Easy Summer Blueberry Refresher for Dinner

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The refreshing blueberry refresher is the perfect drink for a hot summer day. The colorful and appetizing fruity twist of the fresh berries, mint, and lime make this a cool, fun, and sparkly non-alcoholic drink that the whole family will enjoy.

Two fresh made blueberry refresher with blueberries and mint in clear tall glass cups, slices of lime and blueberries around on white background.

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Summer is for Fruity and Delicious Drinks

Staying cool while loading up on healthy fruits is a perfect way to celebrate the summer season. Fresh berries are not only great for drinks but are a family favorite for a quick summer salad or a creamy smoothie.

This mint-infused blueberry cocktail is a thirst quencher with a lovely color and it tastes great too. You can make this at home using simple ingredients. The serving is 1 cup of blueberry syrup or 10 cups of refresher.

Cooking the fresh berries down to syrup means they infuse the drink with their wonderful taste while also deepening their color. The blueberry syrup has a rich, fruity flavor that has warm and tropical tones. The best part is you can make it ahead so you can enjoy it anytime. The syrup can be kept in the fridge then when you’re ready for a blueberry refresher, measure the syrup in a glass and add your water and enjoy.

Blueberry Refresher

This refreshing summer drink is sure to be a hit if you add it to the drinks table for your next party, summer picnic, birthday party, baby shower, or any special occasion. Fresh blueberries are mild, healthy, and nutritious with a sweet flavor. The citrusy fresh lime juice brings balance to the flavors in the refresher. The mint leaves add delicious herbal yet fresh flavors that provide a nice contrast from the sweet and bitter flavors in the blueberry mint lemonade.

Key limes can be hard to find when they’re not in season. They are very popular in the Florida Keys where some of them are grown and it even seems like all the restaurants there serve key lime desserts. If you’re not in Florida and can’t find these special limes, you can use Persian limes which are ordinary grocery store limes. The flavor may not be the same though but it’s still better than using bottled key lime juice for this recipe.

So what’s the difference between a key lime and a regular Persian lime? Key limes are tiny and about half the size of their Persian counterparts. Persian limes are more tart and don’t have the same aroma and sweetness you’ll find in key limes.

Key Ingredients for the Blueberry Refresher

Fresh mint, honey in a jar, fresh lime juice in a clear cup, lime zest in white shallow bowl, pinch of salt in clear small bowl, sparkling water in a clear pitcher, fresh blueberries in a white and brown mug.

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries: 1 cup will be for the berry syrup while 1/2 cup extra berries are for the garnish
Zest and juice from 1 lime: Adds a nice tart and juicy flavor and balances out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
1 cup honey: Adding sweetness to the berries will improve their flavor
1 bunch fresh mint, plus more for garnish: The mint leaves bring a light freshness to this summer mocktail while mint garnish is all about adding aroma to the final special drink.
1/8 teaspoon salt: To taste
2 quarts cold sparkling water: You don’t need special water for this, just plain tap water will do. It works well with the blueberry syrup for an incredible taste

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

Step-by-step Instructions to Make a Blueberry Refresher

Step 1: Cook all the ingredients

Place blueberries, honey, mint, lime zest, lime juice, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer on medium heat and continue to heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally until the berries burst.

Fresh blueberries, mint, lime zest, in a black medium pan with silver tablespoon spoon.

Step 2: Cool the mixture

Once the berries have turned the liquid into a dark purple color and the liquid starts to thicken, remove from heat and cool.

Meshed and boiled blueberries, mint, honey, and lime zest in a cream and brown shallow bowl on white marble background.

Step 3: Make the simple syrup

To make blueberry syrup, gently squeeze the berry mixture through a fine mesh strainer to get as much juice as possible out of them. Chill for 10 minutes.

Fine black mesh on top of white and brown bowl, silver tablespoon meshing through boiled blueberries, mint, lime zest, juice.

Step 4: Mix syrup with water

Add ¼ cup syrup in a glass and fill the rest of the glass with ¾ cup sparkling water for a single serving. Or mix all the berry syrup and water in a large pitcher.

Fresh boiled blueberry, mint, honey, lime juice and zest, in a clear pitcher with blue handle.

Step 5: Garnish and serve

Add the refresher to individual glasses and garnish with the extra blueberries and fresh mint leaves. Serve and enjoy!

Blueberry refresher being poured into a clear tall cup with fresh blueberries and mint and a silver straw.

Expert Tips

To give the drink a stronger flavor, let the blueberry syrup cool in the fridge overnight before straining it.
While making the berry syrup, you can use the back of a wooden spoon to gently mash the berries.
If you don’t have lime you can use fresh lemon juice.
For a sweeter flavor, replace sparkling water with soda water or seltzer water.
You can use the blueberry refresher to sweeten iced coffee or tea.

How to store simple blueberry syrup

Flavored syrups like blueberry syrup will last for a short amount of time, typically 7 to 10 days. You’ll need to store it in an airtight container or a mason jar will work great too. This will freeze for 3 months in an airtight bag or jar. When reheating, slowly warm up, stirring occasionally.

Recipe FAQs

What are the health benefits of blueberries?

Blueberries have many health benefits. They are rich in vitamin K, which plays an important role in promoting heart health, are one of the best natural sources of antioxidants, can help reduce high blood pressure, and can help people with diabetes better manage their blood sugar levels.

Can l use frozen berries for this recipe?

Fresh blueberries are best for this refresher but frozen ones will work as well.

What kind of blueberries should I use?

There are lots of sweet varieties of good-quality blueberries. Elizabeth, Powder Blue, and Legacy types of blueberries are considered to be some of the sweetest. Make sure that the blueberries are blue all around as any pink or purple hue means they are not quite ripe yet and therefore not very sweet.

Blueberry juice with fresh blueberries and mint, in a clear tall cup with silver straw on a white wood board with lim slices around and blueberries.

Other refreshing summer drinks to try out:

The Refreshing Peach Lemonade with Mint is a new twist on a favorite summer drink.
You can never go wrong with a Strawberry Mojito Mocktail on a hot summer day.
The nutritious Refreshing Citrus Green Smoothie is a great idea for a healthy breakfast.

Other Tasty Drink Recipes

If you tried this Easy Summer Blueberry Refresher or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you enjoyed it in the📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!

Easy Summer Blueberry Refresher

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Allergy: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Sugar Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 5

Total Time: 30

refreshers

Calories: 118kcal

Author: Marina Rizhkov

Ingredients

Instructions

Place blueberries, honey, mint, lime zest, lime juice, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and continue to heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally until the berries burst. Remove from heat and cool.

1 cup blueberries, 1 cup honey, 1 bunch fresh mint, 1 lime,, ⅛ tsp salt
Gently squeeze berry mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Chill for 10 min.
Combine ¼ cup syrup with ¾ cup sparkling water for a single serving. Or, mix all syrup and water in a large pitcher. Garnish with berries and mint.

2 qt sparkling water, ½ cup blueberry