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Our strawberry homemade electrolyte drink is such a simple way to support hydration using real, all-natural ingredients. It contains potassium, sodium, and other minerals to help your body support fluid balance. The light refreshing strawberry flavor comes from real strawberries, (none of that artificial flavoring!) and is the perfect way to replenish your electrolytes after an intense workout or long day in the summer heat. You’re going to love this clean and natural homemade Gatorade!
Everyone loves sports drinks like Gatorade, especially kids. But have you ever stopped to read the ingredient label?
I wanted to find a way to give an electrolyte boost we sometimes need or want throughout the hot summer months, during intense kid’s sports, or post-workouts without all the artificial junk. So I came up with this homemade gatorade recipe, which is a natural sports drink made from natural ingredients.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What Are Electrolytes And Why Do We Need Them?
- Ingredients
- Variations And Substitutions
- How To Make Homemade Electrolyte Drink
- Rachel’s Tips For The Best Results
- How To Serve
- Storage Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- More Drink Recipes You’ll Love
- Natural Electrolyte Drink: Homemade Gatorade Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Natural Ingredients: This natural electrolyte drink is made using coconut water, salt, honey, lemon, and strawberries. No food dyes, no flavor chemicals, and no preservatives.
- Tastes Better Than Gatorade: Unlike store-bought electrolyte drinks, this homemade gatorade recipe uses just a tiny pinch of salt to deliver the sodium we need, the rest is sweet and delicious!
- Customizable: Make this diy hydration drink more or less sweet, change the fruit you use for flavor, or add more or less salt based on your dietary needs.
Looking to try more healthier homemade drinks? Then you won’t want to miss this other healthy pineapple Gatorade recipe or this healthy homemade frappe.
What Are Electrolytes And Why Do We Need Them?
Electrolytes are trace minerals we consume through food and drinks that keep our body functioning the way it should. The main natural electrolytes our bodies need are:
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Chloride
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Phosphates
- And Bicarbonates
We need these minerals to help our bodies function at a cellular level. When these minerals are depleted from things like intense sweating, vomiting or diarrhea, or other causes of dehydration, it can cause health problems. These problems range from muscle cramps all the way to disorientation and heart arrhythmias [source]. To learn more, you can read this article about electrolytes and how to get them.
Ingredients
The simple ingredients that make this homemade Gatorade recipe the best way to replenish electrolytes without added chemicals and preservatives are:
- Coconut Water: Coconut water is essentially nature’s gatorade. It naturally contains important electrolytes, especially potassium, along with smaller amounts of sodium and other minerals. Potassium helps support normal muscle and nerve function, and it works alongside sodium to help your body maintain fluid balance. Coconut water is also naturally a little bit sweet, so if you’re using a good-tasting brand, you may not even need to add honey.
- Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice adds that bright, refreshing flavor, but it also brings a little vitamin C and natural acidity, which makes the whole drink taste crisp.
- Sea Salt: The sea salt amount is small but important because sodium is one of the main electrolytes lost through sweat. We’re only using a tiny amount here, just enough to help replace some sodium without making the drink taste salty. You could also use pink salt.
- Strawberries: For this recipe I decided to use real fruit instead of fruit juice. The strawberries add natural sweetness (without a lot of extra added sugar), beautiful color, vitamin C, and a little extra potassium. Plus the strawberries add a little bit of fiber and antioxidants.
- Honey (optional): The optional raw honey adds quick-digesting carbohydrates, which can be helpful after sweating, exercise, or spending time in the heat.
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Variations And Substitutions
Use Different Fruit: Strawberry is my favorite flavor for this homemade sports drink, but feel free to use a fruit you like. Raspberry, blueberry, or blackberry would be good berry variations. I also like the idea of trying kiwi, pineapple, or even grape.
Use Real Fruit Juice: There are many natural Gatorade recipes that use real fruit juice instead of actual fruit to flavor them. While this is an option if you want to try out different flavors or there is no ripe fruit in season, I always wonder how long the juice has been in the bottle and if its vitamins and minerals are still viable. If you want to use fruit juice, I suggest choosing an organic fruit juice with no additives or juicing your own fruit for the most natural, whole-food approach.
Make It vegan: To make this vegan you can use maple syrup in order to add carbs to this drink, however the drink may have a maple flavor. Use any vegan natural sugar you prefer.
Use a Lemon: If you don’t have a lime, a lemon will work in its place.
How To Make Homemade Electrolyte Drink
- Remove the stems and leaves from the strawberries and add them to the blender.
- Add the salt to the strawberries in the blender.
- Add the line juice to the blender.
- Add the coconut water to the blender with the rest of the ingredients.
- Blend all the ingredients until ingredients are combined and smooth.
- Serve in a glass over ice and garnish with a strawberry and lime.
Enjoy!
Love, Rachel
Rachel’s Tips For The Best Results
- ALWAYS use freshly squeezed lime juice from an actual fresh lime. Bottled lime juice from the store will give your drink a strange metallic or overly acidic taste. We want this nice & fresh! Fresh squeezed lime juice can offer more of the delicate fresh citrus compounds, including some vitamin C and aromatic plant compounds that start to decline after juicing, processing, pasteurizing, and sitting on a shelf.
- Also, the sweetness factor is such a very personal preference, so you may want to use more or less, honey, depending on YOUR family’s taste preferences. If your strawberries are really sweet, then you’ll likely want to skip the honey altogether. Taste test until you get it just right.
Looking for more fun fruity drinks for summer? Then you may also want to try out some of our mocktail recipes. Two of my favorites are alcohol-free strawberry margheritas and this strawberry mimosa mocktail recipe.
How To Serve
Serve this drink cold and straight from the fridge, or serve over ice.
Storage Tips
You can make homemade Gatorade ahead and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe FAQs
How do I make my own electrolyte water?
The best way to get extra electrolytes is by adding a tiny bit of salt to your water. The salt can be from natural sea salt, pink Himalayan salt, or even table salt.
What are the best natural ingredients for electrolyte drinks?
The best natural ingredients for electrolyte drinks are coconut water and natural salt. Read more about electrolytes and how to get them.
How does coconut water support hydration?
Coconut water supports hydration by providing the body with much needed electrolytes like potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium.
Can I give this drink to children?
As I am not a doctor or health care professional, I can only say that I give this to my children over other electrolyte drinks that have artificial colors and dye their tongues neon blue. For a typical, healthy child, this drink should be fine for them to consume, however you should consult with your doctor first if you have any concerns.
How can I get electrolytes when I don’t have time to make a homemade electrolyte drink?
If you are looking for a super high quality electrolyte powder to use when you’re traveling or just don’t have the time to make your own (but still want quality ingredients without the junk), I highly recommend the Just Ingredients electrolyte powders. I love these so much!
Did you try this Homemade Electrolyte Drink recipe? It would mean so much to me if you would comment and rate this recipe!
🩷Rachel
More Drink Recipes You’ll Love
Natural Electrolyte Drink: Homemade Gatorade
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups coconut water
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice, about 2–3 limes
- 1 Tbsp raw honey, optional
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup fresh strawberries
- crushed ice, for serving
Instructions
- In a blender combine your coconut water, lime juice, honey (if using), sea salt, and fresh strawberries.
- Blend until everything is fully combined and smooth.
- Add ice and serve immediately, or refrigerate for 30–60 minutes to allow flavors to infuse.
- Enjoy!
- Love, Rachel
Notes
- ALWAYS use freshly squeezed lime juice from an actual fresh lime so you don’t get a bottled metallic flavor. Fresh squeezed lime juice offers more of the delicate fresh citrus compounds, including some vitamin C and aromatic plant compounds.
- Sweetness factor is such a personal preference, so use more or less, honey, depending on YOUR family’s taste preferences. If your strawberries are really sweet, then you’ll likely want to skip the honey altogether. Taste test until you get it just right.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
