Nutmeg Free Chilled Cucumber Mint Lemonade
This refreshing drink is the kind of thing you want waiting in the fridge on a sweltering afternoon — cool, bright, and just a little unexpected. Fresh cucumber gets blended and strained into the pitcher, lending a clean, subtly vegetal sweetness that plays beautifully against the sharp punch of real lemon juice. A homemade mint simple syrup made with maple syrup ties everything together with gentle herbal warmth and a touch of natural sweetness. The whole process is straightforward and relies entirely on whole, recognizable ingredients — no spice blends, no pre-made mixes, nothing hiding in the background. For anyone navigating spice sensitivities, that kind of ingredient transparency is genuinely hard to find in a packaged drink or even a café version. Garnished with a sprig of fresh mint and a thin lemon wheel, it looks as good as it tastes.
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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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