Cucumber Agua Fresca

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Made with just a few ingredients, cucumber agua fresca is a refreshing and tart drink for hot summer days. It’s a great way to use up those extra garden cucumbers!

Every year I have great plans for my garden. Every year those plans never turn out, unless you are looking at my cucumber plant.

Without fail the cucumber plant is the one thing constantly producing, through torrential summer thunderstorms and sticky hot days, like a little plant mail carrier.

Even after making bread and butter pickles and cucumber tomato salad, there’s still plenty of cucumbers to use up. Happily, one of my favorite ways is also one of the easiest!

If you’ve never had an agua fresca before, you’re missing out. These refreshing drinks are a quick blend of fruits (or veg) with water, lime, and sweetener. 

Cucumber agua fresca is a great recipe to dip your toes into the taste of these drinks!

Ingredients for cucumber agua fresca

Full list of ingredients including quantities is located in the recipe card.

You’ll need:

Cucumbers – Regular slicing cucumbers are fine to use here. Seedless cucumbers make things easier, but if yours have seeds, simply scrape them out. 

Sugar – Agua frescas do have added sweetener. I use regular granulated sugar here, but you can also use honey, agave nectar, or another sugar alternative. 

Lime juice – Lime makes the drink tart and even more refreshing, balancing the sweetness.

How to make this recipe

You’ll need a good blender, and a mesh strainer if you want to strain the pulp out.

Trim the ends from the cucumbers. You can peel them if you like (some cucumbers can have a bitter peel) or leave unpeeled. If you leave the skin on, your drink will be more green in color.

Cut the cucumbers in half down the middle. Scrape out the seeds and discard.

Add the cucumber to a blender along with 4 cups of water, sugar, lime juice, and a pinch of salt.  

Mix until completely blended, gradually increasing the speed on the blender to ensure the cucumber is chopped up fully.

Taste and add more sugar or lime juice as desired.

The mixture will be a bit foamy after blending and can separate. If you like, strain the agua fresca through a mesh sieve into a pitcher.

Serve over ice or straight up.

The agua fresca will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. I recommend giving it a quick stir before serving.

Recipe suggestions

You can add lots of other flavors to this drink to make it special!

I like adding a peach or diced cantaloupe for some natural sweetness (reducing the added sugar).

Herbs like fresh mint or basil are wonderful options, or you can rim your glass with Tajin seasoning for a kick.

Want to try other versions? Make watermelon agua fresca or pineapple agua fresca!

Cucumber agua fresca is the perfect summer drink. It’s the ultimate refreshment!