Watermelon Margaritas
Published Jun 05, 2023•Updated Jul 15, 2024
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Fresh Watermelon Margaritas are sweet, tart from fresh lime juice, and perfect for summer. With no added sweetener, you can blend up a batch to sip and share this weekend!
Get ready for the best watermelon-based cocktail you’ve ever had. It’s no secret that I love a watermelon drink in the summer. I make many batches of these alcohol-free watermelon lime coolers between May and August each year. They’re guaranteed to cool everyone down when the weather is hot. If I want a warm-weather cocktail, Watermelon Frosé has long been my go-to.
But the frosé has competition. My new grown-up favorite is Watermelon Margaritas. It’s perfectly tart, only slightly sweet, and can be made in batches to serve out of a pitcher. The fresh flavor of watermelon combined with fresh lime juice makes this one summer in a glass. One sip and you’ll be ready to pull up a chair on the front porch surrounded by the sound of sprinklers and the smell of chicken on the grill.
Summer. We’re SO ready for you.
Ingredients in Watermelon Margaritas
- Watermelon Cubes – Seedless watermelons are best here since you’ll want to just blend everything together. See notes below about tasting your margarita and adding extra sweetness if needed.
- Tequila – The key alcohol for margaritas.
- Cointreau – Cointreau is a French orange-flavored liqueur.I was not convinced of the importance of this liqueur in a margarita until I was working on this recipe and had the chance to taste margaritas side-by-side with and without it. The difference was huge. If you don’t want to buy a bottle just for this recipe, I get it. You can definitely skip it. You could also use orange juice in its place. A little cointreau goes a long way, and it really makes the flavors in the margaritas shine.
- Lime Juice – Don’t skip the fresh lime juice. Yes you’ll need a lot of it, but you’ll be glad you put in the time to juice those limes when you taste the finished drink.
- Fresh Mint – The flavors of watermelon and mint work so well together that I just couldn’t resist adding a few leaves of mint to the blender here. They give the margaritas serious cooling power, but in a pinch you can skip them.
- Sugar or Salt – When it comes to rimming margaritas, everyone has their preferences, but I love the combination of sour-salty-sweet that comes from rubbing the glass rims with a lime wedge and then dipping them in a combination of sugar and salt. You can use just sugar, just salt, or skip it.
How to Make a Watermelon Margarita
- Rim the glass with salt and / or sugar. (Optional.)
- In a blender combine watermelon cubes, tequila, cointreau, and lime juice. If you want to make a frozen margarita, freeze the watermelon cubes first.
- Pour margaritas over ice (skip the ice if making a frozen margarita).
- Garnish with watermelon wedges, mint leaves, or lime slices and enjoy!
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How to Salt a Rim for Margaritas
Pour a thick layer of salt into a shallow bowl or plate. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of each glass that you want to rim with salt. Dip the glass in the salt, rotating to coat.
You can do the same thing with sugar for a sweet rim or use a combination of salt and sugar for a salty-sweet rim.
Recipe Tips
- A ripe watermelon will likely have enough natural sweetness that you won’t need to add any extra sweetener. But, while the drink is still in the blender, taste it. If you would like it to be sweeter, add some honey, sugar, or even a few fresh or frozen strawberries!
- To make a frozen margarita with a slushy texture, freeze the watermelon cubes for at least 2 hours before blending.
FAQs
Just skip the tequila and cointreau in the recipe for an easy alcohol-free version of this cocktail.
Yes! But for the best texture, freeze the watermelon cubes separately and blend everything together right before serving.
More Refreshing Summer Cocktails
Or check out all of my drink recipes here.
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Watermelon Margaritas Recipe
Equipment
- Blender
- Shallow plate or bowl
Ingredients
For the Rims (optional):
- 3 tablespoons sugar or salt (or use a combination for a salty-sweet rim)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 lime wedges
For the Margaritas:
- 1 pound watermelon cubes (preferably seedless; see note)
- 1 cup tequila
- 1/4 cup cointreau
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- Extra watermelon wedges, mint leaves, or some lime slices for garnish
Instructions
- If you’d like to rim the glasses, combine sugar and/or salt and lime zest in a shallow bowl or plate. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of each glass. Dip the glass in the salt / sugar, rotating to coat.
- Blend together watermelon, tequila, cointreau, and lime juice. (Note: If you’re using frozen watermelon cubes for a frozen margarita, you can also add about 1 cup of ice.)
- Fill each glass with ice (skip this if you made a frozen margarita).
- Pour margaritas over ice. Garnish with watermelon wedges, mint leaves, and / or lime slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
