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This easy drink recipe is like an Arnold Palmer but better! My refreshing, fizzy Lemon Spezi recipe is about to become your go-to summer mocktail.
An Arnold Palmer with iced tea and lemonade is one of the best ways to chill out on a warm summer day. But after taking a sip on this classic German drink recipe that swaps in Coca-Cola for the tea, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy the easy alcohol-free mixed drink any other way.
Equal parts cola and lemonade served over ice. I know it might sound a bit odd, but trust me (actually, trust the Germans!). Prepare to meet your new favorite mocktail recipe.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Lemonade: Fresh is best (I’ll walk you through how to make homemade lemonade), but you can absolutely substitute store-bought lemonade from the bottle or carton. Or start with 12 ounces of frozen lemonade concentrate made according to package instructions.
Step by step instructions
- Fill 2 glasses with ice. Pour 6 ounces lemonade into each glass.
- Divide the Coca-Cola evenly among both glasses and garnish with lemon wedges.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: My Lemon Spezi recipe makes two 12-ounce servings of the non-alcoholic drink. Multiply as needed to whet all whistles; each batch takes 1 minute. Seriously.
- Switch up your citrus: It Coca-Cola with Lime is one of your favorite sodas, trade in limemade and fresh lime wedges.
Recipe FAQs
You’re correct! This is my variation on the theme, so don’t feel limited to cola. Orange soda, lemon-lime soda, or grapefruit soda would be ultra-refreshing served over ice and with an equal amount of lemonade. You are more than welcome to use diet soda if you like.
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Lemon Spezi
Ingredients
- 12 ounces lemonade
- 1 (12 ounce) can Coca-Cola
- Lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Fill 2 glasses with ice. Pour 6 ounces lemonade into each glass. Divide the Coca-Cola evenly among both glasses and garnish with lemon wedges.
Notes
- Lemonade: Fresh is best (I’ll walk you through how to make homemade lemonade), but you can absolutely substitute store-bought lemonade from the bottle or carton. Or start with 12 ounces of frozen lemonade concentrate made according to package instructions.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
I first tried spezi as a little boy visiting my moms home town of Munich and almost 50 years later, though I drink little soda, I still make myself one from time to time. I still love it to this day and it brings back great memories.
I first tried a spezi as a little boy visiting my moms home town of Munich and almost 50 years later, though I drink little soda, I still make myself one every now and then. I love it and it brings back some great memories
Hi Dave, this is so amazing! I love it. I love that people actually drink it there (I heard from my relatives in Neufarhn that they do, but you never know when family is just trying to be nice). Thank you so much for the great story. -Meggan
This is yummy with Vodka in it!
Hi, yes Lemon Coca Cola is beside beer the other official German drink…..I love it
Thank you so much Eleonore!!! :) Glad to know I wasn’t making crazy stuff up. Take care!
I love anything with Coca Cola. Best drink ever.