a pitcher filled to the top with cucumber ginger mint agua fresca along with four small glasses filled to the top and garnished with sliced limes, mint leaves, and cucumber slices. The glasses are on an oval platter filled with ice while the pitcher is on a flat surface in the upper right hand corner

Cucumber ginger mint agua fresca has been my go-to company (or any occasion) drink this summer. If you've been to a gathering in my backyard this summer, chances are you've had it (and have asked for the recipe). But if you haven't, don't take it personally and please accept this recipe as my peace offering.

I first learned about cucumber agua fresca while picking up lunch from my favorite salad place and have been obsessed ever since. When they took it off their menu for the season, I had no choice but to figure out how to make agua fresca on my own.

What is agua fresca?

Agua fresca is a slightly sweet, summery drink made with fruit and/or flowers, sometimes herbs and sweetener, and liquid. I've heard some people add seeds but I haven't tried it yet. Serve it as is, with the pulp or strained for smoother drink. I think it works better to strain the pulp but you do you.

Cucumber ginger mint agua fresca is a light, slightly sweet, refreshing summer drink that is perfect for those warm evenings (or days). It's cooling, refreshing, and reinvigorating all in the sip!

an overhead picture of cucumber ginger mint agua fresca in a small clear glass. The glass is garnished with a lime slice, crushed ice, and a cucumber ribbon. The glass is resting on a corner of a white platter filled with crushed ice and garnished with cucumber slices.

To make cucumber ginger mint agua fresca you will need:

roughly chopped cucumber
ginger (don't bother peeling it, just do a rough chop)
a generous handful of fresh mint
fresh lime juice
honey+sugar (or you can use all honey or all sugar)

Next, throw everything in a blender with some water and let it go until the mixture turns the most beautiful summery green. Strain the liquid, add some more water, and voila, the cucumber mint agua fresca is ready to serve!

A couple of notes:

Agua fresca is usually on the less sweet side so don't add too much additional sweetener. If you must add more, I would recommend more honey than sugar because honey is more mellow.
This drink is best served really cold so serve over ice, or at a minimum chilled in the fridge. If you're planning on keeping the drink outside for a while, you can reduce the water when blending by one or two cups. Instead, add ice so that when the ice melts, it won't water down the drink significantly.
Finally, cucumber ginger mint agua fresca is great as a cooling drink to a spicy or more flavorful main course. Because it's not overly sweet, it doesn't compete directly with bolder flavors. Try pairing it with Instant Pot Butter Chicken.

Cucumber Ginger Mint Agua Fresca

Print Recipe

Cucumber ginger mint agua fresca is a light, slightly sweet, refreshing summer drink that is cooling, refreshing, and reinvigorating.

Author: Manna & Spice
Prep Time: 5
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 8 cups 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 medium cucumbers, roughly chopped (about 4-5 cups)
a small knob of ginger (don't bother peeling it, just do a rough chop)
a generous handful of fresh mint
½ cup honey*
½ cup sugar*
½ cup fresh lime juice or juice from 6 limes (don't use bottled!)
6 cups cold water (you'll use 3 cups at a time

For Garnishing (optional)

mint sprigs, lemon slices, thinly sliced strips of cucumbers
ice

Instructions

Add cucumber, ginger, honey, sugar, mint, and HALF of the water (3 cups) into a blender and blend on the highest setting, until the mixture is mostly blended (some small chunks are okay).
Use a fine mesh strainer set over a large pitcher or bowl and pour the agua fresca mixture to strain out the solids. Discard solids.
Mix the remaining water into the cucumber ginger mint agua fresca and adjust sugar/honey and/or lime juice as needed.
Let the agua fresca hang out in the fridge to chill for about an hour and serve over ice and with garnishes if desired.

Notes

*For the sweetener: you can use all honey or all sugar and adjust the quantity depending on how sweet you want it. Agua fresca is not supposed to be as sweet as limeade so it won't be as bold. Honey mellows out the flavor of sweetner and adding sugar helps keep the drink economical (you need more than ½ cup more honey to make it as sweet as with sugar)

*This cucumber mint agua fresca is very forgiving: you can definitely add less sugar if you're into a less sweet drink like me. You can also adjust the amount of mint if you really want a mellow flavor, but you won't get that beautiful, green color!

*Agua fresca stays good in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, but good luck with it lasting that long!