How to make sweet tea with Lipton tea bags is here. An easy sweet tea recipe that’s a cheap drink to make for a party or summertime. Southern sweet tea you can make in an Instant Pot or on the stovetop. Adjust to your liking, add lemon and enjoy year round.
When it gets hot outside it’s time to share how to make sweet tea with Lipton tea bags! So easy y’all. If you come from the South, or wish you did you can now make the most popular drink there anywhere you live. We will explain the sun method, stovetop and how to make it as an Instant Pot recipe too. (affiliate links present)
How to Make Lipton Sweet Tea
You can make this “regular” or sugar free using your favorite sugar substitute. I don’t know about you but my mom used to make this stuff all the time. In Hawaii and then in California she used the old fashioned sun method in a big ol’ jar to make iced tea and then sweetened from there. Needless to say this brings back memories.
Nowadays there is a much easier and faster method to make sweet tea with Lipton tea bags. If you have a pressure cooker or Ninja Foodi I would suggest using that. Instead of all day sitting outside you can have it done and ready to chill in less than 20 minutes now! I will explain all the methods below though.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Instant Pot Iced Tea
The first is my favorite as I said above. The ingredients will not differ though whether you want to use a large stockpot or a solar powered sun tea pitcher. Want to make a really big batch? NO problem, you can double or triple the amount as long as it will fit in the container you’re using.
Enjoy as is or add another flavor or diced fruit into the mix like we did with strawberry hibiscus sweet tea. You can make half plain and the other part with dried fruits to see which y’all prefer.
How many Lipton tea bags does it take to make a gallon of sweet tea?
Minimum you’d want to use is 2 family size tea bags, as you see here below, for every gallon you want to make. This ratio will yield a very mild tea flavor overall. If you like a stronger, like we do, for a darker appearance and flavor you’d use half the amount or 8 cups of water per 2 bags.
Instant Pot Sweet Tea
Pour water into the electric pressure cooker. Add the sugar and tea bags. Cover and pressure cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release after the cook cycle has completed. Remove the tea bags and transfer the tea to a pitcher.
- Refrigerate the tea and allow it to cool prior to serving. Serve over ice with sliced lemon, if desired.
How do you Make Sweet Tea on the Stove?
When making this on the stovetop you will add bring 4 cups of your water to a hard boil. Add sugar to boiling water, stir to dissolve.
- Then put in bags in hot water and steep for at least 5 minutes or longer if you’d like a deeper flavor.
- Remove bags, add remaining 4 c. of cool water and allow to cool.
- Pour into a pitcher and put into fridge to get cold.
How Long do You Leave Sun Tea in the Sun?
When you make weet sun tea you start by adding the water and bags into a clear glass sun tea jar and seal.
- Sit in direct sunlight and steep the tea bags for 3-4 hours, no longer than that.
- Remove bags, add sweetener to the warm liquid and stir until dissolved.
Allow to sit until room temperature and then transfer your container to the refrigerator so it can get cold before serving over ice with a slice of lemon.
Ninja Foodi Iced Tea
Ingredients you will need are simple and can be tweaked depending on your tastes and how sweet you want it to be. You can make sugar free sweet tea as well with alternative sweeteners.
- Family size tea bags
- yes you could use black tea or green tea if you preferred
- Water
- Sugar or a liquid sugar free sweetener works well
- refer to back to determine how much to add instead of 1 cup of white sugar
- Slices of fresh lemons are great
- Some like a sprig of mint
Ice is a must when we make sweet iced tea especially during the Summer months. Now jump to recipe and decide which method you will give a whirl first. I will say there isn’t much of a difference in the taste.
We always have a variety of flavors at home because I love hot tea when it’s cold too. This variety is “typical” and most common for Southern sweet tea. If you wanted to make this a summer cocktail you could easily add a bit of peach schnapps to give it a little kick, or enjoy as is.
This is a great baby shower drinks recipe too. It is really inexpensive to make and almost everyone loves it. Jazz it up with mason jars that have ribbons around the rim. You could even hang name tags off the top and use as placeholders at a party.
Want one more option if you are having people over and want a few choices? A real hit has always been this birthday party punch recipe with sherbet and soda.
How to Make Sweet Tea with Lipton Tea Bags
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker or stock pot
Ingredients
- 8 c water
- 2-4 family size tea bags, or 3-6 regular size, depending on how strong you want it (max. would have deeper tea flavor and more caffeine)
- 1 c sugar
- 1 lemon, sliced, to add when serving, optional
Instructions
- Pour water into the electric pressure cooker. Add the sugar and tea bags. Cover the pressure cooker lid and program to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release after the cook cycle has completed. Remove the tea bags and transfer the tea to a pitcher. Refrigerate the tea and allow it to cool prior to serving. Serve over ice with sliced lemon, if desired.
- * On the stovetop – bring 4 cups of your water to a hard boil. Add sugar, stir to dissolve, then put in bags and steep for at least 5 minutes or longer if you'd like a deeper flavor. Remove bags, add remaining 4 c. of cool water and allow to cool. Pour into a pitcher and put into fridge to get cold.
- * For sun tea – Add water and bags into clear glass sun tea jar and seal. Sit in direct sunlight for 3-4 hours, no longer than that. Remove bags, add sweetener and stir until dissolved. Then allow to cool and then put into fridge to get cold before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
