Cucumber Agua Fresca! Cucumber, lime, mint, lemongrass, sugar, and honey. The perfect tart + fresh summery drink!
Cucumber Agua Fresca
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This is so refreshing and the perfect summer drink! I tried the mint and ginger variation and it was delish. This will be made again many times.
christina
This is a summery cucumber agua fresca, and it is the only summer drink I ever want to drink in the summer from now until… the end of summer.
(Long live summer.)
I recently learned about agua fresca and I won’t ever be the same.
Some things I learned:
- An agua fresca is a light, non-alcoholic drink.
- The translation literally means “fresh water” or “cool water.”
- It’s popular in Mexico, Central America, and the US.
- It’s usually made with fruits, flowers, seeds, etc. that are blended with sugar and water.
- IT’S REALLY MY FAVORITE THING EVER RIGHT NOW.
Here’s my current favorite version: cucumber, lime, mint, lemongrass (had some left over from this salad, remember?), sugar and honey.
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What happens now is you blend it.
And it’s going to get a bit chunky – no worries. You’re just going to pour it through a strainer to remove your pulp, so all you’re left with is the extremely potent, lightly sweet, totally refreshing good stuff.
Which will then be watered down further (to your liking!) and poured over ice to make the best thing you’ve sipped on all summer.
The color is gorgeous and the flavor is like a sweet and cooling waterfall for your mouth with just a slight bite from the lime because, yes, we put the whole lime in there.
I could actually drink a full pitcher of this stuff. It’s AMAZING.
This particular version of agua fresca was inspired by A Spicy Perspective’s cucumber ginger mint agua fresca! Here’s a post with 4 ways to do cucumber agua frescas from Muy Delish. You can learn more about agua fresca here.
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Cucumber Agua Fresca
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Cucumber Agua Fresca! Cucumber, lime, mint, lemongrass, sugar, and honey. The perfect tart + fresh summery drink!
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 small cucumbers, cut into chunks
- 10 fresh basil leaves (or mint!)
- 2 whole limes, unpeeled and cut into quarters
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste or fresh lemongrass (can also use ginger)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 cups water + an additional 2 cups water later
- ice for serving
Instructions
- Blend the cucumbers, basil, limes, lemongrass, sugar, honey, and 2 cups water together until smooth-ish.
- Using a fine mesh strainer to catch all the pulp, pour the agua fresca into a pitcher. Discard pulp.
- Mix an additional 2 cups water into the pitcher. Store in the fridge and serve over ice! SO GOOD.
Equipment
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Notes
For two people, we usually drink half of our batches that evening, and then keep the rest in the fridge and finish it the next night! Use best judgment in terms of food safety with your extras, as unpasteurized juices (especially ones that are not served fresh) can be unsafe for certain people.
Potentially unpopular opinion? But I like to leave the WHOLE lime in the juice because the rind and pith of the lime gives a bitterness to the finished agua fresca that I think is so, so delicious. (Reminds me of this pie.) Also, since I don’t add alcohol to mine, this helps it feel slightly more like a cocktail. 🙂 If you’re not a fan of any bitter flavor, just use lime juice instead of whole limes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: Spanish
Keywords: agua fresca, cucumber agua fresca, summer drink
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July 20, 2020
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This looks delicious, and as I’m very pregnant right now and not drinking alcoholic beverages, I think this would be just the thing to battle the Texas heat! Do you think a regular old blender will handle the limes? One of these days I’ll own a Vitamix!
I just made it in a regular blender and it worked great! So delicious. Might suggest reducing the sugar a tad if you’re not a fan of super sweet things.
It could work, it just might need to be blended on high for a bit longer. 🙂
it’s osm recipe nice work
This is so refreshing and easy! Added ice directly in Vitamix and didn’t need to strain. I’m also a fan of bitter. Thanks for this summer recipe.
Glad you enjoyed this, Lynn!
Delicious! Great drink to have by the pool! I made the recipe with mint and put some sliced cucumbers in the glass with plenty of ice! It tastes the best when the ice melts some. Super refreshing!
The perfect pool drink!
Just made this! It’s fantastic, so refreshing for these hot days.
Glad you enjoyed this!
How do you think this would work with a lemon??? I have lemons and I have bottled lime juice…which would you go with?
We haven’t tried this with lemon yet, but we’d love to hear how it goes for you!
I just made this with mint and lemon instead of the basil, lime, and lemongrass paste. I used fresh lemon and think it is great!
Making these this weekend…. with a bit of rum or tequila as my baby makin days are over. 😉☀️🍹
Congrats on your pregnancy!!
Enjoy, Abby! 🎉
I have been looking for a summer drink. It’s been so hot this month and I don’t feel like eating as much, so this is perfect! Its so refreshing and hydrating and delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Enjoy, Colette!
I was skeptical, but Oh. My! It is so good! I could absolutely drink a pitcher myself, just as it is!
(Also taste tested with spirits for those not pregnant and this drink favors vodka over tequila)
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Michelle! 🙂
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This is the best drink I’ve had all summer! Love it. I’d add even a little more basil.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this, Andria!
This is so refreshing and the perfect summer drink! I tried the mint and ginger variation and it was delish. This will be made again many times.
This was SO good. Really loved the slight bitterness from the lime peel. It was a little too sweet for my tastes – I’ll prob cut the white sugar in half next time. I also love adding a teaspoon of chia seeds to a glass of agua fresca right before serving.
Glad you enjoyed the agua frescas, Alexa!
Gulp of Yum! Can’t imagine a more refreshing summer beverage! We did peel our cukes and limes. Enjoy!
Glad you enjoyed this, Loril!
I just made this using some extra large cucumbers from my garden that I didn’t know what to do with. I used a combination of mint and basil and I substituted a lemon for one of the limes because that’s what I had. It turned out FANTASTIC! The perfect summer “sip all day” drink. Can’t wait to try some different flavor combinations.
Awesome use for fresh produce right from your garden!
this is awesome
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I love how low calorie this drink is. I know my crew would love one of these after a hot shift in the sun. It just looks so refreshing! Thanks for sharing and I’ll definitely be giving it a try 🙂
-Tim
This is very healthy drink for Summer. It refreshes our mind. It keeps our body hydrated.
So I hear drinking Cucumber juice before going to bed helps people lose weight and flatten their stomach. I do drink Vinegar water from time to time and that did work. Biut it gets costly. How long do you think drinking Cucumber juice might take for it to be effective?
Drinking this right now and it’s soooo good! Perfect for blazing hot Georgia summers. I didn’t have lime so I used lemon. Works great. I’ll also note that it blended up totally fine in my very old magic bullet, so you can use any blender and make it happen!
Lemon! Yummy! Thanks for sharing, Abby! 🙂
Pregnant with twins and trying to stay hydrated. This is delicious!!
If a person can’t have refined sugar can you substitute with some stevia or more honey?
We haven’t tried this with stevia, but more honey should work instead. Enjoy!
This recipe is great! I have been looking for mocktail ideas to have during the week and this hits the spot. I like the recipe as is, but I may try reducing the sugar next time. I also love it topped with sparkling water for even more of a mocktail feel!
Great idea to add a bit of sparkling water!
This looks so refreshing! Adding lemongrass sounds so delicious!
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I just made it with ginger. It’s so refreshing!
🎉