Cooling Strawberry Pineapple Agua Fresca. Are you looking for the perfect, light fruit drink? How about an incredible aqua fresca loaded with fresh pineapple and strawberries? This drink is so simple to make and comes together in under 10 minutes easily. I promise you are going to love this!
What Is Agua Fresca?
Simply put, it is fresh waters. Or most people would translate it to "Cool Waters". I love that translation. They are a popular drink in Mexico and South America, with the tropical climate, I understand why! It is a great cooling drink, making it a good choice for hydrating on a hot summer day. Once you try this, you are going to be hooked. You can make aquas frescas from a variety of fruits and even veggies, but I chose my 2 favorite fruits to blend for mine- pineapple and strawberries. Most recipes are fruit, water, and some type of sweetener. That is it!
Steps For Making Agua Frescas
- Choose your fruit and give it a rough chop, don't stress about perfection here, it will all be blended together and strained. I went with pineapple, strawberries, and blood orange.
- Place fruits in blender with water and sweetener. I used granulated sugar, but you can also use honey, agave nectar, or coconut sugar.
- Blend really well, and get it as smooth as you can. It will be frothy, but that is no big deal.
- Strain. Not everyone does, but I prefer mine strained so the juice is pretty smooth.
- Add in a little more water and serve chilled.
Photo Guide
Choosing a good pineapple is always tricky here in the continental United States where there aren't really pineapple growers to speak of. Let me give you a few tips for choosing the right pineapple. Color is not always the best indicator, but squeezing gently will give you a good idea. You want it to have a slight give, but not be soft. Some people recommend smelling the pineapple. This was true when I lived in Brasil, but it does not work as well here. When you have hundreds of pineapples all shipped together, they start to all smell like each other. Another tip is to make sure the fruit feels heavy.
Peel the pineapple and cut the tops off your strawberries. Add the pineapple first to the blender as it takes longer than the berries to blend up nicely.
I have a Ninja Blender that my family just got me for Christmas, I love it and use it all the time! If you are in the market, let me recommend this one.
Add in your strawberries, sugar, and blood orange juice. Traditionally agua fresca has lime juice in it, but I love the orange juice with pineapple.
To Strain Or Not To Strain
I learned about making agua fresca from my SIL, a proud Mexican, to strain the agua fresca. This seems to be up for debate though, many recipes I have found through the years don't strain. So, you decide! The pulp contains plenty of fiber, so I can see why you would keep it.
The Finished Cooling Strawberry Pineapple Agua Fresca
That is it and you are done!! I told you it was so simple. There are so many great variations you can use to make other agua frescas, I will list those below. Until then, here is the final beautiful photo. I promise you, it tastes just as good as it looks! The perfect cooling drink for a hot day!
Other Options For Aguas Frescas
If you are wondering what other flavors you can do for aguas frescas, let me just say, the sky is the limit!! There are so many great choices, but let me list a few:
- Cantaloupe
- Honeydew
- Watermelon
- Cucumbers
- Tamarind
- Cucumber Mint
- Peach
- Blackberry
- Hibiscus
Food Options
Maybe you would like to serve this drink with a meal? Let me share a few ideas I think would go really well with this!
- How about a spicy shrimp buddha bowl? It is so good and so tasty!
- Mango Salsa is a recipe I recently published. I love the sweet and spicy combo!
- A Blackened Halibut Bowl is also a really great option!
- Chicken Tostadas are a family favorite!
- This Chicken Enchilada Soup is also really delicious!
Cooling Strawberry Pineapple Agua Fresca
Ingredients
- 1 ripe pineapple Peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks.
- 2 cups strawberries tops cut off
- 1 juice from one blood orange you can also use a regular navel orange if you prefer or even lime juice. Just make sure it is fresh
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- Add pineapple and 2 cups of water to a blender. Blend until it is fairly smooth. Add in the strawberries, orange juice, sugar, and 2 cups of water. Blend until smooth. Strain the juice, pressing through with a spoon as needed.Check for flavor and add in more sugar and water as needed. I ended up adding in another 2 cups, but that will be up to you. This is best served within 24 hours and chilled. Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!!
This really is not a drink that will last a long time. With the fresh fruits, it is only good for about 24 hours. You can stretch that out, but I think it is at its peak within 24 hours.
Honey is really good in this, as is agave nectar. You can also use coconut sugar or even brown sugar if you want.
No, I mainly used it for color. The flavor of orange is so good with pineapple and strawberry, so I recommend it, but it does not need to be a blood orange.
Yes!!
It is a great vegan drink!
I really think it is! Using the whole fruit gives you tons of fiber on top of the nutrients you are already getting from the fruits. It does have added sugar, but not too much!