How Much Juice Is in One Lemon? (2024)

How much juice is in one lemon?

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

Other frequently asked questions

With this ratio in mind, here are a few more answers to common questions about lemon juice:

• How much juice is in 2 lemons? Two medium lemon equals about 6 tablespoons juice, and two large yield ½ cup juice.
• How much juice is in ½ lemon? Half a medium lemon yields 1 ½ tablespoons juice; half a large lemon yields about 2 tablespoons juice.
• How many lemons do I need for ½ cup juice? You’ll need 3 medium or 2 large lemons. (We’d recommend buying 3 lemons to be safe.)
• How many lemons do I need for 1 cup juice? You’ll need 6 medium or 4 large lemons; again, buy 6 to err on the safe side.

How to juice a lemon

What’s the best way to juice a lemon, once you’ve purchased your fruit? There’s really no wrong way to do it: though if you use your hands you might end up with lots of seeds and pulp. Here are a few ways to juice a lemon:

• Roll the lemon on the countertop for a few seconds. This helps to release the juices inside the fruit.
• Cut the fruit in half width-wise.
• Place in a press juicer: A press juiceris the quickest and easiest method: it gets out the most juice and saves your fingers from tiring out from squeezing. Place the fruit into the press juicer cut side down and squeeze the handles together.
• Or, press in a handheld citrus juicer. Place the fruit cut side down onto a handheld citrus juicer and twist the lemon to release the juices.
• Don’t have a juicer? Simply squeeze out the juice with your hands into a small liquid measuring cup, then strain it to remove seeds.

What about lemon zest?

Does your recipe also call for lemon zest? One lemon medium lemon yields about 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Always zest a lemon before juicing it! If you juice it first, the shape of the lemon collapses and it’s difficult to rub it against the grater blades.

Our favorite method for zesting? Amicroplane grateris a handheld grater with sharp holes in it and it’s quicker and easy to clean than a box grater. Go to How to Zest a Lemon for more.