This Cucumber Lemonade is summertime in a glass! It’s the perfect refreshment to cool down with after a long day spent in the garden or doing outdoor chores in the hot sun. Trust me, we have a lot of those around here! It’s incredibly refreshing. Even Karl likes it, and he doesn’t especially care for cucumber, or anyone else in the cucurbit family for that matter…
While this recipe was born partly out of necessity (because who thinks that 2 people need 6 cucumber plants?) it has turned into one of my favorite summertime refreshments! It’s oddly addictive.
I was a little surprised by how much I fell in love with cucumber lemonade, because I’m not generally a crazy-for-everything-cucumber kinda gal. You might not guess that based on my irrational tendency to grow a lot of cucumbers.
A friend of mine mentioned she’d been chugging the stuff lately, and when I found myself with 10 pounds of cucumbers, I had to give it a try!
There are a lot of cucumber lemonade recipes out there, and this is my version. I think it’s perfectly balanced- just lightly sweet from the honey (how to find the highest quality raw honey here), enough to take the edge off the lemon juice, with a perfect background of cucumber, but not an overpowering amount.
And the color! It almost looks like it could be fake- but that beautiful green glow is all from fresh cucumber.
Cucumber Lemonade Sweetened with Honey
Makes 1 generous serving
1/3 cup fresh cucumber juice
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1-2 Tbs raw liquid honey
1 cup water
Makes 4 generous servings
1 1/3 cup fresh cucumber juice
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup raw liquid honey
4 cups water
Start by getting the juice from your fresh cukes- if you have a juicer, great. It isn’t necessary though: I cut the cucumber into chunks, whirled it through the blenderΒ (I used a Vitamix but I think most blenders should work just fine) until smooth, and then strained it in a regular sieve for about 10 minutes. I collected the juice and gave the pulp to the chickens.
I found that 2 medium-sized cucumbers = about 2 cups of cucumber chunks = 1 cup cucumber juice.
Meanwhile, combine the honey and lemon juice in the bottom of a tall glass and stir and swirl it around until the honey completely dissolves, which will take about a minute. I think a shy two tablespoons of honey per serving is perfect and wonderfully sweet- if you like it a little more sour, err on the side of one tablespoon.
Once the honey is dissolved, add in the cucumber juice, water, and top with lots and lots of ice! Add cucumber and lemon slices to make it extra fancy.
*Pro-tip 1: Prep the cucumber/lemon/honey concentrate ahead of time and store in the fridge for up to a few days. Then just add water and ice to make yourself a glass whenever you desire. The color does change from vibrant green to off green, which is not as pretty. If you’re making it for yourself, no problem… if for a crowd, fresh is best!
*Pro-tip 2: Add a shot of Vodka for a refreshing summer cocktail!
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Perfect timing! Iβve got several cucumbers but not enough to pickle. There was a cafe that I used to go to that made something similar but just blended up lemon slices, Cucumbers and mint with water and ice in a blender. It was delicious.
Wow! I never tried cucumber with honey. Excited to try your version! Thanks for sharing! π
Can you do this with a type of simple syrup or sugar? I’m not a big fan of honey.
Yes, of course!