Ginger Free Cucumber-Basil Watermelon Agua Fresca
This refreshing blended drink is the kind of thing you want waiting in the fridge on a hot afternoon — cool, lightly sweet, and just a little herbal from the fresh basil. Watermelon and cucumber are a natural pairing, both high in water content and mild enough to let the lime juice and honey do the balancing work. The whole thing gets strained through a fine-mesh sieve, so what ends up in your glass is silky smooth and beautifully translucent. Many store-bought flavored drinks and agua fresca mixes sneak in unexpected spice blends or natural flavors that can be hard to verify, so making it from scratch with whole ingredients is genuinely the better move. Every component here is straightforward and easy to check off — no spice blends, no hidden heat, just clean fruit and herb flavors. A little extra honey or a squeeze more lime at the end lets you dial in the sweetness exactly where you want it. Serve it over ice with a sprig of basil and it looks as good as it tastes.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 6 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes (about ½ small watermelon)
- 1 medium english cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 1–2 tbsp honey, or to taste
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup cold water
For serving
- ice, for serving
- fresh basil sprigs or thin cucumber slices, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Add the watermelon cubes, chopped cucumber, basil leaves, lime juice, honey, salt, and cold water to a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 45–60 seconds.
- 2
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large pitcher. Pour the blended mixture through the strainer in batches, pressing gently on the solids with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
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