Sipping a glass of my cucumber water isn’t just refreshing – it’s also cleansing and great for the skin! It’s one of those drinks I love making on the weekend when I am relaxing at home and catching up on some self-care activities.
When I used to think about cucumber water I would picture myself at a fancy spa wearing a robe, a towel around my head, and feeling very relaxed. It’s where I had my first glass of infused water and where I fell in love with it. It’s pretty eye opening how something like simple chilled tap water can be transformed by the effortless addition of fruits!
Since then, I’ve been making my own flavored water using citrus fruits, berries, and my favorite cooling ingredient – cucumber. Call it what you will: infused water, detox water – or spa water – cucumber water is created by soaking cucumber slices in pure water. As it steeps in the refrigerator, the cucumber essence grows. Once infused, the water takes on a light, crisp and verdant quality that is wholly refreshing and invigorating.
With a jar of this cold, crisp invigorating elixir in the fridge you’re never more than a moment away from freshness!
Table of contents
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full cucumber water recipe.
- Cucumber: I personally like English cucumber. They are the long and thin cucumbers you’ll often times see at the grocery store shrink-wrapped in plastic. I like that the skin is thin so it doesn’t infuse the water with bitterness. Kirby and Persian cucumbers are also good to use. I don’t recommend garden cucumbers because their skin is thick, waxy, and quite bitter. If you do decide to use them, consider peeling the skin.
- Water: Use spring, distilled, or filtered water. It’s worth spending on good water since the water is still going to be the main taste of this drink. If you like the taste of your tap water, then by all means use it! I live in L.A. where the quality of tap is questionable, so I prefer using filtered water at all times.
Variations
- Add herbs: Adding a few sprigs of rosemary or mint will pair beautifully with cucumber.
- Add lemon: Adding a few slices of lemon will brighten up the taste and give it a little tartness.
- Add berries: Adding sliced strawberries will sweeten the water and infuse it with fruity notes.
- Add sliced ginger. Sliced ginger will make the water a little spicy and may also help in soothing an upset stomach.
How To Make This Cucumber Water
Now, calling this a recipe is kind of a stretch. It’s more of a suggestion of quantities. Since cucumber infused water can be made with a bunch of cucumber slices, or just a few, I’ll leave it up to you to decide your own ratios. Take the following as a general guideline that works for me, meant to be tweaked in your kitchen as you see fit.
- Slice the cucumber into 25 slices that are about 1/8-inch thick.
- Add the sliced cucumber to 1 liter of filtered water, in a pitcher, jar, or infuser.
- Close with a lid and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and no more than 10 hours.
- Remove the cucumber slices if it’s been more than 10 hours to prevent the slices from breaking.
Expert Tips
- Use crisp and fresh cucumbers: Only use the best cucumbers you can find so they enhance the freshness of the water. Using cucumbers that are overripe can add an unpleasant bitter taste.
- Wash them thoroughly: It’s important to wash the cucumbers well (I use a little soap) to get rid of all the dirt and pesticides, which can make the water look cloudy.
Storage
- Keep the cucumber water in a jar, pitcher, or infuser.
- Refrigerate with the cucumber slices for up to 10 hours.
- After 10 hours, remove the cucumber slices and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
More Refreshing Drinks
Other refreshing and easy drink recipes you might like:
More Cucumber Recipes
- Smacked cucumber with chili oil
- Quick and easy pickled cucumbers
- Spicy Korean cucumber salad
- Sesame chicken and cucumber salad
- Creamy cucumber tomato salad
- Thai cucumber and shrimp salad
- Cucumber sandwiches
Frequently Asked Questions
It keeps your body and your skin hydrated. Cucumber water isn’t high in nutrients but it’s a great way to increase your daily intake of water and flush out toxins from your body. Many of the benefits you get from cucumber water can be seen when you consume it in place of high sugar beverages like soda. Since there’s no sugar in infused water, there’s no increase in caloric intake.
You can technically reuse the same slices to make a second batch but the flavor will be much milder. Because of that reason it’s best to make each batch of cucumber water with new slices.
It depends on the cucumber. If you are using thin skinned cucumber such as Persian and English, peeling isn’t needed. A garden cucumber on the other hand should be peeled since the skin tends to be bitter.
Yes you can! Cucumber water is virtually calorie-free and is made of 99% water. There are no downsides to enjoying this drink on a daily basis.
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
Print
Cooling Cucumber Water
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 liter 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Steeping
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A cooling and refreshing homemade cucumber water recipe.
Ingredients
- 25 cucumber slices (1/8-inch thick)
- 1 liter of water
Instructions
- Add the cucumber to the water. Place water and cucumber slices in a jar or infuser.
- Refrigerate. Close with a lid and place the jar or pitcher in the fridge for at least 2 hours (up to 12 hours).
Notes
I use about 25 cucumber slices (about ⅛-inch thick) for every liter of water. If you like it stronger, just use more cucumber. Like it more diluted? Just use less 🙂
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 2
- Sugar: 0.2g
- Sodium: 10.3mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 0.5g
- Fiber: 0.1g
- Protein: 0.1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Is there less benefit if the cucumber skins are removed?
Hi Mimi, you will still get benefits even if you peel the skin but I would recommend leaving the skin on for maximum benefits! 🙂
I am assuming after 2 – 12 hrs you remove the cucumbers and use fresh then!
Terrific recipes thank you
Makes a nice change from my i
Lime flavored water.
It was mentioned about adding some lemon. I have often times used lime juice on my salads instead of high calorie salad dressing, and it goes very well with cucumbers. I suggest trying some slices of lime to the cucumber water.
I make this all the time. I also add lemon & fresh mint & sometimes celery. Any way I make it I love it!!
Tasty and nutritious. This is my favorite drink. It is both delicious and nutritious. I usually put it in a refrigerator, after a few hours to enjoy it. It was delicious. Your recipe is simple and effective. Thank you very much.
This is so pretty! Such a gorgeous shot!
Hi, there. Is it advisable to just puree the cucumbers before adding the other fruit, water, and ice cubes? I think I would get much better health benefits, than just slicing it. This seems like eating/sipping the entire cucumbers will give me the fiber, too.
Hi Kim, I don’t advise pureeing the cucumber as the texture would become unpleasant, all mushy with seeds. I personally eat the cucumber slices, I add a couple to my water once it’s done infusing and munch on them 🙂
Thanks for providing such a nice information.
Thank you for sharing this simple recipe! I make cucumber water all the time but didn’t know I could make it with an infuser – less messy 🙂
I love cucumber water, as well as strawberry water and watermelon water. It’s the same concept, just switching out fruits. Thank you for sharing this “recipe” for those who may not have it.