Easy Watermelon Agua Fresca Recipe (Agua De Sandia)

This watermelon agua fresca or agua de sandia is a refreshing and delicious treat the whole family will love! Made with ripe, sweet and juicy watermelon it’s a great way to keep hydrated all summer long. Hurry and make my authentic watermelon agua fresca recipe for your next gathering.

What is Agua Fresca

Agua means water and fresca fresh as in refreshing or cooling water.

Another translation for these drinks is “coolers”. So this would be a Mexican watermelon cooler.

Agua fresca is one of the most popular beverage all over Mexico, in the United States, and in some countries in Central America.

Typically it consists of blending seasonal fresh fruit with water and a sweetener. 

Sometimes edible fruits, nuts, grains and seeds are also used. As well as a combination of fruits or any of the previously mentioned items.

I grew up drinking fresh watermelon water and to me it was and still is the perfect drink and best agua fresca flavor to keep me cool during hot weather. Specially when I’m craving cold drinks with just a bit of sugar. This agua fresca is a great addition to summer barbecues or family get togethers, as well as a great way to fully enjoy watermelon season. 

Is Agua Fresca The Same as Juice?

No. An agua fresca is blended fruit mixed with water, and juice is extracted from the fruit and generally not watered down. You can call it fresh fruit water too. 

So in this watermelon agua fresca we are taking the watermelon juice and combining it with water to create a refreshing drink on a hot summer day. 

Traditional Fruit Agua Fresca Flavors

Traditionally this non-alcoholic drink can be made with fresh fruit, dried edible flowers, rice, nuts, or seeds. 

When fruits are used they are blended with a bit of water, sometimes strained to remove pulp, then mixed with more water and traditionally sugar is also added.

Other Popular Flavors

In the case of edible flowers, specifically hibiscus flowers or jamaica, they are simmered in hot water to make a tea. The tea is then strained and mixed with sugar and additional water.

Rice agua fresca, or horchata, is made by soaking the rice in water until soft or overnight. Cinnamon and sometimes nuts can be added when blending the rice. Sometimes sugar or condensed milk may be added for sweetness.

The process for barley or cebada agua fresca is similar to that of making horchata.

Agua de avena or oats agua fresca is another popular agua fresca flavor.

There’s even a mazapan agua fresca made with Mexico’s beloved sweet peanut candy, mazapan de cacahuate.

How to Make Agua de Sandia

An agua fresca is one of the most delicious Mexican non-alcoholic beverage because it’s so easy to make. 

In the case of agua de sandia or watermelon agua fresca, the part that will take the longest is the cutting the chunks of watermelon – though it’s super easy to do! Once the watermelon is ready to use it’s just a matter of blending.

Step 1:
Place the watermelon cubes, lime juice, sugar, and salt in a blender cup – depending on the size of the blender cup, this may need to be done in batches. Blend on high speed until smooth, if needed add a little bit of water to help blend the ingredients.

Step 2:
Place some ice cubes inside a large pitcher then pour the watermelon mixture into it. If you’d like to strain it simple put a fine mesh sieve over the pitcher and strain, discard any leftover pulp.

Step 3:
Pour in the cool water and mix. Serve right away or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Should Agua Fresca be Strained?

Many people do strain all agua fresca varieties.

When it comes to fruit agua frescas, I personally don’t like to strain them. My blender does a pretty good job at breaking down the contents. Plus discarding the pulp is wasting natural plant fiber and vitamins and minerals.

But straining is completely up to you. Just pass the blended fruit mixture through a fine mesh strainer and into a pitcher. 

How to Serve Watermelon Agua Fresca

Agua fresca, all types of agua fresca flavors, are best served very cold and with plenty of ice cubes.

The cold temperature accentuates the natural flavors. Not to mention really hitting the spot on a hot day or when you’re super thirsty on a hot summer day. 

Have fun and add slices of the fruit, fresh mint sprigs, or some lime wedges to make the glass a bit prettier. For a fizzy touch you could mix the watermelon mixture with club soda instead of regular water. 

This watermelon agua fresca goes perfect with foods you normally serve during the hot summer months. 

Dishes like vegan Mexican ensalada de pollo, Mexican Macaroni Salad, with Chorizo Cheese Dip for a dinner party, Enchiladas Michoacanas. 

Tacos of course are another fantastic main dish to pair this delicious drink. Try vegan Tacos de Bistec or Steak Tacos, vegan fish tacos, Tacos de Papa Dorados (Potato Tacos), or my Vegan Birria Tacos.

How to Store Watermelon Agua Fresca

This refreshing Mexican drink will only keep fresh for one day, it loses it taste and a bit of the color the next day. You can still drink it the next day but it won’t be as vibrant tasting.

Watermelon Agua Fresca F.A.Q.

Sugar-Free Agua Fresca or Lightly Sweetened

I like to use very little sugar, if any at all. The reason being that I don’t feel the need to add more sweetness to a sweet fruit. If I don’t use lime juice, then in fact I won’t use any sweetener. Or if the fruit is extra sweet even with lime juice I’ll omit the sugar.

So if I’m using sugar or a sweetener, it is then added to the blender ingredients.

I would also suggest to stick to muscovado sugar because it not only adds a great flavor, but it’s also vegan!

Salt to Help Bring Out The Flavor

Something I like to do with my agua fresca is to add a pinch of salt. Yep, salt!

Salt has long been used to enhance flavor in food. That’s exactly what it does to the watermelon and lime juice in my agua fresca recipe. 

Watermelon Agua Fresca Recipe

This recipe can be tweaked and adjusted as you like. By adjusting the sugar amount and even the water amount depending on how juicy the watermelon is.

Amigos go ahead and try out my super easy recipe for refreshing and delicious watermelon agua fresca or agua de sandia. I promise it’s going to become one of your favorite summer drinks.

I hope you try this watermelon agua fresca very soon!

Remember if you try my recipe please make sure to leave a star rating in the recipe card and tag me on social media. You’ll find me on IG, FB & Pinterest under @MexicanMadeMeatless.

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