This watermelon lemonade recipe is easy to blend up and full of sweet tart flavor! It’s ideal for summer barbecues and picnics.
When it comes to summer drinks, there’s nothing better than a big pitcher of fresh squeezed lemonade. Lemonade with real lemons has tangy sweet flavor that’s unparalleled. Here’s summery spin for barbecues and picnics that takes it up a notch: Watermelon Lemonade! Grab a ripe, juicy melon and it’s absolute perfection paired with citrus. It’s one of our top watermelon drinks for the season (like the margarita, mule, smoothie, juice, and more!).
Ingredients for watermelon lemonade
Many lemonade recipes call for simmering a simple syrup on the stove. But we prefer no-cook lemonade that you can blend up in 5 minutes. (Assuming you do, too!) All you need for this recipe are a few simple ingredients and a blender:
- Ripe watermelon
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
- Water and ice
Blend watermelon juice, strain, then blend again!
All you have to do for watermelon lemonade? Blend up a quick watermelon juice, strain it, and then add the remaining ingredients and blend again. Here’s what to know about the process:
- You’ll need a fine mesh strainer or sieve. This helps to make the watermelon juice into a clear liquid.
- Blending ice at the end makes it cold…and drink right away! This is a quick way to make a chilled pitcher of lemonade…not chill time required! It’s a hack so you don’t have to wait hours for it to cool in the refrigerator.
Scale it up: watermelon lemonade pitcher for 8!
The watermelon lemonade recipe makes 4 servings at once. If you’re making it for a party, we’d recommend making a double recipe. But keep the following in mind:
- You’ll need a large blender, or to make it in 2 batches. We use a large high speed blender, and it was completely full when we made the 8 serving pitcher.
- Double the quantities: click the 2x button! It’s on the recipe below, across from the word “Ingredients”.
Only use ripe watermelon!
It might go without saying, but only make this watermelon lemonade when you know you can get the best ripe fruit! Making it out of season is not recommended. Here are a few tips for picking a great melon:
- Shop in watermelon season. Buy your melon during watermelon season, or you’ll end up with a tart version of this fruit. (We’ve done it, and it’s not pretty!)
- Look for the field spot. Look for a lighter spot where the watermelon rested in the field: it’s called a field spot. If the field spot is white, it’s unripe: if the spot is yellow, it’s ripe.
More lemonade recipes
There are lots of tasty variations on the concept of homemade lemonade! You can make all sorts of fruity spins, using fresh fruits or syrups. Add soda water for bubbles, or liquor for a spiked variation. Here are our top lemonade recipes:
- This Strawberry Lemonade or Easy Raspberry Lemonade are perfectly berry forward
- Ever made Fresh Pink Lemonade? Here’s how to do it
- Go for Cucumber Lemonade, Mint Lemonade or Ginger Lemonade
- Go classic with Fresh Lemonade
- Add bubbles for Sparkling Lemonade
- Add a boozy twist with Vodka Lemonade, Bourbon Lemonade or Spiked Lemonade
This watermelon lemonade recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Print
Easy Watermelon Lemonade
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 drinks 1x
Description
This watermelon lemonade recipe is easy to blend up and full of sweet tart flavor! It’s ideal for summer barbecues and picnics.
Ingredients
- 4 cups* cubed ripe seedless watermelon (about 1/2 8-pound watermelon)
- ¾ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (3 to 4 large lemons)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups ice
- Ice and fresh mint, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the watermelon. Place it in a blender and blend until liquid. Strain the liquid with a fine mesh sieve back into the blender.
- Juice the lemons. Add the lemon juice, sugar and ice and blend again until smooth. Pour into a pitcher. Serve garnished with watermelon and lemon slices, and a few additional ice cubes.
Notes
*For a large pitcher of 8 servings, double all ingredients (press the 2x button). You’ll need a large blender, or to make it in batches.
- Category: Drink
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Lemonade
- Diet: Vegan
Keywords: Watermelon lemonade
Let us know if you have any questions!
★★★★★
Could I use raw honey in place of the sugar?
Yes! I’d start with a little less and add it to taste since it’s such a strong flavor.
I would like to make a Watermelon drink for about 40 peoples they are all Seniors and so at cocktail hour I have some with liquor and some without. I was wondering about freezing a slushie with watermelon is this possible and how much of what would I need
Thanks
That sounds great but we haven’t tested it out as a slushie so I’m not sure. You could try basing it on this: https://www.acouplecooks.com/watermelon-slushie/