Good Kitchen Blog: Cucumber Agua Fresca

Monday, July 20, 2020

Cucumber Agua Fresca

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.

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.

Cucumber agua fresca in a pitcher with ice-filled glasses.

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.

Cucumber Agua Fresca

Author: Lindsay
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 4-6

Print Recipe

Description

Cucumber Agua Fresca! Cucumber, lime, mint, lemongrass, sugar, and honey. The perfect tart + fresh summery drink!

Ingredients

3 small cucumbers, cut into chunks
10 fresh basil leaves (or mint!)
2 limes, 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

Notes

The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love!

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.