How Much Juice Is in One Lemon?

Wondering how much juice is in a lemon? Here’s the formula you need, plus tips for squeezing a lemon, zest, recipes, and more.

Are you preparing a recipe with lemons and need to know how much juice you get? Here’s our expert answer: Refined after making hundreds of lemon recipes over the years.

How much juice is in a lemon?

This is a common question when working with citrus, especially when a recipe calls for tablespoons of lemon juice. The answer to this question depends on size. All lemons are different, but here’s a basic guide. How much lemon juice in a lemon?

• A medium lemon yields 3 tablespoons juice and a large lemon yields 4 tablespoons juice (¼ cup). A very small lemon yields about 2 tablespoons of juice.

Other frequently asked questions

With that ratio in mind, here are some additional answers to frequently asked questions about lemon juice:

• How much juice do 2 lemons have? Two medium-sized lemons will yield about 6 tablespoons of juice and two large ones will yield ½ cup of juice.
• How much juice is in ½ lemon? Half a medium lemon yields 1 ½ tablespoons of juice; Half a large lemon yields about 2 tablespoons of juice.
• How many lemons do I need for ½ cup of juice? You will need 3 medium lemons or 2 large lemons. (We recommend buying 3 lemons to be on the safe side.)
• How many lemons do I need for 1 cup of juice? You will need 6 medium lemons or 4 large lemons; Buy 6 again to err on the safe side.

How to squeeze a lemon

What is the best way to squeeze a lemon after buying your fruit? There’s really no wrong way to do it: however, if you use your hands, you could end up with a lot of seeds and pulp. Here are some ways to squeeze a lemon:

• Roll the lemon on the work surface for a few seconds. This helps release the juices in the fruit.
• Halve the fruit widthwise.
• Put in a citrus press: A juicer is the quickest and easiest method: it juices the most and prevents your fingers from tiring while squeezing. Place the fruit cut side down in the juicer and squeeze the handles.
• Or squeeze in a portable juicer. Place the fruit cut-side down on a portable juicer and swirl the lemon to release the juice.
• Don’t have a juicer? Simply squeeze the juice into a small liquid measuring cup with your hands, then strain to remove the seeds.

And the lemon zest?

Does your recipe also call for lemon zest? A medium-sized lemon yields about 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. Always grate a lemon Before the juice! If you squeeze it first, the lemon’s shape will collapse and it will be difficult to grate it on the grater blades.

Our favorite method of swing? A microplane grater is a hand grater with sharp holes and is quicker and easier to clean than a box grater. Go to How to Grate a Lemon to learn more.

Lemon Recipes

What are the best recipes to use the juice and zest of this citrus? Here are some of our best lemon recipes: