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Home » Recipes » Drinks

Arnold Palmer

Modified: Apr 29, 2025 · Published: May 16, 2024 by Heather · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 810 words. · About 5 minutes to read this article.

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An Arnold Palmer is a refreshing cold beverage made with half sweet tea and half lemonade. It's perfect for hot summer days, picnics, and outdoor grilling.

A glass of Arnold Palmer filled with ice and a lemon slice on the rim.

Recipe summary

Flavor: Refreshing, sweet, smooth.

What is an Arnold Palmer? A cold drink made with half tea and half lemonade. The name comes from the professional golfer who requested and enjoyed this beverage.

Made with few ingredients: All you need are black tea bags, sugar, and lemon juice.

Yield: 1 gallon (128 ounces)

Great for: Hot summer days, picnics, Fourth of July

You may also like: Sweet Tea, Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, and Lemonade Slushie

Jump to:
  • Recipe summary
  • Ingredients and substitutions
  • How to make an Arnold Palmer
  • Tips and tricks
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Recommended
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Comments

Ingredients and substitutions

Ingredients on a counter top.
  • Tea - Traditionally, an Arnold Palmer is made with regular black tea. For this recipe, you'll need 8 regular sized tea bags or 2 family size tea bags. I'm using family size tea bags in the photos.
  • Lemon juice - For this recipe, I highly recommend juicing lemons to make fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon concentrate doesn't taste nearly as fresh as squeezing your own fresh.
  • Sugar - Granulated sugar sweetens your Arnold Palmer and can easily be adjusted to suit your tastes.
  • Water - This recipe makes one gallon of Arnold Palmer, so you'll need 122 ounces of water, just shy of a gallon.

How to make an Arnold Palmer

Brewing tea and blending it with lemonade in a large pitcher.
  1. Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Allow to steep for 5 minutes before removing tea bags. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
  2. Pour tea, remaining water, and lemon juice into a large pitcher and stir to incorporate. Refrigerate until chilled and serve cold.

Tips and tricks

Use a heat-safe pitcher - I don't recommend preparing your Arnold Palmer in a glass pitcher if you're not sure it's heat-safe. Some glass pitchers can shatter if hot liquid is added.

Adjust sugar to suit your tastes - This recipe makes a moderately sweet drink. For a less sweet beverage, try adding ⅔ cup of granulated sugar (while testing this recipe, we found that ½ cup of sugar was too tart). For a very sweet drink, add 1.5 cups of sugar.

Don't boil the tea bags - Don't add your tea bags to boiling water. This can burn the tea, which adds a bitter taste. Instead, bring water to a simmer, remove from heat, then add your tea bags to steep.

Don't over-steep your tea bags - Tea bags only require about 5 minutes of steeping in hot water. Steeping for too long can add a bitter taste to the tea.

Don't add ice to a warm drink- Adding ice to a warm drink dilutes it and makes it taste watery. Instead, allow your drink to chill in the refrigerator before serving over ice.

Two glasses filled with half lemonade and half sweet tea.

Frequently asked questions

What is the correct ratio for an Arnold Palmer?

Arnold Palmer is commonly made with 50% tea and 50% lemonade. However, you're welcome to adjust the ratios to suit your tastes. It's common to make an Arnold Palmer with 75% tea and 25% lemonade.

Do you make an Arnold Palmer with sweet or unsweet tea?

This is entirely up to your tastes. Prepared lemonade and sweet/unsweet tea can be combined to create an Arnold Palmer with your preferred sweetness. For this recipe, we're preparing the tea and lemonade together, so you'll need to use less sugar for a less sweet drink. The lemonade portion of the recipe does require some sugar to balance with the tartness of the lemon juice, so you don't want to omit it entirely.

How long does homemade Arnold Palmer last?

Arnold Palmer tastes best within a day of preparing, but will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator before it begins to taste "off".

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📖 Recipe

A glass of Arnold Palmer filled with ice and a lemon slice on the rim.
Pin Print Rate
5 from 1 review

Arnold Palmer

An Arnold Palmer is a refreshing cold beverage made with half sweet tea and half lemonade. It's perfect for hot summer days, picnics, and outdoor grilling.
Prep Time5 minutes minutes
Cook Time5 minutes minutes
Chilling Time2 hours hours
Total Time2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 51kcal
Author: Heather

Ingredients

  • 122 ounces (3628 g) water, divided
  • 8 regular black tea bags, or 2 family size tea bags
  • 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, from about 4 to 5 lemons
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Instructions

  • Add 2 cups of water to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. After water has stopped boiling, add tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags from water.
  • Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
  • Pour tea concentrate into a 1-gallon pitcher and top with remaining water and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
  • Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until chilled. Serve over ice.

Equipment Recommendations

  • 1 Gallon Plastic Pitcher
  • SS 3-Quart Saucepan
  • Dry Measuring Cups

Notes

  • For a less sweet drink: add ⅔ cup of sugar. 
  • For a sweeter drink: add up to 1.5 cups of sugar.
  • Storage: Arnold Palmer has the best flavor within 1 day of preparing, but will keep for 3-4 days before flavor starts to taste "off". 
  • Optional garnishes: Add lemon/orange slices or fresh mint to glasses before serving.

Nutrition Estimate

Serving: 8ounces | Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 0.04g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.004g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.001g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 0.03g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.02mg
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American

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Heather of The Toasty Kitchen

Hi, I'm Heather!

I love cooking with simple, everyday ingredients and want to help you make homemade meals with ease.

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