaurants, bringing its total to over 900 locations in just 30 years of operation. Impressive. It owes much of its success to its juicy chicken tenders and craveable Cane's sauce, both of which have amassed serious cult-like followings. But what's the deal with its lemonade?

If you've been to Cane's, you know that the lemonade competes with the fresh-brewed iced tea for the title of top dog drink. The citrus itself is squeezed fresh daily, and a recipe the chain shared featured just three ingredients: real lemons, pure cane sugar, and filtered water. Sounds pretty similar to Popeye's premium lemonade, right? Well, that's probably why the two are pretty darn close in flavor — both rather muted, especially when pitted against a slew of other succulent swigs.

Raising Cane's does have a slight advantage over Popeye's, though. Its lemonade certainly receives points for freshness and for the extra dose of zest it offers. It also uses the best kind of ice there is. That chewable nugget ice is an automatic soft drink enhancer, and I know I'm not the only one who sometimes looks forward to munching on those crunchy pellets more than I look forward to actually guzzling down the refreshment.

If you asked me before this ranking what kind of lemonade McDonald's sold, I would have guessed Minute Maid without hesitation. And, in my defense, there are plenty of supporting arguments to back up this hunch. First, one of McDonald's top competitors, Burger King, sells it at its chain. Minute Maid orange juice also sits on McDonald's own menu, and it even used to sling Minute Maid lemonade. So, you could say it was a pretty good assumption.

But alas, since April 2025, the Golden Arches has been spinning up its very own version of the classic summertime beverage. And I would say it's a definite improvement. Made with real lemon juice, real cane sugar, and even fine bits of lemon pulp, it takes on a very fair color, similar to that of limeade. It immediately hits you with a wave of refreshing sweetness, though, and does so without being overly sugary or excessively sour. Though it's lacking in the natural and freshly squeezed flavor department. I can see some resemblance between this glass and one that was born from a powdery store-bought mix. Instead of pulverized sugar granules lurking at the bottom of the cup, though, McDonald's plastic container was lined with a congregation of tiny pulp specks.

This small setback aside, I was pleasantly surprised overall by Mickey D's new original nectar that rose above even Raising Cane's offering. And bravo to you for finally hopping off the Minute Maid train.

Kentucky Fried Chicken (better known as KFC) is the third chicken chain on this list to offer lemonade — and it's not the last either. I guess there's just something about that comforting food combo of crispy fried chicken and sweet and sour lemonade that people can't resist.

The colonel is a bit tight-lipped about his classic lemonade, revealing little to no details about its contents on its website. I figured I would just have to see for myself what he's working with, and I found that the translucent, pale yellow liquid that came slithering through my straw wasn't half bad. Yes, it does taste a bit like lemonade from a soda fountain — which isn't a surprise, since that is exactly where it was poured from. But it's more of a grown-up version of what typically rushes out of those fizz factories. It's crisp, not aggressively citrusy, and the sweetness is balanced. Sugar is certainly present (38 grams for every 20 ounces, if we're getting into the nitty gritty), but it somehow doesn't dip into saccharine territory.

Currently, no other flavor variations of the classic lemonade exist on the menu. In the past, blackberry, cranberry, and tropical passion fruit have teamed up with the citrus fruit at KFC. As of the date of publication, you can find lemonade topped with a dash of sweet vanilla cream on its menu. That sounds like a delicious addition that would turn a lemonade into more of a creamy dessert than a beverage for sipping alongside a bucket of thighs and wings.

It pained me to pull into Sonic's drive-in and order just a plain lemonade. It felt fairly primitive to ask for something so simple and unadorned when the chain is so well-known for its vast rainbow of drink options, flavors, and add-ins like real fruit, sweet cream, and even Nerds candy. But, for the sake of the taste test, I sucked it up and forewent all beverage enhancements.

Sonic refers to its lemonade as "all-natural" and reveals that it's made with "real fruit lemons." The taste confirms this. From that first slurp, I could tell it was a tad diluted — like it was poured for an earlier customer who changed their mind and then given to me instead. But, even watered down, it had a just-juiced fruity flavor. It reminded me of the homestyle lemonade you would drink from a plastic cup and a striped straw at a state fair: light on the palate, low on sugar, and a bit bitter, but worth the inflated price tag because it tastes so dang good after a long day in the sun.

With an added boost from its nugget ice — similar to what you'll find at Cane's and Chick-fil-A — Sonic's take on lemonade lands in the middle of the rankings. It offers a bit more authenticity than something like KFC's soda fountain rendition. But it's not quite fresh-tasting enough to outshine the organic, classic, and other all-natural cups that are coming up.

Chipotle does not produce its own lemonade; instead, it sells a rendition from Tractor Beverage Co. The beverage company partnered with the casual Tex-Mex chain back in 2020 and hauls in not only lemonades, but also aguas frescas and tea.

Tractor's whole schtick is offering sips that are non-GMO, certified organic, and made with sustainably grown real ingredients. As such, its organic lemonade consists of juice from real lemons, cane sugar, and turmeric, which is thrown in for an extra dash of vitamin C. I had a slight bias towards this lemonade from the jump, not just because of its wholesome production methods, but also because it comes in a bottle when you order it to go. There's just something about enjoying any beverage from a vintage twist-off that's so nostalgic. And the product that comes out of this one luckily does it justice.

There must only be trace amounts of turmeric in this recipe because the flavor was not obvious. The subtle addition gives the lemonade its air of originality. It's simply not the same as any other rendition in the taste test, and for that, I commend both Chipotle and Tractor Beverage Co. Together, they deliver a lemonade that is uniquely juicy with a natural sugar tone. I also appreciate the consistency. Whether it comes from the drink dispensers inside the restaurant or an individual bottle, you can always expect the same quality and experience. This regularity gives it an advantage over many other chains, where you never quite know what you're going to get.

Arby's was the first stop where my order of a regular lemonade was met with a follow-up question. Through the drive-thru speaker, the employee asked me if I wanted fountain or fresh, referring to either Minute Maid or the chain's very own Market Fresh classic lemonade. Apparently, the chain keeps both options on deck to appease taste buds of all kinds. However, I decided to opt for the latter, and I'm glad I did. This recipe makes a splash.

This is a classic case of "you can't judge a book by its cover," because from the outside, this cup appears to be filled with nothing but water. But hiding in that unassuming cupful of ice and water is a careful blend of pure lemon juice and cane sugar. The result? A crisp, bright sip that balances sweetness and tartness. It's not cloying, nor does it veer into puckering sourness. Instead, its taste is undeniably quality, classic, and summery, with a hand-crafted edge that's hard to come by in a fast-food setting.

To put it simply, the place with all the meats delivers an honest-to-goodness lemonade. By cleaning out any unnatural hues and artificiality, it gives the impression that it was squeezed and stirred by hand rather than fused together by machine using preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. For these reasons, it topped the list as one of my favorite fast-food lemonades. But as much as I appreciated Arby's stripped-down approach, there were two citrusy contenders that impressed me even more.

According to Wendy's, its Dave's Craft Lemonades have stood prominently on the menu for years. The lineup includes tropical tastes like the pineapple mango, a strawberry lemonade, and a brand-new flavor for 2025 called tangerine twist — released with the Cajun Crunch spicy chicken sandwich. But the OG is and always will be the bare bones, all-natural lemonade.

All of these vibrant fusions are made without the use of artificial colors, flavors, or high-fructose corn syrup. Instead, the original consists of water, sugar, lemon juice, lemon pulp, lemon juice concentrate, and natural flavors. It's a meeting of ingredients we've seen before, but in this particular plastic cup, it tastes unbelievably homemade and delicious. The chain attributes this great taste to the lemons that it picks and juices at their peak season, and when you take a big gulp, that tart and true sparkling citrusy essence shines through.

Now, that's not to say the sweetness was skipped. With 46 grams of sugar in just a small serving, this is the most candied lemonade yet. Throughout most of the drink, this bodes well as a healthy equilibrium is created between the sugar and the lemon tang. Towards the end, though, it starts to seep into a syrupy state. If you're averse to anything supremely sugary, Wendy's may not be your go-to spot for lemonade. But, personally, I guzzled this one down to the very last drop and dreamed of how good it would taste next to a savory Baconator or an order of crispy saucy nuggs.

At Chick-fil-A, a lemonade is not just a drink you willy-nilly order to round out your chicken sandwich meal. No — it's an entire flavor experience in and of itself. I would even classify it as more of a treat than a simple thirst quencher. And for that reason, it won me over as the pinnacle of lemonades.

Only three ingredients make up this masterpiece: real lemon juice (which the chain specifies is not from concentrate), cane sugar, and water. That's all she wrote, and when all mixed up, these ingredients flow together in perfect harmony. A deep lemon flavor is found in every mouthful, but it manages to refrain from tasting overly tart. Similarly, despite a sugar content on par with Wendy's, it's indulgently sweet but not in an alarming way. The abundance of pulp is a not-so-subtle hint at the lemonade's blatant freshness, and its soft pellet ice is just the cherry on top.

As if customers needed another reason to opt for the chicken chain's lemonade, it also offers a slew of other variations — and I'm not just talking about the diet spin-off or seasonal flavors. Chick-fil-A ups the ante with a combination of its lemonade and Icedream dessert in a sippable concoction dubbed frosted lemonade. Lemonade also meets freshly brewed iced tea in the chain's version of an Arnold Palmer, called a Sunjoy. With the success and citrusy succulence of all of the above, I think a slight slogan tweak to "Eat Mor Chikin and Drnk Mor Leminade" may be in the chain's future.

It's surprising how different the simple combination of water, lemon juice, and sugar can taste. Preparation methods, sourcing, and even the type of sugar used can completely shift the flavor profile — sending some lemonades soaring into the sugary stratosphere, while others tip too far into tart territory.

To judge each cup, I started with the basics: the use of real, fresh ingredients. In today's fast-food world, most major chains deliver on this front, ditching artificial flavors and high-fructose corn syrup in favor of real lemon juice (often not from concentrate) and cane sugar. From there, it all came down to a balance between sweetness and citrus. A little pulp went a long way in my book — a hint at authenticity — and even the type of ice played a small role (yes, soft pellet ice matters).

In the end, Chick-fil-A won out, ticking every box and then some. It was the perfect blend of quality and liquid indulgence all stirred up into one juicy cup.