How Much Juice is in a Lemon? [Cooking Hacks]

How Much Juice is in a Lemon? Get Easy Conversions for Your Recipe!

Discover how many lemons are needed for 1 cup of juice (plus more easy measurements).

By: Kristin Anderson, Editor, RecipeLion.com

By: Kristin Anderson, Editor, RecipeLion.com

How much juice is actually in a lemon?

Glad someone finally asked! One large lemon yields about 3 tablespoons of juice.

But there's a little more to it than that.

It's no surprise that the amount of juice in a lemon depends on the size of the fruit. So if you've purchased lemons that are really large, then you'll definitely get the full 3 tablespoons of juice. If you've got fruits that are slightly smaller, then you can expect to get a little less juice - about 2 tablespoons per lemon.

When you're purchasing lemons, try to buy fruit that feels heavy for its size. That will ensure that you buy juicier fruit.

Here's a handy list of some other lemon juice conversions to make cooking with lemons easier than ever!

How Much Juice is in One Lemon (Ounces and Tablespoons) Infographic

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Basic Lemon Juice Equivalents

There are a lot of ways to measure how much juice is in a lemon, and the best one for you might depend on the recipe that you're working from. Here we have some basic conversions, including how many ounces of juice in a lemon, to make your cooking life as simple as possible.

Please note that these are all US measurements.

How much juice in one lemon:

Juice in one medium lemon = 2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce

Juice in one large lemon = 3 tablespoons = 1.5 fluid ounces

How many lemons for 1 cup juice:

You need 8 medium lemons or 6 large lemons to get 1 cup of juice (8 ounces).

How many lemons for 1/2 cup juice (and more):

You need 4 medium lemons or 3 large lemons to get 1/2 cup of juice (4 ounces).

You need 3 medium lemons or 2 large lemons to get 1/3 cup of juice (2.66 ounces).

You need 2 medium lemons or 1.5 large lemons to get 1/4 cup of juice (2 ounces).

Loving this? Check out this class that's All About Lemons!
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The Best Way to Juice Lemons

Try this simple method for getting even more juice out of each lemon. As an added bonus, your hands won't hurt so much after trying to mash every last bit of juice out of a lemon half. Or was that just us?

Store your lemons at room temperature.
Fill a bowl with warm water. Drop your lemons in and let sit for 60 seconds. The warmer fruit is easier to juice.
Cut your lemons into quarters length-wise (see above). The quarters are easier to squeeze, plus you get more juice this way.
Squeeze your lemons over a strainer to catch seeds.

You can also use a citrus reamer to get more juice out of your lemons. If using a citrus reamer, cut your lemons in half width-wise.

Need to juice a bunch of lemons at once? Try this smart tip from Taste of Home!

Now that you know how much juice is in one lemon, you can easily buy ingredients for these Lemon Crinkle Cookies! Watch the video and learn how to make this delicious lemon dessert.