During the sultry afternoons of summer, nothing is more appreciated than a cool and refreshing drink, like this lavender lemonade. Agua fresca is another one of those perfect summer drinks.
Sometimes it seems like there are artificially colored, high-fructose corn syrup laden beverages everywhere we go in the summer. It’s nice to have a few recipes for drinks that I can pack for lunches when we’re out, or to bring with us to gatherings, that I’m okay with the kids drinking and can be enjoyed by everyone.
Cool and Refreshing Watermelon Agua Fresca
Agua fresca is a Spanish term that, literally translated, means “fresh waters.” Unlike infused waters which just use a few slices of fruit and herbs to flavor a glass of water, agua fresca is made by actually blending and straining the fruits and herbs.
Pureed fruit is mixed together with lime juice, herbs, sometimes water (if the fruit is not a watery one like melons), and a little sugar or honey. The mixture is strained to remove the pulp and served over ice.
This agua fresca is made with watermelon, cantaloupe, and a little mint for additional coolness. You will not need a whole watermelon or cantaloupe for this recipe. Depending on the size of the melons, you will probably need about half of a medium-sized watermelon and less than half of a cantaloupe. It’s ideal for using up leftover fruit from a fruit tray or just the rest of a melon if your family can’t quite eat a whole one.
Just toss chunks of watermelon and cantaloupe in the blender with some mint leaves and a little honey if you like more sweetness. Blend until liquefied and then strain into a pitcher in batches through a mesh strainer. Add a squeeze of lime juice for a little brightness and you’re done!
Despite straining, this agua fresca will still separate into layers if left sitting too long. Don’t worry; a quick stir with a spoon fixes that issue easily.
If you’re feeling creative or daring, try coming up with your own combination of fruits to make a new agua fresca! Maybe stir in some water kefir for probiotics? I might try a version of this cucumber lime mint agua fresca sometime.
Watermelon Agua Fresca Recipe
Equipment
- vegetable peeler
- sharp knife
- stirring spoon
Ingredients
- 8 cups watermelon (diced)
- 3 cups cantaloupe (diced)
- 20 fresh mint leaves
- ½ tbsp maple syrup (optional – or sub raw honey)
- ¼ cup lime juice
Instructions
- Peel and dice the watermelon and cantaloupe.
- In a blender, combine the diced watermelon and cantaloupe, mint leaves, and maple syrup or honey if using.
- Blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches.
- Strain the liquid through a mesh strainer into a pitcher, discarding the pulp.
- Stir in the lime juice.
- Serve over ice and keep leftover chilled in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Ever made agua fresca before? What’s your favorite blend? Share below!
This is EXACTLY what I need right now! These triple digits are draining my mojo. 😉
This sounds amazing!
I do have a couple questions, I love this site btw! Does this beverage, after straining have the consistency of a heavy or thick “water”or jucie, or more like oj with pulp? If its more water/juice-ish it sounds like if someone would like to stain a bit less could be drank as a snack or with a bit of tweeking of the recipe a meal replacement/quick pick me up!
If its more on the oj with pulp side is there anyway to take out more “pulp” so its lighter more just liquid?
My 2yr old is my healthy anything loving little guy he would love this! But he’s allergic to cannlope and honeydew (that’s all as far as we know) Do u have any other suggestions/ideas for other flavors? (even substitutions for the mint leaves everytime I use them they always tase like very strong yard grass I can never taste the mint at all) I was thinking of other drinks I could make like this but am drawing a blank any suggestions from ANYONE would be wonderful! I don’t have luxuries such as juicers, processors or any super convenient high end gadgets yet, but I have learned to improvise never having had them before. But for all the changes I will be making it seems I am going to need a few of them for time and quantity mamangent.
I am gathering tons of information, suggestions, ideas, recipes ect as my household is going to make drastic changes! Going as organic, absolutely healthy as possible (also paleo for myself again or as close as I possibly can ) and seeking other alternatives to lab created medications/ remedies ect. just a healthier lifestyle. Hoping to only have to buy made products and spend money on what i absolutely must (very budget friendly) my son and I both have allergies of all kinds food is the exception we have very few in the food department. But when it comes to all types of household cleaners, shampoos/conditioners, laundry detergents/soaps, toothpastes/mouth rinse beauty products of all types,hand/body/face soaps and
lotions u name it the list of what we can use is very short! So any suggestions on any/all of such items (how to make them myself without phrasing pre made anything other then oils, extrats and the like would be so very appreciated 🙂 but budget effective is a must, its just my son and I so funds are limited. I hope to be able to by ur book at some point, sadly i am unable to do it now I think it would help a great deal with many of the items I hope to do away with.
Best wishes to u and ur family!
You could make pineapple Agua Fresca.
Hi, Mommaofone, I am new to this site, but I am just going to jump right in! I am a new mom, and started eating paleo/organic/real foods when I found out I was pregnant about a year ago. My new husband introduced me to all of the real food concepts–even thought I was raised “healthy”, there were so many things new to me about real nutrition. (BTW, sounds like you are a single mom; I can’t imagine how difficult that must be! I admire you tremendously already.)
I am sure you could make agua frescas with pretty much any fruit. I live in Texas, the home of so many great little places that serve agua frescas in every flavor–pineapple, mango, papaya, strawberry, cucumber, anything you can think of that sounds good to you. So far as thickness, it depends on what blender you make it with and how long you process it. You can strain it through a single layer of cheesecloth if you would like it more watery. If you do decide to use it as a meal replacement, have a little protein with it (nuts, cheese, a piece of meat or chicken), so that you don’t get a blood sugar rush and end up crashing.
I would say that besides basic pots and pans, the only kitchen accessory that you really need is a good blender. We have a blendtec, which is a rather expensive brand, but is completely worth the investment. We have used ours about 8,000 times in 2 years and it is indispensable. We use it to make shakes for breakfast every morning, as well as to blend up cauliflower “rice” for stir-fry, to make peanut butter, blend up rice and lentils for indian dosas, make fruit juice, and the list goes on. You could probably find one for cheaper on ebay, or look for another brand–since it is just the two of you, you might not use it as heavily as we do ours.
Something that was a life-saver during my ravenously hungry pregnant months, was raw egg shakes. We flavor them with chocolate or fruit, and they are amazing. Raw eggs are the most bio-available and easily digested form of protein that there is, as well as being a complete food, full of nutrition, and also crazy cheap. If you live in an area where you can, I would highly recommend getting a couple of chickens. Sometimes you can find them basically for free on Craigslist. They will rid your yard of bugs and give you a continuous supply of great food.
Another cheap high-nutrition food is bone broth. Go to your local grocery store and see if their butcher will give you cast-off bones from butchering. All you have to do is toss them in a pot with a couple of veggies, simmer for 12-24 hours, and you have a liquid that is high in calcium, healing gelatin, and tons of other vitamins and minerals.
All household cleaners can be replaced with baking soda and white vinegar. You can even wash dishes using baking soda, and white vinegar disinfects and works great for cleaning windows. We wash our hair by mixing baking soda half and half with water, letting that sit in the hair for 2-3 minutes, rinsing, then pouring on a solution of 1/4 apple cider vinegar/3/4 water, letting that sit for another 2 minutes, then rinsing again. It takes your hair a couple of weeks to adjust, but after that your hair is beautiful and will actually grow in thicker. Plus, no allergies! We make our own deodorant using baking soda and coconut oil–there are recipes everywhere on the internet for it. For laundry and the dishwasher, we use washing soda (different than baking soda) with borax–it takes out every stain and is completely non-allergenic. I use coconut oil for lotion.
I wish you luck on your journey to health! You are a hero to do this for yourself and your boy!
Love love love this, because it’s so simple, and right now I have watermelon and cantaloupe ready in the fridge, but the best part is that I bought this little mint plant at the store that is a live plant, and you just keep it in water, and I have it on my windowsill growing mint for about two months now, so I ALWAYS have fresh mint on hand! I used to always run out because it went bad in the fridge. So if you like using mint you need to get one of those live mint plants. They also sell basil and other herbs live at many stores, but the mint I seem to use all the time because I also use it to make lemon/mint/cucumber water that I like to drink all day long, and hubby loves it too!! He just doesn’t know how sneakily good it is for him! Great post.