Nitrate & Nitrite Free Chilled Cucumber Mint Lemonade
There is something genuinely refreshing about a homemade drink that tastes this clean and bright, especially on a hot afternoon when you want something more interesting than plain water. Fresh English cucumber is blended and strained into a silky juice that forms the backbone of this lemonade, giving it a cool, almost spa-like quality that pairs beautifully with the tartness of real squeezed lemons. A quick maple syrup steeped with fresh mint leaves adds gentle sweetness and a herbal lift without any of the artificial flavoring or preservatives you'd find in bottled lemonades or flavored drink mixes. Every single ingredient here is whole and unprocessed, which makes it a natural fit for anyone avoiding cured or preserved additives — there's simply nothing hidden in this glass. The process is straightforward: make the syrup, blend and strain the cucumber, combine everything in a pitcher, and chill. Garnished with a thin lemon slice and a sprig of mint, it looks as good as it tastes and is genuinely impressive enough to serve to guests.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the mint simple syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
For the lemonade
- 1 medium english cucumber (about 10 oz), peeled and roughly chopped
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4–5 lemons)
- 2 cups cold water
For serving
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 4 thin lemon slices (optional)
- 4 fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the 1/2 cup water and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the maple syrup fully dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add the mint leaves, and let steep for 10 minutes, until the syrup is fragrant and pale green. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl or measuring cup, pressing the leaves to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. Let the syrup cool to room temperature.
- 2
Place the chopped cucumber in a blender with 1/2 cup of the cold water and blend on high until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. Strain the cucumber purée through the fine-mesh strainer into a large pitcher, pressing firmly with a spoon to extract all the juice; discard the pulp.
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