Agua de Piña (pineapple water fresca)
Agua de piña (pineapple water) is a Mexican cold beverage with a tropical and slightly sweet flavor, perfect to enjoy on summer and sunny days.
About The Recipe
Agua de piña is one of the countless recipes for aguas frescas drinks. It is made with fresh pineapple, water, and some sweetener such as sugar, monk fruit, stevia, or even honey.
The pineapple is first cubed and then blended with water to deliver the perfect light drink with a tropical flavor, perfect to quench your thirst during summertime.
This easy recipe can be made in 10 minutes and be paired with your favorite Mexican foods. Believe me, you’ll love the recipe and find yourself making it over and over again!
But, What Is Agua Fresca?
Aguas frescas (plural) are very popular in Mexico. They are soft drinks that are made with fruits, seeds, grains, or citrus. They are so fresh and help you stay hydrated and cool during hot days but also have an important role in Mexican gastronomy.
In Mexico is very common to always have agua fresca ready in the fridge and offer it to whoever visits your home, just like you offer coffee, tea, or any drink to your guests in other parts of the world.
But you will also see street vendors with large jugs selling aguas frescas all over the country.
Besides agua de piña, many other flavors are also popular, such as agua de sandia (watermelon), agua de tamarindo (with tamarind), and agua de limón (lime water).
Mexican fruit drinks are part of the country’s culture and I am glad they’re now known around the world because, despite having sugar, they’re for sure a healthier choice for sodas or canned fruit juices.
Pineapple Benefits
Pineapple, in addition to being juicy, sweet, and delicious, is nutritious and aids digestion. It is an amazing fruit. Its water content is very high and due to this, its caloric value is low, making it perfect to enjoy without guilt.
Pineapple also contains a group of digestive bromelain enzymes, those amazing enzymes break down proteins helping the digestive system and keeping it healthier.
Related Article: Health Benefits of Pineapple.
How To Make Agua De Piña (step by step)
Wash thoroughly the pineapple (piña) with a brush under running water to remove all dirt from it.
Lay the pineapple down on a cutting board and using a sharp knife slice off the top with the green crown.
Stand the pineapple up vertically and, starting from the top cut off the skin. Cut in a downward motion along the curvature of the fruit. Last, cut the bottom with the last skin portion still attached.
Use the tip of your knife to trim off the small spots of skin, then lay down the pineapple and cut it into thick slices.
Cut all slices into chunks, you don’t need to remove the core as you will use all the pineapple flesh to make agua de piña.
Place the pineapple chunks in a blender, add 1 1/2 cups of water and blend on high until you will have a smooth mixture.
NOTE: Depending on the size of your blender this step will need to be done in batches.
Strain the pineapple mixture (read notes) into a large pitcher. Pour in the remaining water and add 1/4 cup sugar.
Mix well until sugar dissolves, then taste, and adjust sweetness to your liking.
Serve in glasses with ice or put the pitcher in the refrigerator and let agua de piña cool for at least two hours before serving.
Useful Notes And Tips
- You can make pineapple water using a blender and add the mixture to the pitcher just as it is, thus avoiding eliminating the pulp that is rich in fiber.
- Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature and this includes water, if the water or pineapple is cold, dissolving the sugar will be more complicated.
- Do not add ice to the pitcher unless you intend to serve all pineapple water at once, because it will dilute and lose some flavor.
- Add fresh lime juice to give an extra tangy touch.
- If your pineapple is well ripen, you might not need to add sugar at all.
Foods To Pair With Agua Fresca De Piña
- Tostadas de Camarón. Crispy shrimp tostadas with creamy chipotle sauce.
- Ensalada de Atún. Mexican tuna salad, creamy and easy to make!
- Aguachile de Camarón. To cut down the spiciness of this shrimp aguachile, nothing better than this refreshing drink.
- Salpicón. This Mexican beef salad is refreshing and perfect for summer.
How To Store
Store in a sealed pitcher or large jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, do not store longer or the fruit will start to ferment and change the flavor considerably.
Glass containers keep flavors best, but in Mexico, plastic pitchers are used on a daily basis and we still enjoy agua fresca de piña without problem.
Just make sure to cover well the pitcher, if it doesn’t have a lid, just use cling film and cover it tightly, to prevent any random flavor from going into the drink.
Watch How To Make It
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Agua de Piña (pineapple water)
Ingredients
- 1 medium pineapple (peeled and cut into chunks)
- 9 cups water
- ¼ cup sugar (or any sweetener you prefer)
- ice
Instructions
- Place pineapple in a blender.
- Add 1 ½ cup of water and blend on high for 2 minutes.
- Strain the pineapple mixture into a pitcher.
- Add the remaining water and the sugar, then mix well.
- Adjust sweet to taste and serve in glasses over ice.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pineapple water healthy?
We can say pineapple water is a healthy drink that can be enjoyed from time to time. To make it even healthier, make sure you use a low-calorie sweetener such as monk fruit or stevia.
Can I use canned pineapple?
I don’t recommend using canned pineapple to make this recipe. It just doesn’t have the same flavor as fresh pineapple and takes away all meaning of agua fresca de piña.
What can I use instead of fresh pineapple?
You can use frozen pineapple to make agua de piña. Make sure to defrost it first or you’ll end with a pineapple smoothie instead.
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Similar Recipes
Other easy Mexican agua fresca recipes we make regularly include:
- Agua de Avena (oat water).
- Horchata de fresa (made with rice and strawberries).
- Agua de pepino (cucumber water).
- Agua de Mazapán (made with Mazapan candy).
Well, this is a great idea! Usually just do some lemonade but adding lime and pineapple was such a good call! I though it would be extra acid but honestly is even more sweet than just a regular lemonade! Love it!
Pineapple agua fresca is superb tasty & healthy recipe 👌👌 Thank you so much .
Agua de piña has been always my favourite! thank you for the recipe :)