This refreshing homemade lemonade with cucumbers comes together with just 4 ingredients and is perfect for a hot summer day. We were inspired by a cucumber lemonade recipe in our Week Junior Magazine (if you don’t subscribe, I highly recommend it, my children love it). The original recipe called for pureed cucumber, but my children didn’t like the idea. We decided to adjust the recipe and just add cucumber slices for a subtle taste. I will note the longer this sits the stronger the cucumber flavor.
How to Make Homemade Lemonade
This recipe is super easy and I just love a simple list of ingredients!
- Set out your ingredients
2. Make a simple syrup using 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil in a small pot, once the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat, set aside and let it cool.
3. While the simple syrup is cooling, squeeze your lemons. I squeeze them right into my pitcher.
4. Next add your simple syrup to your squeezed lemon juice.
5. Slice your cucumber super thin and add them and 6 cups of water to your lemon juice and simple syrup.
6. Chill for 1-2 hours and serve over ice – enjoy!!
Tips & Adaptations
- Sweetness: You can adjust the sweetness by adding more or less water. The recipe as written is fairly sweet (the way my children like it). I prefer less sugar, but for them this works and I prefer it to a store bought lemonade with a list of ingredients I do not know.
- Cucumbers: If you don’t want to add you don’t have to!
- Add-ins: feel free to get creative and add:
- Fruit: berries, mangos, pineapple, peaches, or melon
- Herbs: basil, lavender, thyme, or rosemary
- Sparkling Water: flavored or plain (I love it with plain sparkling water to cut the sweetness.
Homemade Lemonade with Cucumbers
This recipe was inspired and adapted from the Week Junior Magazine
Yield: 8-10 cups
Ingredients:
- 8 Lemons
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 – 4 inch piece of English Cucumber (depends on how many you want to put in)
- Water – 1 cup to dissolve sugar and +/- 6 cups (based on your desired taste) to add to lemon juice
Instructions:
- Make the simple syrup: add the 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water in a small pot. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved (stir the sugar while it is dissolving this should take 3-5 minutes). When it is dissolved, turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
- While the simple syrup is cooling, squeeze your lemons into a large pitcher.
- When all of your lemons are juiced, pour in the simple syrup.
- Slice your cucumber piece very thin and add them to the lemons and simple syrup.
- Pour in your desired amount of water +/- 6 cups.
- Chill for 1-2 hours and serve over ice – Enjoy!
- Note: the cucumber flavor gets stronger the longer they are in there (especially after 1-2 days)
Food Play Go 