This cucumber water recipe was brought to you by my scorching hot Carolina summer. It will help you figure out how to make cucumber water easily.
When you sit outside in the heaviness of southern heat and humidity, you tend to contemplate the possibility of a cool, refreshing beverage. That’s where cucumber water comes in.
What I found was more than a delicious drink, though. Cucumbers are packed with benefits that make this beverage all the more welcome in my life.
Plain water, move on over. The cucumbers have arrived.
The Benefits of Cucumber Water
Why drink water with cucumber? What’s so special about adding some sliced veggies to your water? It’s actually more beneficial than you might think! Here are just some of the benefits of cucumber water that I’ve discovered:
What Does Cucumber Water Do?
Strong hair and nails.
Cucumber is rich in the mineral silica, which helps your body build strong, healthy hair and nails.
For more information, see my other posts below:
Rejuvenate your skin.
Cucumbers are rich in vitamin C, minerals like magnesium and silica, and antioxidants that support healthy, youthful skin. These nutrients soothe inflammation and promote healthy connective tissue (i.e. skin and joints).
Hydration is also important for healthy skin, and drinking water with cucumber makes it easy to stay hydrated.
Cucumbers are cooling.
Of course, you’ve heard the saying “cool as a cucumber.” This may not be just figurative. In ancient Chinese medicine, cucumbers are considered a cooling food that helps rid the body of excess heat. They also combat irritation and inflammation.
It helps you stay hydrated.
Let’s face it: plain water is sometimes a little boring. We all need the motivation to stay hydrated, and this refreshing recipe does the trick. Plus, I added a pinch of sea salt to this recipe to help promote balanced hydration.
(Read more about why this is important in my book The Nourished Metabolism).
It’s a healthy replacement for sugary beverages.
You know me, I don’t bash sugar. It can even be a good thing in moderation. But drinking massive amounts of beverages filled with sugar and zero nutrition is not really what I call moderation. I drink a soda made with real sugar on occasion, but it’s not a daily thing. There are healthier ways to hydrate, and cucumber water is one of them.
It’s inexpensive.
Just try buying enough flavored “healthy” drinks at the store to hydrate for a week. You might just faint at the checkout aisle when you see the total. (Plus, Vitamin Water isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.)
I don’t know about you, but we’re on a budget and nourishing food takes up a big chunk of it. No point in spending my food budget on a cartload of drinks in plastic bottles.
Cucumbers are super inexpensive, even if you buy organic (you might be able to get a really good deal at your local farmer’s market, too). Two cucumbers can make a quart of cucumber water, so a little goes a long way.
It’s lovely to serve guests.
Having a party? Forget the punch. Get cool like a cucumber instead. Make a giant pitcher of cucumber water or divide into mason jars (filled with ice and cucumber slices of course). It’s a beautiful way to serve a healthy drink to friends and family. It looks like a million bucks but it won’t cost you a fortune. 😉
Anti-cancer benefits?
Cucumbers contain a compound called cucurbitacins, which have shown promising benefits in the fight against cancer. The research into cucurbitacins is relatively new and more studies need to be done, but the results so far look positive.
Q&A
How long is cucumber water recipe good for?
Cucumber water will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 3 days, so it’s best to make a batch you’ll drink within that timeframe.
Do I peel the cucumbers first or leave the peel on?
It doesn’t really matter. As long as you clean the cucumbers well and slice them thinly, the peel is fine to leave on.
How to Make Cucumber Water
Ingredients
- 8 cups pure water
- 2 cucumbers, sliced thin (about 2 cups)
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt (or just a pinch)
Instructions
- Add cucumbers and sea salt to a large pitcher or jar.
- Pour water over cucumber.
- Stir and cover.
- Refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight to infuse flavors.
- Keep refrigerated. Drink within 3 days.
Video
Notes
OPTIONAL FLAVORS
Cucumber-Lemon Add 1-2 lemons, thinly sliced. Cucumber-Lime Same as lemon, but with the zip of lime flavor (I love lime!). Refreshing Mint Add 10-12 sprigs of fresh mint. Mint is especially cooling for the summertime. Cooling Mojito Combine the mint and lime for a mojito flavored cucumber water recipe! Pink Raspberry-Cucumber Add 1 cup of fresh raspberries. You can use other berries as well — blueberries and strawberries are both great choices, too.The small effort you take into account upon creating you cucumber water will greatly benefit not just your health but it would also comfortably cool you off with a refreshing drink.
The recipe is fairly easy to do and will teach you about how to make cucumber water for you and your family.
More Delicious Beverage Recipes:
- My Favorite Coffee Smoothie Recipe
- Chocolate Hazelnut Hemp Protein Smoothie
- Easy Horchata Recipe that Tastes Authentic
misty says
hello,
please tell me, I’ve been chronically ill for years and have been trying more naturopathy and homeopathy route, as I’ve gotten worse since 2007, 2010, and finally at my worst in 2012. I cannot tell if your cucumber article is just an advertisement or if it’s something I should put my limited energy into trying.
Please advise me, please!
Thank you.
Very Sincerely,
Misty Ligman
Elizabeth Walling says
Hi Misty, I’m so sorry to hear you’ve not been feeling well. I think your instincts are correct on this one: although cucumber water is beneficial, if your energy is extremely limited then this is probably not where you would want to dedicate a great deal of it.
Kristin Stone says
On the other recipe for blue Berry’s, how many do I use and should I keep the blueberry’s intact or grind or smash them? I love this article and have a lot of blueberry’s gave to me and can’t eat them fast enough and need to freeze them or something like your suggestions. Thank you!
Kristin Stone
Elizabeth Walling says
There’s really no wrong way to do this, but the recipes I’ve seen with berries usually leave them intact.
Brighid says
Cucumber, lemon and parsley make a great combo. If you’re not serving it to company, parsley stems are fine.
Elizabeth Walling says
That is a good combination! Parsley is very cleansing as well.
barbara J camerer says
I recently read of the dangers of TOO much cucumber, I just tried the cucumber water and I love it! Can you drink TOO much of it? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE RSVP as i am wanting to drink it all the time ?
Elizabeth W. says
There are potentially a couple problems with having too many cucumbers, but it usually has to be a LOT – like more than 2-4 in a sitting, which is pretty uncommon. Cucumbers can be a diuretic, but you’d have to eat a lot of it to get a strong effect. Like many fruits and veggies, eating too much of the peel can cause issues as well – peeling the cucumbers can prevent this as well. So too much cucumber literally means too much – if you’re eating 1-2 a day, this is fine for most people (unless you have an allergy).
RatnaDas says
Thanks for this recipe.
Greg Alexander says
I make cucumber mint infused water from products grown in my own garden. I’ll drink it down then refill the bottle. I’ll do this for about a week. Is this wrong?
Elizabeth W. says
Most sources say cucumber water should be used within 3 days, so it might be better to make less more often.
Shama says
I make cucumber mint and lemon detox water. Do you think this helps for clearing the skin?
Elizabeth W. says
There are a lot of factors that affect why we break out, but hydration is absolutely key for healthy skin. Cucumber and lemon are very cleansing and nourishing to the skin as well.
Kristin says
Nice write up. Just started some days ago and have started seeing the benefits already!
Rosemary says
I will be trying this cucumber recipe, is it best with or with out the peels? Does the peel have an added effect?
Elizabeth W. says
It doesn’t really matter. As long as you clean the cucumbers well and slice them thinly, the peel is fine to leave on.
Traci Ann says
Does the water with the cucumbers have to stay in frig? Hard to do when I’m at work!! Thank you!
Elizabeth W. says
My guess is that it’s fine to take some out of the fridge and drink it throughout the day. I just wouldn’t leave it out of the fridge for much longer than that.
Sharon Alexander says
Should the cucumbers and other fruits be removed after a certain amount of time or is it okay to leave in for the three days?
Elizabeth Walling says
As long as it’s within about three days, it’s fine to leave the fruits in the water.
Logan says
If I take the cucumbers out after a day or so, will the water stay fresh?
Elizabeth Walling says
Since this is still freshly infused with no preservatives, I recommend staying on the safe side even if you take the cucumbers/fruit out after infusing.
MJ says
There are different kinds of fumes. When you say two cakes per 8 cups of water, are you talking about English cubes, regular cubes or smakk, Persian cukes? Giving it in cups may be more helpful. Thank you.
Elizabeth Walling says
Thanks for that suggestion! It’s approximately 2 cups of sliced cucumber. I’ll add that to the post.
Granola Girl says
Could you freeze it? I may turn some of my cukes into cucumber body spray, add a little witch hazel, top it off with some peppermint essential oil, and make a cucumber mint body scrub. Homemade Cucumber body lotion is on the list, just have to decide on which oils I want to use. Thanks for a nice recipe
Elizabeth Walling says
I haven’t tried freezing it personally, but I think it could be done, especially if you remove any fruit/veggie slices beforehand.
JJ says
Why should you cover it? Is this essential? And what happens if it isn’t covered?
I don’t have a pitcher with a cover yet…
Elizabeth Walling says
Mostly we want to cover the cucumber water so nothing falls into it and contaminates it while it’s infusing.
Gabrella Gibbs says
Do you have to infuse the cucumber water in a glass container? Is plastic ok to infuse?
Elizabeth Walling says
You can use plastic as well, and it shouldn’t affect the recipe.
Winny says
I love the taste and even my 4 years old daughter love it so much.thanks for the recipes.stay healthy.
john says
Thanks for the cucumber recipe, I ill give it a practise I hope to get a nice result. Thanks.
Sharyl Lewis says
Elizabeth, I just came across your site. I’m having a party for a friends 75th in September. I’m serving bottles of water and wanted to know if you think it is possible to put one or two slices of cucumber in the bottles of water for people who want cucumber water. There would also be plain water. But I didn’t want to take up space in my other two beverage containers which I using for lemonade and iced tea.
Elizabeth Walling says
It would be a nice garnish, but not quite the same as allowing the cucumber to infuse the nutrients and flavor into the water.
Fitoru BHB Powder says
Great guide on how to make infused cucumber water recipe, nice article, good read and informative.