The Best Ingredients for Making Infused Water Recipes

Is drink more water one of your wellness goals? If so we’ve got great news: you can make plain old water into something special with a few simple ingredients and a bit of time. Infused water recipes with fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices not only make your daily water intake taste great, but it also comes with a side of health benefits. And with the abundance of fresh produce available during this season, it’s also the perfect time to make and drink infused water.

The main benefit of drinking infused waters is good old-fashioned hydration. Staying hydrated helps with transportation of nutrients and oxygen within your body, lubricates your joints, helps organs maintain optimal function, and keeps your skin looking great. Drinking water even helps with concentration and clear thinking!

Can we let you in on a secret? Those vitamin waters you see at the supermarket are a total sham! They’re loaded with artificial colors, flavors, and additives, plus they’re expensive. But you can easily make your own infused waters, which means you not only know exactly what you’re drinking, but you’ll be including nutrient-rich fresh fruits and vegetables. Move over store-bought vitamin waters, this stuff is the real deal!

The Best Ingredients for Infused Water Recipes

Not sure which flavors to start with? Lemon water is the perfect sip to start the day. Cucumber water is a classic, but we like to take it to the next level and make mixes with fruits and herbs. The possible combinations are endless! Here are our favorite ingredients for maximum flavor and health benefits.

Vegetables for infused water

• Options: cucumber, celery, fennel, carrots

Cucumber

They’re really onto something with that cucumber-infused spa water. The phytonutrients found in cucumbers (cucurbitacins, lignans, and flavonoids) provide valuable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits. They’re not only delicious, refreshing, and hydrating, cucumbers are an excellent source of vitamin K, and a good source of copper, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, phosphorus, magnesium, biotin, and vitamin B1.

Flavor combinations:

• Cucumber + Cilantro + Jalapeno
• Cucumber Spa Water
• Pineapple + Cucumber + Mint
• Pineapple + Cilantro + Cucumber
• Ginger + Cucumber + Grapefruit
• Strawberry + Cucumber
• Cucumber + Mint + Lime
• Blueberry + Cucumber + Basil
• Cucumber + Melon + Mint

Fennel

The fresh, licorice sent of the fennel bulb is a unique flavor boost to infuse into your water. Rich in antioxidant flavonoids, fennel has been shown to reduce inflammation and have anti-cancer properties. An excellent source of vitamin C, the fennel bulb has antimicrobial and immune supporting properties. Include both thin slices from the bulb and the fronds in your infused water.

Flavor combinations:

• Fennel + Pear
• Apple + Cinnamon + Fennel

Fruit for infused water

• Options: berries, melon, tropical fruits, citrus, apples, pears, pomegranate seeds

Berries

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries – you get the idea. Any kind of fresh berry is a great addition to infused water for both flavor and health benefits. Berries are an excellent source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients, lycopene, vitamin C, and manganese.

Flavor combinations:

• Cantaloupe + Blackberry + Rosemary
• Berry + Rosemary
• Blueberry + Lemon + Mint
• Kiwi + Blackberry
• Green Apple + Raspberry + Rosemary
• Strawberry + Cucumber
• Blueberry + Basil
• Raspberry + Rose
• Vanilla + Basil + Strawberry
• Pear + Raspberry + Rosemary

Melon

Melons have a high water content and electrolytes, such as potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium. Try cantaloupe or honeydew for hydrating after a workout – the natural nutrients will hydrate you more effectively than just water alone. Melons are also rich in vitamin C for a skin and immune system boost. Bonus: cantaloupe puree tints the water a pretty, peachy pink!

Flavor combinations:

• Cantaloupe + Blackberry + Rosemary
• Cucumber + Melon + Mint
• Basil + Melon

Citrus

Grapefruit, lemon and lime are delicious in infused water. Lemon activates key detox enzymes in the liver to help you flush out your system. To add some zing to infused water, consider grapefruit. One of the giants of the citrus family, grapefruit is an excellent source of antioxidant vitamin C. It is also a great source of carotenoids: a pre-curser to vitamin A, potassium, and vitamin B1. Ruby red and pink grapefruits also contain lycopene–good for your prostates, fellas!

Peel your citrus slices if you’ll be infusing for more than 4 hours or the rind can make the water taste bitter.

Flavor combinations:

• Rosemary + Grapefruit
• Ginger + Cucumber + Grapefruit
• Blueberry + Lemon + Mint
• Citrus + Cilantro
• Grapefruit + Lemon + Rosemary
• Lemon + Lime + Ginger
• Lavender + Lemon
• Grapefruit + Vit C powder

Apples

Does a glass of apple-infused water a day keep the doctor away? Perhaps! Apples have well-documented benefits for a healthy heart, which are associated with their polyphenol content as well as the water-soluble fiber, pectin. Apples also appear to have some anti-cancer benefits related to breast, colon, and lung cancers. The nutrients in apples are concentrated in their skin, so thin slices with the skin on is the way to go.

Flavor combinations:

• Apple + Cinnamon + Fennel
• Green Apple + Raspberry + Rosemary

Tropical fruits

For a vibrant flavor that’s both sweet and tart, add pineapple slices to your infused water recipe. But this tropical flower is more than just good taste: the enzymes in pineapple offer powerful anti-inflammatory and digestive support. Bromelain, a complex substances extracted from the pineapple core, is thought to be beneficial in preventing excessive blood clotting. Also rich in anti-oxidant vitamin C, pineapple can offer immune support.

Flavor combinations:

• Kiwi + Blackberry
• Pineapple + Cucumber + Mint
• Pineapple + Cilantro + Cucumber
• Mango + Pineapple + Mint

Herbs for infused water

• Options: rosemary, thyme, mint, basil, cilantro, parsley

Cilantro

For a fresh flavor consider a handful of cilantro, a good source of antioxidant vitamin C. Cilantro also stimulates digestion, and can help our digestive system in the production of certain digestive enzymes. Even better, cilantro is known to bind to heavy metals such as mercury and help flush them from the body.

Flavor combinations:

• Cucumber + Cilantro
• Pineapple + Cilantro + Cucumber
• Citrus + Cilantro

Rosemary

People often drink rosemary tea to soothe indigestion, constipation, and bloating. Adding a few stalks of fresh rosemary to your water can give you some of the same digestive benefits.

Flavor combinations:

• Cantaloupe + Blackberry + Rosemary
• Rosemary + Grapefruit
• Berry + Rosemary
• Green Apple + Raspberry + Rosemary

Mint

The bright, fresh taste of mint brings cooling relief on a hot day. The scent alone can boost your energy and mood, but mint-infused water can help with digestion by stimulating the release of digestive enzymes.

Flavor combinations:

• Berries + Mint
• Cucumber + Melon + Mint
• Blueberry + Lemon + Mint
• Pineapple + Cucumber + Mint
• Cucumber + Mint + Lime
• Mango + Pineapple + Mint

Spices for infused water

• Options: cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, fresh ginger, cloves, vanilla bean

Ginger

Fresh ginger root is a concentrated source of active ingredients, with both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. It helps to soothe and relax the digestive tract and can alleviate symptoms of gastric distress. Ginger also helps promote healthy sweating, which not only boosts metabolism but can also be helpful during cold and flu season. Add thin slices of fresh ginger root to your water for a delicious kick!

Flavor combinations:

• Ginger + Lemon + ACV
• Ginger + Cucumber + Grapefruit
• Lemon + Lime + Ginger

Turmeric

Not just for golden milks, thin slices of fresh turmeric are a great addition to infused water. Not only will it turn the water a brilliant yellow, but it brings with it important antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and healing properties. Curcumin, the compound in turmeric responsible for its golden color, helps protect the liver from toxins and congestion, lowers cholesterol, reduces menstrual pain, helps with flatulence, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Flavor combinations:

• Turmeric + Pineapple + Cucumber

Cinnamon

For a warming spice, try adding cinnamon sticks to infused water. Its properties both as a spice and a healing food are attributed to essential oils found in the bark of the cinnamon tree. Cinnamon is a powerful antioxidant, and helps to stabilize blood sugar, and is an efficient metabolism booster. Also, studies have shown that even just the smell of cinnamon enhances concentration and cognitive processing.

Flavor combinations:

• Apple + Cinnamon + Fennel
• Apple + Cinnamon
• Orange + Cardamom + Cinnamon
• Orange + Vanilla + Cinnamon
• Apple + Plum + Vanilla + Cinnamon

Create Your Own Infused Water Recipes

Pick a fruit

• 1/2 cup berries
• 8 pineapple chunks
• 4 mango slices
• 5 kiwi slices
• 8 watermelon, cantaloupe or other melon chunks
• 6 apple slices
• 4 pear sections
• 4 grapefruit or orange sections
• 3 lemon or lime slices

Pick a veggie

• 7 cucumber slices
• 3 stalks celery
• 3 fennel wedges
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 jalapeno
• 7 zucchini slices

Pick an herb or spice

• 2 sprigs fresh mint
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 5 fresh basil leaves
• handful of cilantro or parsley leaves
• 1 inch fresh lemongrass
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 5 fresh turmeric slices
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 vanilla bean (remove seeds first)

Gently muddle a fruit and/or veggie in a 1-quart pitcher. Add a flavor-boosting herb or spice. Fill the pitcher with water and steep for at least 30 minutes before drinking.