Imagine the freshest, sun-ripened strawberries blended into a silky, creamy drink that’s both incredibly refreshing and decadent. That’s exactly what you get with this Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca. This drink is bursting with natural sweetness and comes together so easily, it’s destined to become your go-to treat for any season or time of day.
Why You Will Love it
- Incredibly Refreshing: The ingredients it’s made with make it very easy to drink and leave you feeling refreshed and hydrated.
- Creaminess: The added milks give Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca, the richness it has. It’s borderline desert but light enough to pair with a lunch or dinner.
- Very Easy to Make: If you have a blender, this is a very easy recipe to make. A little prepping and you are minutes away from making your very own. My kids love to help, I usually have my 5-year-old hulling strawberries, and my 2-year-old pouring ingredients. Kiddos love to get involved. (They like eating the strawberries too, plan accordingly!)
- It’s Pretty: The strawberries color the milk a beautiful shade of pastel pink. When you add the drink over ice with a few chopped strawberries it feels like you are giving yourself the royal treatment.
This drink is easily becoming one of my favorites. Once you try it, you too will succumb to the intoxicating flavor and continue to make it for years to come.
What Is Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca?
Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca is a refreshing drink made by blending water (Agua), and strawberries. What makes this drink creamy is the added whole milk and sweetened condensed milk. It gives it a decadence that you don’t get with the traditional version. Some people also prefer to add sugar and vanilla with a spritz of lemon or lime.
The history of fruit and water dates back to the Aztecs when they would mix fruit, flowers, and water to stay hydrated. Over time and with the arrival of new ingredients in Mexico, Agua fresca with fruits developed and changed over time to a sweeter drink with and without milk. It became a common drink enjoyed in many homes and sold in markets and by street vendors and is still sold today.
What You Will Need
- Strawberries: The fresher the strawberries the better.
- Water: “agua” I use filtered water from my Culligan. Any water be fine (when its fresh or filtered it’s best.)
- Milk: I use whole milk to give it the extra creamy texture.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: This adds another layer of creaminess and sweetness.
- Sugar (Optional): If the strawberries and sweetened condensed milk don’t make it sweet enough for your tastes, you can add some sugar to sweeten it up a big more. I suggest starting with a few tablespoons and adding from there. Mix it well and allow time for it to dissolve before adding more.
- Vanilla (Optional): Vanilla adds a bit of a different flavor that some enjoy. You can add it to a small testing cup to see if you like the flavor. If you do add it to the whole pitcher.
- Lemon or lime (optional): A small amount of lemon or lime can brighten the pink and keep it looking vibrant while it sits in your fridge. It isn’t a requirement, and I don’t add it myself because the drink never lasts that long, but it is optional as well.
How to Make Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca
Step 1: The Base: Hull your strawberries. Then cut 1/2 pound of the strawberries into quarter inch pieces and saved to the side for a later step. Add your hulled strawberries to a blender with 1 cup of the water and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
Step 2: Strain: For the finest texture strain the pulp and seeds through a fine strainer. This isn’t a requirement and can be tedious and annoying if you don’t have the right strainer. (Ask me how I know!) I found this out the hard way when I first started making it.
So, if you don’t don’t hesitate to skip this step, it will still be amazing. If you do, then great! Go ahead and strain the seeds.
Step 3: Making it creamy: Pour the strawberry base into a large pitcher or bowl. Add the sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, and remaining water, stirring until fully incorporated. Finally, stir in the remainder of the strawberries.
Step 4: Test: At this point test the flavor. If you want to add sugar or vanilla now would be a good time. If not, then you are finished!
Step 5: Chill and serve: For best results, chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then serve over ice.
Note: You can still enjoy this before it has been chilled. However, the strawberries won’t have time to soak into the drink as they do when you leave it to chill or sit over night. It is still amazing when you use it right away. I usually don’t wait and pour a glass and it’s quite amazing!
Tips and Questions
FAQ & Tips
For stronger flavor
When it sits in the fridge the strawberry juices have time to permeate the liquid, giving it a stronger strawberry flavor, so sometimes you will notice that the flavor is better the next day.
Dairy-Free
You can use a can of coconut sweet cream in place of sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk instead of whole milk. The flavor will be different, but still very delicious.
How do you store Creamy Strawberry Auga Fresca?
You can store it in a pitcher, a drink dispenser or very large ball jar if you have them around the kitchen. I store mine in these jars. I usually fill one large and one quart.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
You can use frozen fruit, but I recommend using fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries lose a lot of their flavor. To get the best taste using fresh is best.
Isn’t this just a watered down milkshake or smoothie?
No, this is much lighter than a milkshake or a smoothie. This contains half water and half milk whereas, milkshakes contain ice cream and smoothies contain yogurt, milk and usually banana. ice cream is made with heavy cream and often egg. So, this is much lighter and much more refreshing.
What to pair Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca with
Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca is great paired with tacos, burritos, quesadillas, BBQ, a Veggie Hummus Wrap, fresh salad, or guacamole and chips. The other day I had one paired with a burrito bowl loaded with Mexican street corn and all the fixins. It played well with the flavors, and the sweetness helped with the heat from the spices.
My favorite way to make this:
If you are feeling creative, you can also try my absolute favorite way to make a Creamy Auga Fresca. And that’s with blueberries and strawberries. It is an awesome combination that give the flavor a serious punch.
Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Wash the strawberries and hull them. Chop about 1/2 pound of the strawberries into 1/4 in. pieces and save them off to the side. These will be used later.
- Add your hulled strawberries to a blender with 1 cup of the water and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
- This next step is optional. Strain the pulp and seeds through a fine strainer. If you skip this step the seeds will settle to the bottom of your drinks. Just be mindful.
- Pour the strawberry base into a large pitcher or bowl. Add the sweetened condensed milk, 4 cups of whole milk, and 3 cups of remaining water, stirring until fully incorporated.
- At this point you can test the flavor. If you want to add sugar or vanilla now would be a good time. If not, then you are finished!
- Finally, stir in the remainder of the strawberries that you chopped from the first step.
- For best results, chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then serve over ice.
Try other flavors:
- Mango strawberry
- Strawberry blueberry
- Kiwi strawberry
- Pineapple mango
- Banana strawberry
End note and a Little Story
This is one of those rare treats that feels perfect in any season—on a sun-drenched summer patio, a crisp autumn evening, or even in the dead of winter by the fire. Let me tell you a little secret.
The other night at 3 a.m. I wasn’t able to sleep. That’s not abnormal for me, I tossed and turned.
Now, I have never been a late-night muncher, but the day prior I had made Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca and I thought to myself, ” I am going to pour myself a glass, come back in bed and relax.” So, I poured myself a glass and just sat in bed relaxing. In the quiet of the house, it felt like a moment of pure, spoiled indulgence that I normally don’t give myself. Shh, don’t tell.
I hope you enjoyed this Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca recipe. If you are looking for more drinks to try- this Piña Colada is healthy, packed with protein, and it’s delicious.
