Watermelon Limeade
This watermelon limeade recipe tastes like summer in a cup! When it’s time to harvest watermelon and we can’t eat it all, we freeze the juice and then come back later and make this drink. It’s one of our favorite things to bring to a party and we often get requests for the recipe.
This drink pairs well with Mexican food. It’s also perfect for a barbecue or to bring to a fourth of July party!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You can use preserved, frozen watermelon juice (and lime juice too!)
- Easy to make and only 4 simple ingredients
- You can add optional lemon-lime soda to make a sparkling version
Ingredients and substitutions
Watermelon Juice: Chop fresh watermelon and remove seeds, then blend it up to make fresh watermelon juice.
Sugar: You can swap out the sugar for agave, honey, or maple syrup but I recommend this hesitantly. Agave would be the first choice since it’s mild in flavor. Honey and maple syrup have a strong flavor that can overpower the other delicate flavors of watermelon and lime so the recipe will taste very different than it should. You’ll need to use less sugar, somewhere between ¼-½ cup instead of ⅔ cup sugar.
Limes: Both fresh limes and bottled lime juice will work in this recipe.
Tips & Tricks
- Add an equal amount of lemon-lime soda right before serving to make it special. A 2 liter bottle + one batch of this recipe= sparkling watermelon limeade. If we bring the drink to a party, we don’t pour in the soda until we arrive so it stays bubbly.
- Freeze an abundant watermelon harvest (or if watermelon is a good deal at the store) to make this watermelon limeade all year round.
- Start with partially frozen watermelon. The key to making this recipe extra tasty is when it’s ice cold.
How to Make Watermelon Limeade
STEP 1 – Pour all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. NOTE: If your blender isn’t large enough for the whole batch (about 8 cups), add all the ingredients except water into the blender. When you pour into a pitcher, add the water and stir.
STEP 2 – Pour into a pitcher or glasses and serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can but it’s completely different than the original. See my explanation below of why I add sugar and water. But first, here is the healthy version, in case you’d rather try that:
8 cups watermelon juice
â…” cup fresh squeezed lime juice
Two of my kids don’t like watermelon drinks or flavored things. They ONLY will eat fresh watermelon that isn’t messed with. However, when I tested out this recipe, both of them loved it because the watermelon flavor wasn’t overpowering and the texture wasn’t weird.
I say that because it may be tempting to use 100% watermelon juice instead of the water and sugar combo included in the recipe. It’s there because it tastes best this way.Â
Those who know me well know that usually I’d always advocate for the healthier version (no sugar and all juice) but because we take this to parties and it’s a special treat, I make it with the sugar.
The watermelon limeade at chipotle has water, watermelon juice, lime juice, cane sugar, and natural flavors.
Yes, the sweet notes of watermelon pairs really well with acidic, tangy lime flavors.
Storage and Preservation
Even though the watermelon limeade is best served very fresh, it will be fine in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Watermelon Limeade can be placed in a freezer safe container and will last for up to one year.
Other Summer Recipes to Try
If you made this Watermelon Limeade or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Watermelon Limeade
Ingredients
- 4 cups (1L) watermelon juice, partially frozen or chilled is best
- 4 cups (1L) water
- 2/3 cup (130 g) sugar, more or less depending on the sweetness of the watermelon
- 2/3 cup (160ml) lime juice
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve ice cold.
Notes
- If your blender isn’t large enough for the whole batch (about 8 cups), add all the ingredients except water into the blender. When you pour into a pitcher, add the water and stir.
- To make watermelon juice, cube up a watermelon and remove the seeds. Blend in a blender, then measure out the juice. You can freeze any extra juice in freezer safe containers.
- The lime juice can be fresh squeezed or bottled
- For a sugar free version use 8 cups of watermelon juice and â…” cups lime juice. Omit the water and sugar in the original recipe.
- If you don’t like pulp you can strain it out with a fine sieve.Â
- A good blender will dissolve the sugar no problem. However, if your blender is not the best, I recommend mixing the sugar with warm water first. Let it cool, then add the remaining ingredients.
