Freshly juiced garden cucumbers are mixed with lemon basil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and sparkling water for a deliciously hydrating soda. This vegan and gluten free drink is perfect for enjoying on hot summer days or anytime you need to use up a glut of cucumbers!
Summer is officially here, and it is suffocating levels of humid and hot in Houston as per usual. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s sort of like an armpit here during the summer. I’ll wait while you enjoy that imagery in your mind for a few seconds… Since I can’t change the weather, I try to make do with cooling and refreshing foods and drinks. Enter: this verdant cucumber basil soda!
This tipple was born out of a glut of cucumbers from the garden and the need for something a little more exciting than water to provide some summer hydration. I decided to throw the cucumbers into my juicer with a handful of highly fragrant lemon basil from the garden. I added lemon juice for brightness, maple syrup for sweetness, and sparkling water for some fizz. It’s simple yet delicious and is all I want to sip on at the moment!
Looking for more refreshing summer sips? Try some cold brewed herbal tea, sparkling sage lemonade, a cooling summer tisane, or a papaya coconut water slush with lime and mint.
Refreshing Cucumber Basil Soda
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Freshly juiced garden cucumbers are mixed with lemon basil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and sparkling water for a deliciously hydrating soda. This vegan and gluten free drink is perfect for enjoying on hot summer days or anytime you need to use up a glut of cucumbers!
Ingredients
- 1 large (or 2 small/medium) cucumbers
- 1 large handful of fresh basil leaves (I used lemon basil)
- 1–2 lemons
- maple syrup to sweeten (you’ll need .5 oz per serving)
- ice
- plain sparkling water (you’ll need 2-3 oz per serving)
Instructions
Juice together 1 large cucumber and a large handful of basil. Alternately, you can blend these together in a high speed blender until completely liquefied, then strain it through a sieve to remove the pulp and solids.
For each drink, you’ll mix 3 oz of the juice with .5 oz of maple syrup and the juice of half of a lemon. You can shake these in a cocktail shaker if you like or mix them together right in your glass.
Add ice and top with sparkling water. You can garnish with a lemon wedge and fresh basil if you like.
Notes
You can use agave syrup or simple syrup in place of the maple syrup if you like. You can also make a big batch ahead of time, just leave out the sparkling water until right before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: drink
This is so refreshing! Can’t wait to make this later today!
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
This was so incredibly refreshing! I loved the combination of cucumber and basil, and the sparkling water makes it feel extra special. This was the perfect sipping drink on the patio this afternoon.